What each macro does
Protein builds and repairs muscle tissue and keeps you full. Carbohydrates fuel your training and top off muscle glycogen. Fat supports hormone production and helps you absorb some vitamins.
You do not need to overthink this. Hit your protein target, fill most of the rest with carbs if you train hard, and keep fat at a reasonable floor. The rest sorts itself out.
Setting gram targets
- Protein: 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of bodyweight per day, regardless of goal.
- Fat: 0.3 to 0.4 grams per pound of bodyweight per day as a floor.
- Carbs: fill the remaining calories after protein and fat are set.
- Cutting: keep protein at the high end of the range to protect muscle.
- Bulking: protein can sit at the lower end since calories are already high.
Going from calories to macros
Start with a daily calorie target. Multiply your bodyweight by your protein and fat gram targets, then convert those grams to calories (protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram, fat is 9). Subtract that from your total calories, and the rest is carbs.
Example: a 180 pound lifter eating 2,400 calories might land on 160g protein (640 cal), 70g fat (630 cal), and about 283g carbs (1,130 cal) to fill the rest.
Checking the mix is working
- Are you hitting your protein target most days? That matters more than exact precision elsewhere.
- Is your weight trending the way you want over 2-3 weeks?
- Do you have enough energy to train hard? If not, add carbs before cutting fat further.
- Are you hungry all the time? Protein and fiber usually need a bump.