Macros 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Counting Macros 

Are you looking to eat healthier and maybe even shed a few extra pounds in the process? Counting macros could be the solution you’ve been looking for! 

There are a lot of “fad diets” out there that involve extremes like never eating bread or avoiding all sugar, but they’re prone to failure. When we completely cut something out of our diet, it often makes us want it even more, leading to a never-ending cycle of dieting and then binging.

The only time I’ve ever been able to be consistent about my eating habits is when I’m tracking macros. Counting macros offers a healthy, sustainable option that doesn’t leave you hangry and reaching for anything and everything sweet after just two days of dieting.

This post is all about counting macros for beginners. Let’s get started! 

What are Macros?

So what the heck are macros? Macros is a shortened name for “macronutrients” and there are three different types:

• Carbohydrates
• Protein
• Fats

Each of these macronutrients is essential to our diet for different reasons. Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for the body, proteins build and maintain muscles, and fats provide a more concentrated form of energy and are used for a lot of important body functions.

Why Should I Count Macros?

A lot of people confuse counting macros with counting calories. While you should look at your overall calorie intake while tracking macros, this isn’t the main focus. Counting macros targets specific ratios of each type of macronutrient, which allows you to have more control over your body composition than if you were only counting calories.

For example, let’s say you set a daily calorie goal of 1800. You could eat a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast (500 calories), a sandwich and chips for lunch (600 calories), and pasta for dinner (700 calories). Technically you achieved your goal of 1800 calories but those meals are all super high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates aren’t necessarily bad, but when you consume too much of any single macronutrient, you probably won’t see the results you’re looking for.

Counting macros helps you not only maintain a consistent calorie goal but it also provides a framework for eating a well-balanced diet. Consuming the three different types of macronutrients in the right daily ratios can help you achieve your ideal body composition much quicker than strictly counting calories.

How Do I Calculate My Macros?

The foundation of counting macros is finding a ratio that works for you and is tailored to your health goals. If your main goal is weight loss, your daily ratio is going to be different than someone looking to build muscle.

There are a million free macro calculators online – this one is my personal favorite because it offers several different ratio options and doesn’t make you give them your email address so they can try to sell you stuff later. If you prefer to calculate them yourself, you can use the following steps:

1. Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

BMR is the minimum number of calories that your body needs each day to stay alive. You can calculate this by using the following equations:

• For women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age)
• For men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age)

Here is an example: Say you are a 34-year-old female, 5’5, and weigh 145 pounds. Plugging in those numbers looks like this: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 145) + (4.7 x 65) – (4.7 x 34), so when calculated out, your BMR is 1,431 calories.

2. Multiply your BMR by your activity level.

Multiply by …

• 1.2 if you work a desk job and do little to no exercise
• 1.375 if you lightly exercise 1-3 times a week
• 1.55 if you moderately exercise 3-5 times a week
• 1.725 if you work out hard 6-7 times a week

In our example, let’s say you moderately exercise. So you take 1,431 x 1.55 = 2,218 calories.

So your total daily calories should be 2,218 which you can now divide into appropriate macro ratios based on your health and fitness goals. A typical ratio would be something like 40% of calories coming from protein, 30% from carbs, and 30% from fats.

3. Calculate the amount of daily calories for each macronutrient.

Here’s where things get a little tricky and why most people opt to use an online calculator to determine their ratios. But if you’re still with me, here is how you get your daily macronutrient goals.

Let’s say you’re sticking with the 40, 30, 30 ratio like we talked about earlier. 40% of 2,218 is 887 (take 0.4 x 2,218 to get that number), so 887 of your daily calories should be protein. 30% of 2,218 calories is 665, so you’ll aim for 665 calories of carbs and 665 calories of fat each day.

4. Figure out how many grams of each macronutrient are needed daily.

Whew – last step! Now that you know how many calories of each macronutrient you need per day, you’ll need to convert that into grams because that’s the measurement used on nutrition labels.

To get this, divide:

• Protein calories by 4
• Carb calories by 4
• Fat calories by 9

There are 4 calories per gram of carbs and protein and 9 calories per gram of fats, which is why we use those numbers. So for our example, 887 protein calories divided by 4 is 221 grams. So daily, your goal would be to eat 221 grams of protein. For carbs, you’d take 665/4 to get 166 grams, and for fats, you’d take 665/9 to get 74 grams. So in the example, our daily macro goals would be:

• 221 grams of protein
• 166 grams of carbs
• 74 grams of fat

Easy, right? Yeah, not really. This is why most people like to use a calculator, but I also think it’s important for you to see how they’re calculated so you don’t feel like you’re just blindly following the advice of a random internet tool.

How Do I Adjust My Macros to Lose Weight or Gain Muscle?

The 40/30/30 ratio we talked about earlier is just an example. You could alter these ratios to be whatever is most appropriate for your health goals. If you want to lose weight, you’ll likely need to decrease your fat ratio to closer to 20% and make up the difference in proteins and carbs. If you’re trying to build a lot of muscle, you’ll probably increase your protein numbers slightly.

In my personal experience with macros, I have found that the specific ratio you use matters less than being consistent with whatever numbers you choose. So don’t stress too much about finding the perfect ratio and instead concentrate your energy on getting as close to your chosen numbers each day.

Finding Balance: Incorporating Flexibility into Your Macro Tracking

The best advice for being successful with tracking macros is to remain flexible. If you’re going out to dinner with your girlfriends and know you’re going to have a bunch of drinks and dessert, don’t sweat it. Maybe lighten up on the calories you consume earlier in the day, but don’t completely limit yourself from indulging every once in a while. Never allowing yourself to eat “unhealthy” foods can make you resentful and not want to continue tracking macros.

So yes, it’s fine to not track for a day every once in a while. But with that being said, do everything in moderation. If you’re not tracking more often than you are, that’s a problem. It might mean your ratios need to be adjusted to find a plan that is more realistic for you.

Tips for Tracking Macros

1. Download a tracking app. We do literally everything on our smartphones these days, so why not keep track of your macros there too? There are tons of apps out there, and a lot of them are free. I’ve tried several over the years but I keep coming back to MacrosFirst (see screenshot). My favorite part is that it includes a barcode scanner which makes it easy to scan nutrition labels. The nutrition information is then automatically added to your log instead of having to manually input all of the numbers.

2. It’s okay to have a bad day. When I first started tracking macros, I would get so frustrated with myself if I didn’t get my macros perfect every day. I blame a lot of that on my perfectionist tendencies, but I had to keep reminding myself that it’s okay to have a not-so-stellar day every once in a while. Sometimes you might just really need that extra piece of chocolate, and that’s okay! Instead of beating yourself up, tell yourself that one bad day won’t ruin your goals and that you’ll do better tomorrow. (And then follow through and actually do better tomorrow).

3. Take progress pictures. Numbers on the scale don’t matter. Let me say it again – NUMBERS ON THE SCALE DON’T MATTER! Probably an unpopular opinion, but you should give more weight (pun intended) to how your body looks and feels than to what number you see on the scale. Try taking pictures monthly while consistently tracking macros and I bet after 6 months, you’ll be able to see some significant body changes.

Meal Planning

One of the hardest parts about counting macros is coming up with good meals and snack ideas that fit your numbers. The best thing you can do is play around with your tracking app and try different combinations to see what works and gets you close to your daily goals.

I try to plan two weeks at a time so I can alternate between them a few times and not have to think about meal planning all the time. To give you some inspiration, here is a sample day of eating based on a goal of 1881 calories (130 grams of protein, 194 grams of carbs, and 65 grams of fat):

Breakfast – Peanut butter chocolate protein shake (416 calories; 46g protein, 36g carbs, 12g fat)

Snack #1 – Chobani low-fat flip Greek yogurt cup (180 calories; 10g protein, 53g carbs, 6g fat)

Lunch – Beef & broccoli stirfry + 2 pieces of lightly buttered garlic toast (596 calories; 34g protein, 62g carbs, 22g fat)

Snack #2 – Hummus + 5 pieces of Naan flatbread dippers (195 calories; 6g protein, 30g carbs, 6g fat)

Dinner – 2 beef tacos (479 calories; 47g protein, 43g carbs, 23g fat)

Additional Resources 

Do a quick Google search for “macros” and you’ll find millions of results, which can be super overwhelming, especially if you’re just getting started. Here are two of my favorite resources to help you get started.

• Macro Friendly Food (MFF) – I’m constantly searching for new recipes only to be disappointed that they are super high in fat or don’t work well with my macro goals. MFF has completely solved this issue for me! You get access to a HUGE database of recipes that are all macro-friendly, plus new recipes are added every month so you’ll never run out of things to try. You can use my code, caffeineandcardio, to get you 10% off your first month.
• Lexus Gordon Coaching – I stumbled upon Lexus’s instagram a few years ago and have been following her ever since. She’s a certified macros coach and offers a TON of resources including a podcast, 1:1 and group coaching services, and personalized macro counts. If you’re someone who struggles with accountability, using a coach can be a great option and I highly recommend her.

There you have it – the basics of counting and tracking macros. I hope you found this post to be helpful as you start your macros journey!