How to set your macros for fat loss or muscle gain

2026-10-10 · Pensum

Calories decide whether you lose or gain. Macros decide what that weight is made of. Set them in this order.

1. Calories

Start from your TDEE. To lose about 0.5 kg a week, eat 550 kcal below it. To gain about 0.25 kg a week, eat 275 above.

2. Protein

1.8 grams per kilogram of body weight when losing or gaining, 1.6 to maintain. It is capped at 35 percent of your calories so it never crowds out everything else.

3. Fat

25 percent of calories, and never below 0.5 g per kg.

4. Carbs fill the rest

Protein and carbs have 4 kcal per gram, fat 9.

A worked example

An 80 kg person with a TDEE of 2,759 who wants to lose fat eats 2,209 kcal. Protein: 1.8 × 80 = 144 g (576 kcal). Fat: 25 percent of 2,209 = 552 kcal, about 61 g. Carbs: the remaining 1,081 kcal, about 270 g.

The macro calculator runs the same numbers. Pensum applies them for you and shows your day against them when you log food. Meal and macro terms are in the glossary.