Tools
Macro Calculator
How do I turn a calorie number into grams of protein, carbs, and fat? Enter a daily calorie total and the split you want to look at, and I'll convert it to grams per day and per meal.
I also show where that split sits against the published reference points: the adult ranges from the Dietary Guidelines, and the gram-based definitions of low carb and very low carb. If you don't have a calorie number yet, the TDEE calculator gives you a maintenance estimate.
No number yet? Estimate maintenance with the TDEE calculator.
Fat: 25% of calories (the rest)
The sliders start at a split that sits inside all three adult ranges.
Grams per day at 2,000 calories
Protein
150g
50g per meal
Carbs
225g
75g per meal
Fat
56g
19g per meal
Where this split lands
- Protein at 30% is inside the adult range of 10 to 35%, and at or above the 20% a 2018 meta-analysis used as its high-protein cutoff.
- Carbs at 225g (45%) are inside the adult range of 45 to 65%. By the 2008 definitions, 26 to 45% of calories is moderate carb.
- Fat at 25% is inside the adult range of 20 to 35%.
Reference math for healthy adults, not medical or dietary advice.
Reference lines at 2,000 calories
| Reference | Definition | At your calories |
|---|---|---|
| Protein, adult range | 10 to 35% of calories | 50 to 175g |
| Carbs, adult range | 45 to 65% of calories | 225 to 325g |
| Fat, adult range | 20 to 35% of calories | 44 to 78g |
| Moderate carb | 26 to 45% of calories | 130 to 225g |
| Low carb | Under 130g a day | Under 130g (under 26% of calories) |
| Very low carb (ketogenic) | Under 30g a day | Under 30g (under 6% of calories) |
| Fiber | 14g per 1,000 calories | 28g |
Sources: adult ranges, the 130g carbohydrate RDA, and the fiber basis from the Dietary Guidelines nutritional goals table (adults 19 and over); low, moderate, and very low carb from Accurso et al. 2008; the 20% high-protein cutoff from a 2018 meta-analysis.
Related calculators
How the conversion works
Each gram of protein or carbohydrate has 4 calories, and each gram of fat has 9. To turn a split into grams, multiply your calories by each percentage, then divide by those numbers. At 2,000 calories with 30% protein, 45% carbs, and 25% fat:
- Protein: 600 calories ÷ 4 = 150g
- Carbs: 900 calories ÷ 4 = 225g
- Fat: 500 calories ÷ 9 = 56g
Grams at common calorie totals
A shortcut for any split: find what 10% of your calories is in grams, then scale it. Thirty percent protein is three times the first column. The last two columns show how the gram-based carb lines shrink as a share of the day when calories go up.
| Calories | 10% as protein or carbs | 10% as fat | 130g carbs is | 30g carbs is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 | 40g | 18g | 33% of calories | 8% of calories |
| 1,800 | 45g | 20g | 29% of calories | 7% of calories |
| 2,000 | 50g | 22g | 26% of calories | 6% of calories |
| 2,200 | 55g | 24g | 24% of calories | 5% of calories |
| 2,500 | 63g | 28g | 21% of calories | 5% of calories |
| 2,800 | 70g | 31g | 19% of calories | 4% of calories |
| 3,000 | 75g | 33g | 17% of calories | 4% of calories |
| 3,500 | 88g | 39g | 15% of calories | 3% of calories |
Finding recipes that fit
Every recipe here lists protein, carbs, fat, and calories per serving. The protein recipe finder filters them by protein and calories. Recipes in the low-carb collection have 20g of carbs or fewer per serving, and fewer grams of carbs than protein. For what counts as a high-protein diet, and how the share of calories from protein fits in, see What Is a High-Protein Diet?
Questions about this tool
- How do I turn calories into macros?
- Multiply your daily calories by each percentage, then divide by the calories in a gram: 4 for protein, 4 for carbs, and 9 for fat. At 2,000 calories, 30% protein is 600 calories, which is 150g.
- What counts as low carb?
- The most common definition is under 130g of carbs a day, the cutoff the American Diabetes Association used and the one a 2008 review in Nutrition & Metabolism adopted. The same review called 26 to 45% of calories moderate carb, and under 30g a day very low carb (ketogenic). The low-carb line is in grams, so a fixed percentage can cross it as calories go up: 20% of 3,000 calories is 150g.
- What are the official macro ranges?
- For adults 19 and over, the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges are 10 to 35% of calories from protein, 45 to 65% from carbohydrate, and 20 to 35% from fat. The adult RDA for carbohydrate is 130g a day. Teens have slightly different ranges for protein and fat.
- How do I know if I'm eating high-protein?
- Look at the share of your calories that comes from protein. A 2018 meta-analysis on protein and kidney function counted 20% or more of calories as high-protein, and the adult range tops out at 35%.
- Why doesn't this pick a split for me?
- The right split depends on your health, the foods you like, and what you want from your diet, and a specific prescription is a job for a doctor or registered dietitian. This tool does the conversion and shows where any split sits against the published ranges.
