This keto calculator was developed to align with the program outlined in the book Keto: A Woman's Guide & Cookbook. Be sure to order your copy of the new book! Use the calculator below to calculate keto macros specific to your body, goals, and chosen dietary pattern.
Dietary patterns supported by the macro calculator include standard keto, carb cycling, targeted keto, and cyclical keto. Simply enter your age, body composition information, activity levels, and goals to calculate personalized macronutrient targets.
KETO CALCULATOR FOR WOMEN
Body Composition
Activity Levels
Weight Goals
CALORIE DEFICIT: Adjust to meet your goals
Percent
Pre-Workout Carbs
If you're following a Targeted Keto Diet (TKD), select the checkbox and enter your planned pre-workout carbs.TKD PRE-WORKOUT CARBS
Grams
Your Macronutrient Targets
Standard Keto Diet (SKD) Macros
| Standard Daily Macros | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Grams | Calories | Total Calories | |
| Protein | 0 | 0 | |
| Fat | 0 | 0 | |
| Total Carbs | 0 | ||
| Pre-Workout Carbs | 0 | ||
| Total Calories | 0 |
The table above displays your Standard Keto Diet (SKD) macronutrient targets to meet the calorie goal you have set and can be adjusted for carb cycling.
The macros default to 50 grams total carbohydrate, but the carb value can be adjusted up or down as needed and the fat macro will automatically balance for caloric needs.
Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD) Macros
| Optional High Carb Macros | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Grams | Calories | Total Calories | |
| Protein | 0 | 0 | |
| Fat | 0 | ||
| Total Carbs | 0 | 0 | |
| Total Calories | 0 |
The table above displays the optional high carb day macronutrient values for a Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD) aligned with the calorie goal you have set.
Macros default to 22.2 grams of fat, but the value can be adjusted as needed; the carb macro will automatically balance for caloric needs.
Body Composition and Energy Requirement Data
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Body Fat (%) | |
| Deficit (%) | |
| Fat Mass | |
| Lean Body Mass | |
| Resting Metabolic Rate | |
| Thermic Effect of Food | |
| Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) | |
| Daily Caloric Goal |
Table of Contents
- Keto Macronutrients (aka "Macros")
- Calories on Keto
- Keto for Body Composition
- Keto Macros for Fat Loss
- How Many Carbs on Keto?
- How to Calculate Macros
- How to Use the Macronutrient Calculator
- Finding the Best Keto Calculator
- References
Keto Macronutrients (aka Keto Macros)
This keto calculator will help you determine keto macronutrients to target for your unique body composition and energy needs.
When it comes to the nutritional composition of our food, macronutrients are the components that provide energy to the body.
In other words, macronutrients--aka “macros”--give us the fuel we need in the form of calories.
This fuel is used to support our activities.
In excess, the fuel is stored as energy in the form of body fat.
In a deficit, the fuel is taken from our energy stores (aka body fat).
The good old calories in, calories out concept! Energy balance applies to keto diets too.
The three macronutrient groups are carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Per gram, each macronutrient group provides different amounts of energy (calories).
- Carbohydrates yield 4 calories per gram
- Proteins yield 4 calories per gram
- Fats yield 9 calories per gram
Calories on Keto
Calculating your macros helps you to partition your planned calorie intake in a strategic way to support both ketosis and your goals.
The body’s energy needs, or total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), can be estimated using a formula to determine metabolic rate and accounting for activity levels.
The Mifflin-St. Jeor formula is used in the keto calculator for women. It has been demonstrated to be the most reasonably accurate formula for resting metabolic rate of the female body at different weights (from healthy weight to severely obese).[1]
In other words, the formula used in the calculator will provide a fairly realistic ballpark estimation of calorie needs for women of all shapes and sizes.
Keto for Body Composition
Relying exclusively on the calories in, calories out equation can be problematic because it is not optimized for body composition or metabolism.
For example, eating adequate amounts of protein is necessary to maintain lean body mass. The tool above will calculate your macros using lean mass to guide your protein intake goal.
How Many Grams of Protein Are Needed Keto?
Protein needs on a ketogenic diet are between 0.6g and 1.0g protein per pound of lean body mass.[2] To ensure dieters target adequate protein intake, the calculator defaults to a minimum of 0.8g/lb protein for sedentary individuals and 1.0g/lb for those who exercise.
These protein goals help to meet the increased protein requirements dieters experience due to calorie deficit, physical activity, and reliance on gluconeogenesis during nutritional ketosis. Protein intake also helps dieters increase satiety, helping to maintain a calorie deficit over time.
Getting enough protein is critical to protecting your precious, metabolically active tissue--your muscle! If your goal is to drop the extra pounds you are carrying, think fat loss rather than weight loss.
Your muscle is kind of like a calorie-burning furnace that keeps your metabolism running at top speed. If the number on your scale is dropping from muscle loss instead of fat loss, your metabolism is plummeting right along with it.
Shift your priorities and mindset:
Lean > Skinny
Body Composition > Weight
Fat Loss > Weight Loss
The last thing you want is to go on a weight-loss mission and lose lean mass in the process. The resulting lower metabolic rate can make it difficult to maintain any weight loss. Measuring body fat percentage is a more helpful metric to track progress than weight.
Keto Macronutrient Ratios for Fat Loss
Ketogenic diets are low carb, high-fat diets. As such, fat will be the primary fuel source. But these keto macronutrient ratios can be misleading to the casual dieter.
The “high fat” macronutrient can be satisfied with food on your plate or from your body. Love handles, double chins, and muffin tops can all contribute to this macronutrient group.
When weight loss is a goal, your keto macros will have a lower fat content than when maintaining weight to accommodate the necessary calorie deficit.
Fat is the most energy-dense macronutrient. Which often means the high-fat foods frequently associated with a keto diet (oils, butter, cheese, etc.) are often loaded with calories in relatively small amounts.
Measuring your dietary fats out with a digital scale or volumetric tools can be helpful to prevent accidental overeating. Just because a food is “keto” doesn’t mean you can eat unlimited amounts of it without affecting your results. ?
How Many Carbs on Keto?
Most keto dieters aim between 20 to 30g net carbs per day. However, the amount of carbs you can eat on a keto diet is highly individual.
Each person has their own carbohydrate tolerance that allows them to maintain ketosis. Some dieters may be able to tolerate up to 100 grams of daily total carbs without affecting nutritional ketosis, while others have more success with 50g total. When coming from whole foods, roughly half of that carb count will be fiber.
It’s important to note the difference between total carbs and net carbs. Though fiber is classified as a carbohydrate in the nutrition world, it does not directly impact ketosis or metabolism. For this reason, we do not need to avoid or limit fiber on a keto diet--which is excellent news because fiber is part of a healthy diet for a variety of reasons.
According to the World Health Organization, we should aim to get a minimum of 25g fiber per day.[3]
In the context of keto, we can discount fiber from the total carb count and still ensure adequate fiber intake. Hence, where the term “net carbs” comes into play.
How to Calculate Carbs for Keto:
Net Carbs = Total Carbs - Fiber
Is there a minimum amount of carbs I need on keto?
Aside from adequate fiber intake, there is not a minimum required amount of carbohydrate intake for the human body. So technically, zero is the minimum.
The body has its own built-in mechanism for producing carbohydrates when needed. This process is called gluconeogenesis, which helps fuel glucose-dependent cells and maintain blood sugar when in ketosis.
The keto calculator sets the total carbs at 50g daily by default for a standard keto diet, assuming half are fiber (25g) to yield a net carb count of 25g. You can adjust the total carb values to suit your individual needs.
The calculator also provides options for other keto dieting strategies, including targeted keto (TKD) and cyclical keto (CKD). For those who opt for carb cycling, high carb days, or pre-workout carbs. These alternate dieting strategies are discussed at length in the book Keto: A Woman's Guide.
Macronutrient Calculator: How to Calculate Macros for Keto
To manually calculate macros for keto, there is a simple process to follow taking the above considerations into mind.
- Determine Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
- Mifflin-St. Jeor for RMR
- Appropriate Activity Multipliers
- Determine Protein Needs
- Lean Body Mass
- Activity Levels
- Set Carb Limit
- Carb Tolerance
- Fiber Goal
- Determine Amount of Dietary Fat for Energy
- Fat Loss
- Weight Maintenance
On a standard keto diet, the carb and protein macros in grams will typically remain fixed, while the fat macro is variable and based on planned body composition goals. Fat grams will be lower in a calorie deficit and higher during weight maintenance.
To illustrate, consider a woman with a 2200 calorie energy expenditure, 100-pound lean body mass, and exercises daily.
| Nutrient | 20% Calorie Deficit | Weight Maintenance (No Deficit) |
| Protein | 100g (400 calories) | 100g (400 calories) |
| Carbs | 50g (200 calories) | 50g (200 calories) |
| Fat | 129g (1160 calories) | 178g (1600 calories) |
| Energy | 1760 | 2200 calories |
Calculating keto macronutrients in grams allows us to count calories simultaneously without doing any extra work. This is one of the primary reasons keto macro ratios in percentages don't hold much meaning in the context of fat loss and body composition.
Macro Grams > Macro Percentages
You don’t drop protein and carbs lower and lower to fit some magical ketogenic ratio when you need to create a calorie deficit… you lower the fat.
For women who are looking to improve body composition and lose fat, please take this to heart: ketones are a product of fat-burning, not the cause.
How to Use the Keto Calculator
- Select preferred measurement system.
- Enter AGE.
- Enter HEIGHT and WEIGHT.
- If you know your body fat percentage, enter BODY FAT PERCENTAGE.
- If body fat percentage is unknown, enter WAIST, HIP, and NECK circumference to estimate.
- Select ACTIVITY LEVELS.
- DAILY
- NOT ACTIVE
- LIGHTLY ACTIVE
- MODERATELY ACTIVE
- VERY ACTIVE
- EXERCISE
- INACTIVE: Sedentary
- AEROBIC: Walking/Jogging, Running, Swimming, Etc.
- ANAEROBIC: Weight Training, Sprints, HIIT, Etc.
- DAILY
- Select WEIGHT GOALS.
- WEIGHT LOSS
- CALORIE DEFICIT defaults to 20%; adjust to meet goals.
- WEIGHT MAINTENANCE
- WEIGHT LOSS
- Check box for Targeted Keto Diet (TKD) to include Pre-Workout Carbs if desired.
- Defaults to 5 grams; adjust as needed.
- View results!
Which is the best keto calculator?
This one! ?The truth is, there are many keto calculators readily available on the web. Consider what their purpose is before following the provided macronutrients. Some are intended for medical purposes to optimize ketone levels. Others are geared towards weight loss and not fat loss. But there are others that are really great resources suited for body composition. Remember, just because it’s the top result in Google doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for YOU.
Our calculator is intended for females to calculate keto macronutrient goals for body composition purposes. It is sex-specific due to the formulas used and can be tailored for several different approaches to keto. For males, the Ketogains calculator is a good choice.
References
[1] Namazi, N., S. Aliasgharzadeh, R. Mahdavi, and F. Kolahdooz. “Accuracy of the Common Predictive Equations for Estimating Resting Energy Expenditure Among Normal and Overweight Girl University Students.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 35, no. 2 (2016) 136–42. doi:10.1080/07315724.2014.938280.
[2] Volek, J. S., and S. D. Phinney. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance. Miami: Beyond Obesity LLC, 2012.
[3] Ljubicic, M., M. M. Saric, I. Rumbak, I. C. Baric, D. Komes, Z. Satalic, and R. P. F. Guiné. “Knowledge About Dietary Fibre and Its Health Benefits: A Cross-Sectional Survey of 2,536 Residents from Across Croatia.” Medical Hypotheses 105 (August 2017): 25–31. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2017.06.019.
Disclaimer: The calculator and accompanying information is provided for educational purposes and not considered medical advice. For readers following a ketogenic diet for medically therapeutic purposes, consult with your healthcare team and dietician for suitable macronutrient goals.
