A workable starting split for most adults: 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight, 25–30% of calories from fat, and carbohydrate filling whatever is left. At 70 kg on 2,000 kcal that is roughly 125 g protein, 60 g fat, 240 g carbs.
Grams rather than percentages, because a food label is in grams and a percentage has to be recalculated every time your calorie target moves.
What each macro is for
- Protein — 4 kcal per gram. The one worth hitting most days. It keeps you full and, in a deficit, decides how much of the loss is fat rather than muscle. It is also the hardest to reach by accident.
- Carbohydrate — 4 kcal per gram. Fuel for anything hard or long. Cutting it works for some people and makes others miserable; neither result is a moral fact about carbs.
- Fat — 9 kcal per gram. Needed for hormones and for absorbing vitamins A, D, E and K. Below roughly 20% of calories most people feel it. Twice as dense as the other two, so it moves a total fast.
- Fibre — no usable calories. Not one of the three, but worth a target of its own: 25–38 g a day helps with fullness and with steadier blood sugar.
Hit protein first, then stop worrying
If you only track one macro, track protein. Calories decide the direction of the scale; protein decides how much of what you lose is muscle. Carbs and fat can move around each other fairly freely as long as fat does not drop too low.
That is also the practical order for a beginner. Hitting a protein number takes real attention for a week or two, then becomes automatic once you know which four or five foods carry it.
Where these numbers come from
Protein per kilogram of body weight follows the range used across sports-nutrition guidance: around 1.6 g/kg is where the benefit for retaining muscle levels off, and up to about 2.2 g/kg is used when calories are restricted. Fat is set as a share of calories with a hard floor. Carbohydrate takes the remainder, except in the keto preset, where the carbohydrate ceiling is fixed first and fat takes the remainder instead.
Please read. These are general targets for healthy adults. Kidney disease, diabetes, pregnancy, breastfeeding and being under 18 all change what is appropriate, and a calculator cannot see any of them — ask a doctor or a registered dietitian. If tracking macros is making food harder rather than easier, stopping is a reasonable answer; in the US the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is 1-866-662-1235. Nothing here is medical advice; see our health disclaimer.
You can earn the full version instead of paying for it
Grams are only useful if you compare them to what you actually ate. That side is free here, permanently — no card, and nothing that quietly turns into a subscription.
- Create an account and log a few meals. New accounts open with a two-day Plus trial — three days if somebody invited you — and then settle onto the free plan: no card, no end date, one meal scan a day.
- Publish an honest post, story, write-up or short video about what you found — or invite three people who go on to actually use it.
- Send us the link. A published piece unlocks the higher tier; three qualified invites unlock 90 days of the full version.
Your post has to say you got free access in exchange — that is an FTC requirement in the United States. Access is granted whether what you write is positive or critical. Full terms: promotional access.