Calorie & Macro Calculator
Discover your daily calorie target and macro split. A simple, science-based protein, carb, and fat plan built around your exact body and weight goals.
Recommended Daily Macros
Free Calorie & Macro Calculator for Weight Loss
Trying to lose weight without knowing your numbers is like driving to a new place with no map. Our free macro calculator gives you a simple daily calorie goal. It also gives you a protein, carb and fat plan built around that goal. Now you know exactly what to eat each day. You don't just get a vague "eat less" tip.
Maybe you searched for a calorie calculator. Maybe you wanted a calorie deficit calculator. Or maybe you searched for a macro calculator for weight loss. This tool covers all three. The guide below explains the simple science behind your numbers.
What This Calculator Does
Enter your age, sex, height, weight, activity level and goal. Your goal can be to lose, keep or gain weight. Then this calorie counter works out two things for you:
- Your daily calorie goal. This comes from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE for short. This number goes up or down based on your goal.
- Your macro split. This tells you how many grams of protein, carbs and fat to eat each day.
Many basic calorie intake calculators skip this second part. Total calories matter a lot. But where those calories come from matters too. This is especially true if you want to lose fat and keep your muscle.
How the Calculation Works
Here is how we get your result, step by step.
Step 1: Find your BMR
BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the energy your body burns just to stay alive. It covers things like breathing and pumping blood, even if you don't move all day. Our tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. Most experts agree this is the most accurate formula for the average adult:
- Men: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
Step 2: Multiply by your activity level. This gives you your TDEE. Your BMR gets multiplied by a number based on how active you are. This number can range from about 1.2, for someone who sits most of the day, up to 1.9, for someone who trains hard every day. The result is your TDEE: the real number of calories you burn on a normal day.
Step 3: Adjust for your goal.
- To lose weight, we take about 500 calories off your TDEE each day. This matches a safe pace of about 1 pound of weight loss per week.
- To gain weight, we add a small amount of extra calories. Studies show that slow weight gain builds more muscle and less fat than fast weight gain.
- To stay the same weight, your calorie goal simply matches your TDEE.
Step 4: Split your calories into macros. Protein, carbs and fat are not just labels on food. They are where your calories actually come from. One gram of protein or carbs equals 4 calories. One gram of fat equals 9 calories. The calculator uses this simple math to turn your calorie goal into real food targets you can track.
A Recent Update in Nutrition Advice
Here is something a lot of older calorie and macro tools have not caught up on yet. Protein advice has changed. For many years, the standard target was just 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That amount stops you from getting sick, but it's often not enough if you're trying to lose fat while keeping your muscle.
Health experts now suggest most adults aim for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. If you're losing weight, lifting weights or you're an older adult, you may benefit from even more. Some research points to 1.6 up to 2.2 grams per kilogram for these groups. Higher protein while cutting calories helps protect your muscle, so you lose more fat and less muscle.
For a 150-pound adult (about 68 kg), that works out to roughly 82 to 109 grams of protein a day at the standard level. It can go up to about 150 grams a day at the higher level for people who are actively losing weight. This is why our calculator often gives you a higher protein number than older tools that still use the outdated 0.8 gram guide.
How to Use Your Results
Once you get your numbers, here's what to do next:
- Track your calories and your macros, not just your weight on the scale. Grams of protein, carbs and fat give you something clear to aim for each day.
- Focus on your protein number first. This is the macro that helps protect your muscle while you lose fat. It's also the one most people don't eat enough of.
- Choose real food for your carbs and fats. Try vegetables, fruit and whole grains for carbs. Try olive oil, nuts and fish for fats. Try to avoid packaged, processed food when you can.
- Check in every few weeks. As your weight changes, your BMR and TDEE change too. It's smart to run this calculator again every 10 to 15 pounds of change.
- Don't go too low on calories. A very big calorie cut can backfire. It often leads to more muscle loss, more tiredness and a higher chance you'll gain the weight back later.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
- This is an estimate, not an exact science. Your real metabolism can be a few hundred calories higher or lower than the formula guesses, depending on your body and genes.
- Activity level is based on what you tell us. Most people think they move more than they really do. If your real-world results don't match your plan after a few weeks, try picking a lower activity level next time.
- Health conditions and some medicines can change your numbers. If you have a thyroid condition, PCOS or you take a weight-loss medicine, your needs may be different. A dietitian can help you set the right target.
- This tool is not made for anyone under 18 or for anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding. Calorie and protein needs are very different for these groups.