What Are Macros?

Macronutrients (macros) are the three main categories of nutrients that provide calories: protein (4 calories per gram), carbohydrates (4 calories per gram), and fat (9 calories per gram). Tracking macros goes beyond counting calories — it ensures you hit specific targets for each nutrient, which matters for body composition, athletic performance and satiety.

Step 1: Set Your Macro Targets

  1. 1

    Calculate your calorie goal first

    Use a TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator to estimate your maintenance calories. Then adjust: eat at maintenance to maintain weight, 200–500 calories below to lose fat, or 200–300 above to gain muscle. Free calculators: tdeecalculator.net, or use the goal-setting feature in MyFitnessPal.

  2. 2

    Set your macro split

    Common macro splits by goal: Fat loss: Protein 35–40%, Carbs 30–35%, Fat 25–30%. Muscle gain: Protein 25–30%, Carbs 45–50%, Fat 20–25%. General health/maintenance: Protein 25–30%, Carbs 40–45%, Fat 25–30%. Protein is the most important macro to hit — aim for 1.6–2.2g per kilogram of bodyweight for anyone training regularly.

Step 2: Track Using an App

  1. 3

    Download MyFitnessPal or Cronometer

    MyFitnessPal (free): Largest food database, barcode scanning, easy to use. Premium unlocks macro goal setting per meal (free version only shows daily totals). Cronometer (free): More detailed micronutrient data, accurate database. Both apps allow setting custom macro targets in grams or percentages.

  2. 4

    Weigh food on a kitchen scale

    Measuring cups and visual estimation introduce significant errors for calorie-dense foods (nuts, oil, rice, meat). A $10–20 kitchen scale and logging by grams is the only way to accurately track macros. Log raw weight before cooking for meats — or use the “cooked” food entry if weighing after.

  3. 5

    Scan barcodes for packaged foods

    Both apps have barcode scanners. Point the camera at the barcode — the food appears automatically. Check the serving size matches what you ate. Most packaged Australian foods are in the database; manually add anything missing.

Flexible dieting (“IIFYM”)If It Fits Your Macros means eating any foods you enjoy as long as they fit your daily macro targets. There are no forbidden foods in flexible dieting — a slice of pizza or a biscuit can fit into a day’s macros if planned for. This approach tends to be more sustainable long-term than restrictive diets. Prioritise hitting your protein target first, then fill remaining calories from carbs and fat as you prefer.

Frequently Asked Questions

For most people: hitting within 5–10g of your targets per macro is good enough. Perfect precision every day is neither necessary nor sustainable. Focus most on protein (the most important macro) and total calories. For competitive bodybuilders or athletes with specific physique goals, tighter precision matters more. For general health and fitness, being roughly on target most days produces good results. Consistency over months matters far more than daily precision.
For muscle building and retention while in a calorie deficit: 1.6–2.2g per kilogram of bodyweight daily. For general fitness: 1.2–1.6g per kg is sufficient. For sedentary adults: 0.8g per kg is the minimum recommended. Example: an 80kg person training 3–4 times per week should aim for 130–175g of protein per day. This is significantly more than most people eat without deliberate effort.