Health & WellnessBeginnerPreview
Macro Counting
Learn how to calculate your total daily energy expenditure, set personalised protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets, and use flexible dieting to reach body composition goals sustainably.
Beginners who want a data-driven approach to nutrition and body composition but have never tracked macros or calculated their energy needs.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook accompanies the Macro Counting course and gives you the hands-on tools to calculate your own TDEE, set personalised macro targets, audit your logging accuracy, and build a long-term flexible dieting strategy. Complete each section alongside the corresponding course module — the exercises build on each other sequentially. All templates are provided as editable spreadsheets so you can adapt them to your exact numbers.
Energy Balance and TDEE
Calculate your basal metabolic rate, activity-adjusted TDEE, and your first daily calorie target.
Exercise: TDEE Calculation Exercise
Work through the Mifflin-St Jeor equation step by step using your own data. Write out each intermediate value — do not skip steps. Then verify your result against the Cronometer or MacroFactor built-in calculator and note any discrepancy.
- Record your current weight (kg), height (cm), and age. Apply the Mifflin-St Jeor formula for your sex and write out your BMR value.
- Which activity multiplier applies to your current lifestyle? Justify your choice in 1–2 sentences — be honest about actual weekly training frequency, not your aspirational schedule.
- Multiply BMR by your activity factor to get TDEE. Now calculate your calorie target for your goal: fat loss (TDEE − 20%), maintenance (TDEE), or lean bulk (TDEE + 10%). Show the arithmetic.
- If a calculator gives you a different TDEE than your manual calculation, identify which step differs. What does this teach you about relying on automated tools without understanding the formula?
Worksheet: My TDEE and Calorie Target
Fill in every field using your own data. Keep this sheet — you will update it every 5–7 kg of bodyweight change.
- Date calculated
- Weight (kg)
- Height (cm)
- Age (years)
- Sex (M/F for formula)
- BMR result (kcal)
- Activity level selected (Sedentary / Lightly Active / Moderately Active / Very Active / Extra Active)
- Activity multiplier applied
- TDEE (kcal/day)
- Goal (fat loss / maintenance / muscle gain)
- Calorie adjustment applied (e.g. −20%)
- Daily calorie target (kcal)
- Next review date (after 4 weeks or 5 kg change)
Checklist: TDEE Setup Checklist
- I have weighed myself on a digital scale in the morning, fasted, without clothing
- I have measured my height accurately (not estimating)
- I have selected the activity multiplier that reflects my actual — not aspirational — weekly movement
- I have calculated my TDEE manually using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula
- I have verified the result with a second source (Cronometer, MacroFactor, or Carbon)
- I have chosen my goal state and calculated my adjusted daily calorie target
- I have entered my calorie target into my food tracking app
Setting Your Macro Targets
Allocate your calorie budget across protein, carbohydrate, and fat, and document your personalised macro targets.
Exercise: Macro Allocation Exercise
Using your calorie target from Section 1, work through the macro allocation process below. Show your calculations at each step and record your final targets in grams and as a percentage of total calories.
- Set your protein target: multiply your bodyweight (kg) by the appropriate ratio for your goal (1.8 g/kg for fat loss, 1.6 g/kg for maintenance, 2.0 g/kg for muscle gain). Convert to kcal (× 4). What percentage of your daily calories does protein represent?
- Subtract protein calories from your daily calorie target. This is your carbohydrate + fat budget. Given your training frequency and personal food preferences, what split will you use (e.g. 55% carbs / 45% fat of remaining)? Justify your choice.
- Calculate your fat minimum (bodyweight × 0.5 g/kg). Does your chosen split keep you above this floor? If not, adjust and show the corrected calculation.
- Write out your final daily targets: protein (g), carbohydrate (g), fat (g), and total calories. Enter these exactly into your food tracking app as custom macro goals.
Worksheet: My Personalised Macro Targets
Complete this worksheet once after finishing the macro allocation exercise. Update it any time your TDEE or goal changes.
- Date set
- Daily calorie target (kcal)
- Protein target (g/day)
- Protein as % of total calories
- Fat minimum floor (g/day)
- Fat target (g/day)
- Fat as % of total calories
- Carbohydrate target (g/day)
- Carbohydrate as % of total calories
- App used to track (Cronometer / MyFitnessPal / MacroFactor / Other)
- Custom macro goal entered into app (Yes / No)
- Top 3 protein sources I will rely on daily
- One food I will pre-weigh every time (highest risk of estimation error)
Checklist: Macro Setup Checklist
- Protein target is set at or above 1.6 g/kg of bodyweight
- Fat intake is at or above the 0.5 g/kg minimum floor
- Total macro calories match my daily calorie target (within ± 5 kcal)
- Macro targets are entered as a custom goal in my tracking app
- I have identified at least 3 high-protein foods I will eat daily
- I have tested logging one full day of meals to confirm the app is configured correctly
Food Logging in Practice
Audit your current logging accuracy, identify your biggest error sources, and build a reliable daily workflow.
Exercise: 3-Day Logging Audit
Log all food and drinks for 3 consecutive days using a kitchen scale and your chosen app. On day 4, review the log entries and answer the reflection prompts below. Be brutally honest — this audit is for your benefit, not evaluation.
- Review each day's log. Identify every item you estimated rather than weighed. Estimate the likely error in grams for each. Which item had the highest probable error?
- Did you log any cooking oils, sauces, dressings, or condiments? If any were skipped, look up their calorie content and calculate the cumulative gap across all 3 days.
- Check each logged database entry: is it from a verified source (USDA, green checkmark, or matched to the package label)? Flag any entries you cannot verify and replace them with a verified alternative.
- What was your average daily protein intake across the 3 days? How far is it from your protein target? Identify one food swap or addition that would close the gap without significantly changing total calories.
Worksheet: Logging Error Tracker
Use this sheet during or after the 3-day audit to document and correct any logging errors you find. Add a row for each error identified.
- Date
- Food item where error occurred
- Error type (estimated instead of weighed / skipped condiment / wrong database entry / wrong state raw vs cooked / other)
- Estimated calorie impact of the error (kcal)
- Corrective action taken
- Will I set a reminder or change a habit to prevent this error? (Yes / No — describe)
Checklist: Daily Logging Routine Checklist
- Kitchen scale is on the counter and accessible before cooking
- I pre-log meals before eating, not after
- I weigh cooking oils and butter every time — never pour freely
- I use the barcode scanner for all packaged foods
- I have saved at least 5 frequent meals as custom recipes or saved meals in my app
- I check my daily macro totals before bed and note any consistent gaps
- I treat imprecise days as data, not failure — I resume the next morning without compensation
Flexible Dieting and Long-Term Strategy
Apply IIFYM, macro cycling, and refeed protocols, and design your personal long-term nutrition strategy.
Exercise: Flexible Dieting Scenario Planning
Work through the three real-world scenarios below. For each, calculate or describe how you would handle the situation within your macro framework without abandoning your targets for the week.
- Scenario A — Restaurant dinner: You are eating at a restaurant with no published nutrition info. Choose any three-course meal you would realistically order. Using comparable database entries and a 25% buffer for hidden fats and oils, estimate your macro intake for the meal. How do you adjust your other meals that day to stay close to weekly targets?
- Scenario B — Weekly refeed: You have been dieting for 9 weeks at a 500 kcal/day deficit. Design a refeed day. Specify the target calorie intake, how many extra grams of carbohydrate you will add, and which foods you will use to hit the target. Keep protein constant and fat at or below your standard target.
- Scenario C — Goal achieved, now what? You have reached your fat-loss goal. Walk through the steps you will take over 4 weeks to transition from your cut calories back to maintenance: how much do you increase each week, what do you monitor, and how will you know you have found true maintenance?
Worksheet: Long-Term Nutrition Strategy Planner
Fill in this planner to create your personal 12-month macro counting roadmap. Review and update it quarterly.
- Current date
- Current bodyweight (kg)
- Current daily calorie target (kcal)
- Primary goal for the next 12 weeks
- Secondary goal after primary is achieved
- Planned diet break weeks (every 8–12 weeks of deficit; list approximate dates)
- Planned refeed day(s) per week (which day(s) and target calorie level)
- Tracking method at 6 months (daily / 3×week spot check / protein-only tracking)
- Quarterly review date 1 (approx. 13 weeks from today)
- Quarterly review date 2
- Quarterly review date 3
- One mindful eating habit I will pair with tracking (e.g. hunger scale rating before each meal)
- EAT-26 screening completed (Yes / No — note score if yes)
Checklist: Flexible Dieting Readiness Checklist
- I can fit any food into my macro budget using the pre-log-first strategy
- I apply the 80/20 rule: at least 80% of my diet by volume is minimally processed whole food
- I have planned at least one refeed day per week if I have been in a deficit for 8+ weeks
- I know the macro impact of my 5 most common restaurant orders
- I have designed my transition plan from cut to maintenance
- I have identified my long-term tracking frequency (daily / spot-check / protein-only)
- I have completed the EAT-26 screening to confirm my tracking relationship is healthy
- I have scheduled a quarterly nutrition audit in my calendar
Your Action Plan
- Weigh yourself on a digital scale fasted and in the morning; record the number as your starting point
- Calculate your BMR using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation; multiply by your honest activity factor to get TDEE
- Choose your goal state (cut / maintain / bulk) and calculate your daily calorie target
- Set protein at 1.6–2.0 g/kg of bodyweight; allocate remaining calories between carbs and fat per your preferred split
- Enter your calorie and macro targets into Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, or MacroFactor as a custom daily goal
- Purchase a digital kitchen scale with 0.1 g resolution; put it permanently on the counter before your first logging day
- Complete the 3-day logging audit; identify and correct your top three error sources
- Build a saved-meals library of your 10 most-eaten dishes in your tracking app to reduce daily logging time
- After 4 weeks, compare your rolling average weight trend to your expected rate of change; adjust calories by 5% if needed
- Plan your first refeed day or diet break if you have been in a deficit for 8 or more weeks
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