Find your daily carbohydrate intake recommendation based on your calorie needs, activity level, and fitness goal — from weight loss to endurance performance.
| Goal | Carb % | Daily (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight loss (low carb) | 20–30% | 148g |
| General health | 40–50% | 267g |
| Muscle gain | 45–55% | 296g |
| Endurance sports | 55–65% | 356g |
| Your recommendation | 45% | 267g |
| Macro | Grams | Calories | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrates | 267g | 1067 | 45% |
| Remaining (protein + fat) | — | 1304 | 55% |
Carbohydrates provide 4 kcal per gram. The DRI recommends a minimum of 130g/day for adequate brain function. Athletes may need significantly more.
Carbohydrates do not make you gain weight on their own. A surplus of calories does, whichever mix of nutrients supplies it. That correction shapes how this calculator works: it first finds a calorie target from your body stats and goal, then gives carbohydrate a share of that budget, from 30% when you want to lose weight up to 60% for endurance sport.
Target calories = TDEE + goal adjustment, never below 1,200. The adjustments are −500 for Lose Weight, 0 for Maintain and Endurance Sport, and +300 for Build Muscle. Carb calories = target × carb share, with shares of 30% (lose), 45% (maintain), 50% (build muscle) and 60% (endurance). Carb grams = carb calories ÷ 4, because a gram of carbohydrate provides about 4 kcal, and grams per kilogram is grams ÷ body weight in kg. TDEE is Mifflin-St Jeor BMR times an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9.
Worked example: a 25-year-old man, 75 kg, 175 cm, lightly active. BMR = 750 + 1,093.75 − 125 + 5 = 1,723.75, rounded to 1,724, and TDEE = 1,724 × 1.375 = 2,371 kcal. Maintain: 2,371 × 0.45 = 1,067 kcal, ÷ 4 = 267 g, or 3.6 g/kg. Switch to Lose Weight and the target falls to 1,871 kcal, so 30% is 561 kcal, or 140 g (1.9 g/kg). Endurance Sport at 2,371 × 0.60 = 1,423 kcal gives 356 g (4.7 g/kg), and Build Muscle at 2,671 × 0.50 = 1,336 kcal gives 334 g (4.5 g/kg).
What it does not account for: the shares are fixed per goal, so a marathon trainee and a casual jogger who both pick endurance get the same 60%. Sports-nutrition guidance, such as the joint position stand from the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada, scales carbohydrate with training hours and reaches 6 to 10 g/kg for one to three hours a day, well above the 4.7 g/kg here. Nothing separates fibre, added sugar or food quality. The small comparison table also uses your currently selected calorie target for every row, not each goal's own adjustment.
No. The 130 g per day in the note is the Dietary Reference Intake minimum, set to cover the brain's glucose use. It is a floor for most healthy adults, not a target for any goal, and the Lose Weight example above lands at 140 g only because of the 30% share.
Because the share differs, not the budget alone. Build Muscle has a bigger target (2,671 kcal) but takes 50%, giving 334 g. Endurance takes 60% of 2,371 kcal, giving 356 g.
No. It treats everything as total carbohydrate at 4 kcal per gram. If you track net carbs, your own totals will look smaller than the grams shown here.
Use it only for general reference. Carbohydrate targets in diabetes are individual and tied to medication and monitoring, so ask your doctor or dietitian for yours.
If TDEE minus 500 falls below 1,200 kcal, the target is raised to 1,200 and 30% of that is 360 kcal, or 90 g of carbohydrate. That is below the 130 g DRI figure in the note, so such a plan is worth discussing with a professional.