Keto Macro Calculator
Real gram targets for a ketogenic diet -- low carb, high fat, scaled to your calories.
Daily calories for maintain weight
2668 cal
Protein
167g
Carbs
33g
Fat
208g
Worked example, step by step
Two reference people, run through exactly the same formulas as the calculator above. Swap in your own numbers and the steps are identical.
Alex
Male · 30 · 5'9" · 170 lb · moderately active
- Weight
- 170 lb × 0.4536
- 77.1 kg
- Height
- 5'9" = 69 in × 2.54
- 175.3 cm
- BMR
- 10 × 77.1 + 6.25 × 175.3 − 5 × 30 + 5
- 1,721 cal
- TDEE
- 1,721 × 1.55 (moderately active)
- 2,668 cal
2,668 cal as keto
| Fat | 70% of 2,668 ÷ 9 | 208 g | 70% |
| Protein | 25% ÷ 4 | 167 g | 25% |
| Carbs | 5% ÷ 4 | 33 g | 5% |
Sam
Female · 30 · 5'5" · 140 lb · lightly active
- Weight
- 140 lb × 0.4536
- 63.5 kg
- Height
- 5'5" = 65 in × 2.54
- 165.1 cm
- BMR
- 10 × 63.5 + 6.25 × 165.1 − 5 × 30 − 161
- 1,356 cal
- TDEE
- 1,356 × 1.375 (lightly active)
- 1,864 cal
1,864 cal as keto
| Fat | 70% of 1,864 ÷ 9 | 145 g | 70% |
| Protein | 25% ÷ 4 | 117 g | 25% |
| Carbs | 5% ÷ 4 | 23 g | 5% |
Maintaining weight, so the calorie target is the TDEE itself; a cut or bulk would subtract or add its adjustment first.
What the activity levels actually mean
The multiplier is where most people go wrong, usually by picking a level too high. A desk job plus three gym sessions a week is "lightly active", not "moderately active" -- the gym hour is real, but the other 23 are sitting. Here is Alex's TDEE at every level, from the same 1,721-calorie BMR:
| Level | Who it fits | Multiplier | Alex's TDEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Little to no exercise, desk job | × 1.2 | 2,066 cal |
| Lightly active | Light exercise 1-3 days/week | × 1.375 | 2,367 cal |
| Moderately active | Moderate exercise 3-5 days/week | × 1.55 | 2,668 cal |
| Very active | Hard exercise 6-7 days/week | × 1.725 | 2,970 cal |
| Extra active | Very hard exercise and a physical job | × 1.9 | 3,271 cal |
The gap between sedentary and very active is 904 calories a day for the same person -- more than a whole meal. When in doubt, pick the lower level and let the two-week weigh-in correct you.
Gram targets by calorie level
With a percentage split every macro scales with calories, so the table is the same for everyone at a given calorie level -- your bodyweight only decides which row you land on.
Gram targets assume you weigh food. If a recipe is in cups and tablespoons, CookSubs converts cups to grams by ingredient so the number you log matches the number here.
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 | 100 g | 20 g | 124 g |
| 1,800 | 113 g | 23 g | 140 g |
| 2,000 | 125 g | 25 g | 156 g |
| 2,200 | 138 g | 28 g | 171 g |
| 2,500 | 156 g | 31 g | 194 g |
| 2,800 | 175 g | 35 g | 218 g |
| 3,200 | 200 g | 40 g | 249 g |
After two weeks: how to adjust
Every number on this page is an estimate of the average person with your stats. You are not the average person, and the only way to find your real number is to eat at the estimate and watch the scale. The rules that make that work:
- Weigh daily, judge weekly. Same scale, same time, after the bathroom, before food. Daily readings swing 2-4 lb on water alone; compare weekly averages, not days.
- Give it 14 days. The first week of any change is mostly water and glycogen. The second week is the first honest read.
- Then move 100-200 calories, not 500. Trending down when you meant to hold? Add 100-200. Trending up? Subtract 100-200. Small moves, then another two weeks.
- Recalculate when your weight changes by 10-15 lb. Your BMR moves with your bodyweight, so a target set months ago is stale.
- Keep protein fixed, flex carbs and fat. Protein is the one macro tied to keeping muscle; it is the last thing to cut and the first to hit.
Common mistakes
- Counting the workout twice. The activity multiplier already includes your training. Adding the calories your watch says you burned on top of it double-counts, often by 300-600 a day.
- Treating the number as exact. Mifflin-St Jeor is accurate to within about 10% for most healthy adults. For Alex that is a 267-calorie band either side of 2,668.
- Eating at BMR. BMR is what you burn asleep and fasting. Eating that little for long is a crash diet with a scientific-sounding name; the deficit belongs under TDEE, not under BMR.
- Rounding macros to the gram. Food labels are legally allowed to be 20% off. Hitting protein within 10-15 g and calories within 100 is precise enough; anything tighter is false accuracy.
Keep going
- Keto pushes carbs down to about 5% of calories; the 40/30/30 calculator splits the same calorie target with a far more moderate carb share. 40/30/30 Macro Calculator
- Keto only changes how your calories are split, not the calorie target itself; the TDEE calculator sets that number first. TDEE Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the actual keto macro split?
Roughly 5% of calories from carbs, 25% from protein, and 70% from fat -- this uses that as the default split, then converts it into real grams based on your calorie target.
Why is the carb number so low?
Keto works by keeping carb intake low enough to push your body into ketosis, burning fat for fuel instead of glucose -- typically under 50g of carbs a day, which is what a 5% split usually works out to.
Is 70% fat safe?
For most healthy adults, yes -- but keto is a significant shift from a typical diet and isn't right for everyone (particularly certain medical conditions). Check with a doctor before starting if you have any underlying health concerns.
How do I know I am actually in ketosis?
Urine strips are cheap but only reliable in the first weeks; blood ketone meters are the honest measure (0.5 mmol/L and above is nutritional ketosis). Most people reach it within 2-4 days under 30-50 g of carbs. Symptoms like the keto flu, reduced appetite, and a changed breath odour are common but not proof.
Should protein be higher than 25% if I lift?
Often, yes. Twenty-five percent of 2,000 calories is 125 g -- fine for a smaller person, low for a 200 lb lifter. Raising protein to 30-35% and taking fat down to keep calories level does not break ketosis for most people; very high protein does slightly raise glucose, but the effect is overstated. Keep carbs where they are and adjust the other two.
Do I count net carbs or total carbs?
Net carbs (total minus fibre) is the convention most keto guidance uses, and it is what the 5% target here means in practice: 25-30 g net for a 2,000-calorie day. Sugar alcohols are a grey area -- erythritol barely counts, maltitol mostly does. If ketosis is stalling, count total carbs for a week and see what changes.