How to Figure Your Macros

“Macro” is short for macronutrients. All foods fit into one of three macronutrient categories – fat, protein or carbohydrates. Keto isn’t about cutting calories, but about watching the make up of the foods you take in. That’s where learning how to figure your macros an really be helpful.

 

Video Transcript:

Hey, it’s Sarah here, with your Keto Quick Tip. Today I wanted to talk about how you figure out your macros; your protein, your fats, your carbs, in a day. General rule of thumb, now obviously there are macro calculators that you can use, but if you’re thinking what kind of a range, because not every day … This one number can be hard to hit every day. Sometimes you need a range when you’re first starting out, to kind of see what the best level for you, and where you feel the most comfortable. I get a lot of people that say, “Oh, but just tell me exactly what to eat.” I can’t do that, because each body is different, and each body changes over time. So you really have to learn to listen to your body, and find out your body needs.

Now in general, 60 to 80% of your calories in a day should come from fat. 15 to 30% of your calories should come from protein. 5 to 10% of your calories should come from carbs. If you’re trying to figure that out, what I did was, I said, “Okay, an average 1,500 calories a day, what’s that going to figure out to be?” I did 1,500 calories. I did 60% of that, and 80% of that, so that would be 900 to 1,200 calories would come from fat. 15 to 30% of protein, which would be 225 to 450 calories. Work 5 to 10% of carbs, which would be 75 to 150 calories. So I did that.

Try this Keto Calculator to figure your macros

Then I said, “Okay, well I know that fats is seven calories per gram.” My app that I use keeps track. You can do My Fitness Pal, or Carb Manager, Cronometer, it keeps track in grams. I need to know grams, not calories. So I divided that number, so let’s say 900 calories of fat, divided by nine. That got me to 100, 133 grams of fat in a day. Then for protein and carbs, they have four calories per gram. So I divided those numbers, and I got 56 to 112 grams of protein, and 19 to 27 grams of carbs.

Now again, this range gives me a little bit of wiggle room to try and see what works best for my body. For me, I know too high on the protein, then that’s not going to work for me. So I have to keep mind more towards the lower end. You just have to really figure out your range, and see what works best for you. Okay? Let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day.