Macros: How Much Protein, Carbs, & Fat to Eat
If you want to optimize your diet for muscle building and fat burning, you need to set goals for how much protein, carbs, and fat to eat each day. These are called macronutrients (“macros”).
Before you decide how to split up your macronutrients, you’ll need to have a goal in mind for how many calories you’re going to eat every day. Check out my blog post “How Many Calories Should You Eat?” for step-by-step guidance in setting your daily calorie goal:
Once you have your calorie goal set, then you’ll need to determine how many of your daily calories will come from protein, carbohydrates, and fats. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recommends:
between 10% and 35% daily calories from protein
between 45% and 65% daily calories from carbohydrates
between 20% and 35% daily calories from dietary fat [1]
When deciding what percentage of your daily calories will come from each macronutrient, I recommend setting your protein goal first.
Protein is both a source of energy for your body and also a building block for your body tissues (like muscle). Eating a high-protein diet is important not only for building muscle but also for keeping your metabolism boosted when you are in a fat loss phase.
Lean cuts of meat & poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products, fish, and beans are all good sources of protein.
I personally recommend eating on the higher end of the recommended range of daily calories coming from protein, between 20% and 35% daily calories. Keep in mind that nutrition labels list protein, carbohydrates, and fats according the number of grams are in the food, rather than by the amount of calories come from the three macronutrients. So after you decide on what percentage of your daily calories will come from protein, you’ll need to do some math to figure out how many grams to aim for. Each gram of protein is about 4 calories. So once you have calculated how many of your daily calories will come from protein—divide that number by 4 to see how many grams of protein you should eat every day.
You can also base your protein intake goal according to your body weight (between 1.3 and 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, or 0.5 - 1 gram per pound of bodyweight). [2, 3]
Good sources of protein include lean cuts of meat & poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products (like Greek yogurt & cottage cheese), fish, and beans (like soy and black beans). Prioritize lean sources of protein in your diet—meaning the foods you eat are high in protein but low in saturated fats (more on saturated fats below).
Once you have determined how many grams of protein you’ll shoot for each day, you’ll need to divide your remaining daily calorie goal between carbohydrates and fats.
Carbohydrates are the preferred source of fuel for our bodies. This macronutrient is essentially sugar, and is stored in our muscles as glycogen and in the blood stream as glucose. Our bodies use glycogen and glucose as fuel for our muscles during our workouts and as energy during everyday life.
A higher carbohydrate intake is recommended for people who are very active or who do a lot of cardio (that is, more than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise per week). You can base your carbohydrate goal on percentage of daily calories (closer to 65% of daily calories) or on body weight (5-7 grams per kilogram or 11-15 grams per pound per day for a moderate exerciser, and up to 8-12 grams per kilogram or 17-26 grams per day for a very heavy exerciser). [4]
The majority of your carbohydrates should come from nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) previously recommended that people with diabetes get around 45% of their calories from carbs. However now they recommend a more individualized approach according to dietary preferences and metabolic goals. Current recommendatiosn state that “there is no single ideal dietary distribution of calories among carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for people with diabetes; therefore, meal plans should be individualized while keeping total calorie and metabolic goals in mind.” Carbohydrate intake for people with diabetes should emphasize nutrient-dense sources that are high in fiber, like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and dairy products. [5, 6]
Each gram of carbohydrate is roughly 4 calories. After you decide what percentage of your daily calories will come from carbohydrates, divide that number by 4 to see how many grams of carbohydrate you should eat every day.
To reach your daily carbohydrate goal, you want to focus on nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains. These foods provide essential vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need to stay healthy and fit. Avoid consuming foods high in refined sugars and that don’t provide many other nutrients (like cookies, candy, and other sugary sweets).
The remaining 15-35% of your daily calories should come from dietary fat. Fats are an important part of the diet because they provide energy and help your body to absorb certain vitamins and minerals.
Unsaturated fats come from nuts & seeds, avocados, olives, and fish.
You’ll want the majority of your dietary fat intake to come from unsaturated fats. These include things like nuts & seeds, avocado (and avocado oil), olives (and olive oil), and fish. Eating plenty of saturated fats can improve your cholesterol levels, lowering your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other illnesses.
Saturated fats, on the other hand, generally come from animal products such as meat and dairy products like milk, butter, shortening, and cheese. Eating a diet too high in saturated fats can increase your (LDL) ("bad") cholesterol levels, putting you at higher risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
You should also try to avoid trans fats. These are often found in fried food as well as in processed snacks and baked goods. This type of fat has no nutritional value and can harm your health by raising your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels and lowering your “good” (HDL) cholesterol levels–increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Each gram of fat is about 9 calories. After you decide how many of your daily calories will come from fat, divide that number by 9 to see how many grams of fat you should eat every day.
Once you have set your daily macronutrient goals, use a meal tracker app like MyFitnessPal to track your daily intake.
You can also find more information on eating healthy & meal planning in my Trainer’s Guide to Meal Prep ebook linked below:
Take the stress out of meal planning with this Trainer’s Guide to Meal Prep! This ebook features step-by-step guidance and templates to help you reach your fitness goals through healthy eating. It’s also packed with over 150 easy-to-make recipes to minimize your time in the kitchen and maximize your gains. Recipes include vegetarian, vegan, and pescatarian options. Get started today!
Written by certified personal trainer & nutrition coach Jayd Harrison.
notes
[1] Manore, M. (2005). Exercise and the Institute of Medicine recommendations for nutrition. Current sports medicine reports, 4(4), 193–198. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.csmr.0000306206.72186.00
[2] Schoenfeld, B. J., & Aragon, A. A. (2018). How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1
[3] Phillips, S. M., & Van Loon, L. J. (2011). Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation. Journal of sports sciences, 29 Suppl 1, S29–S38. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.619204
[4] Kanter M. (2018). High-Quality Carbohydrates and Physical Performance: Expert Panel Report. Nutrition today, 53(1), 35–39. https://doi.org/10.1097/NT.0000000000000238
[5] Spritzler, F. (2021). How Many Carbs Should You Eat If You Have Diabetes? Healthline.com https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/diabetes-carbs-per-day#Why-should-you-count-carbs?
[6] American Diabetes Association; 5. Lifestyle Management: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2019. Diabetes Care 1 January 2019; 42 (Supplement_1): S46–S60. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc19-S005
JAYD HARRISON (JAYDIGAINS)
Jayd Harrison (Jaydigains) is a personal trainer and affiliate streamer on Twitch. She has been an active trainer since 2014 and now specializes in comprehensive weight loss coaching. Check out some of Jayd’s coaching videos on Youtube, or join Jayd live on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays 11:30am EST for a Fit Q&A session.
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