Convert macro grams to calories
Choose Grams to calories and enter protein, carbohydrate and fat grams. Estimated kcal = 4 × protein + 4 × carbohydrate + 9 × fat. For example, 150g protein, 200g carbohydrate and 60g fat total 1,940 kcal.
Zero is allowed; leave no input blank. These estimates use general factors. Fiber, sugar alcohols, alcohol and food-label rounding can cause differences from packaged-food calorie totals. The reverse mode does not set a dietary target.
What are Macronutrients?
Macronutrients—commonly referred to as macros—are the three primary chemical compounds in food that provide the human body with metabolic energy: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
While counting total calories dictates whether you lose or gain weight, balancing your macronutrient ratio dictates what kind of weight you lose or gain (e.g., preserving lean muscle mass while losing adipose tissue fat).
The Caloric Density of Macros
To accurately calculate your daily macro targets, dietitians use the general Atwater factors to assign caloric values to each gram of a macronutrient:
*Note: Alcohol is considered a non-essential macronutrient that contains 7 calories per gram.
A Practical Example
Consider Elena, who has a daily target of 2,000 calories and wants a High Protein diet ratio of 40% Protein, 35% Carbs, and 25% Fats.
Protein: 2,000 × 0.40 = 800 calories. Divided by 4 = 200g.
Carbs: 2,000 × 0.35 = 700 calories. Divided by 4 = 175g.
Fats: 2,000 × 0.25 = 500 calories. Divided by 9 = 55.6g (displayed as 56g).
Elena now knows exactly how many grams of each macronutrient she needs to consume daily to hit her specific body recomposition goals with small differences from 2,000 calories when gram targets are rounded.