If you’ve been following my fitness journey for a while, you know that learning how to track macros was one of the biggest game changers for my body recomposition.

For years I focused mostly on calories, but once I started paying attention to protein, carbs, and fats, everything started to click. My workouts improved, my energy increased, and my body composition changed in a way that simply counting calories never achieved.

One of the easiest tools to help with this is MyFitnessPal. I’ve been using it every single day for over a year, and once you learn how to use it correctly, it becomes second nature.

If you’re wondering how to track macros in MyFitnessPal, I’m going to walk you through the exact steps. There are other food tracking apps, but since I use and am intimately familiar with MyFitnessPal, that’s the app I’m focusing on.

What Are Macros?

“Macros” is short for macronutrients. Macronutrients are what provide your body with energy and help support muscle growth, recovery and overall health.

The three macronutrients are:

Protein – Supports muscle repair and growth and helps keep you feeling full.

Carbohydrates– Your body’s primary source of energy, especially for workouts.

Fat – Essential for hormone health, brain function, and nutrient absorption.

When you track macros, you’re not just counting calories- you’re making sure your body is getting the right balance of nutrients.

Why Tracking Macros Works

Tracking macros allows you to be more intentional with what you eat. Instead of guessing, you know exactly how much protein, carbs, and fat you’re consuming each day.

This can help you:

• Build muscle
• Lose fat
• Improve workout performance
• Stabilize energy levels
• Learn proper portion sizes

For me personally, tracking macros helped me move from simply trying to “eat less” to fueling my body properly to build muscle, while minimizing fat gain.

Step 1: Download MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a free app that helps you track what you eat each day. It allows you to log your meals and see how many calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat you are consuming.

Instead of guessing how much you’re eating, the app does the math for you. And, instead of trying to calculate everything yourself, the app does it instantly.

First, download the MyFitnessPal app from the App Store or Google Play. You can use the free version, which works great for most people.

Once you create an account, the app will ask you some basic questions like:

• Age
• Height
• Weight
• Activity level
• Goals (lose weight, maintain, or gain)

This will give you an estimated calorie target, which you can adjust once you determine your personal macros.

Step 2: Set Your Macro Goals

Macros are typically set based on your calorie intake. For example, many people follow something similar to:

• Protein: 25–35%
• Carbs: 35–50%
• Fat: 20–30%

Inside MyFitnessPal you can adjust this by going to:

More → Goals → Calorie, Carbs, Protein & Fat Goals

From there, you can enter your macro percentages.

The best macro split depends on your goals and lifestyle.

If figuring out your macro numbers feels confusing, my interactive Macro Calculator + 12-Week Plan calculates your personalized calorie and macro targets based on your specific information and goals.

Since I’m in a ‘muscle building’ phase now and have been for many months, my calories and macros are quite high. I started at 1,450 calories a day and now eat almost 2,400 calories a day.

You can also set custom daily goals. I also have a custom daily goal with a “higher carb day” that I use on Thursdays.

Step 3: Log Your Food in MyFitnessPal

Once your macros are set, you simply log what you eat throughout the day.

There are three easy ways to do this:

Search for the Food

Tap ADD FOOD, type in the item, and select from the database. You can search by brand and they also have lots of popular restaurants included.

Scan the Barcode

One of my favorite features! Just scan the barcode and it automatically logs the nutrition information.

Create Your Own Meal

If you eat the same breakfast or lunch often, you can save it as a meal so you can log it in seconds.

You can also copy and paste items or entire meals from day to day. Just hit ‘EDIT’ and then you can ‘SELECT ALL’ or some of the items and paste into other meals or days. You tap the white circles to do this. Tap the blue checkmarks to undo or redo. Then hit ‘DONE’ when you’re finished.

Step 4: Monitor Your Macros in MyFitnessPal

As you log your food, MyFitnessPal automatically tracks how much protein, carbs, and fat you’ve eaten.

At the top of the screen you’ll see your remaining calories and macros for the day. If you see a negative in front of a number, that means you are over. Above, I still have 5 grams of carbs to eat, but I’m 5 grams over in fat.

You can also view your macro breakdown in the Nutrition section, which shows:

• grams of protein
• grams of carbs
• grams of fat

This helps you make adjustments throughout the day.

For example, if you notice you’re low on protein, you might add:

• grilled chicken
• Greek yogurt
• a protein shake

Step 5: Focus on Progress, Not Perfection

Macro tracking is a learning tool, not something you need to obsess over forever. When you start tracking, you become much more aware of:

• portion sizes
• protein intake
• hidden calories
• how foods fit into your day

Over time, you’ll naturally develop a better sense of balance without needing to track every single thing.

It’s really wild how now I can look at a piece of meat and guess within half and ounce how much it weighs. Same with other foods.

Tips That Make Tracking Easier

Here are a few things that helped me stay consistent:

Plan meals ahead of time – I log my meals the night before or in the morning so I know how the day will look.

Prioritize protein first – Hitting your protein target makes everything else easier.

Use a food scale – It helps you learn accurate portions, especially at the beginning. I find it easiest to weigh everything in grams. And I also weigh everything after cooking, except for liquid egg whites.

Don’t stress about minor differences – Macro tracking isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being consistent. Because I have such a specific goal, I aim to be within 4 grams of each macro at the end of the day, even if the calories are a bit off. It doesn’t always line up perfectly.

Want Help Setting Your Macros?

If you’d like help figuring out exactly what your calories and macros should be, my interactive Macro Calculator + 12-Week Plan walks you through the entire process and gives you a clear plan to follow.

It’s designed to make macro tracking simple and sustainable, especially if you’re busy and don’t want to overcomplicate things.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to track macros might feel overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes incredibly empowering. Instead of guessing what to eat, you start to understand exactly how to fuel your body in a way that supports your goals.

And the best part is, you can still enjoy the foods you love while making progress! Nothing is completely off limits, but the macro data provides helpful boundaries to make sure you’re successful at reaching your fitness goals.

I find that it’s kind of like a puzzle and I make it fun by inputting different foods and seeing how they meet my macro goals.

Of course, it’s not EASY or everyone would do it. But it is simple.

Make a plan. Work the plan.

Repeat.

With consistency, you WILL be successful!

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and be sure to join my email list so you’re first to hear about my health coaching opportunities!