How to Calculate Macros for Clients (With a Worked Example)
The steps coaches use to set calories, protein, carbs and fat for a client, from BMR and activity level to goal adjustments, with a full worked example.
Setting a client's calories and macros is a calculation you'll do hundreds of times. Doing it the same way every time makes it faster, easier to explain to clients and easier to adjust later. Here's the method most coaches use, step by step, with a complete worked example at the end.
Want to skip the math? Our free macro calculator runs exactly these steps.
Step 1: Estimate basal metabolic rate (BMR)
BMR is the energy the body uses at complete rest. You can't measure it without lab equipment, so you estimate it. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the standard choice for healthy adults, because research comparing prediction equations has found it the most reliable of the common options:
- Men: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age (years) + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age (years) − 161
Working in pounds and inches? Convert first: kilograms = pounds ÷ 2.2046, centimeters = inches × 2.54.
Step 2: Multiply by an activity factor
Multiplying BMR by an activity factor gives total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), an estimate of maintenance calories:
| Activity level | Typical client | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little or no exercise | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Training 1–3 days a week | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Training 3–5 days a week | 1.55 |
| Very active | Training 6–7 days a week | 1.725 |
| Extremely active | Physical job plus daily training | 1.9 |
Clients almost always overestimate their activity. Someone who trains four times a week but sits for ten hours a day is often closer to "lightly active". When in doubt, pick the lower factor; it's easier to add food than to explain why progress is slow.
Step 3: Adjust for the goal
- Fat loss: a deficit of 10–25% below TDEE. Many coaches aim for a loss of roughly 0.5–1% of body weight per week. Use the smaller deficit for leaner clients and the larger one for clients with more to lose.
- Muscle gain: a surplus of 5–10% above TDEE. Bigger surpluses mostly add fat, not muscle.
- Maintenance or recomposition: stay at TDEE and focus on protein and training.
Step 4: Set protein first
Protein supports muscle repair and growth and helps with fullness, which matters most in a deficit. For people who strength train, 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram of body weight (about 0.7–1 g per pound) is a well-supported range. Go toward the higher end in a deficit, when muscle is easier to lose.
For clients carrying a lot of body fat, calculate protein from goal weight rather than current weight; otherwise the number becomes unrealistically high.
Step 5: Set fat
Set fat at 20–35% of total calories. Going much below 20% for long periods makes meals less satisfying and makes it harder to cover essential fats. Clients who prefer higher-fat foods can sit at the top of the range; those who perform better with more carbs can sit at the bottom.
Step 6: Fill the rest with carbohydrates
Whatever calories remain go to carbs. Remember the energy values: protein and carbohydrate provide about 4 kcal per gram, fat about 9 kcal per gram.
Carbs (g) = (target calories − protein g × 4 − fat g × 9) ÷ 4
A worked example
Sarah is 34, weighs 68 kg (150 lb), is 165 cm (5'5") tall and lifts four times a week. Her goal is fat loss.
- BMR: 10 × 68 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 34 − 161 = 680 + 1,031 − 170 − 161 ≈ 1,380 kcal
- TDEE: 1,380 × 1.55 (moderately active) ≈ 2,140 kcal
- Goal: a 20% deficit: 2,140 × 0.8 ≈ 1,710 kcal
- Protein: 2.0 g × 68 kg = 136 g (544 kcal)
- Fat: 30% of 1,710 kcal = 513 kcal ÷ 9 ≈ 57 g
- Carbs: (1,710 − 544 − 513) ÷ 4 ≈ 163 g
Sarah's starting targets: 1,710 kcal, 136 g protein, 163 g carbs and 57 g fat.
If you give her slightly lower targets on rest days, keep protein and fat the same and take the difference from carbs. A 10% lower rest day would be about 1,540 kcal with roughly 120 g of carbs. See Rest Day Macros for when that's worth doing.
Step 7: Adjust from real results
Every equation is an estimate, and individuals can differ from the prediction by 10% or more. After two to three weeks of good adherence, compare the weekly average body weight with the goal:
- Losing faster than planned, or feeling drained in training: add 100–200 kcal a day, mostly carbs.
- No change after three weeks: remove 100–200 kcal a day, from carbs or fat.
- On track: change nothing. Consistency beats tinkering.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an activity factor that's too high.
- Setting protein from current weight for clients with a lot of body fat.
- Cutting fat very low to make room for more food volume.
- Adjusting the numbers before the client has followed them consistently.
- Presenting the targets as exact. Explain that they're a starting point you'll refine together.
From numbers to a plan
Targets are only half the job; the client needs meals that add up to them. Once you have the numbers, our step-by-step guide to creating a meal plan covers the rest. In SendFit, you enter the targets once and every day of the plan shows live progress against them as you add meals.