Nutrition planning

Build your nutrition
plan from one number

Start with maintenance calories, choose a direction, set macros, then make the plan fit your meals. Your inputs carry between the tools on this device.

Build a protein shake for muscle gain with recipes, timing options and powder comparisons, or use these high-protein meal ideas to plan solid food.

  1. Estimate maintenance. Use your age, sex, height, weight, and activity to create a starting estimate.
  2. Choose a goal. Apply a moderate deficit, maintain, or use a small surplus.
  3. Set the details. Allocate protein, fats, carbs, and meals in a way you can repeat.

Use estimates as a starting point

Energy equations cannot fully account for daily movement, appetite, training volume, medication, or changes in body composition. Use a consistent intake and a 2–3 week scale-weight trend to check the estimate, then adjust one small step at a time.

A sensible nutrition workflow

For fat loss, begin with a moderate deficit that you can sustain while training and eating enough protein. For muscle gain, a small surplus is usually easier to monitor than a large one. The macro and meal tools translate either target into a practical daily plan—not a medical prescription.

When to get individual advice

If you are pregnant, under 18, have a medical condition, a history of disordered eating, or use medicines that affect appetite or weight, seek guidance from a qualified clinician or registered dietitian before deliberately changing calories.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do the Your PT nutrition calculators work together?
Our tools form a complete nutrition planning workflow: start with the TDEE Calculator to estimate your maintenance calories, use the Calorie Deficit or Lean Bulk Calculator to set your daily energy target, determine your macronutrient split with the Macro and Protein Calculators, and distribute your intake evenly using the Meal Calorie Distribution tool.
How accurate are online maintenance calorie estimates?
Formulas like Mifflin-St Jeor provide an empirical starting point accurate within ±10% for most individuals. Because individual NEAT, metabolic adaptation, and digestion efficiency vary, we recommend tracking your daily food intake and scale weight for 2 to 3 weeks to calibrate your true real-world maintenance baseline.
How much protein should I eat per day for fitness goals?
Current exercise science recommends 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.73 to 1.0 g/lb) for active individuals seeking to build or retain muscle. If you are in a steep caloric deficit, increasing protein to 2.2 to 2.6 g/kg helps protect lean tissue while maximizing satiety.