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    Free Keto Macro Calculator - Easy and Accurate Results

    Dec 2, 2021 · 9 Comments

    Our FREE keto macro calculator is accurate and easy to use. It will tell you how many calories, and the amount of fat, carbs and protein you need on a low-carb ketogenic diet.

    graphic of a notepad with the word keto on it

    DISCALIMER: This Keto Macro Calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. Statements have not been approved by the FDA. The reader assumes full responsibility for consulting a qualified health professional before starting a new diet or health program.

    No need to search for the best keto macro calculator because it's here! Ours is super easy to use and customize.

    What are macros?

    The term macro comes from "macro-nutrient" and refers to the three nutrients that humans get calories from. These are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

    This free keto macro calculator will help you determine how much of each macronutrient you need every day in order to achieve your goals. This is extremely useful when trying to lose, gain, or maintain weight.

    Fat

    Fats are the densest form of energy, meaning that it takes more space to store fat than either protein or carbohydrates. You can get fat from various animal and plant sources. Some of the most common types of fat on a keto diet are dairy, meat, and seafood, chocolate, olives, oils, etc.

    Protein

    Protein provides the body with some of the essential amino acids that it can't make on its own, directly or indirectly. It is your protein intake that helps you to build muscle and retain muscle mass, slow down the digestion of other nutrients (which prevents blood sugar spikes), and allows your body to utilize glucose as fuel.

    Protein sources include animal and plant sources. Meat and dairy are the obvious choices on an omnivore diet but since we're plant-based, most of our protein comes from soy products like tofu, nuts and seeds, as well as protein powders and leafy greens.

    Carbohydrates

    Carbohydrates are your body's preferred form of energy because it is less dense than fat (it takes more space to store) and because it is easily accessible in the human body. When you eat carbohydrates - bread, potatoes, pasta etc. - your body stores them in the liver and muscles (your muscles essentially store glucose which you can use to fuel your brain).

    Most plant-based foods contain carbohydrates, but some like leafy greens are also high in fiber. The point of eating low carbs is to get the body used to using fats for energy rather than glucose - this process is called ketosis and in the end, is what allows you to burn fat instead of using carbs for fuel. It's especially helpful in lowering insulin and glucose which makes weight loss easier for some.

    A note on Fiber

    Fiber is a non-digestible carbohydrate that comes from plants and is excreted by your body without being broken down. There are two types: soluble and insoluble, both of which provide health benefits such as preventing constipation and regulating blood glucose levels. To get net carbs, you simply subtract the amount of fiber from the total carbohydrates.

    graphic of produce veggies

    How many carbs a day do you eat on a keto diet to reach your goals?

    This depends on your current weight, height, activity level, and goals. No one is exactly the same and anyone who says that keto is always 20g or less of net carbs per day is 100% wrong. Full stop.

    Someone looking to lose weight and get healthy will need drastically different carb amounts versus someone who is already relatively fit and moderately active and just wants to maintain or even gain weight while staying in ketosis.

    What is a keto diet?

    The ketogenic diet (or keto) is a low carb, high fat, and moderate protein based nutrition plan. It's designed to make the human body burn fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. This state can be achieved by eating very low amounts of carbs and higher amounts of fats and proteins in order to push your metabolism into the natural metabolic state of ketosis (where the body produces ketones to be used for fuel).

    When you keep your daily carbs low, but above 0, you enter this state. The level at which you enter ketosis depends on many factors like your own physiology and activity levels, but it's easily estimated by using our Keto Macro Calculator below.

    How to use our free Keto Macro Calculator

    If you already know your weight and fat percentage, simply input those values into the calculator below to estimate your macronutrient intake. You'll be able to see a detailed breakdown of the amount of calories, fat, protein, and carbs you should eat per day. We also love this calculator as it presents a graph of the estimated weight loss timeline and adjusts your calories and macros as time goes on.

    In our experience, most people underestimate their body's need for protein and overestimate their carb needs. This calculator will help you get a better idea of what your body needs and how it responds to a high-fat diet.

    This is by no means a comprehensive keto calculator. However, we hope it'll provide you with an easy way to estimate your macros. Also, please keep in mind that the estimated weight loss timeline graph is just a rough estimate and can't be 100% accurate as it depends on numerous factors like your activity level and how you track your macros.

    There's no "perfect" macro ratio or diet for everyone. People respond differently to different diets so we encourage everyone to experiment and see what works best for their body and goals.

    A note on calories

    While some calculators have no lower limit for the number of calories you should eat per day, ours does and there's a reason why. Your body needs fuel and eating too low calories can have drastic effects on your ability to function. Additionally, eating too few calories can contribute to muscle loss - something that's especially harmful if you're exercising regularly.

    Remember that even if you are losing weight, eating too few calories will prevent you from building or maintaining the muscles needed for exercise. The result being unhealthy and possible weight gain in the future.

    For women, you should never go below 1200 calories per day and for men, you should never go below 1800 calories per day. If your weight is coming off too quickly or if you just feel dizzy all the time, eat more!

    FREE Keto Macro Calculator

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anita says

      December 02, 2021 at 5:57 pm

      I don't understand the graph. Week one is the highest level of all macros, at the end, it's much lower. Why is that?

      Reply
      • Cast Iron Keto says

        December 02, 2021 at 6:00 pm

        Hey Anita - So, if you're calculating to lose weight, as you do your needs go down as your weight goes down. At some point, you'll need to increase activity so that you can reliably stay above the recommended calorie baseline. Does that make sense? It's helpful to see the graph but as you lose weight, or gain, or maintain, the best thing would be to come back and recalculate. Hope that makes sense!

        Reply
      • Sara says

        December 17, 2022 at 5:38 pm

        I'm having the same issue.

        Reply
    2. Donna Gibson says

      September 16, 2022 at 12:57 pm

      I used the calculator and I’m confused. The recommended intake of macros in calories per day is far under the calculated calorie intake. My calorie suggestion is over 1500 but when I add up the recommended calories under each macro section the calories only add up to less than 600 per day. Clarification? Am I looking at it the wrong way? The percentages seem correct at 75%, 5%, and 20%.

      Reply
      • Cast Iron Keto says

        September 19, 2022 at 4:27 pm

        Hi Donna, we have tried to replicate your issue this morning to no avail. We're not sure what's happening. When we use the calculator, the first calorie suggestion is your daily BMR. Then, after choosing the weight-loss rate, the calorie suggestions under each macro breakdown changes according to that variable. If you give it a try again and get the same results, take a screenshot and shoot it over to [email protected] and we'll take a look.

        Reply
    3. Brian Roscher says

      December 14, 2022 at 5:37 pm

      Does the recommended carbs intake refer to dietary fiber plus simple carbs or just simple carbs?

      Reply
    4. Minya Lynch says

      January 16, 2023 at 5:17 pm

      Why is the calculator not working ... I can't enter anything?

      Reply
      • Minya Lynch says

        January 16, 2023 at 5:21 pm

        Nevermind... I had to go into full screen to see all

        Reply
    5. Shaz McGill says

      February 02, 2023 at 12:57 am

      Ok so I'm 59 years old, 136 lbs - 5'5" my fat percentage is 28.67 - I want to get back down to 120 lbs - the weight I have maintained most of my adult life. I want to lose by March 31st (60th bday ) - so I chose the strict 2lbs loss/week. In order to maintain my 136 lbs is says 1908 kcal/day. In order to lose 16 lbs of weight - Fat 681/kcal, Carb 45.42/kcal, Protein 181.7 kcal = 908.12 kcal per day and the graph has me going down to about 800 kcal by week 8. Is that not too low/drastic? Do I just stay at the 908.12 kcal for the 8 weeks or do I continue to cut back - sorry confused. What do I do to maintain after week 8? It says not to go below 1200 kcal/day for women.

      Reply

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