What Are Macros? - A Guide to Macronutrients & Health

Does the term “counting macros” leave you feeling confused? Don’t worry. You aren’t alone.

A growing trend among people who want to lose weight, gain weight, build muscle, or just want to live a healthier lifestyle, overall, “counting macros” is a phrase people use to refer to tracking the three main nutrients that your body needs the most: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

It’s similar to counting calories, but not quite. Instead of just counting the caloric content of the food you’re eating, counting macros requires developing a deeper insight into how different foods impact your body’s composition, energy levels, and overall health.

This guide breaks down what macros are, why they matter, and how to apply this knowledge.

Macronutrients Explained

Macronutrients form the foundation of everything we eat. The term "macro" comes from the Greek word meaning "large," highlighting how these nutrients make up the bulk of our diet. Unlike the vitamins and minerals that our body only needs small amounts of, your body literally can’t function well if it doesn’t get a certain amount of these macronutrients.

The Three Macronutrients

The three primary macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

Each one plays a distinct role in your body and how it functions. Protein, for example, builds and repairs tissues and muscles. On the other hand, carbohydrates serve as your body’s main fuel source, powering everything from your brain function to intense workouts. Finally, fats, often vilified by mainstream media, are important for hormone production, nutrient absorption, and act as a long-lasting energy reserve.

Throughout your life, your body will need different amounts of macronutrients. Factors like activity levels, personal health goals, and even gender, affect your macronutrient needs too.

Why Your Body Needs Macros

Your body breaks down if it doesn’t get enough macronutrients. Your muscles can’t recover or grow after exercising without protein, nor can you work out properly if you don’t get enough carbohydrates, leaving you feeling lethargic and with little to no energy. Finally, without enough fats, you’re more prone to hormonal imbalance, and your body is unable to absorb vitamins.

Just like everything else in life, too much of a macronutrient is bad for you. Although there are certain macronutrient ratios that advise eating either more protein, fats, or carbohydrates, it’s generally accepted that it’s better for your long-term health to follow the right balance of macros.

You might find macro counting a better and more sustainable way to maintain your fitness level compared to simple calorie counting.

According to this study, following the right macronutrient ratio is linked with weight loss.

Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients

While macros provide energy and building blocks for your body, this doesn’t mean you should forget micronutrients. Vitamins and minerals are just as important. They are facilitators for thousands of biochemical reactions. You need macronutrients in grams, but micronutrients in much smaller amounts (milligrams or micrograms).

A common mistake in nutrition involves focusing solely on macros while neglecting micronutrient density. For example, 200 calories of white bread provides similar energy to 200 calories of sweet potatoes, but the sweet potatoes deliver substantially more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

This is one of the many reasons why researchers emphasize the importance of food quality.

Calories in Each Macronutrient

While macro counting is different from calorie counting, it’s still important to know how many calories are in each gram of macronutrient. Knowing these values allows you to better plan your meals according to your nutritional goals.

Protein – 4 Calories per Gram

Protein provides 4 calories per gram, making it relatively efficient as an energy source. What makes protein unique is its thermic effect, as your body burns about 20-30% of protein's calories during digestion. This thermogenic effect partly explains why studies have found that high-protein diets often lead to greater weight loss.

Carbohydrates – 4 Calories per Gram

Like protein, carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram. However, carbohydrates don’t burn the same. Simple carbohydrates, for example, often cause blood sugar spikes followed by energy crashes because your body often digests faster than it can burn them. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates are broken down more slowly, giving you energy throughout the day.

This doesn’t necessarily mean simple carbohydrates are bad. For example, eating simple sugars before working out or going out for a run provides your body fuel when it needs it the most.

Fats – 9 Calories per Gram

Fat contains more than twice the calories of protein or carbohydrates at 9 calories per gram, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You just have to make sure that you get your fats from healthy sources.

Studies recommend limiting your intake of saturated fats, which typically come from processed foods, while adding more unsaturated fats from whole food sources like fruits, fish, lean meat, and more.

What Does Each Macro Do in the Body?

Your body needs macronutrients for different reasons. It’s important to understand the roles they play. Otherwise, you might end up hitting your macronutrient ratios without necessarily understanding why they’re important.

Protein — Building Muscle, Repair, and Satiety

When you consume protein, your body breaks it down into amino acids that support immune function, enzyme production, and hormone regulation.

After workouts, protein helps your body repair microscopic muscle damage, helping you create stronger and more resilient muscle tissue. A higher protein intake helps your body retain lean muscle mass, which is especially important when you’re trying to lose weight.

Carbs — Energy for Your Brain and Workouts

Your central nervous system relies almost exclusively on glucose, converted from carbohydrates, as its preferred fuel source. This is why a common side-effect of low-carb diets includes brain fog, irritability, and the inability to concentrate and focus.  During exercise, especially activities involving bursts of effort like weightlifting or sprinting, your body draws primarily from stored carbohydrates called glycogen.

Rather than avoiding carbs completely, focus on choosing nutrient-dense sources and timing them around your activity levels for optimal performance and recovery.

Fats — Hormonal Function and Metabolic Health

Dietary fats form the structural components of every cell membrane in your body and serve as the foundation for hormone production. In short, your body needs fat. If it doesn’t get enough fat, it can’t produce enough estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Your body also needs fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins that support bone health, immune function, and cellular repair.

Where Do You Find Macros in Food?

Now, here comes the fun part.

As we’ve already mentioned, getting enough macronutrients is just part of the equation. You also have to make sure that it comes from the right sources.

The good news is that almost every food contains a mixture of macronutrients. But it’s best to learn how to identify macro content in common foods. This way, you can adjust your meals based on your specific needs and goals.

High-Protein Foods

Carbohydrate-Rich Foods

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Fats

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Hidden Macros in Everyday Meals

Just like with calories, many types of food contain unwanted macronutrients. For example, commercial salad dressings can hide a substantial amount of fat, sometimes reaching up to 20 grams per serving. Coffee shop beverages frequently pack surprising carbohydrate amounts, with flavored lattes sometimes containing over 40 grams of carbs, all from the added sugars they mix into the drinks.

Seemingly healthy trail mixes may even contain more fat than protein due to their high nut content and added oils—a small handful might provide 15 grams of fat but only 5 grams of protein.

Even "protein bars" aren’t safe. Some contain just as much sugar as protein. Reading labels reveals some popular brands offer 20 grams of protein alongside 20 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat, making them more balanced energy bars than true protein supplements.

Why Tracking Macros Beats Counting Calories

The calorie content of food tells only part of the nutritional story. While creating a calorie deficit is still important if you want to lose weight, focusing on calorie numbers isn’t enough. Doing so neglects how macronutrients affect your body’s metabolism and hunger.

You could eat the same amount of calories as someone who weighs the exact same weight as you do and follows a similar workout routine but you could get dramatically different results because you follow different macro ratios.

Better Body Composition

Tracking macros allows you to maintain or build muscle while losing fat, something you can’t do by calorie counting alone.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher protein intake during calorie restriction led to more significant fat loss and better muscle preservation compared to standard protein diets with equal calories.

By focusing on calories alone, you inadvertently reduce the amount of protein you get from your diet, which can have unfortunate long-term effects on your metabolic health. In comparison, macro tracking prioritizes protein, while still being flexible enough to give your body enough carbohydrates and fats based on your activity levels and preferences.

Flexible Dieting Explained

Flexible dieting, often called "If It Fits Your Macros" (IIFYM), focuses on hitting daily macro targets. It’s an approach that acknowledges that your body processes nutrients, not food labels. As long as you hit your protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets while staying within calorie limits, you can eat whatever you want, a big no-no in traditional and often very strict diets.

This flexibility is important. You can’t always control where you eat. When you’re traveling, during social events, and holidays, you have to make do with what’s available. Rather than completely abandoning healthy eating, you can adjust your other meals that day to accommodate special occasions.

What this means is that you can enjoy your birthday cake by eating fewer carbohydrates earlier in the day and increasing protein. Either way, you’re still hitting your macronutrient targets.

It’s impossible to overstate the psychological benefit of removing food guilt. Many develop unhealthy relationships with food through years of restrictive dieting. Tracking macros shifts focus from "good" versus "bad" foods to nutritional composition and portion awareness, promoting a healthier mindset around eating.

Sustainable Results Over Restrictive Diets

Restrictive diets that eliminate entire food groups often lead to initial weight loss. But the succeeding weight gain is often just as severe as the initial weight loss. Why? Because it was unsustainable in the first place. Restricting your diet doesn’t teach you sustainable lifestyle habits.

Macro tracking does. It offers a middle ground between nutritional awareness and flexibility. You learn to make informed choices while allowing room for the occasional “cheat’ meal.

For example, during days when you’re working out, you might adjust your carbohydrates and protein intake more to better support performance and recovery. However, on your rest days, you can minimize your carbohydrate intake while eating the same amount of protein.

These are the types of adjustments that teach you how to react to your body’s signals instead of fighting against them.

How to Figure Out Your Ideal Macros

There’s no perfect macro ratio. It all depends on several factors, including your current body composition, activity level, metabolic health, and specific goals. This level of personalization explains why some lose weight and/or build muscle when eating more carbohydrates, while others feel better with more fat and moderate carbs.

Regardless of which side of the proverbial fence you fall on, it’s important that you first calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). From there, you can determine appropriate macro percentages based on your primary goal. This calculation provides a starting point that you'll likely need to adjust based on your body's response.

Based on Goals: Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, Maintenance

If you want to lose weight, your priority is to create a calorie deficit without sacrificing your protein intake.

Don’t forget that protein helps you build muscles, which burn calories even when you’re at rest. You don’t want to lose muscle mass at all costs. If anything, you want to build more muscle.

A common starting point involves 40% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 30% fat. This higher protein keeps you feeling satisfied and helps keep your metabolic rate high, supporting weight loss. If you weigh 150 pounds (68kg), this translates to 120-140g of protein, 100-120g of carbohydrates, and 45-55g of fat daily.

On the other hand, gaining muscle means creating a small calorie surplus, adding more protein and carbohydrates to fuel your intense workouts and the recovery afterwards. A typical muscle-building macro ratio might include 30% protein, 40-50% carbohydrates, and 20-30% fat.

Using the previous example, this could mean 120g of protein, 180g of carbohydrates, and 50g of fat.

But what if you’re already satisfied with your body and you just want to maintain it? Good question. This time, you should focus on finding the balance that supports your activity level while keeping your weight stable.

A typical macro ratio for this is 25-30% protein, 40-45% carbohydrates, and 25-35% fat. This balanced approach provides your body with enough macronutrients to support your current workout routine and recovery.

Based on Body Fat % or Lean Mass

Your current body composition affects the ideal macronutrient distribution for you. Consider consuming fewer carbohydrates if you have a higher body fat percentage. Studies show that there are strong links between high body fat and insulin resistance. But if you have more muscle mass, you’re free to eat more carbohydrates to support your training and recovery.

A more precise approach to protein intake is based on lean body mass compared to total weight. If you have 120 pounds of lean mass and weigh 150 pounds, you should aim to get 120 grams of protein every day, regardless of whether you’re in a calorie surplus or deficit.

Finally, if you’re active with low body fat, you might want to consume 2-3g of carbohydrates per pound of lean mass on training days. Fat intake then fills the remaining calories after you’ve met your protein and carbohydrate needs.

Using a Macro Calculator

Online macro calculators can help you determine your needs. These tools ask for your age, weight, height, gender, activity level, and goals before generating recommended calorie and macro targets.

While helpful, remember these calculators provide estimates based on statistical averages rather than your unique metabolism.

When using a calculator, always be honest. Do not overestimate your activity levels, but don’t underestimate either. Just give it the information it’s asking for from you at the moment you’re using it, not your ideal numbers or your goals. Inaccurate numbers can mess up your macronutrient intake and lead to weight gain.

Also, remember that the calculators only provide a guideline. Feel free to modify the output if you know you function better with moderate carbohydrates rather than very low amounts.

Sample Macro Ratios for Different Goals

While no single ratio is perfect, these starting points can help you achieve your fitness goals.

We recommend your food intake and body measurements for 2-3 weeks using these starting ratios, then adjusting based on your results.

Weight Loss Macro Ratio

To lose fat and preserve lean muscle mass, you need to eat more protein on a calorie deficit. A common starting ratio includes 40% protein, 30% carbohydrates, and 30% fat. For someone consuming 1,600 calories daily, this translates to about 160g of protein, 120g of carbohydrates, and 53g of fat.

Studies show that the older you are, the more you might benefit from upping your protein intake to combat age-related muscle loss. On the other hand, if eating fewer carbohydrates is leaving you feeling starved with low energy, you can adjust your intake to include more carbohydrates (35%) while reducing fat intake (25%).

Muscle Gain Macro Ratio

Building muscle requires that you eat enough calories and time it right.

A typical muscle-building ratio includes 30% protein, 45-50% carbohydrates, and 20-25% fat. For someone consuming 2,200 calories daily, this means 165g of protein, 250g of carbohydrates, and 55g of fat.

Eating more carbohydrates is important. It provides glucose to help fuel your intense training sessions and replenish the depleted muscle glycogen afterwards. Of course, don’t forget your protein. It should remain high to supply the building blocks to help your body build new muscle tissue, while fat provides essential fatty acids, and also helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

For best results, time your carbohydrate intake around your workouts while spreading protein intake evenly throughout the day.

Maintenance Macro Ratio

Let’s say you’re already satisfied with your lean muscle mass, weight, and physique. That’s great. To maintain it, you’ll want to follow a macronutrient ratio of around 25-30% protein, 40-45% carbohydrates, and 25-30% fat.

Try not too veer away from these numbers so you don’t lose or gain weight or bulk up or lose muscle mass.

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