How to Calculate Your Macros for Fat Loss (Step by Step)

If you want to lose fat without guessing, you need two numbers: how many calories to eat, and how to split them into protein, carbs, and fat (your macros). Here's the whole process in plain English.

Step 1: Find your maintenance calories (TDEE)

Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is roughly how many calories you burn in a day. The most reliable starting estimate uses the Mifflin–St Jeor equation for your resting burn, multiplied by an activity factor:

• Sedentary (desk job, little exercise): ×1.2
• Light (1–3 workouts/week): ×1.375
• Moderate (3–5 workouts/week): ×1.55
• Active (6–7 workouts/week): ×1.725

That number is what you'd eat to maintain your current weight.

Step 2: Set a sensible deficit

For steady fat loss, eat about 20% below maintenance. A 20% deficit is aggressive enough to see weekly progress but small enough to keep your energy, training, and muscle intact. Crash deficits backfire — you lose muscle, your appetite spikes, and you rebound.

Rule of thumb: aim to lose about 0.5–1% of your bodyweight per week. Faster than that usually means you're losing muscle too.

Step 3: Split your macros

A simple, effective split for fat loss:

1. Protein: ~2g per kg of bodyweight. Protein preserves muscle in a deficit and keeps you full.
2. Fat: ~25% of your total calories (fat supports hormones; don't go too low).
3. Carbs: whatever calories are left. Carbs fuel your training — keep them around your workouts.

Step 4: Adjust based on real results

Your calculated numbers are a starting point, not gospel. Track your weight for 2–3 weeks. If the scale isn't moving, drop calories by ~100–150 (usually from carbs or fat, never protein). If you're exhausted or losing strength, you've cut too hard — add a little back.

Do it in one click

You don't have to do this math by hand. Our free macro calculator does every step above — TDEE, your fat-loss target, and your protein/carb/fat split — in about ten seconds, with no signup.

Once you've got your numbers, the hard part is sticking to them. A real coach's meal-plan workflow can turn these macros into an actual day-by-day plan with a grocery list — but start with the numbers first.