You can estimate your daily need for grams of carbohydrates by multiplying your total daily calorie needs by your desired percentage of calories from carbohydrates (45% to 65%—less if you’re sedentary; more if you’re active) and dividing that number by four (there are four calories per gram of carbohydrate):
Total daily calories × ____% = Calories from carbohydrate
Calories from carbohydrate ÷ 4 calories per gram = Grams of carbohydrate needed per day
Example (continuing with Sandra from earlier example):
2,000 calories per day × 0.50 (50%) = 1,000 calories from carbohydrate
1,000 calories ÷ 4 calories per gram = 250 grams of carbohydrate per day
