Daily Fat Intake Calculator
Turn your goal and body weight into a daily fat range
Daily fat intake, goals and common questions
How does this calculator pick a daily fat range?
The tool converts your weight to kilograms, then applies a grams-per-kg band that depends on your goal. Cutting uses a lower part of the range, maintenance sits in the middle, and lean bulking uses a slightly higher band while still staying moderate. Each gram of fat is counted as about 9 kcal to show a fat-calorie range.
What are typical daily fat recommendations?
For most adults, public-health and sports-nutrition sources often suggest keeping total fat around 20–35% of daily calories and avoiding very low or very high extremes for long periods. Some sports guidelines also describe fat intakes roughly in the 0.5–1.0 g/kg/day zone for many active adults, depending on context.
Does this tell me exactly how much fat I personally must eat?
No. It gives a reasonable range built from your weight and the goal you select. Your best number still depends on your calories, health history, meds, preferences and other macros. A clinician or registered dietitian can narrow things down for you.
How do cutting, maintenance and lean bulking ranges differ?
Cutting keeps you nearer the lower end of the grams-per-kg band so more calories can go to protein and carbs while still hitting a minimum fat intake. Maintenance sits in the middle, and lean bulking nudges you toward the higher end while avoiding very heavy-fat diets by default.
Is lower fat always better for fat loss?
Not necessarily. Extremely low-fat diets can be hard to stick to and may affect hormones, mood, and fat- soluble vitamin absorption. Many people do better with a moderate fat intake that leaves room for enough protein and carbs, rather than pushing fat to the floor.
What about types of fat — saturated, unsaturated, trans?
This page tracks only total grams. In real life, fat quality matters a lot. Most healthy eating guidance suggests focusing on unsaturated fats from foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, olive or rapeseed oil and fatty fish, while keeping saturated fat modest and avoiding industrial trans fats.
Who should not rely on this calculator?
Anyone with conditions that change fat handling (for example, some gallbladder, liver, pancreas or lipid disorders), people with malabsorption, or those on medical diets should not rely on a general tool. They need individual plans worked out with their care team.
How to use this daily fat intake calculator
This calculator gives you a simple daily fat target from your weight and broad goal. It is built to be quick to use when you are setting up macros for cutting, maintenance or a lean bulk.
1. Choose units and add your current body weight
Start by picking whether you prefer US units (lb) or metric (kg). In US mode, enter your weight in pounds; in metric mode, enter your weight in kilograms. The tool converts everything into kilograms behind the scenes for the math.
2. Pick the goal that matches your current phase
Select whether you are currently aiming for cutting, maintenance or lean bulking. Cutting leans toward the lower end of a sensible fat range, maintenance sits in the middle, and lean bulking uses a slightly higher band while still staying moderate.
3. Read the suggested gram target and calories
When you tap Calculate daily fat range, the result shows:
- A single suggested daily fat target in grams.
- An estimate of calories from fat per day at that target.
- A small table with lower and upper ranges, if you want more detail.
4. Fit the fat target into your overall macros
After you have a fat target, you can slot it alongside your protein and carbohydrate targets. Many people set protein first, keep fat in a moderate band, and let carbohydrates fill in the remaining calories. Your exact split will depend on your sport, preferences and how you feel on different macro mixes.
5. Copy the summary into your plan or tracker
Use Copy summary if you want to paste the fat target and supporting range into a macro tracker, note, or a message to a coach. That way you do not have to re-run the numbers every time you update the rest of your plan.
Treat this as a starting point, not a prescription. If you have medical conditions, take medication that affects fats, or notice symptoms when you change intake, it is important to check in with your own health professionals.
How the daily fat range math works
The math is intentionally simple and transparent: the tool converts your weight into kilograms, applies a grams-per-kg range chosen for your goal, then turns those grams into calories using 9 kcal per gram.
1. Convert weight to kilograms if needed
If you enter your weight in pounds, the calculator converts it to kilograms using:
kg ≈ lb ÷ 2.2046
Metric entries are already in kilograms, so no conversion is needed.
2. Apply a grams-per-kg range by goal
Next, the tool multiplies your weight in kilograms by a lower and upper factor that depends on your goal:
- Cutting: roughly 0.6–0.8 g/kg/day
- Maintenance: roughly 0.8–1.0 g/kg/day
- Lean bulking: roughly 0.9–1.1 g/kg/day
These bands sit inside broader guidance that often places many active adults somewhere in the 0.5–1.0+ g/kg/day and roughly 20–35% of calories from fat, depending on context.
3. Find a simple target
The calculator averages the lower and upper grams to give you a single daily fat target. You can sit a little above or below this on different days; it is just a clear, easy number to aim at.
4. Convert grams of fat to calories
Finally, the tool multiplies each gram value by 9 to get fat calories:
Fat calories = Grams of fat × 9
This gives you a lower and upper estimate for calories from fat each day. You can compare those to your overall calorie target to check that fat is not taking up too little or too much of the total.
The goal is not perfection, but to give you a clear, sensible zone for daily fat while you adjust protein, carbs and total calories around your real life.
References and further reading on daily fat intake
These resources explain typical fat ranges and why very low or very high intakes are usually not ideal long term:
- World Health Organization — Healthy diet — notes that for most adults, total fat should generally stay below about 30% of total energy intake, with an emphasis on unsaturated fats.
- Healthline — Fat grams: how much fat should you eat per day? — summarises dietary guidelines that place total fat around 20–35% of daily calories for many adults and discusses saturated fat limits.
- National Academy of Sports Medicine — Calorie and macro guidance — describes using about 1 g/kg/day of fat as a baseline for many active adults, alongside 20–35% of calories from fat.
Use these as background reading and pair them with individual guidance from your own healthcare professionals or registered dietitian, especially if you have medical conditions or follow a specialised diet.