How to Calculate Macros for any Homemade Dish — YOGABYCANDACE (2024)

FAQs

How do I figure out my food macros? ›

Doing it by hand is a pain, but basically add up the fats, carbs, and protein of each ingredient. Divide the total of each category by the number of grams the whole recipe weighs. This will get you the amount of fat, carbs, and protein per gram.

Go to the USDA National Nutrient Database and look up the calories and nutrients for each individual ingredient in the correct amount. Enter the information into the Meal Calculator spreadsheet including number of servings for each individual ingredient or recipe.

Write the amount of each ingredient that goes in the dish. Now use the online tools mentioned above to know the calories of each ingredient. Adjust the calories in each ingredient based on the amount used in the recipe. Add up all the calories to calculate the total calories in the recipe.

Summary. Tracked food should be weighed in its raw, unprepared state unless stated otherwise on the package. Food can be tracked cooked, but it reduces accuracy. The degree of inaccuracy with using cooked food varies.

The estimated serving size of a recipe is the sum of the edible portion (EP) amount of each ingredient divided by the serving number. If an ingredient does not have an EP percentage, then its EP amount is the same as its as purchased (AP) amount.

A basic strategy would be to divide your total daily targets including calories, carbs, fat and protein by four. This would give you even macro targets for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Then, divide that 1/4 number by two to get the target macros for your two snacks.

Set Your Macro Ratios

However, a general guideline for fat loss is to aim for a moderate protein intake, with slightly higher proportions of carbohydrates and lower proportions of fats. A common macro ratio for fat loss is 45% of calories from carbohydrates, 25% from protein, and 30% from fats.

The Mindful Macro Method goes beyond just counting macros and teaches you how to use mindfulness and biofeedback cues to gauge hunger and satiety. The goal is to teach you macros along with the skills of recognizing these signs in yourself so that you leave the 'counting' behind once you've mastered it.

How do you hit macros easily? ›

Most people will easily meet their macro targets by consuming 80% of their calories from whole foods, and including 4–6 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Exercise is encouraged while on IIFYM, but not required. Activity level is accounted for when macros are initially calculated.

A basic strategy would be to divide your total daily targets including calories, carbs, fat and protein by four. This would give you even macro targets for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Then, divide that 1/4 number by two to get the target macros for your two snacks.

Basically, you log all your ingredients in the amount for the full recipe, then set the “servings” as the number of grams of the entire batch. That way, when you weigh out your portion, you can see how many grams your portion is and enter it as that many servings.