Science-based macronutrient targets calculated from your body weight, activity level, and goal — not generic percentages. Get your numbers in seconds, then build a matching meal plan.
Adjust any field and your macro targets appear here instantly.
Macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fat — are the three classes of nutrients that provide your body with energy (calories) and the raw materials for every physiological process. While total calorie intake determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain weight, the distribution of those calories across your three macros determines what you lose or gain, how you feel, and how well you perform.
Getting your macros right does four things that calorie counting alone cannot:
Most macro calculators assign protein as a percentage of calories (e.g., "eat 30% of calories as protein"). This approach has a critical flaw: it ties your protein intake to your calorie goal, which changes with your objective. Someone in an aggressive deficit eating 1,500 kcal/day would get only 112 g of protein at 30% — potentially not enough to spare muscle tissue during fat loss.
This calculator uses body-weight-based protein targets, supported by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand and the most current meta-analyses:
These ranges reflect what the research shows is sufficient for most natural, non-elite trainees. Going significantly above the upper end of these ranges provides no additional muscle-building benefit for most people and simply displaces carbohydrate or fat calories.
Fat is set as the higher of two values: 0.35 g per pound of bodyweight, or 20% of total calories — whichever is greater. This ensures the minimum dietary fat intake for hormonal health is always met, regardless of how low your calorie target is. The 20% floor is based on evidence that dropping dietary fat below this threshold suppresses testosterone production in men and disrupts menstrual function in women.
The remaining calories after protein and fat are allocated to carbohydrates. This approach — sometimes called the "protein and fat first" method — prioritises the two macros with fixed physiological minimums and lets carbs fill in flexibly.
Divide your daily protein target by the number of meals you plan to eat. If you aim for 160 g of protein across four meals, that is approximately 40 g per meal. Building every meal around a protein source first — and then adding carbs, vegetables, and fat — is the simplest way to hit targets without obsessive tracking.
Counting macros precisely for a month builds powerful nutritional intuition. After a few weeks, most people can estimate their macro intake within 15–20% without tracking — accurate enough to maintain results. The Cook This Much meal planner handles this automatically: every generated meal plan is built to your calorie and macro targets from day one.
Macro calculators are starting estimates. Recalculate if your weight changes by more than 5 lbs, you start or stop an exercise programme, or your results plateau for more than 3 weeks. The formula is fixed but your body is not — use real-world data to refine your targets over time.
| Goal | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressive Weight Loss | TDEE − 25% | 1.0–1.1 g/lb | Remainder | ≥20% or 0.35 g/lb |
| Weight Loss | TDEE − 20% | 0.9–1.0 g/lb | Remainder | ≥20% or 0.35 g/lb |
| Maintenance | = TDEE | 0.7–0.8 g/lb | Remainder | ≥20% or 0.35 g/lb |
| Lean Muscle Gain | TDEE + 10% | 0.85–0.9 g/lb | Remainder | ≥20% or 0.35 g/lb |
| Muscle Gain | TDEE + 15% | 0.9–1.0 g/lb | Remainder | ≥20% or 0.35 g/lb |
The Cook This Much meal planner generates a full week of recipes matched to your exact calorie and macro targets — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Every recipe includes complete nutrition data per serving.