Calculate calorie, protein, and fat targets for a carnivore (animal-only) diet from body size, activity level, and goal, with nutrient gap warnings.
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Health — Nutrition
The carnivore diet restricts food to animal products only — typically meat, fish, eggs, and dairy — eliminating all plant foods. Estimating calorie and protein targets for this pattern requires the same TDEE-based approach as any other diet, but fat replaces carbohydrates as the sole non-protein energy source. This calculator estimates daily targets and highlights the nutrients most commonly inadequate on a strict carnivore approach.
Because carbohydrates are essentially zero, calories come entirely from protein and fat. Protein is set at 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight — the range used in most muscle-preservation research — and fat provides the remaining calories. For a 80 kg moderately active male in maintenance, this typically means around 152 g protein and 140–160 g fat per day, with calories around 1,900–2,100 kcal.
Vitamin C is the most commonly cited concern: muscle meat contains very little, though liver (particularly raw or lightly cooked beef liver) contains meaningful amounts. Dietary fibre is entirely absent, which affects bowel transit time and the gut microbiome in ways that are not yet well understood. Calcium intake depends heavily on whether dairy is included. Magnesium is low in most muscle meats; organ meats and shellfish provide more. Long-term practitioners often supplement one or more of these.
The carnivore diet lacks the long-term controlled trial evidence available for Mediterranean or DASH patterns. Anecdotal reports of improved inflammatory conditions, autoimmune symptoms, and digestive issues are numerous, but most are uncontrolled. The cardiovascular implications of very high saturated fat intake over decades remain contested. If you are considering this diet for medical reasons, work with a clinician who can monitor relevant biomarkers.
Frequently asked questions
Most people do enter ketosis on a strict carnivore diet due to the near-total absence of carbohydrates, though high protein intake can partially suppress ketone production in some individuals via gluconeogenesis. Blood ketone levels typically range from 0.5 to 2.0 mmol/L, lower than deliberate therapeutic ketogenic diets.
Fat provides the remaining calories after protein needs are met. On a deficit, fat intake will be moderate; on maintenance or a surplus, it will be higher. Practitioner advice often centres on eating fatty cuts of meat to satiety rather than tracking fat grams precisely.
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