Macros (macronutrients) are the primary nutrients your body requires in large quantities: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Each provides a specific energy value per gram.

Should I focus on calories or macros first?

For general weight change, total calorie intake is most important. However, tracking macros ensures that your weight loss comes from body fat rather than lean muscle mass.

Macros

How to Track Macros for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Health Science Team • June 12, 2026 • 6 min read

While counting calories is excellent for general weight management, tracking your macronutrients (macros) allows you to customize your body composition. By using our free Macro Calculator, you can determine your target split of protein, carbohydrates, and fats to optimize fat loss, performance, or muscle growth.

What Are Macronutrients?

Macros are the primary categories of nutrients that provide your body with energy. There are three main macronutrients, each playing a distinct physiological role:

Protein (4 calories per gram): Essential for skeletal muscle tissue repair, cellular growth, immune function, and enzyme production. High protein intake is critical to prevent muscle wasting during a calorie deficit. Check your needs with our Protein Calculator.
Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram): Your body's preferred source of high-intensity fuel. Carbs are converted to glucose, which is stored in muscles and the liver as glycogen.
Fats (9 calories per gram): Vital for hormone production (like testosterone and estrogen), cell structure integrity, and fat-soluble vitamin absorption (A, D, E, and K).

Step 1: Find Your Daily Energy Baseline

Before tracking macros, you must determine your energy expenditure. Use our main TDEE Calculator to discover your maintenance calories. From there, create a calorie target:

To lose fat, subtract 300 to 500 calories (or use our Calorie Deficit Calculator).
To build muscle, add 200 to 400 calories.

Step 2: Assign Your Macros

Once your target calorie intake is set, distribute those calories among the three macros:

Protein: Set to 0.8 to 1.2 grams per pound of total body weight (or 2.0 to 2.5 grams per kg of lean mass).
Fats: Allocate 20% to 30% of your total daily calories to healthy dietary fats to support hormone regulation.
Carbohydrates: Fill the remaining daily calories with carbohydrates to support exercise and cognitive function.

Step 3: Measure and Record

To track accurately, purchase a digital kitchen scale and weigh food in raw/uncooked states. Use a tracking app (such as MacroFactor, Cronometer, or MyFitnessPal) to log foods. Pay close attention to reading nutritional labels and tracking serving sizes.

Keep tabs on your body composition changes using our Body Fat Calculator, track weight changes with our Weight Loss Calculator, and check metabolic updates using our BMR Calculator.