CARNIVORE DIET MACRO CALCULATOR
Trying to figure out your carnivore diet macros, how many grams of protein and fat you should be eating is often the first barrier when it comes to success with your carnivore diet.
Getting it right can mean the difference between feeling great all day every day or feeling low energy and running to the toilet every few hours.
In this guide, we'll go through the steps needed to get your carnivore macros just right and what to do when you're experiencing negative symptoms.
Method 1: Using Body weight percentages
If you're looking for the simplest, getting started carnivore diet macro formula:
LOSE WEIGHT FORMULA
1.2 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
0.8 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
MAINTAIN WEIGHT FORMULA
1 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
1 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
INCREASE WEIGHT FORMULA
0.8 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
1.2 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
1.2 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
0.8 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
MAINTAIN WEIGHT FORMULA
1 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
1 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
INCREASE WEIGHT FORMULA
0.8 GRAM OF PROTEIN PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
1.2 GRAM OF FAT PER LB OF BODY WEIGHT
For example.
If you weight 170lb, your basic daily calorie needs are around 2,210.
So if you want to lose weight, you'd eat 204g of protein and 136g of fat per day.
- 204g of protein (4kcl per g) will give you 816 calories
- 136g of fat (9kcl per g) will give you 1,224 calories
- Total calories comes to 2,040 calories (a calorie deficit)
If you're 170lb want to maintain weight, you'd eat 170g of protein per day and 170g of fat per day.
- 170g of protein (4kcl per g) will give you 680 calories
- 170g of fat (9kcl per g) will give you 1,530 calories
- Total calories comes to 2,210 calories (calorie maintenance)
If you're 170lb want to gain weight, you'd eat 136g of protein per day and 204g of fat per day.
- 136g of protein (4kcl per g) will give you 544 calories
- 204g of fat (9kcl per g) will give you 1,836 calories
- Total calories comes to 2,380 calories (a calorie surplus)
Method 2: Using a Calorie calculator
Method 2 is the more traditional way of calculating your calorie needs. The first thing you'll need to know is how many calories your body currently needs to get through the day.
This number is going to change dramatically over time as your metabolism shifts to a more economic energy system but for now, this is an easy way to start.
Use the gadget below to figure out how many calories your body needs in a day.
Note: You need to select and fill in every field, even if it's already filled in for you.
This number is going to change dramatically over time as your metabolism shifts to a more economic energy system but for now, this is an easy way to start.
Use the gadget below to figure out how many calories your body needs in a day.
Note: You need to select and fill in every field, even if it's already filled in for you.
Now that you have a rough number of calories you need per day, the next step to figuring out what your macro needs are on the carnivore diet is to divide your calorie needs into the two main macros you'll be consuming. Fat and protein.
These numbers can vary wildly from person to person but we've found a great starting point is a 1:1 ratio in grams. As in, for every 1g of fat you eat, you'd eat 1g of protein. For this, we'll need to do some math. I'll use myself as an example:
I'm 170lb and require 2,300 calories per day to maintain weight according to the app.
There are 4 calories in every gram of protein. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat.
To get a 1:1 ratio of fat to protein in grams, you'll need to get a 70:30 ratio of of fat to protein in calories.
2,300 x 70% fat = 1,610 calories of fat which, when divided by 9 = 178 grams.
2,300 x 30% protein = 690 calories of protein which, when divided by 4 = 170 grams
So I'm looking at around 175g of each as a starting point.
Here's the formula to plug your numbers in:
These numbers can vary wildly from person to person but we've found a great starting point is a 1:1 ratio in grams. As in, for every 1g of fat you eat, you'd eat 1g of protein. For this, we'll need to do some math. I'll use myself as an example:
I'm 170lb and require 2,300 calories per day to maintain weight according to the app.
There are 4 calories in every gram of protein. There are 9 calories in each gram of fat.
To get a 1:1 ratio of fat to protein in grams, you'll need to get a 70:30 ratio of of fat to protein in calories.
2,300 x 70% fat = 1,610 calories of fat which, when divided by 9 = 178 grams.
2,300 x 30% protein = 690 calories of protein which, when divided by 4 = 170 grams
So I'm looking at around 175g of each as a starting point.
Here's the formula to plug your numbers in:
Fat = (Calories x 0.7) / 9
Protein = (Calories x 0.3) / 4
Method 3: Test & Tweak
If you happen to be the type of person that sits nicely on this 50:50 protein to fat split, great! You're all set. Unfortunately most people don't, at least for some time and they can get negative symptoms.
As an example, I happen have a few genetic predispositions that make me less tolerant of fat so I feel better on a higher protein to fat ratio. For that, I simply eat enough protein and consume fat to satiety.
You might also find that all this new found fat in your diet will cause you to experience negative side effects like diarrhea. This is because your gallbladder, the organ responsible for creating enzymes that break down fat isn't quite as efficient as it should be so you might need to back of the fat to give the little guy some time to adapt.
On the flip side, you might also feel lethargic and low energy which is usually due to not having enough fat.
Bit of a catch 22 if you experience both and some people can have a really hard time when starting out.
To figure out YOUR carnivore diet macros, you'll need to do some testing and tweaking and with your protein to fat ratios. It can be a bit of a nightmare to start out with but keep at it.
As an example, I happen have a few genetic predispositions that make me less tolerant of fat so I feel better on a higher protein to fat ratio. For that, I simply eat enough protein and consume fat to satiety.
You might also find that all this new found fat in your diet will cause you to experience negative side effects like diarrhea. This is because your gallbladder, the organ responsible for creating enzymes that break down fat isn't quite as efficient as it should be so you might need to back of the fat to give the little guy some time to adapt.
On the flip side, you might also feel lethargic and low energy which is usually due to not having enough fat.
Bit of a catch 22 if you experience both and some people can have a really hard time when starting out.
To figure out YOUR carnivore diet macros, you'll need to do some testing and tweaking and with your protein to fat ratios. It can be a bit of a nightmare to start out with but keep at it.
