#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. You can read the introduction (which gives important context) and download the full PDF version of the nutrition setup guide 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, it has to be consumed. Dietary fat is necessary for regular hormonal function. You should never attempt to eliminate it from a diet.
Carbohydrates fuel performance, and also have positive impacts on hormonal function. They replace muscle glycogen, which is the primary and preferred fuel source of our muscles, fueling us through our workouts.
Strength training is the single most important thing we can do to prevent muscle mass losses when dieting. A lot of people find it isn’t possible to maintain training quality when restricting carbs severely.
Therefore, the fat and carb recommendations reflect the balance point between the two.
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 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 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. Questions welcomed in the comments.
– Andy
Please keep questions on topic, write clearly, concisely, and don't post diet calculations.
Privacy policy.
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.
Hi Andy how is this possible example you give possible? REST DAY MACROS: 180 g PROTEIN, 104 g FAT, 41 g CARBS . How can you eat that much protein and fat without going over 41gr of carbs. I mean the fat alone will yield over 40grams of carbs
Basically, the guy isn’t eating any starchy carbs. Those he does get are primarily from vegetables.
I’d have to disagree about the cutting macros. I got the best results at 65% carb, 22% protein, 13% fat. I tried other ratios not as high in carb and never lost much body fat(on the caliper measure). eating less than 65% carb destroys metabolism. stop being a masked advertiser for protein powder, all that >0.9g/lb LBM(for natty’s on a cut) does is get converted into carbs and are not as good a source of energy or recovery as Starch that originated as starch.
Hi Jack,
Macro Ratios
Metabolism is adaptive. Calorie needs increase over time when bulking, and decrease over time when cutting.
• When cutting it isn’t prudent to decrease the calorie intake by reducing all macronutrients equally, because protein intake is best set according to lean body mass due to the muscle preserving properties when dieting.
• When bulking it is neither cost-effective (protein is expensive), nor optimal (fat storage is more likely with higher fat intakes), to increase equally either.
There is a broad scope for personal preference between fat and carbohydrate intake to make up the remainder of the calorie balance for most people, outside of specific situations. But for most serious trainees, once fat intake (tolerance/preference) has been established, carbohydrate increases and decreases will be used as the prime energy balance manipulator.
Macro ratios are therefore a function of the stage of dieting, not something specifically to target.
I’ve written an article on this here.
Protein Needs
As for protein needs, the above recommendations are for lean body mass. If total body weight, I’d recommend the 1.0–1.2 g/lb range when cutting. This is based on this narrative review of the scientific literature.
I’m no fan of supplement companies as you can see from the introduction on the site homepage: “For the majority of my 20s, I was brainwashed by the pseudo-scientific bullshit that defines the fitness industry. These frauds fed my insecurities, which cost me a lot of money and wasted time.”
For my lean bulk I’m going to start off with 200 calories above my maintenance. How will I know when my body has adapted to that amount. I dont have a scale. Once my body adapts to that amount do I increase the bulk if I want more gains? And/or cut once I’m done?
Hi Mercedes,
Buy a scale and start tracking your progress as per my guide here, have a read of How to Find Maintenance Calorie Intake After Dieting and How to Adjust Your Diet to Successfully Bulk Without Getting Fat.
Thank you very much for the responce!!
Most welcome.
Great Guide – thank you for writing it. I am Diabetic and so Carbohydrates aren’t the friendliest nutrient for me.
Can I reduce carbs and increase protein instead?
Thanks
This is a question for your doctor.
Hello!
So when inputing say a glass of wine at 150 cals into your carb macros, do you recommend people divide the cals by 4 then deduct from daily carb total or just deduct straight calories?
Hi Ivana. Yes, 1 g of carbs contains 4 kcal.
Couldn’t help but laugh at your Glasgow comment about the ‘Drinking’ – despite living there.
Cheers! 😉
Hi Andy,
I’m on a budget, and where I live, soy chunks are 3 times as cheap as eggs and about 10 times as cheap as protein powder(in terms of grams of protein/unit currency). Why don’t I see this revelation anywhere online? Is it likely to be bad for me if I make soy chunks my primary source of protein?
And your website is second to none. You’re a precise writer, a clear thinker and a great researcher.
Hi Ajgar, thank you for the question.
Soy is a lower quality protein than animal protein (the amino acid profile is less complete). You can include it in your diet, but don’t make it the main source as all the building blocks won’t be there.
Hi,
Im a female aged 19 weighing about 63.5 kg. When i calculated my macros i got 116g of protein, 51g of fat and 74 grams of carbs… i am lightly active (workout 2-3 times a week)
Is the fat content suppose to be that high?
Thanks, Rachel
Hi Rachel. Doesn’t seem high to me, but please see the FAQ, third item.
Hi Andy,
Into my 2nd month and as I progress additional questions come up that maybe aren’t critical (given the diminishing returns moving up the nutritional pyramid). Nonetheless I want to get the most out of every aspect i can correctly (or most optimally). So you’ll see my comments in the various sections at once today (not to spam, but to keep the content relevant).My questions for this section are:
1. You advise getting at least 50% of daily protein from real food as opposed to powder. Is this just for the sake of satiety, or does real food provide some other benefit beyond this? I only ask because sometimes its easier for me to get most of my protein from a powder on a particular day (without feeling hungry), but i would avoid doing this is there is a real cost (besides satiety).
2. Your guidelines for fiber are min 25g (for men), but maximum 20% of your carbs. With my carb intake at 100g, do i go no more than 20g to avoid going over the maximum? or 25 to make sure I get my minimum? There is a conflict here, so some clarification would be appreciated
As always thanks for all your help.
ciao
Toby, thanks for the questions.
1. Yes.
2. Go with the minimum. The maximum applies to when we’re bulking and the carb numbers get high.
Hi Andy,
To clarify: Yes means that yes this is just for the sake of satiety, therefore all protein from powder is no problem if it occurs?
Hi Andy,
First up sorry if my question is retarded, but i am completely new to all this.
Ive been reading up on your guide and trying to build a meal plan to go with the start of training next week, and i am not clear on one thing in particular.
According to the calculator on your site i need to be inhaling 161g of protein per day.
Now my initial assumption was that i just need to eat a 161 g steak, but looking at nutritional tables on the net, it says that there is roughly 27 g of protein per 100g of steak… does that mean that i need to be eating 592 g of physical steak to get my fix?
That is a buttload of meat, that i am not sure if i can realistically eat without drowning in it…
If this is the case, does the same hold true for the amount of the other macros?
Anyway, again sorry if this is a stupid question, but i hope you can find the time to let me know.
Thanks in advance for your help
regards
toby
That’s right. You can of course get your protein from other sources. I have a guide to counting here that you might find useful:
• How To Count Macros – A More Flexible Approach
Question in regards to protein intake. If someone diets from 200lbs with a consistent 200g/day protein intake, and diets to 155lbs to begin a lean gaining phase, is it important to maintain that 200g/day protein intake. Or should the intake be scaled back to about 150-160g/day in favor or calories towards carbs?
Hi Colin. It’s probably worth dropping it down, yes.
Hi Andy,
Not sure if I need to amend the calculations.
[Deleted by Andy. Reason at end of article.]
That looks really low for the carbs on the rest days. Is this just how it plays out & is expected? Or have a made a mistake? Or do you mediated this, based on experience, as I just fall on a “border” where my values do not work out as well?
Many thanks,
Terry
Hi Terry, please see the second answer in the FAQ.
Hi Andy.
Thanks for the prompt reply and apologies for not picking up on the FAQ comment. I actually spent a few hours last night looking through all 17 pages of posts, looking for that type of answer (check the logs ;)).
Again thanks for the great content. One thing I struggled with was food suggestions to fit into my macros and the “https://rippedbody.com/resources-where-to-find-the-best-nutrition-and-training-information-on-the-web/” post sorted that with the food nutrient database link 🙂
Best regards,
Terry
Perfect! 🙂
Thank you, it is a medical reason why my protein is restricted. But the problem I am having is I don’t know what the Carbs and Fats should be at. If its better to have lower carbs or higher carbs. I know my protein will sit right around 20% but i am not sure what the carbs and fats should look like to jumpstart the weight loss again. I have been told that a 50Carbs and 30 Fats, then I am told 45% Carbs and 35 Fat. The 45/35 I seemed to be maintaining on, even though my calories were where they should be, at a deficit. The 50/30 I have been gaining the last 3 weeks about a pound a week, even though I am still eating at a deficit.
The calories are what affect your fat loss or gain, not the calorie/fat ratio. So please forget completely about the idea that you may have been eating the wrong ratio and thus be gaining fat.
There are two possibilities: 1. Your calorie intake it too high, due to miscalculation or miscounting (Note: I haven’t looked at your specific calorie figures, that’s not what I do in the comments.) 2. Temporary fluctuations in water balance due to your monthly cycle, stress, or fluctuations in carb & possibly salt intake.
1. Double check that you’re counting things right.
2. Make sure you’re gauging progress over a 4 week period. This is explained in the, How To Track Your Progress guide.
Good luck.
I am so confused from the calculations my brain is going to explode. I have been trying to figure this out, and I have a wrench I have to throw in. My biggest problem is that I have a protein restriction of 70-75g per day MAX from all sources. This was given to me by my doctor and I cannot go over it or I may suffer a reaction. With that being said, I need help in calculating the correct amount of calories and macros. I have been trying to do this and am just mentally exhausted from trying. Its extremely confusing with the converting and I don’t know if its right or what I am doing. I can give you my info….
[Paragraph deleted by Andy.]
Hi Barbara. Here’s the deal – sustain a calorie deficit over the long term and you’ll lose weight. You’ve calculated calories in the previous section, so all we need to do now is to fill that calorie budget with protein, fats and carbs.
If you’re restricted due in how much protein intake you can consume for medical reasons, then just make up the rest of the calories in your budget from fats an carbs in a way that makes you happy and thus your diet a sustainable one.
Andy, as usual, you’ve done a great job with both this section and the Complete Guide. THANK YOU.
I have a protein macro question for you.
In the above section you mention that protein levels are as follows:
1. Cutting is between 1.1 to 1.4 grams per pound of body weight
2. Bulking is between 0.8 to 1 grams per pound of body weight
Going back to the original source, Leangains, protein is put out at a higher number for two specific reasons — keeping people satiated and the higher thermic effects of protein.
My question is this.
I feel more satiated from carbs and fats compared to protein.
If I were to use the 0.82 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight when I’m either cutting OR doing a Leangain bulk, in your experience, is there a reason why I shouldn’t be doing this, given my body preferences.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Jef, thanks for the question.
I wouldn’t do it by bodyweight but by lean body mass, that’s what those figures represent. If that’s what you mean to say, then yes for the bulk (it falls within the recommended range) and no for the cut (as it does not fall within the recommended range). Preference has it’s place, within those guidelines.