# Macros for Beginners: How to Set Protein, Carbs, and Fat for Your Goal

> A beginner's guide to macronutrients — how to set protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets for fat loss or muscle gain, with worked examples in grams.

- Published: 2026-07-01
- Updated: 2026-07-01
- Author: FitDrake Team
- Tags: nutrition, macros, meal planning
- Canonical: https://fitdrake.com/blog/meal-planning-macros-beginners-guide/

Macronutrients — protein, carbohydrates, and fat — are the three nutrients your body needs in large amounts, and the ratio you eat them in determines whether your diet supports fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance. Setting them is simpler than most guides make it: calories decide whether your weight moves, protein protects muscle, and carbs and fat fill the remainder according to preference.

Here's the whole system, with worked numbers.

## Step 1: Set calories (the only thing that changes your weight)

Weight change is driven by energy balance. A practical starting point:

- **Maintenance** ≈ bodyweight in kg × 33 (or lbs × 15)
- **Fat loss** — subtract 300–500 kcal from maintenance
- **Muscle gain** — add 200–300 kcal to maintenance

These are estimates. Track your weight for two weeks; if it isn't moving the way you want, adjust by ~200 kcal and reassess.

## Step 2: Set protein (the priority macro)

Protein preserves and builds muscle, and it's the most satiating macro — both critical in a deficit.

- **Target: 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight** (0.7–1 g per lb)
- Cutting? Stay at the high end.
- Each gram of protein = 4 kcal.

An 80 kg person aiming for 2 g/kg eats **160 g protein/day** (640 kcal).

## Step 3: Fill in fat and carbs

Both matter; neither is evil. A sane default:

- **Fat: 0.6–1 g per kg of bodyweight** — hormones and vitamin absorption need it. Each gram = 9 kcal.
- **Carbs: everything left** — they fuel training. Each gram = 4 kcal.

Higher-carb splits suit people who train hard and often; higher-fat splits suit people who prefer that eating style. Adherence beats optimization — pick the split you can sustain.

## Worked example: 80 kg, fat loss

| Step | Calculation | Result |
|------|-------------|--------|
| Maintenance | 80 × 33 | ~2,640 kcal |
| Deficit | −440 | 2,200 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g/kg → 160 g | 640 kcal |
| Fat | 0.8 g/kg → 64 g | 576 kcal |
| Carbs | (2,200 − 640 − 576) ÷ 4 | ~246 g |

Daily targets: **2,200 kcal, 160 g protein, 64 g fat, 246 g carbs.**

## Turning targets into meals

Targets don't cook dinner. The practical layer:

- **Anchor each meal on protein** — 30–50 g per meal across 3–5 meals hits a 160 g target without heroics.
- **Repeat breakfasts and lunches** — variety at every meal is the enemy of adherence. Rotate 2–3 options.
- **Plan the week, not the day** — one weekly plan plus a matching grocery list removes daily decision fatigue. This is the part FitDrake automates: it converts your calorie and macro targets into a week of meals that fit them.

## When to adjust

Recheck every 2–3 weeks against the scale trend (weekly average, not daily readings):

- Cutting but weight flat → drop ~200 kcal, mostly from carbs or fat, never from protein.
- Gaining too fast (>0.5% bodyweight/week) → trim ~150 kcal.
- Training performance tanking on a cut → shift calories toward carbs around workouts.

## Key takeaways

- Calories control weight change; protein (1.6–2.2 g/kg) protects muscle; carbs and fat fill the rest by preference.
- An 80 kg person cutting lands around 2,200 kcal — 160 g protein, 64 g fat, 246 g carbs.
- Adjust every 2–3 weeks based on the weekly weight trend, and automate the meal-level planning so adherence stays easy.