How To Figure Out Macros For Your Goals

Since starting to count macros regularly, it’s one of the questions I am asked most about on Instagram. And I totally get why. Up until 6 weeks ago, I had no idea what I was doing with them either. I kept seeing people on Instagram talk about doing a “cut” and in that search (which literally involved me googling “what is a cut”) I came across what it means (cutting body fat) and how to figure out my macros for my goals.

After 5 weeks of tracking regularly, I am excited with the results along with my PWR workouts so I understand why people track them. But I also understand why they are so hard to figure out in the first place! The hard part is that it is not one size fits all and this is why you’ll probably have gotten a vague answer or response if you’ve asked anyone before.

How To Figure Out Macros For Your Goals

First, I am no professional and I’m still figuring out this whole macro thing myself! I finally understand how macros are a part of certain goals and its really helped with me with mine. (This is your disclaimer to speak with a health care or nutrition professional before making any changes to your diet.)

I used this site to figure out my macros and in an effort to make this as easy as possible for you, I am breaking down the steps I took below.

Step One: Figure out what your goal is: Lose Fat, Maintain Weight, or Get Toned.

Get Toned: Carbohydrate 40% – Protein 40% – Fat 20%
Maintain Weight: Carbohydrate 35% – Protein 35% – Fat 30%
Lose Fat: Carbohydrate 30% – Protein 40% – Fat 30%

Step Two: Figure out what your caloric target should be each day. I used this calculator.

Step Three: Break down the micronutrient count for your goal into target grams per day.

Break out your phone calculator for this one. Let’s say your daily calorie goal is 2000. Taking the percentages above for the goal, calculate the corresponding percentages to get your grams per day.

• 1 gram of fat is 9 calories
• 1 gram of protein is 4 calories
• 1 gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories

We’ll use Get Toned for this example:

40% carbohydrates = 2000 x 0.4 / 4 = 200 grams
40% protein = 2000 x 0.4 / 4 = 200 grams
20% fat = 2000 x 0.2 / 9 = 44.4 grams

Step Four: Once you’ve figured out what your macros should be, you’re good to go! I use the free myfitnesspal app to track mine everyday. They have a paid version but once you have figured all this out on your own, you can easily use the free version. I find it easiest to input everything I plan to eat that day, in the morning, and then adjust as the day goes.

Daily Tracking

To set up the free version of MyFitnessPal to work for you: Go to ‘More’ and select ‘Goals’. Under ‘Nutrition Goals’, select the ‘calorie & micronutrient goals’. Enter your calorie goal and then set the percentage bars for each macro! Done and Done! It is good to know what your target grams are, I keep mine saved in a note on my phone since its a little hard to see on the app daily.

For a little more in depth info on figuring out your macros, check out this site which is what I used to figure out mine.

Comment below to let me know how it goes and if you have any other questions on macros!