How to Calculate Your Macros for Weight Loss: The 30/10/60 Framework
Most macro calculators produce numbers that have nothing to do with your actual metabolism. Here's the straightforward starting framework, the calorie calculation method, and why you adjust over time rather than trying to nail perfect numbers from the start.
The correct macronutrient ratio for weight loss: 30% protein, 10% fat, 60% carbohydrates — by calorie, not by gram weight.
This proportional balance keeps blood sugar stable, prevents fat overconsumption, and provides enough protein for muscle retention. The percentages don't change with calorie level — whether you're eating 2000 or 3000 calories, the ratio holds.
Calculating Your Baseline Calories
Use body weight as the starting point:
| Goal | Calories per kg of body weight |
|------|-------------------------------|
| Fat loss | 26-29 kcal/kg |
| Weight maintenance | 30-35 kcal/kg |
| Weight gain | 40-45 kcal/kg |
A 100 kg (220.5 lbs) person aiming to lose fat: 100 × 27 = 2700 kcal/day as a starting point.
Calories from each macronutrient:
- 1 g (0 oz) protein = 4 kcal
- 1 g (0 oz) carbohydrate = 4 kcal
- 1 g (0 oz) fat = 9 kcal
For 2600 kcal at 30/10/60:
- Protein: 2600 × 0.30 = 780 kcal ÷ 4 = 195 g (6.9 oz)
- Fat: 2600 × 0.10 = 260 kcal ÷ 9 = ~29 g (1 oz)
- Carbohydrates: 2600 × 0.60 = 1560 kcal ÷ 4 = 390 g (13.8 oz)
Why You Shouldn't Obsess Over Exact Numbers
Any formula will give you a conditional number. Two people who both weigh 100 kg (220.5 lbs) will have meaningfully different actual metabolic needs — based on age, muscle mass, metabolic history, training level, and genetic factors no formula captures.
This is why generic nutrition plans sold online without ongoing adjustment are largely useless. They're a starting point based on population averages, not your actual physiology.
The Only Method That Actually Works
Start with your baseline calculation. Eat every 3 hours in the correct proportions. After 2 weeks:
- If you lost more than 1 kg (2.2 lbs) that week: increase calories slightly
- If weight didn't move: reduce calories slightly
This process of adjusting based on actual results is the only nutrition methodology that accounts for your individual metabolism. The baseline calculation gets you close. Your body's response tells you where the correct number actually is.
Practical Organization: How to Actually Do It
The main barrier for most people isn't knowledge — it's sustainability. Weighing and calculating everything precisely at every meal is impractical long-term. The practical approach:
- Use disposable food containers of consistent volume. After a few weeks you learn the volumes by sight and stop needing a scale for most foods
- Once you know what one container of rice, chicken, or buckwheat looks like in grams, you can replicate portions accurately without measuring every time
- A shaker with fat-free cottage cheese mixed with water is a complete high-protein meal that's compact, fast, and appropriate anywhere
The social discomfort of eating from containers in public is temporary and reversed by results. People who achieved their physique through disciplined eating are respected for it, not embarrassed by it.
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This is additional material. For the complete system — the psychology, the biology, and the step-by-step method — read the book.
Read The Book →