The Biggest Mistake People Make When Calculating Macros
Calculating macros is an often-overlooked strategy for achieving your weight and fitness goals more efficiently and effectively. You can tailor your nutrition plan to exactly how much protein, carbs, and fat your body needs to function.
Because yes, macros are different for everyone, which is why you should learn how to calculate your macros.
You may have heard the term macros before, but thought it was only for athletes or people who are super serious in their fitness journey. In reality, it’s something everyone should know about themselves if they want to lose or maintain weight.
This step-by-step guide will teach you exactly how to calculate your macros for your weight and fitness goals, and share some common mistakes people often make.
Key Takeaways:
A brief explanation of what macros are
Why miscalculating your calorie baseline hurts your macros and results
How to correctly calculate your macros
A few other macro mistakes to avoid
What Are Macros?
Macronutrients, or macros, are the three main nutrient groups your body needs to function well and provide consistent energy throughout the day.
Protein: Muscle repair and growth, and immune function. Contains 4 calories per gram.
Carbs: Main energy source, especially for the brain, source of many vitamins and fiber. Contains 4 calories per gram.
Fats: Hormone health, brain health, and absorbing vitamins. Contains 9 calories per gram.
Combined, these three macros make up all the calories that you eat (other than alcohol, but that’s a whole other subject!)
When people calculate their macros, they’re tracking how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats they eat each day. It’s usually based on a set ratio tied to their goals of fat loss, muscle gain, or weight maintenance.
Everyone requires different amounts of protein, carbs, and fat for their body to function properly. That’s why it’s important to learn how to calculate your macros and track what your body needs.
The Biggest Mistake: Miscalculating Your Calorie Baseline
And that brings me to the biggest mistakes people make when calculating their macros.
People often jump into calculating their daily protein, carb, and fat intake without considering their Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This is the number of calories your body needs to maintain its current weight based on your metabolism and activity level.
Making assumptions about your lifestyle, body composition, and activity level won’t give you an accurate macro goal.
These are some things to figure out before you learn how to calculate your macros:
Activity Level: Be realistic about how active you are each day and what kind of activity you’re doing (lifting weights, walking, taking a Zumba class, etc.)
Weight Goals: Are you trying to lose weight, maintain your current weight, or build muscle?
Body Composition: Muscle burns more calories than fat does, so your bodyfat percentage plays a factor here. If you know this number, you can use it to make your result more accurate. ,
Example: Different Calorie Needs
Two people can weigh the exact same but look and feel very different depending on their body composition.
A 160 lb athlete with 15% body fat will have more muscle, less fat, and a higher metabolism than a 160 lb sedentary person with 30% body fat, who will burn fewer calories both at rest and during physical activity.
These people need different ratios of protein, carbs, and fat to maintain their body weight, lose fat, or gain muscle.
This is why tracking just your weight doesn’t tell the full story. Body composition gives a clearer picture of health, fitness level, and calorie needs.
Some medical clinics, sports science centers, gyms, or specialty fitness facilities can provide detailed body composition information so you can get an accurate picture.
Calculating your macros involves much more than just deciding how many calories to eat per day!
How Macros Mistakes Impact Your Results
If you aren’t calculating the right number for your body, it’s much harder to reach your goals. You’ll probably feel frustrated because you think you’re doing everything right, but still aren’t seeing results.
Even if you’re hitting your macro targets, you might not see any fat loss, or muscle gain may be slower than expected. That might be because your numbers aren’t correct!
Here are some signs that your macros are off:
Energy dips, especially during workouts
Mood swings
Increased sugar and carb cravings
No physical changes after weeks of staying consistent
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
You could be over- or under-eating without realizing it. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s worth re-checking your calorie baseline and macros.
It’s okay to adjust based on how your body responds over time. This isn’t a set number - it will change as your body changes.
How to Correctly Calculate Macros
Okay, so now that we've got the mistakes out of the way, let’s talk about how to calculate your macros the correct way!
I created this macro calculator to help you figure out how much protein, carbs, and fats to eat per day to reach their weight and muscle goals. Learn how many calories you should eat per day for weight loss or maintenance.
*Note that this calorie and protein target calculator is meant as a guideline and not as a replacement for the personalized advice and analysis of a Registered Dietitian or physician.
If you want more personalized recommendations, accountability, and faster results you can learn more about our nutrition coaching program here.
Let’s walk through it step-by-step!
First, decide if your goal is weight loss or weight maintenance. This will determine if you should be in a calorie deficit or not.
Then, input some data about you, including your age, gender, height, and current weight. Everybody is different, and this information impacts how you function and use calories.
Age: Metabolism slows over time. Older adults may need fewer calories than younger adults. Protein also becomes more important with age.
Gender: Men typically have more muscle mass than women, which means they need more calories. Women’s calorie and macro needs shift with hormonal fluctuations and could benefit from a higher fat intake.
Height: Taller people have more body area to maintain, which sometimes means higher calorie needs.
Weight: The more you weigh, the more calories you burn at rest because your body requires more energy to function. As you lose weight, your calorie needs decrease.
Finally, we look at your exercise per week and how active you are outside of workouts. By workouts, we mean activities like lifting weights, attending fitness classes, running, or playing sports. This is intentional movement.
When we’re talking about activity outside of workouts, we’re talking about your daily step count. This includes your normal steps taken every day and going on walks.
After inputting all this information, you’ll see recommended calories per day, and grams of protein, carbs, and fat.
Note that as you lose weight, your macro needs might change! Working with a Registered Dietitian is a great way to stay on track with your macros.
Other Macro Missteps to Avoid
I want you to keep a few other things in mind as you learn how to calculate your macros.
People tend to underestimate portion sizes. We fill our plate without knowing exactly how many macros we’re consuming. Buy a food scale to really see how much protein, carbs, and fat you’re eating with each meal.
Food quality matters, too. Sometimes, if we focus too much on numbers, we don’t think about what we’re actually eating. Sure, a snack might be low in calories, but is it working toward your protein goal?
(Here are some of my favorite macro-friendly snacks!)
Don’t forget about liquid calories! Between protein shakes, alcohol, sports drinks, and sodas, there are a lot of ways to consume extra calories. Anything you eat or drink should be factored into your calories for the day.
Finally, look at weekly trends instead of daily fluctuations. Women, especially, will fluctuate a lot based on where they are in their cycle. Track weekly or monthly trends to see the results you’re looking for.
Calculate Your Macros
When you have an accurate number of macros to include in your diet, you get better results. You’re eating the right amount of protein, carbs, and fats for your weight loss or maintenance goals.
Use my free calculator to get an estimated calorie goal and grams of protein, carbs, and fat. By working with our nutrition coaches, you can get a more detailed plan to get you results even faster. Book a call with our team to get started.
FAQs About How to Calculate Your Macros
What is the ideal macro ratio?
There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer. It depends on your goals, activity level, and preferences. That’s why I created my macro calculator to help you determine the best ratio for your body.
Do macros matter when cutting (losing bodyweight)?
Yes! Macros, especially protein, influence how your body responds to calorie intake while you’re cutting. If you cut calories without balancing your macros, you risk losing muscle, feeling drained, and slowing your metabolism.
Is it better to hit macros or calories?
You should consider both. Calories are the big picture, while macros are the details. If you hit your macros, you’ll almost always hit your calorie target automatically since macros are calculated from total calories.
