The carb calculator, or macro calculator, can be used to calculate your carb, protein, and fat ratio requirements in calories and grams per meal. You can use a preset ratio or enter your own ratios in the appropriate spaces.
Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are macronutrients that make up the bulk of the diet. They are all required to supply energy and many essential nutrients. Too little of any one macronutrient can lead to hunger cravings.
What are macronutrients and micronutrients?
Nutrients are separated into macronutrients and micronutrients. The nutrients that the human body requires in larger amounts are macronutrients. The nutrients that are required by the human body in smaller amounts are micronutrients. Macronutrients consist of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are broken down in the intestine. Carbohydrates into sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids and glycerol. The human body makes use of these three macronutrients to build components it needs for growing, maintaining, and activity. How much of each macronutrient an individual requires, and the macronutrient ratio, varies according to various factors such as age, gender, activity levels and health goals.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates consist of sugars, starches, and fiber. Carbohydrates are used for fueling the body, and contain an average of 4 calories per gram. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates include sugars which have 1 or 2 sugar molecules, such as high fructose corn syrup. Complex carbohydrates are known as polysaccharides, which are long chains of simple sugars. Complex carbohydrates can be either fiber or starches and can be found in foods such as potatoes and pasta.
Good sources of carbohydrates
There are 22.8% carbs in the form of fiber and starches in cooked kidney beans, which are also high in protein and a good source of other nutrients and antioxidants. Quinoa a high-carb food, as well as a good source of protein and other nutrients, and is also gluten free. Sweet potatoes are a healthy carbohydrate choice and are an excellent source of other nutrients and antioxidants. Oats is a good whole grain carbohydrate food, and an excellent source of a soluble fiber known as beta-glucan. The greener the banana, the higher they are in starches, and the riper or more yellow they are, the higher they are in sugars.
Protein
Proteins is vital for building and maintaining the tissues and cells of the body, as well as healthy immune system function. The building blocks of protein are amino acids, and are joined together in various levels of complexity. There are 21 different amino acids in total, and 9 are considered essential, which means these cannot be manufactured by the body, and have to be ingested. The 9 essential amino acids are leucine, histidine, methionine, isoleucine, lysine, threonine, valine phenylalanine, and tryptophan. Proteins perform many functions in the body.
Good sources of protein
Eggs are an excellent source of protein with 6g of easily digestible protein one medium egg. Milk, cheese and yogurt are packed with protein, as well as calcium. Fish and other seafood are good sources of usually low fat protein. Turkey and chicken are excellent sources of lean protein. Some good vegetarian sources of protein include soya, nuts and seeds, and beans and pulses.
Fat
Fat is the densest energy source at 9 calories/gram. Cell membranes, cholesterol steroids, and 60% of the brain is comprised of fats. Fat-soluble vitamin absorption of is supported by fats, organs are cushioned by fats, and the largest type of energy storage is fat. Saturated and unsaturated fats are two types of dietary fats. Fats coming from animal sources are saturated, and the majority of fats coming from plants are unsaturated. Trans fats are another type of fat, which are artificially created by hydrogenating less stable unsaturated liquid fats in food manufacturing processes which prolong the life of food products. Trans fats are unhealthy, end of story. Essential fatty acids (EFA), such as omega-3 and omega-6 are also important types of “fats”. Just like essential amino acids, this means that the body is unable to produce them, and must be ingested.
Good sources of healthy fat
Avocado are an excellent source of healthy fats. The primary fatty acid found in avocados is a monounsaturated fat known as oleic acid. Fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout are a rich source of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Nuts and seeds are a good source of healthy fats as well as other nutrients. Extra virgin olive oil is another good source of oleic acid, as well as other nutrients and antioxidants. Although the fat in coconuts and coconut oil is of the saturated fat kind, they are medium-chain fatty acids, which are not found in the saturated fats from animal products. These medium-chain fatty acids have numerous health benefits.
Calories in macronutrients
Carbohydrates provides 4 calories per gram, protein also provides 4 calories per gram and fat 9 calories per gram.
Carbs and fatty liver disease
One study has proven that cutting down on carbs is more effective than restricting calorie intake for reducing liver fat quickly.[1] Researchers assigned eighteen individuals having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) either a low-calorie or a low carbohydrate diet for two weeks.
The individuals given the low carb diet restricted their carbohydrate intake for the 1st week to less than twenty grams daily – roughly the same as a half a cup of egg noodles or a small banana. For the last week, they changed to frozen meals which matched their personal food preferences, energy needs and carb intake.
Individuals given the low-calorie diet carried on with their normal diet and maintained a food diary for the 4 days before the study started. The researchers then made use of these records for preparing all meals throughout the two week study. The total amount of calories were limited to approximately 1,500 daily for the male participants and, 200 daily for the females.
After fourteen days, advanced imaging techniques were used to analyze how much liver fat each person had. The researchers found that more liver fat was lost by the individuals on the low-carb diet.
Even though the study wasn’t meant to establish which diet was better for weight loss, the low-carbohydrate dieters as well as the low-calorie dieters lost 10 pounds on average.
How many carbs a day to lose weight?
Reducing carb intake is one of the best methods for losing weight. It has a tendency for reducing appetite which helps to lose weight without having to count calories, meaning you don’t need to starve yourself to lose weight. Just by eliminating unhealthy sources of carbohydrates from the diet will help boost weight loss efforts. Refined wheat food products and foods and beverages with added sugar are “bad carbs” and should be avoided. Healthy sources of carbs such as whole fruit and vegetables can easily be part of a low carb diet. The carbohydrate intake of sedentary individuals should be a lot lower than physically active individuals with more muscle mass, such as those who engage regularly in high intensity exercise such as weight lifting or trail running.
The USDA guidelines recommend that an average of 55% of daily calorie intake should come from carbs. On this recommendation, about 275 grams of carbs would be required a day on a 2000 calorie/day diet. However, much quicker weight loss results will be achieved with a daily carbohydrate intake of 100 grams. A low carb diet has been proven to be much more effective for losing weight in comparison to the outdated recommended high carb diet.
Research has shown that appetite is reduced with low carb diets which in turn reduces calorie intake.[2] When low carb diets are compared to low fat diets in studies, calories have to be restricted in the low fat study participants for the results to be comparable.[3]
Low carb diets also lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides, as well as improving cholesterol by increasing HDL and decreasing LDL.[4]
How many carbs is low carb?
A low carb diet is considered to be an average carbohydrate intake of 10% of total calorie intake, although there are some variations of low carb diets such as the keto diet, which is a very low carb diet with an average carbohydrate intake of 5% of total calorie intake, and the paleo diet, which allows for a more moderate average carbohydrate intake of 25% of total calorie intake. There are however also other aspects of these diets that distinguish them from one another.
How many calories in a gram of carbs?
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram.
Carb calculator
The preset ratios for the macronutrient calculator can also be modified according to your requirements. For many diets a good starting point will be to adjust your daily carb intake ratio.
Enter your calories per day, meals and ratio percentages (enter number only). Select one of the predetermined ratios by clicking the appropriate button. The predetermined ratios are averages rounded off to the nearest 5.