Another question about macros when fat adapted

macros
fat-adapted
(Laurel Harrington) #1

What should my macros be now that I’m fat adapted? I get the “eat to satiety” part but I still have about 50 pounds to lose. Also, I’ve been using Cronometer but I can’t figure out how to set my macro targets to exactly what I want. Any advice? Thanks!

(Alec) #2

My advice (what’s worked for me):

  1. Stick to the basics, keep carbs very low. Fat/protein balance in my opinion is not that important, but obviously don’t overeat protein. If you eat real food, I think overeating protein is hard.
  2. Most important: become sensitive to your hunger signals. This is a learning experience, you get better as you try it consciously. As soon as you feel reasonably satiated, stop eating. Don’t eat until you are full full! This is a skill I am still trying to master, but I believe is the key to weight loss on a keto diet.
  3. Eat when hungry, but let it build for a bit, it may go away
  4. Don’t eat meals if you are not hungry, just skip them
  5. Try fasting for 36 hours, if you haven’t already. I have found this is the most effective weight loss tool in the armoury. And the most effective for removing hunger: odd as it sounds, I have found that eating increases my medium term hunger signals. Fasting = no hunger.

Good luck!

(Carl Keller) #3

In addition to what @Alecmcq says, I found that dialing back how much dairy and nuts I was eating, lowered my daily caloric intake by about 300 calories without affecting my hunger one bit. My meals typically featured a fatty protein along with a salad or lightly buttered vegetables. This not only made grocery shopping easy, it made preparing my meals easy too.

Oh and I didn’t really track calories or macros (besides staying under 20 carbs) with any specific goal. I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was wasn’t. Cronometer tracked what I was eating so I just happen to know the numbers.

#4

My take is that macros are easy.

  • Carbs. No calculation necessary. Start at 20 grams of net carbs, as that’s pretty much a guarantee of ketosis. Later on, it can be increased to see how well someone tolerates more carbs.

  • Protein. Most protein guesstimates should be about the same. The hard part is self-assessing body type to determine lean body mass. Which shouldn’t really change that much unless someone is working at building muscle.

  • Fats and calories. You really can’t have a set macro for fats, because your stored body fat can be used in place of ingested fat. Ideally, hunger should be your guide as to how much fat you need to eat. If you are hungry, eat more fats, some additional proteins, but as few additional carbs as possible.

My three keto mantras:

  • “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”
  • “Eat when hungry. Stop when full. Mostly meat.”
  • KCKO!
(Laurel Harrington) #5

Thank you, that is all really good advice!

(Laurel Harrington) #6

Thank you! Your point about nuts especially got me thinking. It seems like the day after I eat nuts I feel more of that old, pre-keto type hunger and cravings.

(Laurel Harrington) #7

That clarifies a lot, thank you! I think maybe I was hoping for a fixed set of numbers. Now I realize I need to continue developing my new mindfulness/physical awareness skills.