HOW TO: CALCULATE YOUR MACROS FOR WEIGHT LOSS WITH KETO

In this post you’ll learn about fat, protein, and carbohydrates, the three main macronutrients, or macros, used by your body for energy.

You’ll learn why each is essential, and how to find the correct balance to achieve success using the Keto Meal Plan designed for your health program. With just a few quick calculations, you’ll have completely custom macros designed for your body and your goals.

By tracking your intake of these macros, you can have the flexibility to live your life, eat delicious, whole, and healthy foods, and reach your weight-loss goals. And do it without obsessively tracking calories—ready to get started?

If you already know your calorie goal, feel free to scroll down to the “Determining Weight-Loss Macros for Keto” section below.

We HIGHLY recommend you read this blog completely (after all, we wrote it just for you). By the end, your knowledge of calories, macros, and weight loss will be far better than most, and you’ll have the information you need to start your system off right!

WHAT ARE MACROS?

“Macros” is a term you may have heard before if you’re familiar with the Keto diet, or know someone who’s done it. You’ve probably heard about people “tracking their macros,” but have you ever wondered what it means?

Nutritionists classify three main sources of nutrients that your body uses for energy, called macronutrients. These macronutrients are the fuel for your body’s metabolism. Most everything you eat contains these three macros, in one form and combination or another.

MEET THE MACROS

Carbohydrates

You may have noticed these things are everywhere. The most common forms of carbohydrates, or carbs, are sugars, fibers, and starches. Carbohydrates provide the body with glucose, a simple sugar that the body is able to convert quickly and easily to energy. The best types of carbohydrates are “complex,” meaning they are broken down slowly rather than spiking your blood sugar levels. These are the carbs found in whole foods, like beans, vegetables, fruit, and grains.

Fats

Years ago, low-fat diets were all the rage—"eat less fat, carry less fat,” makes sense, right? Well, it turns out that fats are actually an important part of any healthy diet, providing lots of energy and support to our bodily systems. The type of fat is more important than the quantity, so looks for unsaturated fats when possible, like olive oil, nuts, fish, and avocado.

Protein

You might think protein just belongs in your muscles—and that makes sense, protein is an essential component in your body’s muscle tissue. But proteins are found everywhere, in your hair, your skin, your bones, and in your blood. Protein is made from even smaller chemical building blocks called amino acids. Nine of these are called “essential amino acids” which means they must come from the foods you eat. And that doesn’t mean only from red meat! Good sources of protein include legumes, like lentils and beans, as well as nuts, seeds, certain grains like quinoa and oats, as well as many vegetables. Of course, animal proteins are also good sources, when prepared in a healthy way.

CALCULATING YOUR MACROS—BMR, TDEE, AND YOUR UNIQUE MACROS

To determine your personalized macros, we’re going to need to do a few calculations. Don’t worry, they’re pretty simple and there’s no quiz at the end!

P.S. Doing the math can be an important exercise in learning more about your nutrition.

But if you don’t feel like reading through all this, there are several free Macro calculators out there on the internet, try one or two out and see what they tell you!

IIFYM calculator

Bodybuilding.com calculator

Healthyeater.com calculator

BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR)

Each day, you automatically burn a certain number of calories to keep your body functioning properly. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR.

The first step in determining your macros is finding this BMR number. Nutritionists and scientists have found many ways to do this, and we’ll use the Harris-Benedict Equation. It is:

Female BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)

Male BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in years)

Now that may seem complicated, but we just need to plug in a few numbers.

For example, let’s say Julia is a 32-year-old woman, who weighs 170 pounds, and stands 5 feet, 4 inches tall.

First, let’s convert to metric units.

170 lbs. = 77.10 kg

5’4” = 162.56 cm.

Next, let’s plug those numbers in our formula, calculating the numbers in parentheses first.

BMR = 655 + (9.6 x 77.10) + (1.8 x 162.56) – (4.7 x 32) =

BMR = 655 + (740.16) + (292.60) – (150.40) =

BMR = 1,537 calories

This is the number of calories Julia’s body needs to simply maintain itself

TOTAL DAILY ENERGY EXPENDITURE (TDEE)

Now that we have our BMR figured out, we can determine our Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE. This number will take into account movement and exercise as an additional requirement of calories.

To calculate your TDEE value, you will multiply your BMR by a certain number based on your level of activity:

• Sedentary (little to no exercise, desk job) = 1.2
• Lightly Active (light exercise 1-3 times weekly) = 1.375
• Moderately Active (moderate exercise 3-5 days weekly) = 1.55
• Very Active (heavy exercise 6-7 days weekly, competitive athlete) = 1.725
• Extremely Active (Training 2x a day, heavy physical labor, competitive athlete) = 1.9

Julia wants to start exercising more, but her busy schedule makes it tough. So for now, she is Sedentary. We already know her BMR, so now we just add in her multiplier to find her total daily calorie needs.

TDEE = 1.2 x BMR

TDEE = 1.2 x 1537

TDEE = 1,844 calories

Julia, with her current activity levels, will consume around 1,844 calories to maintain her weight.

CALCULATING MACROS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Our system is designed for weight loss. Because your BMR and TDEE values tell you what you need to do to maintain, not lose weight, we will need to create what is called a calorie deficit.

This simply means reducing our intake of calories below what our body is burning as fuel throughout the day. Done right, this will create steady, sustainable weight loss.

Most researchers agree that around a 20% daily calorie deficit is the sweet spot in creating noticeable weight loss at a sustainable pace.

1,844 x .20 = 369 calories

1,844 – 369 = 1,475 calories

Julia should aim to reduce her daily calories to around 1,475 daily, creating a deficit equaling around 1 pound of fat lost each week.

DETERMINING WEIGHT-LOSS MACROS FOR KETO

Each macronutrient provides a certain amount of energy (calories, or kcal) per gram. To determine your daily macro breakdown while on the Keto meal plan, you’ll determine what percentages of your daily calories should come from each macro sources.

Carbs = 4 kcal per gram

Protein = 4 kcal per gram

Fat = 9 kcal per gram

The Xyngular standard for Keto is 70-25-5, meaning 70% of your daily calories should come from fats, 25% from protein, and just 5% from carbohydrates.

This will help your body maintain ketosis, a process that makes stored fat a primary source of energy for your metabolism, helping you shed excess weight quickly.

Using Julia as an example, she would now simply use her daily calorie goal of 1,475 to determine her own percentages of calories needed, and how many grams will provide those calories.

(1475 x 70%) = 1032 calories from FATS / 9kcal per gram = 115g of FATS

(1475 x 25%) = 369 calories from PROTEIN / 4kcal per gram = 92g of PROTEIN

(1475 x 5%) = 74 calories from CARBS / 4kcal per gram = 18 g of CARBS

Julia, on her our system, will follow the Keto meal plan to consume 115 F / 92 P / 18 C.

Tracking your macros gives you the flexibility to eat how, when, and what you want, as long as it fits within your daily macros. And as we've learned, as long as you're tracking accurately, you will lose weight—it's mathematical!