Keto macro calculator
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Your likely daily energy use
2,041 as low as
2,430 kcal/day
2,819 as high as
±16% — the shaded band is where your real figure most likely sits.
Show the arithmetic
- BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor)
- 10(82) + 6.25(178) − 5(34) + 5 = 1768 kcal
- Activity — Lightly active
- 1768 × 1.375 = 2430 kcal
- Honest band — ±16%
- 2041 – 2819 kcal/day
Mifflin-St Jeor is the default because it is the best-validated equation that needs no body-fat number. Harris-Benedict would give 1,848 kcal for the same person — a difference of well under 100 kcal. The formula is not what makes these calculators wrong; the activity multiplier is.
Where your calories go
Estimated daily breakdown of your 2,430 kcal TDEE.
- BMR (Resting) 1,768 kcal (73%)
Organs, brain & heart function at complete rest
- TEF (Food digestion) 243 kcal (10%)
Energy spent digesting protein, carbs & fats (~10%)
- NEAT (Daily movement) 294 kcal (12%)
Walking, standing, fidgeting & non-exercise movement
- EAT (Workouts) 126 kcal (5%)
Structured workouts, sports & cardio sessions
Your calorie target, then your macros
Macros are a split of a calorie number, so the calorie number comes first. Moderate loss is marked because it is the rate most people actually sustain — pick another row and the grams below follow it.
1,944 kcal/day · -0.44 kg per week, estimated
Your macros — as ranges, because that is what the evidence supports
- Protein 208–230 g 1.6–2.2 g per kg bodyweight, upper end while cutting
- Fat 72–79 g 20–30% of calories
- Carbs 92–102 g whatever the calorie target has left
How to replace this estimate with your own number
Every figure on this page is a starting point, and the ±band is the honest size of the error. After two to three weeks of eating near your target, weigh yourself daily and compare the weekly averages, not single days. If the average moved less than the estimate predicted, your real maintenance is lower than shown — subtract roughly 100 kcal and hold for another fortnight. If it moved faster, add 100. Two cycles of that beat any formula, including this one.
2–3 Week Self-Correction Calculator
Calculators estimate; your body provides ground truth. Enter your 2–3 week progress to calculate your actual real-world TDEE.
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What a keto macro calculator changes, and what it does not
A ketogenic split fixes carbohydrate at a low absolute figure (commonly 20–50 g of net carbs a day), sets protein from your bodyweight, and lets fat fill whatever calories remain. The calculator above produces this split from the same calorie engine as the macro calculator; keto changes the ratio it divides into, not how the calorie total is worked out.
That total still matters more than the ratio. Ketosis changes which fuel your body runs on; it does not suspend energy balance. If you eat above maintenance on keto you will gain weight, and if you eat below it you will lose, the same as on any other split. Much of the fast early drop on keto is glycogen and its associated water, not fat, and it comes back when carbs do.
The standard keto split
By calories, a typical ketogenic day lands near 70–75% fat, 20–25% protein and 5–10% carbohydrate, but the carbohydrate figure is better treated as a gram ceiling than a percentage. Most people reach and hold ketosis at 20–50 g of net carbs per day; some need the lower end, a few tolerate more, and the only reliable way to know is to test. "Net carbs" means total carbohydrate minus fibre, since fibre is largely not absorbed.
Percentages drift as your calorie target changes, which is why this calculator anchors the two macros that should not float (carbohydrate to a gram limit, protein to your bodyweight) and lets fat absorb the rest.
Tracking net carbs in practice
The gram ceiling only works if you can see the carbs you are actually eating, and on keto most of them arrive uninvited. Sauces, dressings, cured meats, "sugar-free" products sweetened with maltitol, a splash of milk in coffee, and the starch used to bulk out spice blends all carry carbohydrate that a mental estimate misses. For the first few weeks it is worth weighing food and logging it against a database rather than guessing: the difference between 20 g and 45 g of net carbs is often just unlogged extras.
Net carbs are total carbohydrate minus fibre, and in the United States minus sugar alcohols too; outside the US, subtract only fibre and treat sugar alcohols cautiously, since some do raise blood glucose. Non-starchy vegetables are where most of your allowance should go: they carry the fibre, potassium and magnesium that make the early weeks easier, and it is genuinely hard to overshoot on leafy greens, courgette or peppers.
Protein on keto is not low
A persistent myth holds that keto requires low protein, on the theory that excess protein is converted to glucose and breaks ketosis. In practice gluconeogenesis is demand-driven, not supply-driven, and studies of higher-protein ketogenic diets generally show ketosis maintained. Protein here is set the same way as everywhere else on the site: 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram of bodyweight, biased upward if you are in a deficit and training.
Under-eating protein is the more common mistake on keto, because fat is so calorie-dense that a day can hit its energy target while falling short on protein. The gram figure the calculator shows is a floor to meet, not a cap to stay under.
Fat is the lever, not the goal
On keto, fat fills the space left after protein and carbohydrate are set, so its number moves with your calorie target. When cutting, fat grams come down and you eat leaner; when maintaining, they go up. The instruction sometimes given to "eat fat until full" works only if fullness happens to match your calorie target: for many people it does, which is part of why keto helps with appetite, but it is not guaranteed, and adding fat you do not need still adds calories.
Keto for weight loss: still a calorie deficit
Head-to-head trials that match calories and protein between a ketogenic diet and a moderate-carb diet generally find similar fat loss. Where keto has an edge for some people is adherence: the appetite-blunting effect and the simple "avoid carbs" rule make a deficit easier to hold without counting. If that describes you, keto is a reasonable tool. If you love carbohydrate-rich food, forcing keto tends to produce a diet you abandon.
To lose weight on keto, apply a deficit the same way as on any split: 10–25% below maintenance. The weight-loss macro calculator covers how to set and then correct that deficit with your own weight data.
Standard, targeted and cyclical keto
Most people should use standard ketogenic dieting (SKD), the fixed low-carb ceiling every day, which is what the calculator above produces. Two variants exist for people who train hard. Targeted keto (TKD) adds 15–30 g of fast carbohydrate in the 30–60 minutes around a hard session, on the theory that it fuels the work without displacing ketosis the rest of the day. Cyclical keto (CKD) runs five or six keto days followed by one or two higher-carb refeed days, and is mostly used by lean, advanced lifters.
The evidence base for both is thin, and each adds a way to get the calorie total wrong. If you are new to keto, run SKD for at least a month before considering a variant: you need a stable baseline to judge whether a change helped. Whichever version you use, the daily calorie target the tool shows is still the number that decides whether you gain or lose.
Who should be cautious, and the early weeks
The first one to two weeks often bring the "keto flu" (headache, fatigue, cramps), which is largely sodium and fluid loss as insulin falls. Salting food and keeping potassium and magnesium up through food blunts most of it. Keto is not appropriate for everyone: people on insulin or SGLT2 inhibitors, people with a history of pancreatitis or certain gallbladder or liver conditions, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not start it without medical guidance.
This page is written by Madhu Kinnera, who is not a clinician. Nothing here is medical advice. If you take medication for diabetes or blood pressure, talk to your doctor before starting keto: doses often need adjusting quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my keto macros?
Estimate your maintenance calories, adjust for your goal, then set carbohydrate at a ceiling of 20 to 50 grams of net carbs, protein at 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, and fat as the calories that remain. The calculator above does this and shows the arithmetic.
What are the macros for a standard ketogenic diet?
By calories, roughly 70 to 75 percent fat, 20 to 25 percent protein, and 5 to 10 percent carbohydrate. The carbohydrate figure is best treated as a gram limit rather than a percentage, because percentages shift as your calorie target changes.
How many carbs can I eat and stay in ketosis?
Most people stay in ketosis at 20 to 50 grams of net carbs per day. The exact number is individual: some need under 20, a few tolerate more. Testing with urine strips, a breath meter or a blood ketone meter is the only way to know your own threshold.
Does eating too much protein break ketosis?
Generally no. The idea that surplus protein is converted to glucose and stops ketosis is not well supported: glucose production is demand-driven, not supply-driven. Studies of higher-protein ketogenic diets typically show ketosis maintained. Under-eating protein is the more common problem on keto.
What are net carbs?
Total carbohydrate minus fibre, and in some countries minus sugar alcohols. Fibre is largely not digested or absorbed, so it contributes little usable energy and does not raise blood glucose the way other carbohydrate does. Keto carb limits are usually given in net carbs.
Is keto better than other diets for weight loss?
When calories and protein are matched, trials generally show similar fat loss between keto and moderate-carb diets. Keto helps some people by blunting appetite and simplifying food choices, which makes a deficit easier to hold. It is a tool, not a requirement, and it works only if you can sustain it.
Why did I lose weight so fast in the first week of keto?
Most of it is glycogen and the water stored with it, not fat. Each gram of glycogen holds roughly 3 grams of water, and cutting carbs depletes those stores quickly. The weight returns when carbohydrate does, which is normal and not fat regain.
How much fat should I eat on keto?
Whatever your calorie target has left after protein is set and carbohydrate is capped. Fat is the adjustable macro on keto, not a target to maximise. Eating extra fat you do not need still adds calories and will stall fat loss.
What is the keto flu and how do I avoid it?
A cluster of headache, fatigue and cramps in the first week or two, caused mostly by sodium and fluid loss as insulin drops. Salting food generously and keeping potassium and magnesium up through food prevents most of it. It passes as your body adapts.
Can I build muscle on keto?
Yes, though some lifters find high-intensity training harder without carbohydrate and use a targeted or cyclical approach. Keep protein at 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg, eat at or slightly above maintenance, and train with weights. Progress may be slightly slower than on a higher-carb diet for some people.
Who should not do keto?
People on insulin or SGLT2 inhibitor medication, those with a history of pancreatitis or some gallbladder and liver conditions, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not start keto without medical guidance. Diabetes and blood pressure medication often need prompt dose changes on keto.
Where do hidden carbs come from on keto?
Sauces and dressings, cured and processed meats, "sugar-free" products with maltitol, milk in coffee, and the starch used to bulk out spice blends. These are the difference between a logged 20 grams and an actual 45. Weighing and logging food for the first few weeks is the fastest way to find them.
Should I eat carbs around my workout on keto?
That is targeted keto (TKD): 15 to 30 grams of fast carbohydrate just before or after a hard session. Some lifters find it helps high-intensity training without affecting ketosis the rest of the day. The evidence is limited, so run standard keto for a month first to get a baseline, then trial it if your sessions are suffering.
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