How to Count Macros: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Fit Gorillas · Updated 20 Oct 2026 · All articles

You've got your numbers. Now you need to actually hit them. Here's exactly how to count macros, step by step, without it taking over your life.

What does "counting macros" mean?

Counting macros means tracking the grams of protein, carbs and fat you eat each day, not just calories. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram and fat has 9, so if your macros are right, your calories are right too. If you're new to macros, start with what macros and TDEE are.

For building muscle, counting macros makes sure you eat enough protein and enough calories to grow, which is where most guys fall short.

How to count macros in 7 steps

Step 1: Set your daily targets

You need four numbers: calories, protein, carbs and fat. For building muscle, a good starting point is:

• Calories: about 200–500 above your maintenance (TDEE). See how many calories you need to build muscle.
• Protein: 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight (about 0.7–1 g per lb). See how much protein you need.
• Fat: around 20–30% of your calories.
• Carbs: whatever calories are left over.

Or let the free Macro Calculator do the maths for you.

Step 2: Choose how you'll track

You need somewhere to log your food. The two main options are a tracking app or a spreadsheet. Apps are quick for logging on the go. A spreadsheet like the Fit Gorillas Macro Tracker is better for planning your day in advance: pick your foods, type the grams, and see your totals against your targets before you eat.

Step 3: Get a kitchen scale

A cheap digital kitchen scale is the most important tool for counting macros. Eyeballing portions is where most tracking goes wrong: a "handful" of nuts or a "scoop" of rice can easily be double what you think. Weigh in grams, it's more accurate than cups or spoons.

Step 4: Weigh raw or cooked, and be consistent

Cooking changes the weight of food. Chicken loses water and gets lighter, while rice and pasta soak up water and get heavier. The nutrition values are different too:

Either method works, as long as you match the weight to the right values. Weighing raw is the most accurate for meat, rice and pasta. If you weigh cooked, use "cooked" values from your food database.

Step 5: Read the nutrition label

Labels list nutrition per serving and per 100 g. Use the per 100 g column, it's the easiest to work with. To get the macros for what you eat:

A note on carbs: Australian, UK and EU labels list carbs without fibre. US labels list "total carbohydrate", which includes fibre. The Fit Gorillas Macro Tracker uses carbs without fibre. Whichever you use, stay consistent.

Step 6: Log everything, ideally before you eat

Log every meal, snack, drink and cooking oil. Oils and sauces are the most commonly missed: one tablespoon of olive oil is about 120 calories. The easiest approach is to plan tomorrow's food today, so you know you'll hit your numbers before the day starts.

Step 7: Check your totals and adjust weekly

At the end of each day, compare your totals with your targets. Then weigh yourself a few mornings a week and look at the weekly average. If you're bulking and your weight hasn't moved in 2 weeks, add 100–200 calories a day. If you're gaining faster than about 0.5% of your bodyweight a week, pull back a little.

Worked example: one meal, counted

Here's a classic muscle-building meal, using USDA values per 100 g:

For the chicken: 200 g ÷ 100 × 31 g protein = 62 g protein. Do the same for each food and add them up. That's it.

If you add up the macros yourself (69 × 4 + 71 × 4 + 18 × 9), you'll get about 720 calories, a little under the 743 above. That's normal: food databases and labels use slightly different conversion factors. Small differences like this don't matter.

How accurate do you need to be?

You don't need to be perfect. Aim for:

• Protein: within about 10 g of your target.
• Calories: within about 100 of your target.
• Carbs and fat: flexible, as long as calories are on target.

Hit those on most days and judge your progress on the weekly average, not one day.

Common mistakes

• Not logging oils, sauces and drinks. These can add hundreds of calories a day.
• Mixing raw and cooked values. Weighing cooked rice but logging raw rice values can triple your carbs on paper.
• Guessing portions. Weigh food for the first few weeks until you learn what portions look like.
• Chasing perfect days. Consistency beats perfection. A good week matters more than one perfect day.
• Not adjusting. Your targets are a starting point. Let the scales tell you when to change them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I start counting macros?

Get your daily calorie and macro targets from a calculator, then weigh and log everything you eat for a week. Plan your meals in advance, aim to hit protein and calories each day, and adjust every 1 to 2 weeks based on your weight.

Should I weigh food raw or cooked?

Either works as long as you are consistent and use matching nutrition values. Raw weights are more accurate for meat, rice and pasta because cooking changes the water content and the weight.

How accurate do I need to be when counting macros?

Aim to land within about 10 grams of your protein target and about 100 calories of your calorie target most days. Carbs and fat can move around a bit as long as calories are on target.

Do I need to count macros forever?

No. Most guys count for a few months to learn portion sizes and what their targets look like on a plate. After that, many only track during a bulk or cut, or for a week every so often to check in.

Should I count total carbs or net carbs?

Be consistent with your food data. Australian, UK and EU labels list carbs without fibre, while US labels include fibre in total carbohydrate. Pick one method and stick with it.

What if I go over my macros?

One day over makes little difference. Get back on plan the next day. Your weekly average matters more than any single day.

This article is general information for healthy adults and isn't medical advice. Food values: USDA FoodData Central. Protein range: Morton et al. (2018), British Journal of Sports Medicine. Related reading: What are macros? · How much protein to build muscle · How many calories to build muscle