Reach Your Health and Fitness Goals with The
Ultimate Macro Calculator

This calculator uses the same baseline algorithm as the Precision Nutrition Weight Loss Calculator to calculate maintenance, weight loss, and weight gain calorie needs. It factors in the adaptive nature of your metabolism to predict how long it’ll take you to reach your bodyweight goal.

This algorithm is a mathematically validated model based on the NIH Body Weight Planner and adapted from research collected at the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease.

The macronutrients are calculated by many rules:

1. Protein is set on a grams per pound of bodyweight basis, at a range of 0.65-1.35 g/lb, depending upon sex, weight, goal, and activity level. (For very low-fat and very low-carb options, protein is set at 20% of calories, not on a bodyweight basis.)
2. Protein needs are also set on a sliding scale since, on average, even within the same goal and activity level, heavier folks would generally have a greater body fat percentage than lighter folks. Therefore, they require a smaller amount of protein on a grams per pound basis (though still higher on an absolute basis).
3. Then, dependent upon the Macronutrient Preference chosen, either fat or carbohydrates are set at a particular percent of calories (e.g. “Low-fat” is set at 20% calories from fat, and “Low-carb” is at 20% calories from carbs) to determine the allocation of the remaining non-protein calories.
4. Finally, the rest of the calories are filled out by the remaining macronutrient (either fat or carbs). Note, if “Balanced” was chosen, the non-protein calories are split evenly between fats and carbs.

If you enter a custom macronutrient percentage, those ratios are used to determine all macronutrient and hand-portion calculations, overriding the macronutrient math outlined above. (Calories will not be changed.)

For people looking to improve health, the macro calculator uses the weight maintenance calories determined by the validated mathematical model inherent to the NIH algorithm.

For people looking to lose body fat or gain muscle, the macro calculator uses the validated mathematical model inherent to the NIH algorithm. This takes into account a host of anthropometric data, time desired to reach a goal, and the adaptive nature of human metabolism.

For people looking to improve athletic performance, the macro calculator adds an additional 10% more calories to the weight maintenance requirements calculated by the NIH algorithm. This supports the increased demands of athletic performance.

For people looking to change their body composition, the macro calculator lowers calorie needs by 10% from the weight maintenance requirements calculated by the NIH algorithm. This’ll help facilitate simultaneous fat loss and muscle growth. It should be noted that this approach is most appropriate for individuals who don’t wish to change their body weight by more than 10 to 15 pounds, yet want to improve their body composition.

In the macro calculator, you’ll see the terms “gentle,” “moderate,” and “strenuous.” These describe the intensity of your activity.

Examples of moderate to strenuous activity include:

• Resistance training
• Interval or Circuit training
• Crossfit
• Running or jogging
• Rowing
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Team sports (e.g. basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, etc.)
• Hiking
• Jump Rope
• Group classes (spin, dance, etc.) and bootcamps
• Yoga (power, bikram)

Examples of gentle activity include:

• Walking
• Yoga (hatha, vinyasa, ashtanga, etc.)
• Pilates
• Golfing
• Biking, swimming or cycling at a leisurely pace or for pleasure

Gentle activities are fantastic, but they don’t bump up your calorie needs like higher-intensity activity does. So it’s most important to count how many hours you spend engaged in moderate to strenuous exercise. When in doubt, it’s better to underestimate your activity rather than overestimate it.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your week includes:

• Walking for 20 minutes, 2 times
• Vinyasa yoga for 30 minutes, 2 times
• Resistance training for 45 minutes, 2 times
• Running for 30 minutes, 3 times

That’d count as:

• 4 gentle activities (vinyasa yoga x 2; walking x 2) for a total of 100 minutes (1.66 hours)
• 5 moderate to strenuous activities (resistance training x 2, running x 3) for a total of 180 minutes (3 hours)

Which means you’d select your activity level as “Moderate” under the purposeful exercise question. (Defined as moderate to strenuous activity 3 to 4 hours per week.)

Our research shows hand portions are 95 percent as accurate (or better) as carefully weighing, measuring, and tracking. With substantially less effort and time involved.

Plus, our hand portion tracking system allows you to easily adjust your intake to further optimize your results.