The most common question I get is “how to figure out my macros” I love this question, as it makes me realize hopefully people are breaking away from diets that are advertised as “quick” “skinny” “toning” “detoxing” and realizing that calculating your macronutrients is the best “diet” out there because it doesn’t ruin your metabolism.
When i coach people solely on macronutrients and what to eat, I print them up a grocery list with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, calories, AND macronutrients as something to follow. Obviously I can’t do that over Instagram or text messages and as much as I recommend hiring a coach for this, I put together a 5 step worksheet to get your started on figuring out your own caloric goals, macros, etc.
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To start, there are 5 steps I broke this up into. I recommend taking out a piece of paper if you have 5-10 minutes to spare!
2. Find your BMR
3. Find BMR based on your activity level
4. Find your caloric goal
5. Find your macronutrient goal in %
6. Put it all together to find macro % and calories- I added a sample problem to use for reference!
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QUICK FACTS:
•PROTEIN (meat, tofu, Greek yogurt, etc…) is 4 calories per 1g: this is KEY in nutrition because protein are the building blocks of our bodies whole system.
•CARBS (bread, veggies, fruit, pasta, crackers, oats, etc..) are 4 calories per 1g: what our body turns into glucose, key to energy while working out or doing really anything.
•FATS (avocados, nuts, cheeses, etc…) are 9 calories per 1g: another source of energy, hormone regulation, and absorption of vitamins and minerals
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5 STEPS TO UNDERSTANDING YOUR MACROS BETTER:
1. FIND YOUR BMR. this sounds complicated , but all you need is a calculator!
This is how many calories you need (this is what maintenance is….what your body needs to maintain functions)
•Mifflin St. Jeor calculation, is used by lots of nutritionists and dieticians as a calorie calculator. Here’s how it works
Calculate basal metabolic rate (BMR), or the calories your body burns simply by being alive:
•For men: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5 (kcal / day)
•For women: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) -161 (kcal / day)
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FIND YOUR BMR BASED ON ACTIVITY LEVEL:
The BMR number you just got is multiplied, depending on your activity level.
This is how someone that plays a D1 sport and works 2 jobs differs from someone that may have the same BMR but works at a desk all day and does yoga 2x per week.
These are the levels:
•Sedentary = 1.2 (little to no exercise)
•Lightly active = 1.375 (light exercise/sports 3-5 days a week)
•Moderately active = 1.550 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week) – this is what I use with my 5-6 workouts a week… obviously that chances once I start my 8 hour shifts where I’m always walking.
•Very active = 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week)
•Extra active = 1.9 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week plus a physical job)
So, multiply your BMR by whichever activity level you identify as above.
Once you get that number, this is your BMR BASED ON ACTIVITY LEVEL. So, this is all you need to maintain your weight, and pretty much stay the same.
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3. CALORIES BASED ON WEIGHT LOSS/GAIN/MAINTENANCE
This step has two choices to limit your reading and confusion. Scroll to 3a if you eat way fewer calories than your BMR and still won’t lose weight. Scroll to 3b if you eat around your BMR and are ready to gain, lose weight, or just tone up.
-3a. your goal is to lose weight, you figured out your BMR, and you realized that your daily calories are already hundreds of calories lower than your BMR (if you’re eating only 800-1200 calories per day) and you aren’t losing weight. Guess what? You are not alone! SO many people are eating tiny amounts and are failing to lose weight. This is where you stop and message me to work on a REVERSE DIET. This is a way to speed up your metabolism, before you are able to cut calories. And yes, you can lose weight while reverse dieting, and chances are, you most likely will!
-3b. If your BMR sounds good, and around what you are eating, awesome! This is what you do based on your goals:
•Weight Loss: Reduce by 10-20% or decrease around 200-700 calories SLOWLY. Not all at once!
•Weight Gain: Add 500 calories slowly.
•Maintain: obviously keep it around the same.
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4. WHAT PERCENT OF EACH MACRO SHOULD I HAVE? HOW MUCH PROTEIN? This step is just figuring out what % of each macronutrient will take up your caloric intake. Any active individual, meaning anyone that works out- in my opinion should have .8-1.1g of protein per pound of body weight. Why? Because that helps you gain lean muscle mass, so basically feeding your muscles properly to prevent injury & energy depletion.
So, macro calculations take trial and error. But, I do have some recommendations. I am no expert, but I do have some personal experience with toying around with macros.
My recommendations:
•Weight loss: 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat (this is how I lost weight with or without lifting)
•Lean bulk: 40% carbs 35% protein 25% fat (this is what I am doing now, as I am gaining lean muscle mass but losing fat)
•maintenance: maybe try 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat with your BMR.
•weight gain: 40% carbs 30% protein, 30% fat + slowly increase 500 more calories than your BMR
•it will take a few weeks to months to really find what works for you, but no matter what, always have around that .8- 1.1g of protein per pound of body weight and you cannot go wrong.
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5. HOW TO FIND MACRONUTRIENTS WITHIN YOUR CALORIC GOAL, THE FINAL ANSWER:
Like I said in the quick facts section-
For every gram of protein and carbohydrate, your body is provided with 4 calories of energy. Fat provides 9 calories per gram.
To work out how many grams of each you need, you multiply your % by your daily calories.
Example: So if it’s 40% protein, 40% carbs 20% fat, and your caloric goal is 1800:
•multiply 1800x 0.4 (protein)
•multiply 1800x 0.4 (carbs)
•multiply 1800x 0.2 (fat)
protein and carbohydrate figures are then divided by 4 and the fat figure by 9.
So, 1800x.4 = 720 / 4 calories = 180g protein
180g carbs
1800x .2 = 360 / 9 calories = 40g
Example macros: 180g protein, 180g carbs, 40g fat, 1800 calories
And there ya go, that is how you do the basics of macronutrient calculations.
The best thing to do is do your research, hire a coach, and save both time and money on someone that knows what they are doing and can personalize your plan. But, these are the basics you can build from while you are growing your healthier grocery list!
Growing Healthies 
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