Everything You Need to Know Before Counting Macros for Weight Loss, Per Experts (2024)

Dieting to lose weight is one thing—and there are plenty of ways to do it—but the macro diet, specifically, is more than a weight loss strategy. Counting macros instead of calories helps you better understand your food, ensuring that you eat nutrient-dense meals to fuel your body and mind while potentially helping you lose weight in the process. So, how does counting macros for weight loss work?

Serious athletes have long paid attention to their macronutrients—also known as macros—as a way to optimize their performance. But more recently, macro-focused diets (also known as flexible dieting) have become popular among fitness enthusiasts and people who want to keep their weight in check. The macro diet, not to be confused with the macrobiotic diet, is all about counting the percentage of macronutrients—those being carbohydrates, fats, and proteins—in the diet and hitting a specific percentage target of the three, says Melissa Prest, D.C.N., R.D.N., national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and member of the Prevention Medical Review Board.

Meet the Experts: Georgie Fear, R.D., the author of Lean Habits for Healthy Weight Loss; Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., registered dietitian and author of The Small Change Diet; Amy Goodson, R.D., C.S.S.D., registered dietitian; Melissa Prest, D.C.N., R.D.N., national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and member of the Prevention Medical Review Board.

So what is the macro diet all about and is it something worth trying? Here are the answers to all of your questions—including exactly how to get started.

The idea behind the macro diet is pretty simple: Instead of staying under a calorie threshold, you focus on getting a certain number (typically grams) of macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fat—instead. Depending on your goals, you can adjust the amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and fats you consume to slim down, build muscle, or maintain your weight.

Macronutrients are the three types of nutrients that provide you with most of your energy: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Micronutrients, on the other hand, are the types of nutrients that your body uses in smaller amounts, like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.

Most foods have two or even all three different macronutrients, but they’re categorized by the macronutrient of which they contain the most. For instance, chicken is a protein even though it also has some fat, and sweet potatoes are considered a carb even though they have a bit of protein.

Not all macronutrients are created equal. “The quality and amount of different macronutrient groups might determine if your blood sugar falls or stays stable, if you have steady energy or are all over the place, and how much you eat at a sitting,” says registered dietitian Amy Goodson, R.D., C.S.S.D. All of those things factor into how well you’re able to stick to your healthy eating plan.

For example, here are healthy choices in every macronutrient category:

Carbohydrates: Healthy carbs are typically high in fiber, including whole grains, legumes, leafy greens, potatoes, and fruit.

Proteins: Good picks for healthy, lean proteins: chicken, turkey grass-fed beef, fatty fish (like salmon and mackerel), eggs, and plant-based options like beans and chickpeas.

Fats: Satiating, healthy fats include olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds.

There are several benefits in counting macros versus counting calories. First, it may help you make more nutritious choices by forcing you to consider the quality of your food. For instance, let’s say you’re following a calorie-counting diet and are allotted 200 calories for your afternoon snack; that means you could eat something healthy like an apple and a tablespoon of almond butter, but it also means you could eat 200 calories-worth of a non-nutritious snack to satisfy your cravings. When you’re counting macros, you need to choose a snack that would fit your macro plan.

And if weight loss is your goal, counting macros has one major benefit: People following a macro diet tend to eat a little more protein than the average eater. “Protein requires more energy to digest and use than carbs or fat, plus it dampens your appetite,” says Georgie Fear, R.D., the author of Lean Habits for Healthy Weight Loss. So, a macros diet could help you feel more full between meals.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of a macro diet is having the flexibility to choose foods you truly enjoy, as long as it fits your macro plan. Finding a good balance of nutrient-dense foods is important, but choosing an IIFYM plan allows you the freedom for an occasional indulgence, which, for many people, makes it easier to stick to in the long-run.

In some cases, counting macros is easier than counting daily calories, but not always. It can be a simple process if you’re following basic guidelines, like filling a specific portion of your plate with protein, carbs, and fat. But meeting specific number goals (like aiming for X grams of protein per meal) isn’t really any easier, Goodson says. As with any diet plan that focuses on counting, it can be rather time-consuming and difficult to sustain for the long term, says Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., registered dietitian and author of The Small Change Diet. “For the average person, a healthy style of eating should not have to involve math skills,” she adds.

The macro diet also tends to turn meal and snack time into a puzzle. “It creates a macros Tetris game of trying to find something to fill in exactly what you need for one macro without going over on the others,” Fear says. That can be tough since very few foods are made up of just one macro. While a cup of plain, low-fat Greek yogurt packs 20 grams of protein, for instance, it also has 8 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fat.

Finally, the macro diet can exacerbate or lead to disordered eating. Placing a lot of attention on measuring, counting, and recording macros can fuel obsessive habits around food. A macros diet may feel more restrictive as you need to hit your targets each day, explains Prest.

In theory, macros dieting can help you lose weight. But it’s not any more effective than counting calories or even just paying attention to your portions, Fear says. And in practice, it can be a lot of work.

Still, it’s worth trying if the whole puzzle-piecing aspect sounds like fun to you. “If it’s enjoyable as a game, then macros counting helps someone to continue eating in a certain way when they might otherwise get bored,” Fear says. But if that kind of attention to detail feels like a chore or makes you anxious, it may be tough to maintain.

Being aware of macros, not counting, can benefit most individuals with weight loss, notes Gans. “Including protein and fat, alongside a high-fiber carb, aids in satiety—helping an individual to be less hungry,” she explains.

If you are someone with an eating disorder or recovering from an eating disorder tracking macros may not be appropriate, says Prest. Gans agrees that if a person has a history of an eating disorder, “it would be ill-advised to follow any diet that has restrictions or rules,” she adds.

That depends on your age, size, and activity level. “Those who work out need a different amount of carbs and protein than someone who is more sedentary,” Goodson says. But in general, these ratios are a good place to start:

• If you exercise for an hour or less daily: 30% protein, 30% fat, 40% carbs
• If you exercise for one to two hours daily: 30% protein, 25% fat, 45% carbs
• If you exercise for more than two hours daily: Consider seeing a certified sports dietitian. “You need personalization to maintain that high physical output and lose weight safely,” Fear says.

Now that you know which macro ratio works best, you can figure out the actual number of macros you need and keep track of them in three basic steps:

1. Figure out your calorie needs.

Again, this depends on your age, size, and activity level, as well as your weight loss goals. Use a calculator that’ll factor all of this in, like the National Institutes of Health’s Body Weight Planner.

2. Tally up your macros.

Once you’ve got your calorie count, you can use your macro ratio to determine exactly how many grams of protein, fat, and carbs to eat each day. This involves a little bit of math, but you can save time by using a macro calculator, like the one from freedieting.com. Using this tool, we were able to learn that a woman eating 1,500 calories who exercises for half an hour most days of the week would need 150 grams of carbs, 112 grams of protein, and 50 grams of fat daily.

3. Use an app to track your macros.

Now that you know how much of each macro you need, you’ll have to keep track of the amounts that you’re actually getting from your meals and snacks. Just like with calorie counting, the easiest way to do this is with a food tracker app, Goodson says. Most mobile applications that help you track and log foods should provide a macro percentage of your overall diet, says Prest. Popular macros tracking apps include:

The whole idea of a macro diet can be overwhelming. This kind of detail-oriented tracking definitely requires commitment, and like calorie counting, it can be particularly challenging if you go out to eat a lot.

An easier—though less precise—alternative is to just rely on your eyeballs, Goodson says. If you’re looking to get your macros in and hate tracking food, a good rule of thumb is to make a little over a quarter of your plate lean protein and about a quarter of your plate whole grains or starchy vegetables (like sweet potatoes). Fill the rest of your plate with non-starchy veggies, which, when it comes to macro counting, are considered carbs. As long as some of the items on your plate have added fat (like salad greens tossed with a vinaigrette or chicken roasted with olive oil), you don’t need to worry about making a space for fat on your plate.

And if you’re still hungry, fill up on more veggies, Goodson says. This method won’t guarantee that your macros line up with a 30/30/40 breakdown, but it’ll still ensure you get a decent amount of protein at each meal and aren’t overdoing it on the starchy carbs. Just as important, it’ll help keep your portions in check. Both of those things can help you reach your weight loss goals.

​​If you are looking to count macros for weight loss, you should consider seeking the advice from a registered dietitian to help you customize the macro percentages based on your activity level, age, and goals, says Prest. You can find a registered dietitian nutritionist in your area for guidance and support at eatright.org.

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