How much should you actually eat on carnivore? Two numbers cover most of it: protein pegged to the body you’re building, and fat that never drops below parity with it. Set your targets below, then read on for how to choose your ratio.
The Carnivore Macro Calculator
Protein at 0.8 g per pound of your ideal bodyweight. That means the weight you’d be at lean, not the number on the scale today. Fat starts at 1:1 with protein and only goes up. Type a weight and it works as you go.
Fat matches protein gram for gram. This is the minimum for the diet to run properly.
Where the energy comes from
Tap what you would actually eat. The amounts solve themselves, and the day below rebuilds as you pick.
A different combination leads tomorrow. Or pick your own; the maths keeps up either way.
Split across meals:
Copied. Paste it anywhere.
Saves itself on this device as you type. Nothing leaves your browser unless you email yourself the results. Soon your numbers can live everywhere: the Inner Ruminati founding list.
Working targets, not scripture. Hit the protein, let fat carry the energy, and ignore anyone selling you lean meat. What to buy to get there: the complete carnivore food list.
Or let the Diet Plan do the maths for 16 weeks →How to use it
Enter your ideal bodyweight, not your current one. That means the weight you’d be at lean and strong: for most men somewhere between what you weighed at your athletic best and what you honestly believe you could carry well. If you’re unsure, take your height in centimetres, subtract 100, and use that as a starting point in kilograms. It doesn’t need to be perfect; it needs to be honest.
Protein is then set at 0.8 grams per pound of that weight. That’s enough to build and keep muscle whether you’re cutting or maintaining, and more mostly makes expensive urine. The fat number scales from whichever ratio you pick, and the sample days show you what the targets look like as actual food on an actual plate.
Which ratio should you aim for?
1:1 is the floor, and the right starting point for most people. A gram of fat for every gram of protein is the minimum for the diet to run properly: it covers your energy, your hormones, and the reason you’re not hungry at 4pm. Conveniently, it’s also roughly what fatty cuts deliver on their own. A plate of 20% mince gets you there without weighing anything. If you’re new, or cutting, start here and let your appetite settle before you fiddle with the dial.
1.5:1 is fat-fuelled territory. Push here when you’re training hard, fully fat-adapted, or find your energy sagging at 1:1. The extra fat deepens ketosis and steadies the fuel supply without touching your protein. In practice it means choosing the fattier cut on purpose and cooking in dripping rather than draining it off.
2:1 is the most therapeutic version of the diet. Two grams of fat per gram of protein is where carnivore does its deepest repair work: the deepest ketosis, the quietest appetite, and the version people reach for when they’re using the diet to fix something rather than just maintain. It takes deliberate effort, since even fatty cuts won’t get you there alone. Butter, dripping and the fattiest cuts in the shop become the point rather than the garnish. If fat still makes you nervous, read why saturated fat is the healthiest of the fats first.
Whichever ratio you run, the protein number stays put. Fat is the dial; protein is the anchor.
Common questions
Do I need to count calories? No. Hit the protein, respect the ratio, and eat to genuine fullness. The kcal figure is there for perspective, not for tracking. If fat loss has stalled for weeks, check the numbers again before assuming the diet is broken; the usual culprit is under-eating protein, not over-eating fat. The full method is in the carnivore fat loss guide.
What should I actually buy? The complete carnivore food list covers every food worth your money, tier by tier. For cooking fat-first without thinking about it, Bring Back the Dripping is the recipe book built around exactly that.
What if I’d rather not think about any of this? That’s what the Carnivore Diet Plan is for: sixteen weeks of meals with the targets and ratios already decided, two plates a day, no arithmetic.
Put the numbers to work: the Carnivore Diet Plan turns your targets into sixteen weeks of eating, and Can I Eat It? settles what qualifies for the plate.
