This protein and macros guide brings together everything the ContaCal blog has published on the topic and shows the order that makes sense: protein first, then the other macros, then the food, and supplements last.
Most of the questions we get start in the wrong place, with the whey brand or the timing of creatine. What moves results the most is hitting your daily protein with real food, inside the right calories.
If you have kidney disease, diabetes or another chronic condition, set your protein intake and supplement use with your doctor or dietitian.
How much protein you need
How much protein per day is the starting point: the formula per kilo of body weight, the ranges by goal, a food table and how to spread protein across your meals.
To do the math in seconds, the protein calculator gives you a daily target from your weight and goal.
How to split your macros
Once protein is set, what is left is deciding how the remaining calories go to carbs and fat.
How to calculate macros walks through the math step by step from your calorie target, with protein, carbs and fat on the plate. If you want the result ready, use the macro calculator.
What are macronutrients? covers the three types, how much of each to eat, where micronutrients fit in and how to track it all from a photo.
Flexible dieting shows how to count macros with no banned foods, what a real day looks like and where the math breaks down.
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Carbs: how much and how to count them
How many carbs per day explains why your range shifts with weight, training and calorie goal, and how many to eat to lose weight.
Carb counting is for when you need precision per meal: turning labels into grams, where raw and cooked weights diverge and one lunch counted item by item.
Where to find protein in food
High protein foods gives you the full list by group, animal and plant, with how much each one delivers. Read it when your target feels too high for your routine.
High protein diet plan explains why eating more protein helps with weight loss: it fills you up, costs energy to digest and protects muscle. It includes a one-day menu and the mistake that stalls progress.
Supplements: whey and creatine
Supplements come after food, not before. That said, whey and creatine are the two with the most research behind them.
Best whey protein shows how to choose by type, goal, lactose and cost per gram of protein, without paying for marketing.
When to take whey protein covers how much per day, how to mix it and why the anabolic window is more myth than rule.
Creatine benefits explains what it does beyond strength, the dose considered safe and the most common myths.
How to take creatine fits in one line, 3 to 5 g of monohydrate a day, but the article covers loading, timing and the mistakes that kill results.
Does creatine make you gain weight? explains why the scale can rise in the first weeks and why that is water inside the muscle, not fat.
A suggested reading order
- Set the number: how much protein per day and how to calculate macros.
- Build the plate: high protein foods and the high protein diet plan.
- Adjust carbs: how many carbs per day and, if needed, carb counting per meal.
- Then supplement: whey if food does not close the gap, creatine if you lift.
Sources
Organized and reviewed by Lucas, nutritionist. The protein ranges for active people follow the International Society of Sports Nutrition: ISSN Position Stand: protein and exercise. For creatine, the reference document is the ISSN Position Stand: creatine supplementation. Each article in this guide lists its own references.