#1 Calories, #2 Macros, #3 Micros, #4 Nutrient Timing, #5 Supplements
This is the second chapter in my five-part guide on nutrition for fat loss and muscle growth. Join 100,000 people and download the full PDF version here.
When people refer to their macros, they are talking about the three macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
Calorie intake determines whether weight is gained or lost. The macronutrient content of those calories has a significant effect on:
- Whether that change is fat or muscle mass,
- How you feel and perform, and
- How easy your nutrition plan is to stick to.
Protein helps with muscle repair, muscle maintenance, and muscle growth. Recommendations will be based on body weight and slightly higher when in a cutting phase.
Think of carbohydrates and fats as the main fuels of the body. They will make up the remainder of your calorie intake.
Here are the sections of this chapter:
- Protein Intake Guidelines
- Fat and Carbohydrate Intake Guidelines
- Example Macro Calculations
- How To Factor In Alcohol
PROTEIN INTAKE GUIDELINES
There are 4 calories per gram of protein.
Why Is protein important?
Protein provides the building blocks for muscle mass. Protein helps us to recover and grow from our training, helps preserve muscle when dieting, and has the highest effect on satiety of all the macronutrients.
Protein is therefore very good stuff. However, more does not mean better.
How much protein should We consume?
We want to eat enough protein so that we cover the muscle growth and preservation benefits, without being so high that it becomes limiting to food choice.
Past a certain point, higher protein intakes can limit our performance because they reduce the number of carbs we can eat while keeping to our calorie budget. (The most important macronutrient for performance is carbohydrate.)
This is of particular concern when dieting because maintaining training quality is the single most important thing we can do to signal to our bodies to hang on to muscle mass.
Protein needs are slightly higher when cutting. This is because as the glycogen and fat stores in your body decrease, the body is forced to rely more on protein as an energy source. Your body can break down both dietary protein and muscle protein to do this, so setting protein intake higher can help limit this.
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.
People get upset with that recommendation, so I created the following sketch to illustrate why I don’t believe it makes a big difference. You’re free to set your protein intake higher, though.
A Caveat On Setting Protein Intake for Those With A Lot Of Fat To Lose
While a good heuristic for many, the “1 g per pound rule” will set protein intake too high for overweight or obese people. I’d suggest you set your protein intake as per your height in the chart below.
So, if you’re 260 lbs and 6’0, instead of consuming ~260 g of protein as I have in the calculator, consume 180 g and swap the 80 g remaining for carbs to maintain the calorie balance. This will be better for satiety, diet variety, and training quality.
Some people may argue that this protein figure is a little too low to be protective of muscle mass when dieting, but I disagree.
Having a lot of fat mass is protective of muscle mass. This makes sense when you think about it from a survival perspective. When the body has to choose between releasing fatty acids or breaking down muscle into amino acids for fuel, the smarter decision for survival is to burn off fat when there is an abundance of it. Therefore, protein needs are likely a bit lower for the 260 lb guy with 160 lbs of muscle mass vs. the 200 lb guy with 160 lbs of muscle mass.
Protein Powder or Real Food?
Protein powders are a useful tool to make hitting protein targets affordable, and highly convenient.
However, getting your protein intake from real food is always going to be more filling. By that, I mean mainly through meat, fish, eggs, and dairy consumption. When we diet, hunger is our enemy. So it’s best to prioritize real food.
On the flip side, when bulking it can be tough, physically, to get in enough food without feeling sick or bloated. In this situation, calorie-dense foods or liquid meals, like protein shakes, can be your friend.
Alright, now with protein intake set, it’s time to decide where the rest of the calorie intake will come from.
Fat & Carbohydrate Intake Guidelines
There are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate, 9 calories per gram of fat.
There is scope for personal preference in how you split the remainder of your calorie budget between the carb and fat intake, but all the possible ways you can split it are not equal for performance, muscle maintenance, and growth.
Why Are Fats and Carbs Important?
Fat is an essential nutrient. This means your body cannot make it; we have to eat it. Dietary fat is necessary for regular hormonal function, gallstone prevention, and fat-soluble vitamin absorption, among other things. Attempting to eliminate fat from your diet is a bad idea.
Carbohydrates are not essential nutrients, but they fuel performance and have positive impacts on hormonal function. They replace muscle glycogen, the primary and preferred fuel source of our muscles, fueling our workouts.
If you restrict carbs too severely, it may cost you your muscle mass, but if you restrict fats too severely, it will cost you your health. Therefore, fat recommendations take priority, with carb intake filling the rest of our calorie budget.
How much fat should we consume?
I recommend that 20–30% of your calories come from fat when bulking and 15–25% when cutting. The lower range when cutting is because of the relatively higher importance of keeping up carbohydrate intake for performance to prevent muscle loss.
The minimum fat intake I recommend is 0.25 g/lb (0.5 g/kg) per day. This should easily cover your physiological needs. (You likely go lower than this if you supplement with omega-3 fatty acids high in EPA and DHA content, but most people will find a diet so low in fat bland and difficult to maintain.
Some people find higher-fat diets easier to stick to. You may be one of these people. Training performance, rather than food preference, should dictate the limit if physique goals are your priority.
Don’t Eat Too Much Saturated Animal Fat
However, there is an important health caveat to all of this.
Research shows low saturated animal fat intakes are key to minimizing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.
Aim to keep your saturated fat intake to less than 10% of your total calorie intake to minimize it.
I mention this because you will see catchy soundbites from certain dark corners of the fitness influencer space recommending diets very high in animal fat. And although having bacon and sausages for breakfast each morning would be heavenly, even if I could make it fit my macros, I don’t, because I don’t want to drop dead in 20 years from the build-up of plaque in my arteries.
CVD and CHD are the leading causes of death in the developed world, it pays to be prudent.
If your calorie budget is 1800 kcal daily, 10% of this is 20 g. (If 2700 kcal, 30 g, which is a more likely scenario when you have finished dieting.) This isn’t a rule that can never be broken, but days you blow through this should be the exception rather than the rule.
How Many Carbs Should We Consume?
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.
In summary, my recommendations for fat and carb intake are as follows:
| CUTTING | BULKING & MAINTENANCE | DAILY MINIMUM | |
| Fat | 15–25% calories | 20–30% calories | 0.25 g/lb (~0.5 g/kg) |
| Carbs | – the rest – | – the rest – | 0.5 g/lb (~1 g/kg) |
Example Macro Calculations
I’ll round the macro results for each person to the nearest 5 for simplicity.
Fat Freddie’s MACRO Calculation
Freddie’s target daily calorie intake is 1824 kcal. He weighs 180 lbs, so he is overweight but not obese. Therefore, he’ll set his protein intake at 180 g, which is 720 kcal.
He doesn’t have any particular preference for high or low fat intake, so he’ll choose to consume 20% of his calories from fat. This is 365 kcal, which is 41 g.
The calories remaining for carbs are 740 kcal, which is 185 g.
Shredded Sam’s MACRO Calculation
Sam’s target daily calorie intake is 3107 kcal. He weighs 175 lbs so he’ll set his protein intake at 175 g, which is 700 kcal.
He likes to have a fat intake on the higher side, so he’ll choose to consume 30% of his calories from fat. This is 932 kcal, which is 104 g.
The calories remaining for carbs are 1475 kcal, which is 370 g.
Thicc Thelma’s MACRO Calculation
Thelma’s target daily calorie intake is 1397 kcal. She weighs 190 lbs and at 5’4 is obese, so she’ll use the height chart to set her protein intake at 130 g, which is 520 kcal.
Thelma chooses to consume 25% of her calories from fat, which is 349 kcal, which is 39 g.
The calories remaining for carbs are 510 kcal, which is 127.5 g of carbs.
Noobie Natalie’s Macro Calculation
Natalie’s target daily calorie intake is 2254 kcal. She weighs 135 lbs so she’ll set her protein intake at 135 g, which is 540 kcal.
Natalie loves carbs, so she’ll choose to consume the lower threshold of recommended fat intake, 20%. This is 451 kcal, which is 50 g.
The calories remaining for carbs are 1263 kcal, which is 315 g.
How To Factor In Alcohol
Why Is Alcohol Important?
Alcohol makes dull people interesting, masks social insecurity, and makes us forget the midnight kebabs. Technically, alcohol is a macronutrient, but not an essential one (unless you are from Glasgow).
How much alcohol should we consume?
Preferably none.
- It will impact your sleep quality, which will impact hunger, mood, and your ability to train and recover.
- It will impact your growth response.
- If not accounted for in your calorie budget, it will eat into your calorie deficit when dieting, and cause you to store an unnecessary amount of fat when bulking.
- If accounted for in your calorie budget by reducing the other macronutrients, it will steal away your ability to recover.
The dose makes the poison in all cases.
I have known many people over the years who have an alcohol habit that was the sole cause of their lack of progress and it doesn’t have to be extreme.
If you’re shooting for 1 lb of fat loss per week, you need a 500 kcal deficit (550 kcal for 0.5 kg).
Let’s say you keep your diet on point, but are in the habit of drinking two large whiskeys (~250 kcal), two pints of beer (~300 kcal), or two large glasses of wine (~400 kcal), to “wind down” with your partner or friends every evening… BAM, you’ve just erased 50–80% of your efforts.
If you want to go out but feel awkward, consider ordering zero-alcohol, zero-calorie beers. They look the part, don’t taste as terrible as you’d imagine, and this small psychological trick you pull on yourself could be helpful.
SUMMARY OF MACRO GUIDELINES
| CUTTING | BULKING & MAINTENANCE | DAILY MINIMUM | |
| Protein | 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg) | 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg) | 0.7 g/lb (1.6 g/kg) bulking 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg) cutting |
| Fat | 15–25% calories | 20-30% calories | 0.25 g/lb (~0.5 g/kg) |
| Alcohol | Preferably none. | Preferably none. | – |
| Carbs | – the rest – | – the rest – | 0.5 g/lb (~1 g/kg) |
Thank you for reading. Got a question? Hit me up in the comments.
– Andy
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I’m currently 236lbs looking to loose weight and gain muscle , wondering what my macros and calories should be for the day! I’d like to loose 1-2lbs a week. I gym 5-6 times a week, very active
Hi Tamara, check out the calorie and macro calculator.
If during a cut you go way over you fat allowance for a day but get the right amount of protein- would staying way under your carb max help make up for fat overage?
Yes. Calorie balance is the most important thing. This is represented in the pyramid image by “Calories” being the foundational layer.
Hi Andy!
I’m 30 yrs old, 5’6″ female weighing 220 lbs.
I’ve been lifting for several years, and I haven’t lost any weight but I’ve gained a ton of strength. My current 1RMs are 340 deadlift, 315 back squat, and 145 bench.
I’d love to weigh 180 lbs, so you could actually see my muscles, but concerned about muscle/ strength loss. If I use the cutting guide above, is this something I need worry about?
Hi Elizabeth,
Mass moves mass, so you may lose a little strength on your way toward 180 pounds, yes.
Hi Andy, is Protein per day, over 24 hours? I ask as my meals vary due to different shift patterns.
Hi Baljit,
Yes. But it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Just dropping in to say I’ve read a lot on these subjects and have to say Andy, your stuff is freaking awesome. Subscribed with bells on (and bought the e-book). Also fantastic you still bother to check and reply to comments. I’m sure I’ll have questions – I stumbled on your work because I was in the ‘final cut’ stage and plateaued hard – so I’ll do a diet break and see what I need afterwards. Love your work my man!
Thank you, Jon! Happy to hear it. Let me know if/when questions arise and I’m happy to help.
First time ever seeing such a clarity in macro management, thank you very much!
Most welcome, Shukhrat. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Thank YOU for making such a great content
Hi
I just started a cut. I’m pretty lean already but wanted to have more definition and tone and lower body fat percentage. I have been considering to take Creatine for a while now . Will taking Creatine while starting a cut help to prevent muscle loss? Is it a good idea to start Creatine for the first time on a cut anyway? I’m a women if that matters.
Hi Parvaneh,
It’s fine to take creatine at any time. If you train hard, lose weight at a sensible weight, and eat a sufficient protein intake, you need not worry about muscle loss regardless of whether you take creatine.
Here’s where I’ve explained all about creatine.
Hi again Andy. I am about to finish my diet break. This weekend and am setting my macros for my cut. I have PCOS and much of the research I have seen suggests that PCOS women should break up their macros much differently since it’s not advised to have a lot of carbs due to insulin sensitivities.
What is your experience in working with PCOS clients?
Hi Rachel, I’m sorry, I only work with men, have no experience, and don’t know anything about it.
Hello Andy, I’m a little confused to what I do if I hit a brick wall.
If my kcal is 1,525 for the first 4 weeks, I’m now training 4 days a week however, I have an office job (seated job) how would I calculate my kcal now? I’m seated most of the time and I now train 4 days after work.
Thanks
Hi Andre,
It sounds like you’re talking about two different things.
1. In my situation, what activity multiplier would you recommend when using your calorie and macro calculator?
2. What should I do if weight loss stalls?
For the first, the answer is “Mostly sedentary (office work), plus 3-6 days of weight lifting.” However, as I say in point 13 on that page, if you have already calculated your calorie intake, don’t re-calculate, adjust as necessary based on the outcome.
This brings us to the latter question, which is covered here: How To Adjust Calories and Macros as you Diet To Keep Progressing
Brilliant Andy, thank you!
Most welcome.
Also, I see you applied for coaching a few days ago. Please check your spam folder if you did not see my email.
Help – brain fog – I am trying to shred and confused to work out my proportions/%- fat/ carbs/protein – 140lbs 5ft5 – would like to shift another 5-7lbs – any ideas
Many thanks
You can try increasing carbs and decreasing fat intake (while keeping total calorie intake the same), or vice versa. But you may need to up your calorie intake by a couple hundred calories or take a diet break. https://rippedbody.com/diet-break
I weigh 133lbs, 59 yr old female, lift weights in gym class & walk dogs daily (get my steps in). Trying to loose 8lbs but having hard time fine tuning macros. Prefer low carb and not keto. Advice?
Sure, covered here, Anne: https://rippedbody.com/how-to-adjust-macros/
Wonderful explanations. Thank you! How do you figure out the number of calories in total? I’m 62 years old, 5’4”. I weigh 130 but my ideal weight is 122. I work out (modified CrossFit training) 3-4 times per week.
Hi Suzy, thank you. See the calorie and macro calculator: https://rippedbody.com/macro-calculator/
Hi, great article, thanks. Ive been experimenting with a macro app, Im 48, 204 1bs 6f 1 inch, based on your calc i make my TDEE – 15% circa 2000cal with my target protein 204g/816 cals, net carbs 125g/500 cals and fat 55.6g/500 cals. Does that sound about right? Im working a 3 day split, chest and tris, back and bis, and legs.
Hi Ian, the first item in the FAQ or the notes on my Macro Calculator will be helpful though.
Hi Andy,
I have been looking at the protein intake for people that are overweight.
My question is when would you revert them back to scale weight if some one’s body fat is over 20 %
Hi William, hard to draw a line. If in doubt, set protein intake based on either height (as above) or eventual target body weight.
Good day Andy,
When im trying to sort my macros out they always seem to go over i dont know if that is because of the fibre in take is a bit higher than i need or its because of the poly and monounsaturated fats.
my question is do i count the fibre with my carbs ? also do i count the poly and monounsaturated fats with my fat numbers because on the app it says ive gone over but then on the over count i haven’t.
i hope you understand the questions im asking
Yes, I recommend you count fiber and I recommend you count all fats.
I think that by your daily minimum fat of 0.25g/lb. you should have Fat Freddie cut at 45g of fat.
Yes, well spotted, Brent. Thank you!
If you notice anything else like that please don’t hesitate to let me know.
I am Thelma, weight/height match. Calculate BMR at 1454, but your calories per day are 1397. I thought I wasn’t supposed to go below the BMR calories per day? Also, for averaging out macros, do you normally suggest a week view at a time before making changes?
Hi Rita, thank you for the questions.
The reason for the difference is that age is part of the calculation. (I don’t recall what specific age I set for Thelma, but the BMR is set to decrease as we age.)
I thought I wasn’t supposed to go below the BMR calories per day?
– No, this is a misconception. It depends entirely on activity levels. Those with low activity levels may find their target intake comes under this number.
Also, for averaging out macros, do you normally suggest a week view at a time before making changes?
– No. I recommend you look over four weeks at the minimum, or you won’t be able to tell what is progress vs. regular weight fluctuations. More on this here: How To Track Your Physique Progress
Hi Andy,
Is increasing energy expenditure more preferrable than reducing calories (e.g. increase cardio raher than reduce calories)?
Thanks in advance
Hi David,
No, generally the opposite. More on this in the calorie chapter: How To Set Your Calorie Intake For Fat Loss And Muscle Growth
Hey Andy,
I have been struggling to meet my recommend fat intake of 62 g a day (I am bulking). I rarely make it past 35. How important is fat to muscle growth? What are some fatty foods I can eat without sacrificing my satiety in exchange for higher calorie foods?
Hi Andy, “issue” with a client, female
33 yrs, lot of fat to lose at 63kg, after 8 weeks ( 3 of tracking macros at 1300 ), still don’t lose weight and no great chance in measurements, do you go under 1200-1300 kcal or is too low?
Hi Christian,
See my answer to Ed Sanchez here.