Macro Diet Plan: Complete Guide to Meal Planning Based on Macros

How to make a meal plan from macros

Six steps. Use them for fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance.

Find TDEE with a calculator. That number is BMR plus daily movement and training. Every macro plan starts there, because it is the calorie level that holds current weight.

Move calories for the goal. Fat loss: subtract 300 to 500 from TDEE. Muscle gain: add 250 to 500. Maintenance: stay at TDEE. Large swings are harder to keep and easier to rebound from.

Pick the split. Common starting points: fat loss 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat. Maintenance 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat. Muscle gain 30% protein, 45% carbs, 25% fat. Those percentages turn total calories into grams.

Split the day across 3 to 5 meals. Put protein at every meal. Put more carbohydrate around training. Spread fat through the day.

Choose foods the client will eat. Protein first, then vegetables, then carbohydrate and fat. Variety keeps micronutrients up and boredom down.

Review every 2 to 4 weeks. Check tracking accuracy before you change targets. A 5 to 10% shift in one macro is usually enough. This is ongoing work, not a one-off spreadsheet.

How to use this template in your practice

Use the steps as a teaching script, then lock the client's numbers in Foodzilla and generate the week at their calorie level.

Export a branded PDF with the macro table and send it through the portal. The grocery list follows the foods you kept.