Macro calculator for lifters

What each macro is doing

Protein protects muscle and drives recovery. Carbohydrate fuels the hard sets and refills glycogen. Fat runs hormones and makes food edible. Chasing an extreme split in either direction usually costs you training quality.

• Protein: 0.85 to 1 g per lb of bodyweight
• Fat: never below about 0.3 g per lb — hormones need it
• Carbs: everything left over, weighted toward training days

Training days and rest days are not the same

Cycling calories mildly — about 6% up on training days and 6% down on rest days — keeps the weekly total the same while putting the food where the work is. The calculator gives you both numbers, so you are not doing arithmetic at the fridge.

How to track without hating it

Track for two to four weeks to learn what your normal portions actually contain, then keep the habits and spot-check. Weigh yourself the same way each morning and judge the seven-day average — a single morning tells you about salt and sleep, not fat.

• Weekly average up and you are cutting? Drop 150 to 200 calories.
• Weekly average flat and you are gaining? Add 200 calories.
• Protein short two days in a row? Fix that before touching anything else.