Balanced, low-fat, low-carb and keto produce the same calorie target and the same protein target in MacroDiet; they differ only in how the calories left after protein are divided between fat and carbohydrate. That means none of them is the split for fat loss — the deficit is set before the style is applied, and the style does not change it.
This is a criteria guide. It shows the four styles side by side at the same inputs, explains the one constant that separates them, and gives you the questions that actually decide the choice.
The four styles side by side (table)
Each style is one number in the algorithm — FAT_PCT_OF_REMAINING — the share of post-protein calories that goes to fat. Keto is the exception: instead of a share it fixes carbohydrate at 30 g and fat takes the remainder.
| Style | Fat share of remainder | Carb share of remainder | Fat floor relevant? | Balancing macro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 35% | 65% | rarely | carbohydrate |
| Low-fat | 20% | 80% | usually binds | carbohydrate |
| Low-carb | 50% | 50% | no | carbohydrate |
| Keto | remainder | fixed 30 g | never | fat |
The fat floor — max(0.6 g/kg, 20% of calories) — sits under all of the first three. It matters most for low-fat, because 20% of the *post-protein* calories is less than 20% of *all* calories, so the floor almost always lifts the low-fat number a little.
Protein does not change
Every style calls the same protein rule first: body weight × tier, +0.2 g/kg on a losing goal, capped at 50% of calories. A 75 kg person on the moderate tier at maintenance is set 120 g whether they choose balanced or keto. On a losing goal, 135 g on every style.
That is deliberate. The style is a preference about food; protein is a target derived from the body, and the algorithm does not let a food preference change it. How much protein per kg covers where the tiers come from.
In plain terms: the first two decisions — calories and protein — are made before the style exists.
Adherence, not magic — how to choose
Since the deficit is identical, the style is chosen for the diet you will keep logging accurately for months. Useful questions:
| Question | Points toward |
|---|---|
| Are most of your staple foods grains, fruit, potatoes, rice? | balanced or low-fat |
| Are they eggs, cheese, nuts, oily fish, olive oil? | low-carb |
| Do you train long sessions or do endurance work several times a week? | low-fat (more carbohydrate at the same calories) |
| Do you eat out often, where fat is hard to control? | low-carb (a higher fat target is harder to overshoot) |
| Do you want a hard carbohydrate limit rather than a ratio? | keto — knowing it moves the whole calorie adjustment onto fat |
| Not sure? | balanced — it sits in the middle of the reference ranges for both fat and carbohydrate |
Two honest notes. First, a style change moves water: shifting toward low-carb or keto usually drops the scale by a kilogram or so within days as stored carbohydrate (glycogen) and the water bound to it fall; shifting back does the reverse. Neither move is fat, and an adaptive expenditure estimate needs a week or two to see through it. Second, the cost of a style is the logging burden it creates — a style whose foods you find hard to weigh and log is a style that will quietly drift off target.
Worked example at 2,000 kcal
A 75 kg person, 2,000 kcal target, moderate protein tier at maintenance (120 g, 480 kcal; 1,520 kcal remaining). Fat floor: max(75 × 0.6, 2,000 × 0.2 ÷ 9) = max(45, 44) = 45 g.
| Style | Fat | Carbohydrate | Protein | Fat / carb share of energy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 1,520 × 0.35 ÷ 9 = 59 g | (2,000 − 480 − 531) ÷ 4 = 247 g | 120 g | 27% / 49% |
| Low-fat | 1,520 × 0.20 ÷ 9 = 34 g → floor `45 g` | (2,000 − 480 − 405) ÷ 4 = 279 g | 120 g | 20% / 56% |
| Low-carb | 1,520 × 0.50 ÷ 9 = 84 g | (2,000 − 480 − 756) ÷ 4 = 191 g | 120 g | 38% / 38% |
| Keto | (2,000 − 480 − 120) ÷ 9 = 156 g | 30 g (ceiling) | 120 g | 70% / 6% |
Every row is 2,000 kcal and 120 g protein. The macro calculator reproduces each one by changing only the diet-style setting.
Now set the goal to lose at a moderate rate. The target falls by about 413 kcal (0.5% of 75 kg is 0.375 kg/week, × 7,700 ÷ 7) to 1,588 kcal, protein rises to 135 g, and the cut lands on carbohydrate for the first three styles and on fat for keto — but it is the same 413 kcal in every row, which is the whole point.
In plain terms: the styles are four ways of eating the same deficit.
The short version
The four MacroDiet styles share the calorie target and the protein target and differ in one constant: fat's share of the post-protein calories (35 / 20 / 50%) or, for keto, a 30 g carb ceiling with fat as the remainder. Fat loss follows the calorie target, so the style is chosen for adherence — the foods you will keep weighing and logging — not for speed. At 2,000 kcal and 75 kg the splits are 59/247, 45/279, 84/191 and 156/30 grams of fat/carbohydrate, all with 120 g protein.
Educational overview only — not medical advice. Zyra is a training and nutrition tracking tool; the numbers here are the algorithm's rules and published reference values, not an individual prescription.