This is my guide to calculating macros based on Martin Berkhan’s Leangains system.
I have been using this with clients since 2011 years. You can see the results that this system produces on my online coaching results page. If you’re looking for an overview of Leangains, see my Leangains Guide.
As with any serious nutrition strategy, these initial calculations are just the start point. The key to your success will be fine-tuning your macros so that you keep progressing. These will come in later guides on the site. For now, I’ve worked to make this guide as simple as possible, without compromising on the efficacy. I’ve given the bare-minimum theory because most people don’t want it when they are first starting.
Below the calculator, I’ll teach you briefly about each of the steps.
^ If the calculator doesn’t load above the first time, please refresh the page. Sorry for the inconvenience.
How To Calculate Your Leangains Macros
Step 1. Calculate your BMR
Think of your basal metabolic rate (BMR) as your ‘coma calories’ — the energy intake you need, should you fall into a coma, to maintain your body weight. There are a variety of formulas, all of which produce a guess at best, so don’t worry about trying to calculate things perfectly because we’ll adjust our intake based on how we progress.
I like the Harris-Benedict formula because it’s just as effective, yet simpler to do.
- Men: BMR = 66 + (6.2 x weight in lbs) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age)
- Women: BMR = 655 + (4.4 x weight in lbs) + (4.6 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age)
For those who use kilograms and centimeters:
- Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age)
- Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age)
Step 2. Find Your TDEE By Adjusting For Activity
You need to add an ‘activity multiplier’ to your BMR depending on your lifestyle/training. This will calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
- Sedentary (little or no exercise) [BMR x 1.15]
- Mostly sedentary (office work), plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.35]
- Lightly active, plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.55]
- Highly active, plus 3–6 days of weight lifting [BMR x 1.75]
Step 3. Adjust Calorie Intake Based On Your Goal
It’s important to choose a goal – fat loss or muscle gain. Yes, I know you want both, and you might be able to achieve that to a degree, but for now, I need you to look at yourself in the mirror and choose what you think is most important right now.
(If you need help with this, have a read of my article: Bulking vs Cutting – The Definitive Guide)
How To Adjust Your Calorie Intake For Fat Loss
I recommend a weight loss rate between 0.5–0.75% of body weight per week.
For busy individuals who can’t afford the lethargy and brain fog, 0.5% seems to be the sweet spot. (I’m basing this on my years of client work.)
As it requires an approximate 3500 kcal deficit to burn 1 lb of fat (7700 kcal per kg), to lose 1 lb of fat per week, you need a 500 kcal daily deficit (1100 kcal for 1 kg).
The calculation to adjust your calorie intake for a fat loss goal is as follows:
Target daily calorie intake (TDCI) = TDEE – (Bodyweight x target weekly fat loss rate x 500*)
*1100 if you use kg
However, our metabolisms adapt to fight a caloric deficit, which means that if we use the calculation above, it will not likely lead to the 0.5% of body weight loss per week we are hoping for. Therefore, I have set the calculator below to use 0.75%.
HOW TO ADJUST YOUR CALORIE INTAKE FOR MUSCLE GAIN
The newer you are to training, the faster the rate you can gain muscle; the more advanced you get, the slower this will happen. Therefore, it is best to set weight gain targets based on your level of training experience. If you ignore this, you’ll either gain too much fat or make slower progress than you could have.
Categorizing training advancement is tricky, but here is my preferred method along with the monthly rates of weight gain I recommend:
- Beginner: 2% (Totally new to training.)
- Novice: 1.5% (Still able to progress most training loads in the gym on a week to week basis.)
- Intermediate: 1% (Able to progress most training loads in the gym on a month to month basis.)
- Advanced: 0.5% (Progress is evident only when viewed over multiple months or a year.)
It takes roughly ~2500 kcal to build 1 lb of muscle and ~3500 kcal to burn or store 1 lb of fat.
As people typically gain fat and muscle in a 1:1 ratio in a bulk phase, and if we assume a 30 day month, this means we need a 100 kcal daily caloric surplus to gain 1 lb of weight per month (~220 kcal for 1 kg).
However, like the additional downward adjustment I made for metabolic adaptation when cutting, I believe we should make an additional upward adjustment when bulking. This is because as we raise calories, some of that calorie increase will be eaten up by NEAT and not result in a caloric surplus. So I’ve set the calculator to add 50% to these numbers.
The calculation to adjust your calorie intake for a weight gain goal is as follows:
Target daily calorie intake (TDCI) = TDEE + (Bodyweight x target monthly gain rate x 150*)
*330 if you use kg
Now that we have our daily calorie intake target, we can calculate our macros.
How To Set Protein Intake
Protein is good. You’ve heard this even if you can’t remember why. Here’s why: It forms the building blocks for muscle, it has a protective effect on muscle tissue when dieting, and it keeps hunger at bay when dieting.
Taking all the research into account, we can come up with the following guidelines for protein intake:
| CUTTING | MAINTENANCE OR BULKING | |
| Protein | 1.0–1.2 g/lb (2.2–2.6 g/kg) of body weight | 0.7–1.0 g/lb (1.6–2.2 g/kg) of body weight |
You’ll notice that the common number between each of these is 1 gram per pound of body weight and for simplicity, this is where I would suggest you set your protein intake regardless of whether you are cutting or bulking.
If you have a lot of fat to lose, the “1 g per pound rule” will set protein intake too high for overweight or obese people. If this is you, I’d suggest you set your protein intake as per your height in the chart below.
You’ll need to adjust the number the calculator spits out at the end. Just swap the protein for carbs.
So, if the calculator gives you 200 g of protein (because you are 200 lbs) but you are 5’6, reduce your protein intake down to 145 g and add 55 g to your carb intake number.
How To Set Fat Intake
I recommend that 20–30% of your calories come from fat when bulking, and 15–25% when cutting. The reason for the lower range when cutting is because of the relatively higher importance of keeping up carbohydrate intake for performance.
The minimum fat intake I recommend is 0.25 g/lb (0.5 g/kg) per day.
How To Set Carb Intake
Carbs should make up the remainder of your calorie budget.
The minimum carb intake I recommend is 0.5 g/lb (1 g/kg) per day.
These bottom-line recommendations aren’t likely to be relevant when you do your initial dietary calculation, but after a few months of dieting when you are considering where to make cuts to your calorie intake, you need to consider them.
Adding Leangains Calorie and Macro Cycling
As mentioned at the start of the article, your training days will have a higher carb and lower fat intake, with a higher calorie intake overall. Your rest days will have a higher fat but lower carb intake, with a lower calorie intake overall. This looks something like as follows:
I have set the calculator to calculate the rest day fat intake 20% higher than the training days. As carbs balance the calorie budget, this means the training days have more carbs than the rest days.
The Leangains Macro Calculator FAQ
Your macro percentage (or macro ratios) will change as you progress with a diet and bulk phase. This is because our energy needs change over time, but protein needs do not. So, if you target specific macro ratios when cutting, you’ll end up under-eating protein, which can cost you muscle mass. This calculator and guide will help you avoid that.
You can eat the same macros on your rest days, but people who follow Leangains have a lower calorie and carb intake on their rest days, with slightly higher fat intake. Select the “calorie and macro cycling” option in the calculator to have this calculated for you.
A lean bulk aims to maximize levels of leanness, while still adding muscle mass. It takes roughly ~2500 kcal to build 1 lb of muscle. So you need an approximate 100 kcal surplus to gain 1 lb of muscle per month. However, your metabolism will adapt, so this number may be higher. I like to use a 150 kcal figure.
How much muscle you can gain each month depends on multiple factors, largely your genetics and how much training experience you have. Here is a rough breakdown of the rate of muscle growth the average person can expect if they do everything right:
• Beginner: 1–1.5% of body weight per month.
• Novice: 0.75–1.25% of body weight per month.
• Intermediate: 0.5–0.75% of body weight per month.
• Advanced: Less than 0.5% of body weight per month.
I’ve written more about this in my guide: How To Bulk Without Getting Fat
It is impossible for me, or anyone else, to tell you if your macros are right. You won’t know until you try them out. This is because your initial calculations are an estimation, a start point from which to adjust based on how you progress, nothing more.
Your actual energy expenditure will vary somewhere between plus or minus ~20% of what you calculate due to genetic differences.
Your metabolism adapts when you are in a calorie surplus or deficit; your calorie target is a moving target, not a static one.
You need to make sure you know how to track your progress in detail so that you have data from which to base fine-tune adjustments to your calculations off of. You then, of course, need to know how to make the adjustments.
Not necessarily, for the reasons mentioned in the previous answer. You are better off tracking how your current set up is doing and then adjusting it if necessary.
Good luck. Thanks for reading. Questions are welcomed in the comments. – Andy
Please keep questions on topic, write clearly, concisely, and don't post diet calculations.
Privacy policy.
Hey Andy, great guide into the leangains system.
I have a separate question if you don’t mind?
I’m looking to get back in the gym when they open here in the UK, and was looking to dial in on my training and nutrition. I know you have free guides on subjects on the site, but I was wondering will The Muscle and Strength Pyramid books help me any more? I’m a somewhat intermediate lifter age 38 and weigh 150 pounds.
My goal is to keep bulking and cutting until I’m satisfied with how I look, I have done bulks and cuts before, but I always go from one extreme to the other.
All the best, stay safe
Hi Chris,
It really depends on where you are at with your current level of knowledge. If you click “Books & Courses” in the menu you’ll see that each of my books has a short description of each, with a link to a longer description. This will help you decide.
Hi Andy! How do I count the amount of oil I use to cook rice and meat? I’m having trouble with that.
Hi Rodrigo,
Pour it into a measuring spoon first before you put it in the pan. Rice will absorb it all. Meat may not. You’ll have to estimate based on what is left. Nutrition calculators will be helpful here. You’ll see I have a few options listed here: How To Count Macros and Make Meals.
Hey Andy,
Current status:
BMR: 1755
Goal: Recomp
Does it matter how i get my macros i mean where i get them from as long as i eat it all in 3 meals?
I am trying to recomp, and do you recomend white or brown rice in your “I typically have clients split this across 2-3 meals:” section.
Is it bad to eat like 11 and end 21?
What is a good carb source?
Hi Jacob, see my response yesterday to your first question.
See this article regarding food choices: How To Count Macros and Make Meals | The Essential Guide.
My Nutrition Setup Guide will clear up the rest of your questions.
Hey Andy,
Does it matter what foods I eat as long as I hit my macro targets in all three meals?
Hi Jacob, thank you for the question.
In the short term, in terms of your physique no. In the medium term, food choice will affect your ability to adhere, and how you feel and perform. In the longer term, poor food choices could be detrimental to your health. For context, have a good read of my nutrition setup guide.
I shouldve probably specified what i ment. What i mean is, what if i ate eggs, chickenbreast, rice bananas and healthy stuff and not the stuff in ur “I typically have clients split this across 2-3 meals:” section.
Basically other healthy foods with the same macros just smaller potions across more meals.
Hey Andy.
As a person who prefers a ‘lower’ protein intake, If I stuck to 0.8g per lb of bodyweight, regardless of bulking or cutting, would this still be just as good as having 1g per lb. I understand that protein can keep you fuller etc, but in terms of muscle building/ muscle retention…
I always count my protein from everything (potato, cereal etc)
I’m curious to know if the studies carried out, actually considered the protein from these sources too. or did they just track animal protein in the studies.
I can easily get 40 – 50 g of protein from these sources alone.
Hi Luke, thank you for the questions.
1. See the daily protein recommendations sketch.
2. Yes, total protein. You don’t need to worry about protein quality unless you have a vegan diet, in which case it might be best to bump up protein intake by ~20%.
WOW. I mean… this has to be THE BEST most informative page on muscle building that I have been to in some time. It is just great. What are your thoughts on supplementation?
Is it all necessary or which ones (or things I do not have listed) do you think are worth spending the money on? I find navigating the supplement industry so daunting. I don’t know what is worth it or which brands or if I should just stick to whole foods and perfecting my macros…
I would greatly appreciate and TRUST any opinions you might have.
Peter Wisdom
Hi Peter, thank you.
Yes to the first two; no to the second two. More here: The Best Supplements For Fat Loss and Muscle Growth
I am wondering. Does the fat all need to be good fats or is there a certain percentage?
Hi Tom, thank you for the question.
Trans fats aside, fat types can’t be easily categorized as good or bad, we benefit from variety. However, we know that diets too high in saturated fats can pose health risks. As a rule of thumb, keep your saturated fat intake to under half of total fat intake.
If it’s too much hassle to count, for now, cook with oils rather than butter and other solid fats. (This is more important when bulking than cutting.) If your doc says something is up at your next annual health check, look more closely.
Don’t be one of these people who puts butter in their coffee or uses coconut oil on everything.
– Do weird things, expect weird outcomes.
Hope that helps.
These resources are great – thank you so much for sharing them Andy! I’ve been counting my macros since October and had two questions:
1) I keep feeling faint/weak in between meals and I often need to grab macros from dinner or delete a snack or delete a small dessert and sub for apples or a rice cake to make it through – do think something might be going on? My macros are spent on healthy foods cooked at home
2) Do you know of any macro meal plans/kits etc. that I can use – I spend the majority of my time cooking, grocery shopping and meal prepping as everything is prepared at home – I’d like more time back in my day but still want to continue with macros
Hi Laura, thank you for the questions.
1) Sounds like your calorie intake may be too low.
2) All my clients cook. Many of those that have used meal prep services have run into issues. (Claimed calories over actual, based on the data and my experience of what should happen.) Focus on creating 6-10 meals that fit your macros and you can rotate through. Work to get more efficient at shopping, cooking, and preparing them. You can batch cook and put things in the fridge or freezer.
Hi Andy, OK – thank you for the information! I appreciate the response.
On #1 I’ve been going up in carbs mostly but my progress has slowed to an increase in 10g carbs per week. The scale is still going down however but how do I increase calories while not adding weight? Or is it just an incremental uptick from the week before pending the scale declines? For reference I now train 5 days per week and lift heavy (for me) for 1 hour to 1 hr and 30 mins per session down from training 7 days per week from October thru the end of January.
On #2 do you have any meal templates? I’d be curious to learn/explore more so I can see what you and others have done and where I can streamline my meals.
Most welcome.
1. The time frame is too short to tell anything. Track your weight each day, average it at the end of the week, then look for a trend line across weeks. Wait a minimum of four weeks. More on that here: How To Track Your Physique Progress
2. These guidelines may be helpful: How To Count Macros and Make Meals
Thank you!
Would you know of any links or impacts from counting macros on thyroid function? (e.g. as I increase my carbs on my way to 400g carbs per day would any ratio impact my thyroid negatively or positively?) Maybe there isn’t a link but just curious and thinking through things.
Hello, I’m a bit new to lifting and am trying to put on as much size as possible while trying to minimize fat gain. I know my BMR and TDEE, but can’t figure out how to calculate my daily caloric intake based off the above article. I believe I should be multiplying my TDEE by 1.5 per my experience, but not 100% sure.
Hi Thomas,
The explanation is in the “How to adjust your calorie intake for muscle gain” section. But I wouldn’t worry about it. Use macro calculator at the top. If that didn’t display the first time, refresh the page and you should see it.
Hi Andy! Great article! Quick question for those who are vegans. How do we make gains not eating meat for protein? I see all your recommended proteins are for meat eaters. As a hard training vegan I’m totally shredded but weighs only 145lb. I need to grow without added animal fat/protein.
Hi Ned, thank you. See here: How To Minimize Performance and Muscle Growth Compromises While Following A Vegan Diet
Is IF a must for losing weight and generally for training? Or i can have normal meals and yet progress like those who fast?
Hi Mehdi, not at all. It’s just a useful tool to make dieting easier. More on this here: A Nutrient Timing Guide To Maximize Fat Loss and Muscle Growth.
Would it be possible to extend the calculator so that you could select extra macro cycling and kcal cycling separately? At the moment you can either choose neither or both. But I would like to do only macro cycling. I’ll do some calculations myself but maybe in the future ?
Hi Rene,
It’s possible but I won’t. — Give people more options and people get decision paralysis.
I see you’ve done the math, which is what I’d suggest as it’s easy to do, but I can’t offer to check it so I deleted your follow up comment. (See comment rules.)
Is it really important that you eat more on training days than on non training days ? I have been using IF 16:8 for years … I strongly suspect that this is the same as ” Leangains system” ? I find it easier to get similar calories every day. The macros I adjust to more carbs on training days and backwards. Does that put me at a disadvantage in your experience? I want to be effective … I have wasted enough time.
Hi Rene, I’ve got it covered here: A Nutrient Timing Guide To Maximize Fat Loss and Muscle Growth
thx
How often should I change the macros?
When necessary to keep progressing. Take a look at the adjustments articles in the nutrition guides menu.
Thank you for this. How often should I weigh myself and recalculate my calories/macros? Thank you
Hi Samantha,
See the progress tracking and diet adjustment articles on the nutrition guides page.
Hi
First, my apologies for my bad English (from Belgium)
When I complete the calculator do I have to fill in the current weight or the goal weight?
When I’m losing weight (I hope so, need to lose 10kg) do I have to update this weight regularly?
Mother 46 years, weightlifting 90min 6 days /week in the morning at 7am.
Due to injuries unable to run or walk long distances anymore.
Any recommendations are welcome 😉
Hi Dana, thank you for the question.
> Current weight.
Any recommendations are welcome 😉
Keep reading. Education is your freedom from the bullshit the majority of my industry will try to sell you.
Your English is perfect. I would have not known you weren’t a native speaker. 🙂
Morning Andy, great article which has helped me understand things better.
Question… can you recommend any training schedules? I’m currently training Mon-Fri weights, 90 min 5 a side football Weds, rest Sat, 4mile run Sunday. 5 days a week trying to gain strength and working each muscle group, but ideally want to train my muscle groups twice per week.
40yrs / 180 / 5’8 / Office Job, although I do work around lots.
My goal is to loose my belly fat, and love handles. Ideally just to look lean, with muscle.
Your help and advice is much appreciated.
Hi Carl, I’d consider the novice or the intermediate bodybuilding programs.
This will help you decide: How to Choose the Right Training Program
Morning Andy,
I’m going to start with your “Intermediate BB Program” with the aim to strip my fat and gain my muscle. Once I have done that I was then going to reverse it and go into a surplus process, the aim to eventually keep everything the same when I get the physique and frame I’m happy with.
Do you think that is a good idea? Do your plans work to support my plan?
Do [these calculations] seem accurate?
[Deleted by Andy]
Thanks in advance. Your advice is much appreciated.
Carl
Hi Carl, thank you for the questions.
1. I’ve covered program choice here How to Choose the Right Training Program. You’ll see there is a section dedicated to advising on program selection when cutting.
2. Whether it’s right for you to cut first and then bulk, or the reverse, I’ve covered here: Should I Bulk vs Cut? The Definitive Guide
3. I deleted your calculations (see the comment rules). You’ll find the way I have the macros set explained in more detail here: How To Set Your Macros for Fat Loss and Muscle Growth. As you asked about macro percentages, I think that’s the wrong way to think about calculations. I have addressed it specifically here: Why The ‘Best Macro Ratio’ Doesn’t Exist
I’m going to start your Novice BB program, then just see how things progress in the next couple of months. I will leave you alone for now ha ha you have been fantastic with your advice, it is very much appreciated. Take Care Andy
Most welcome, Carl. 🙂
How many steps does one get for highly active? 🤛🤛🤛
I don’t know. I haven’t looked at the data estimating step counts and calories.
Mad respect for all the work you’ve put in over the year 👊.
My only question is I get 15k steps in everyday and train 6 days at the gym before COVID 19 what activity does that put me in? Again 🤛
Hi Michael, thank you. I’d try moderately active.
Hey Andy! Really enjoy your website and all your articles. I’m currently trying to lose around 5–7lbs and really lean out. I’m 6’4 and weight about 212 with only ~10% body fat. I’m a professional athlete and work out at least 6 days a week. I know you want to eat a surplus of your TDEE on days you train and a little less on off days but how do I take into account that I only have 1 off day? How do those ratios change compared to working out only 3-4 days? Thanks
Hi Jordan,
As you train 6 days a week and you’re a professional athlete, your energy demands are likely too high to make missing breakfast and eating within an 8-hour window feasible, and there’s no need to cycle your macros. Don’t worry about the ratios, just let the calculator take care of it.
You may also have more nuanced meal timing considerations. Check out the timing section of my nutrition setup guide.