I Don't Know How to Track Macros

You have heard people talk about "hitting their macros" and it sounds like advanced nutrition science. It is not. Macro tracking is simply paying attention to the three types of nutrients that make up your food — protein, carbs, and fat — instead of only looking at total calories. This guide breaks it down from the very beginning.

What Are Macros?

"Macros" is short for macronutrients. There are three of them, and every food you eat is made up of some combination of these three.

Protein builds and repairs muscle, skin, hair, and organs. It also keeps you feeling full longer than the other two macros. Found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, and tofu.

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred energy source, especially for your brain and during exercise. Found in bread, rice, pasta, fruit, vegetables, and sugar.

Fat supports hormone production, brain function, and absorbing certain vitamins. Found in oils, butter, nuts, avocado, cheese, and fatty fish.

Each macro contains a specific number of calories per gram.

Macronutrient	Calories per Gram	Primary Role	Common Food Sources
Protein	4 kcal	Muscle repair, satiety	Chicken, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, tofu
Carbohydrates	4 kcal	Energy, brain fuel	Rice, bread, pasta, fruit, oats
Fat	9 kcal	Hormones, absorption	Olive oil, nuts, avocado, cheese

Notice that fat has more than double the calories per gram compared to protein and carbs. This is why a small handful of nuts (high fat) can have the same calories as a large bowl of fruit (high carb).

Why Track Macros Instead of Just Calories?

Calories tell you how much energy you ate. Macros tell you what kind of energy you ate. This matters because two diets with the same calories can produce very different results.

Example: Person A eats 1,800 calories with 140 g protein. Person B eats 1,800 calories with 50 g protein. Both will lose weight at the same rate (calories are equal), but Person A will retain significantly more muscle and feel less hungry. A 2016 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that higher protein intake during a calorie deficit preserves lean body mass.

For most people, the biggest benefit of macro tracking is making sure you eat enough protein. Everything else is secondary.

How to Set Your Macro Targets

Setting macro targets takes three steps.

Step 1 — Determine Your Calorie Target

You need a calorie target first. If you do not have one, use these rough ranges as a starting point.

• Weight loss: 1,300-1,600 kcal (women) or 1,800-2,200 kcal (men)
• Maintenance: 1,600-2,000 kcal (women) or 2,200-2,700 kcal (men)
• Muscle gain: 1,900-2,300 kcal (women) or 2,500-3,200 kcal (men)

Step 2 — Set Your Protein Target

Protein is the most important macro to get right. The general recommendation from sports nutrition research is 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day.

For simplicity, aim for 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight (or about 1 gram per pound).

Step 3 — Fill the Rest with Carbs and Fat

After protein is set, divide the remaining calories between carbs and fat based on your preference. There is no single "best" ratio — it depends on what makes you feel good and what you can stick with.

Popular Macro Splits Explained

These are the most common percentage-based splits. The percentages refer to the share of your total calories coming from each macro.

Split Name	Protein	Carbs	Fat	Best For
Balanced (40/30/30)	40%	30%	30%	General fitness and weight loss
High protein (40/40/20)	40%	40%	20%	Muscle building, high activity
Low carb (40/20/40)	40%	20%	40%	People who feel better on fewer carbs
Moderate (30/40/30)	30%	40%	30%	Endurance athletes, active lifestyles

How to Convert Percentages to Grams

Here is the formula for each macro.

• Protein grams = (total calories × protein percentage) ÷ 4
• Carb grams = (total calories × carb percentage) ÷ 4
• Fat grams = (total calories × fat percentage) ÷ 9

Worked example — 2,000 calorie target with a 40/30/30 split:

• Protein: (2,000 × 0.40) ÷ 4 = 200 g
• Carbs: (2,000 × 0.30) ÷ 4 = 150 g
• Fat: (2,000 × 0.30) ÷ 9 = 67 g

Macro Targets by Goal and Bodyweight

This table gives you ready-to-use gram targets so you do not have to do the math yourself.

Bodyweight	Goal	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
55 kg / 121 lbs	Weight loss	1,400 kcal	110 g	120 g	47 g
55 kg / 121 lbs	Maintenance	1,800 kcal	110 g	190 g	53 g
70 kg / 154 lbs	Weight loss	1,700 kcal	140 g	140 g	53 g
70 kg / 154 lbs	Maintenance	2,200 kcal	140 g	220 g	67 g
70 kg / 154 lbs	Muscle gain	2,500 kcal	150 g	270 g	72 g
85 kg / 187 lbs	Weight loss	2,100 kcal	170 g	170 g	64 g
85 kg / 187 lbs	Maintenance	2,700 kcal	170 g	270 g	83 g
85 kg / 187 lbs	Muscle gain	3,000 kcal	180 g	320 g	89 g
100 kg / 220 lbs	Weight loss	2,300 kcal	180 g	190 g	72 g
100 kg / 220 lbs	Muscle gain	3,300 kcal	200 g	360 g	100 g

These are guidelines, not rules. Adjustments of 10-20 grams in any direction are perfectly fine.

The "Just Track Protein" Approach for Beginners

If full macro tracking feels overwhelming, here is the simplest possible approach: track only protein and total calories. Let carbs and fat fall wherever they naturally land.

This works because protein is the macro that has the biggest impact on your results. It preserves muscle during weight loss, increases satiety, and has the highest thermic effect (your body burns more calories digesting protein than carbs or fat).

Here is what this looks like in practice.

1. Set a calorie target.
2. Set a protein target of roughly 2 g per kg of bodyweight.
3. Log your food and pay attention to two numbers: total calories and total protein.
4. Eat whatever combination of carbs and fat you enjoy for the remaining calories.

This approach gets you 80% of the benefit of macro tracking with 20% of the effort. Many people stick with this method permanently and get excellent results.

How to Actually Track Macros Day to Day

Once you have your targets, the daily process looks like this.

Morning: Check your remaining macro budget for the day. Plan a protein-heavy meal early, because protein is the hardest macro to catch up on later.

Each meal: Log your food in your tracking app. Glance at the macro breakdown. Prioritize protein first, then fill with carbs and fat.

End of day: Review your totals. Being within 10 grams of each macro target is excellent. Being within 20 grams is still very good.

You do not need to hit your targets perfectly. A study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that consistency over weeks matters far more than precision on any single day.

How Nutrola Auto-Calculates Macros for You

Every food you log in Nutrola — whether by photo, voice, barcode, or search — automatically shows its full macro breakdown. The app pulls from a nutritionist-verified database of over 1.8 million foods, so protein, carb, and fat data is accurate and consistent.

Nutrola calculates your macro targets during onboarding based on your body stats and goals. Throughout the day, you see a clear visual of how much of each macro you have consumed versus your target. There is no manual calculation, no guesswork, and no spreadsheets.

The app also tracks macro trends over time so you can see patterns. Maybe you consistently undershoot protein on weekends, or maybe your fat intake creeps up on days you eat out. These insights help you make small, informed adjustments. All of this is available for €2.50 per month with zero ads.

Frequently Asked Questions

How close do I need to be to my macro targets?

Within 10 grams per macro is excellent. Within 20 grams is still very good. Do not stress about hitting exact numbers every day. What matters is your average over the week. If you consistently hit your protein target and stay near your calorie target, you are doing well.

Can I eat whatever I want as long as I hit my macros?

Technically, yes. This approach is called flexible dieting or "if it fits your macros" (IIFM). In practice, you will naturally eat mostly whole foods because it is very difficult to hit a high protein target with processed food alone. But there is room for treats every day.

Do I need to track macros to lose weight?

No. Tracking total calories is enough for weight loss. Macro tracking becomes valuable when you want to optimize body composition — losing fat while keeping muscle — or when you want more control over hunger and energy levels. Start with calories if macros feel like too much right now.

Should I eat more carbs or more fat?

There is no universally superior choice. Some people feel more energetic and satisfied on higher carbs, while others prefer higher fat. Try one split for two to three weeks, notice how you feel, and adjust. The split you can stick with consistently is the best one for you.

How do I track macros when eating out?

Search for the restaurant or dish in your tracking app. Most apps have entries for common restaurant meals. If you cannot find an exact match, search for the generic version of the dish (e.g., "chicken Caesar salad") and pick a mid-range entry. It will not be perfect, but a reasonable estimate is far better than skipping the log entirely.