Why set protein first?

Because it is the only one of the three with a requirement tied to body weight. Carbohydrate and fat divide what is left, subject to the fat floor.

Health & Fitnessnutrition

Carb and Fat Intake Calculator

Carbohydrate and fat from whatever calories remain once protein is set, with a fat floor that the split cannot go below. Fixing protein first is the right order: it is the macro with a requirement, and the rest is largely preference.

Also called: carb calculator, fat intake calculator.

Carbohydrate

225

225 g of carbohydrate and 67 g of fat from the 1,500 kcal left after 150 g of protein. Fat sits at 67 g against a floor of 38 g, so there is room to move the split either way without consequence. At 5 training hours a week the split is largely preference. 3 g of carbohydrate a kilogram is ample for this volume, and someone training twelve hours would need considerably more.

Fat

Calories left after protein

1,500

Fat floor

Carbohydrate a kilogram

Fibre target

On the fat floor

Fat sits at 67 g against a floor of 38 g, so there is room to move the split either way without consequence.

On training

At 5 training hours a week the split is largely preference. 3 g of carbohydrate a kilogram is ample for this volume, and someone training twelve hours would need considerably more.

How this is calculated

Other splits of the same calories

Split	Carbohydrate, g	Fat, g	Against the fat floor
More carbohydrate	281	42	Above the floor
Even	225	67	Above the floor
More fat	169	92	Above the floor

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for India change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Protein has a floor tied to body weight and a real functional consequence, so it is set first and the remaining calories are divided between carbohydrate and fat. Fat has its own floor, roughly 0.5 grams per kilogram of body weight, below which hormone production is affected, and the page holds the split above it rather than honouring a preference that would breach it. Beyond those two constraints the division is preference and training pattern: high training volume runs on carbohydrate, and someone training three hours a week has no particular need for the intake that suits someone training twelve.

protein is fixed first because it has a floor tied to body weight, and the remainder is preference

C: Daily calories
P: Protein in grams

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

2100 calories with 150 g of protein set

Daily calories: 2,100
Protein already set: 150
Weight: 75 kg
How to split what remains: Evenly between carbohydrate and fat
Training hours a week: 5

Carbohydrate225

1500 kcal left, 40% to fat at 9 kcal a gram

Open this example

a carbohydrate-heavy split is held at the fat floor

Daily calories: 2,100
Protein already set: 150
Weight: 90 kg
How to split what remains: More carbohydrate, for training volume
Training hours a week: 10

Carbohydrate274

boundary: 25% of 1500 kcal is 41.7 g, below the 45 g floor

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

Protein already set, whether by the protein calculator or by a coach.

What it deliberately does not model

Fibre is included in carbohydrate here, though it contributes less usable energy.
Individual tolerance to carbohydrate and fat varies, and adherence beats the ratio.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · India · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why set protein first?: Because it is the only one of the three with a requirement tied to body weight. Carbohydrate and fat divide what is left, subject to the fat floor.