How to Calculate Your Macros for Cutting, Maintaining, and Bulking
Learning to calculate your macros is a foundational skill that can significantly enhance your ability to achieve your fitness goals. Macronutrients, commonly known as macros, are the nutrients your body needs in large quantities: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This guide will walk you through the process of calculating your macros for different goals, whether you're cutting, maintaining, or bulking.
What are Macronutrients?
Macronutrients are the primary nutrients that provide energy and support bodily functions. The calories/foods you consume are made up of macronutrients. The three main types are:
Carbohydrates: Provide 4 calories per gram. Sources include grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes.
Proteins: Provide 4 calories per gram. Sources include meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, legumes, tofu and tempeh.
Fats: Provide 9 calories per gram. Sources include oils, butter, avocados, nuts, seeds, fatty meats and fish, dairy, and eggs.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred source of energy. They get digested and broken down into glucose. Glucose can then be used to make something called ATP. ATP is a molecule that stores energy that the body will use for different purposes including muscle contractions.
Carbohydrates can also be stored as energy in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver. Glycogen is important for high intensity exercise. If you consume excess carbohydrates, and your storage tanks are full, they can be converted to triglyceride molecules and stored as fat.
What does all this mean for you? It’s important for performance purposes to make sure you are eating enough carbohydrates. They will help fuel your workouts, and they can also be muscle sparing. If your body doesn’t have adequate glucose from carbohydrates, it may break down muscle into amino acids to be converted into glucose to make energy. This is more likely when you are in a calorie deficit, or performing high intensity exercises.
Proteins
Proteins are made up of amino acids that are essential for muscle/tissue repair, growth, and overall cellular function. They aid in thousands of chemical reactions that happen in your body including digestion, energy production, blood clotting, and muscle contractions.
Certain proteins including collagen, elastin, and keratin give different parts of your body structure, strength, and elasticity. These are important for your hair, skin, and nails, as well as your bones, tendons and ligaments.
Other roles of protein include regulating PH, transporting stored nutrients, strengthening immune health, and balancing fluids.
What does this mean for you? Protein is vital for building and maintaining your muscles, and makes up 80% of muscle mass. Your body is continuously breaking down and rebuilding new proteins, and they aren’t stored the same way as the other macros, so it’s important to consume enough on a daily basis.
Fats
Fats are important for hormone production, nutrient absorption, energy production, protecting cellular health, and nervous system support.
When performing endurance exercises, your body will use more fat for energy, but when performing higher intensity exercises, such as sprinting or weightlifting, your body will use more carbohydrates (glycogen), but fats can still be used to a lesser extent. The body is consistently metabolizing fats for energy, but to different degrees. When you consume more fat than you need for energy, the rest will be stored as body fat for later use.
What does this mean for you? Fats serve many purposes, and it’s important to get enough, but too much will lead to fat gain if you are in a calorie surplus. If you are an endurance athlete, you will require higher amounts of fat.
TDEE
Before you calculate your macros, you need to know how many calories you are approximately burning throughout the day. This will obviously change daily based on many factors including your activity levels, but it’s important to have a number to start with.
This is where your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) comes in. This is a fancy term for the total amount of energy you use in a day, or in other words how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight.
Your TDEE is made up of your RMR (resting metabolic rate), NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis), the thermic effect of food, and EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis)
Determining Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
Your RMR is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions at rest including breathing, circulation, and cell production. In other words if you sat on the couch and did nothing all day, this would be the amount of energy required to keep you alive. A common method is the The Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
For men:
RMR=(10×weight in kg)+(6.25×height in cm)−(5×age in years)+5
For women:
RMR=(10×weight in kg)+(6.25×height in cm)−(5×age in years)−161
These are just estimates and everyone is going to be different. There are certain factors that are out of your control like your age, sex, height, and genetics that influence this number, but you can still make an impact with lifestyle changes including building muscle mass, getting enough sleep, and eating adequate calories. RMR is going to make up 60-75% of your TDEE.
NEAT (Non exercise activity thermogenesis)
NEAT refers to the energy expended for everything you do that is not sleeping, eating, or intentional exercise. This includes activities like walking around, typing, fidgeting, doing household chores, standing, and other small movements throughout the day.
People that are considered “naturally lean” most likely have a higher NEAT. They are constantly moving and fidgeting, and it adds up to a lot of extra calories burned during the day. NEAT generally makes up between 15-30% of your TDEE, but it can be as high as 50% in some individuals.
The Thermic Effect of Food
The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) refers to the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and metabolize the nutrients from the food you eat. Essentially, it's the calories burned during the process of eating and processing food.
TEF accounts for about 10% of your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), but this can vary depending on the macronutrient composition of your diet. Different types of food have different thermic effects:
Proteins: Have the highest thermic effect, requiring about 20-30% of their calories to be burned just to digest and process them.
Carbohydrates: Have a moderate thermic effect, using about 5-10% of their calories for digestion and metabolism.
Fats: Have the lowest thermic effect, with only about 0-3% of their calories being used for processing.
This can have a bigger effect on how many calories you burn throughout the day, than most people realize. It can add up.
EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
This is the energy used during intentional activity or exercise. This includes activities like running, weightlifting, cycling, swimming, and any other form of structured exercise or sports.
This actually makes up a smaller portion of the pie than most people realize. Intentional exercise doesn’t move the needle drastically. It can definitely help, but there are other factors to consider. This generally makes up 5-10% of your TDEE depending on how active you are.
What does all of this mean for You?
TDEE is comprised of
RMR- Approximately 60-75% of your calories burned
NEAT- Approximately 10-30% of your calories burned, but can go up as high as 50%
Thermic Effect of Food- Approximately 10%, but can change based on macros
EAT- Approximately 5-10% depending on how often and intensely you exercise/workout
I always say one of the easiest ways to hit your macro targets is to give yourself bigger targets to hit. If you increase your daily TDEE you will have an easier time hitting your macro numbers, because your target calories are going to be larger. There are a couple of ways to do this.
Strength Train: Strength training will help you build more muscle and increase the amount of energy required to maintain your body weight and muscle mass. I’ve seen clients Maintenance calories increase exponentially by strength training.
Eat more food: Generally when you eat more food, your NEAT will increase without you even realizing it. When your calories are low your body will try to conserve energy by decreasing your NEAT, and when you eat more you’ll have excess energy for your body to use. This is why maintenance is generally a range and your metabolism can adapt to higher calorie amounts.
Another reason this increases your TDEE is because of the thermic effect of food. The more food you eat, the more energy you use to process it. Obviously this is only a small percentage of the food, so there’s a limit haha, but it can help offset some of the extra calories.
Eat more protein: Protein has the highest thermic effect of any of the macros, so by eating more of it, you will burn more calories digesting your food.
Exercise: I don’t usually recommend thinking of exercise as a way to burn calories. I’d rather you think of it as a way to hit performance goals, for health, or fun. That will give you a better relationship with exercise, and you will most likely be more consistent with it, but adding in some cardio at the tail end of a cut can be beneficial to burn some extra calories.
An exercise I think everyone should add into their routine though, is walking. Give yourself a daily/weekly step count goal. This will burn extra calories, but it also has so many other benefits, and it can be done daily without interfering with any of your other workouts.
Calculating Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is your RMR multiplied by an activity factor that accounts for your lifestyle:
Sedentary (little or no exercise): RMR × 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): RMR × 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): RMR × 1.55
Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): RMR × 1.725
Super active (very hard exercise, physical job, or training twice a day): RMR × 1.9
For example, if you are a 150lb, 5 '6, moderately active, 40 year old female we can use the formula above to find your RMR and then multiply it by 1.55 to get a rough estimate of your maintenance calories.
First we have to convert your weight to kilograms and height to centimeters. To convert lbs to kgs divide your weight by 2.2. To convert inches to cm multiply your height in inches by 2.54, or just use an online calculator haha.
150/2.2 = 68.182kg
66 x 2.54 = 167.64
Then plug your numbers into the formula.
RMR= (10 × 68.182) + (6.25 × 167.64) − (5 × 40) − 161
RMR = 681 + 1048 - 200 - 161
RMR = 1368
1368 x 1.55 = 2120
Your rough estimate of your TDEE is 2120 calories/day
You can also find TDEE calculators online to make it easier like this one.
Adjusting Macros for Your Goals
Now that you have a rough estimate of your maintenance calories (TDEE) you can adjust your caloric intake based on whether you want to cut, maintain, or bulk.
Maintenance Macros
Maintenance is your body's happy place. This is where you want to be most of the time. Maintenance can be great if you want to recomp, or build muscle and lose fat at the same time. If you want more information on that here’s an article that goes over that in detail.
With maintenance you will be at equilibrium. You won’t be eating too much, or too little, for your body, and you’ll generally find that this is where you feel best. I recommend spending a good amount of time at maintenance calories. A lot of clients find that they love the way they feel here, and can still make a decent amount of progress, so they are reluctant to go back to eating fewer calories or a cut.
Maintenance is a range. I recommend eating around your calculated TDEE at first, and then adjusting from there based on how your body responds. I like to push maintenance and see how high we can get that for clients. Why eat less when you can eat more and still maintain your weight. I know I want to eat as much as I can, because food is the best.
Now that you know how many calories to eat, you have to figure out your macro split. I don’t like to overcomplicate this. Don’t worry as much about hitting your exact carbs and fat numbers, and instead focus on protein. Your carbs and fats will most likely be in the right range without even worrying about it. When it comes to body composition, the ratio of fats and carbs don’t make a difference. You can eat higher carbs and lower fats or vice versa and get the same results as long as your protein and calories are in check.
For protein, aim for at least .7g/lb of bodyweight, or your goal weight if you’re overweight. Using the example of the 150lb female above, she’d want to eat at least 105g of protein per day to maximize muscle growth. Research shows .7g is the optimal amount for muscle growth, and anything over that doesn’t make much of a difference. Research does show though, that protein seems to have a fat loss effect compared to the other macros, so you can eat more than this if you desire. Generally there aren’t any negative effects of eating “too much” protein, unless it stops you from getting enough carbs or fats.
Maintenance prescription:
Calories- Eat around TDEE and use trial and error to find your maintenance
Protein: Aim for at least .7g/lb of bodyweight or your goal weight.
Macros for Cutting
If your main goal is fat loss then you want to be in a caloric deficit. This means you will be eating fewer calories than you burn. How steep of a deficit you go into depends on your preferences, goals, and how much weight you have to lose. Typically it should be 15-30% below your maintenance calories. If you go too low, it won’t be sustainable and you’re more likely to not adhere to the diet, or have to come out pretty quickly. Also, there’s a higher chance of muscle loss when you go into a steeper cut. On the other hand, if you don’t cut your calories steep enough, your progress will be slow, and it could get discouraging if you don’t see changes after some time. Plus, it doesn’t give you enough leeway make mistakes, and it won’t take much to no longer be in a deficit.
I wouldn’t recommend staying in a caloric deficit all year long. It’s important to go back to maintenance periodically. A typical fat loss phase is between 8-16 weeks long. When you start going past that, there’s a higher chance of muscle loss and metabolic slowdown.
The steeper your cut, the quicker you will get to your results (as long as you can stick to it), but you may notice more adverse effects like low energy, moodiness, and sleep disturbances. You may also find it harder to stick to, and may find yourself “cheating” more often, and going over on the weekends and at night when you’re starving. Going slower is more sustainable, but it will take you longer to get to your goals, and you may get sick of being there.
Preferences should be taken into account. I know for me personally, I would rather go into a steeper deficit, and not have to be there as long, but I know people that are the complete opposite. Find what works best for you, and find the balance between the two.
For example, if your maintenance is 2000 calories, then you’ll want to be somewhere between 1400-1700 calories in a deficit. Aim for the low or high end based on your preferences.
Protein is more important in a deficit, because it will help maintain your muscle mass. The goal in a calorie deficit is to lose fat while maintaining as much of your muscle mass as possible. I recommend aiming for 1g/lb of goal weight in a calorie deficit. This is going to be more challenging, because your calories are lower, so your protein is going to be a higher percentage of total calories.
Cut Prescription:
Calories: 15-30% below Maintenance
Protein: 1g/lb of goal weight
Macros for Bulking
Bulking can be used to put on additional muscle. Once you become more experienced, it’s challenging to put on muscle without eating in a surplus. Just like the goal for cutting is to lose fat without losing muscle, the goal for bulking is to put on muscle with minimal fat gain. Most likely you will still gain fat, but you want to keep it to a minimum.
I recommend eating only a couple hundred calories over your maintenance or 10-15%. People often make the mistake of eating too far above their maintenance calories during a bulk, leading to excessive fat gain. Your body can only build so much muscle at once, so there’s no need to go crazy.
The duration of the bulk is up to you. It may take 3-6 months to see a change though. Not much progress will happen in just a couple of weeks. Muscle building is slow. Another option is to put mini cuts into your bulk to lose some of the extra gunk. For example, maybe you bulk for 1 month and then a week of a cut and continue that pattern, or do the mini cuts as needed. This can help you prolong the bulk without gaining too much fat.
For protein you’ll want to get at least .7g/lb of bodyweight or your goal weight again
Bulking Prescription:
Calories: 10-15% of maintenance
Protein: At least .7g/lb of bodyweight or goal weight
Common mistakes
Tracking your macros is the best way that I know of to achieve body composition changes, and usually if you aren’t seeing the result that you want, it’s because you are making one, or some of the following mistakes.
Not tracking Accurately
I recommend using a food scale to accurately measure serving sizes for different foods. If you’ve never weighed 6oz of chicken then you probably won’t be very accurate at guessing what that looks like. Eventually you’ll get better at eyeballing things the more you do it.
Tracking when eating out can also be a challenge. People tend to underestimate their calories. There’s no perfectly accurate way to do this, but I would suggest overestimating when eating out, especially if you are supposed to be in a caloric deficit.
Make sure you also log food that is raw as raw and cooked as cooked. Cooked chicken will weigh less than raw chicken, so if you weigh your chicken after it’s cooked, but log it as raw chicken, you’ll be eating more calories than you think you are.
Not Tracking Everything
Make sure that you track everything that goes into your mouth, including cooking oils, little bites of things here and there, and alcohol. Alcohol is a big one that can add up, so make sure you count it.
Something that is super common is not tracking on the weekend, but eating perfectly during the week. If you are in a caloric deficit I recommend tracking every day, because you are going to get the best results that way. If you are at maintenance, or in a bulk you can be more lenient and take weekends off and you’ll be fine. If you are wondering why you can’t lose weight, and you aren’t tracking your weekends I recommend doing that. You can easily undo the entire deficit you created in just a couple of days.
Alright, there you have it. This was long. If you’ve made it this far congratulations! You are a rock star. As a thank you for reading this entire article, I would love to calculate your macros for you, and give you some tips to hit your goals. If that’s something that interests you contact me here and say FREE MACROS PLEASE.
