Daily Carb Needs Calculator: free carbs per day calculator.
Enter your weight and how much you train. Get grams of carbs per day for rest days, normal days and big days.
Carbs a day
- Rest day200 to 330g3 to 5 g per kg · low intensity or skill workACSM 2016
- Normal training day330 to 460g5 to 7 g per kg · a moderate program, about 1 h a dayACSM 2016
- Long or hard day390 to 650g6 to 10 g per kg · 1 to 3 h a day, moderate to hardACSM 2016
Hand it to your AI
Your AI can check these numbers against your training and adjust them. The prompt has your results filled in.
See the prompt
I weigh 65 kg and train about 1 h a day (a moderate program). A daily carb calculator based on the ACSM 2016 position stand gave me: rest day 200 to 330 g, normal training day 330 to 460 g, long or hard day 390 to 650 g. Look at my training this week and set my carbs for each day, with the meals and snacks that get me there.
Gemini, Grok Bot, Dots, Muse and Cue: copy the prompt and paste it in.
With Memory.fit, your AI would already know how hard you trained today.
On Android now: get it on Google Play. One email when the iPhone app is on the App Store.
How it works
How the Daily Carb Needs Calculator works.
How many carbs you need in a day follows how much you train. The ACSM position stand gives four bands, in grams per kilogram of body weight: light training 3 to 5 g, about an hour a day 5 to 7 g, one to three hours of moderate to hard training 6 to 10 g, and four to five hours or more 8 to 12 g.
Your needs move with the day, not the week. A rest day sits in the light band. A normal training day sits in your own band. A long or hard day takes the band above it.
These are ranges, not targets to hit to the gram. Your AI can adjust them to your goals, your body and how you feel.
The formula
- carbs a day = the band for the day's training × body weight (kg)
The science
Where the numbers come from.
These are the same rules Memory.fit's engine uses when your AI asks it for a number, read from one registry of cited sources.
Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance (2016). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 48(3):543-568.
Position stand · 2016 · doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
Burke LM, Hawley JA, Wong SHS, Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences 29(sup1):S17-S27.
Review · 2011 · doi:10.1080/02640414.2011.585473
Example
A worked example.
A 65 kg runner training about an hour a day.
- 1About an hour a day is the moderate band: 5 to 7 g per kg, or 330 to 460 g on a normal day.
- 2A rest day falls to the light band: 3 to 5 g per kg, or 200 to 330 g.
- 3A long run day takes the next band up: 6 to 10 g per kg, or 390 to 650 g.
Questions
Daily Carb Needs Calculator: questions.
Between 3 and 12 g per kilogram of body weight, depending on training: 3 to 5 g on light days, 5 to 7 g at about an hour a day, 6 to 10 g at one to three hours, and 8 to 12 g above four hours.
Usually yes. On a rest day your needs drop to the light band, 3 to 5 g per kg. Matching carbs to the day's training is what the research calls periodizing.
Keep enough carbs to fuel your key sessions and take the deficit from elsewhere, slowly. Your AI can work out a plan around your training; very low carbs during hard training can hurt performance and health.
Not for most athletes in training. For a 60 kg athlete training an hour a day, 300 to 420 g sits right in the research range.
Not medical advice. These numbers come from published research on groups of athletes. Your own needs can differ; talk to a doctor or a sports dietitian about any health condition.