Calories vs Keto


(Angelique Jury) #1

Hello everyone
I am brand new to keto. Still learning. I’ve been on keto for 4 days now. I am struggling a bit trying to marry calorie intake and keto. How do i know how many calories i should be eating knowing that my carbs are super low and fats super high.

Prev i was following a calorie diet of 1100 calories… but not limiting anything necessarily. Just eating healthily. Weight loss was not great at all. So keto here i come!! Lol. BUT ia 1100 to low for this new way of eating?


(Gargantuan B. Widebody) #2

Personally I do not count calories at all. I just prepare my meals based on my desired fat/protein/carb macros and eat. When I eat and how much is up to my body. When I am hungry I eat, when I am not hungry anymore I stop eating. If I am hungry again in 10 minutes I eat a little more.


(Allie) #3

Just eat. Keep carbs below 20g, aim for around 50 - 75g protein, and no limit on fats. Do not limit yourself. Do not make yourself feel deprived.


(Angelique Jury) #4

Ok thank you… this calorie thing really been confusing me.
Also… I’m eating salad every lunch and hvn veg wish my dinners. All these veg and salad seem to be keeping my carbs higher than i want. Any tips on how to rectify this?
Thank you


(Briton) #5

It really depends on your goals but in the beginning of keto follow your macros and eat until satisfied. To lose weight you do need to calorie restrict but wait till you have been in ketosis awhile and have good go to meals and snacks, etc. Good luck.


(Sharon A Peters) #6

Welcome! I, too, had a hard time at the beginning getting my head wrapped around the calorie intake/calories-don’t count (except when they do) discussions. Setting initial macros is very important, as is revisiting them periodically as you progress, both as you lose weight and if, for some reason you don’t. The calorie issue snapped into place for me when I finally realized that there are calories on the plate and then there are those calories in the body. On the plate, it is a mathematical computation: x g/oz of fats, y g/or of proteins, z g/oz of carbohydrates (sugars and starches), so you simply add up the caloric values for the amounts of the macronutrients on the plate, and there you are! You are eating 1,500 calories, and in the mouth they go. Your body gets 1,500 calories of energy to run on. Sadly, the metabolism does not run on math, it runs on carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, as each has a specific job to do in maintaining the human body. So if the bulk of that 1,500-calorie intake from the plate is from carbs, how is the body to repair and rebuild its parts needing amino acids which result from the breakdown of protein? If little comes from fat, how will the body deal with supplying tissues with the needed fatty acids? That’s when I realized that it is the source of those calories on the plate that makes the big difference. Break the plate down into its macronutrient components and now you are talking your metabolism’s language. And now you can begin to intervene and rebalance your food intake. By setting up macros, you have inadvertently set a calorie amount because proteins and carbs are 4 cal/g, and fat if 9 cal/g. But they are balanced in a way to promote metabolic healing and balance in your body, and, especially when combined with intermittent fasting, a way to manage insulin spikes. It sounds scary, but 20g fibrous carbs, moderate protein, and fat to satiety really, really works.


(Candy Lind) #7

Are you counting the fiber? 20 net carbs works for most people to get fat adapted. If you are getting substantially more than that, cut the serving size of your salad & veg and pile on the fat. More dressing for the salad, butter, OO, sour cream, whipping cream or mayo on the vegetables. The fat will satiate better than the carbs. Eat fatty cuts of meat. I couldn’t get my hard head around this for 5 months. I was a chronic over-eater. Large servings of everything because I was always hungry. If I make sure I eat enough fat, I stop eating before I’ve had enough calories to reach maintenance (I stay in a deficit). I still count because I’m very inactive due to bad knees, but I’m not starving, and I’m less and less “consumed” by the emotional eating habit I had/have.


(Angelique Jury) #8

This does make a lot of sense.
Currently i have a macro of 20g C 75g P 110g F… and my fitness pal has given me a total of 1370 calories daily. Does this seem right?


(Angelique Jury) #9

I’ll admit my biggest battle is getting my fats up and my proteins down. Now that u mention net carbs rather than total, the carbs seem ok :blush::blush::blush:


(Frank) #10

I just focus on getting the fat, protein and avoiding sugars and carbs (other than spinach, peppeprs etc) . My MyFitnessPal account is gathering dust I don’t bother.


(Lonnie Hedley) #11

Try a macro calculator like the one on www.ketoconnect.net/calculator

Just plugging in some numbers since you haven’t provided them, a person that is 125 lbs at 30% body fat looking to lose weight is about 1390 Kcal. 20g carbs, 70g protein, and 115g fat.


(Angelique Jury) #12

Ok great thank you. I’ll def try that!


(Lonnie Hedley) #13

Includes a video on how to use, plus the site has a lot of recipes, and if you go to their YouTube, lots of great videos. They also do a Q&A live every morning at 9am on IG and every Sunday on YouTube (times vary).


(Angelique Jury) #14

Thank you for this. In working out it seems im having the correct proportion of makros if i aim for a 30% deficit


(Sharon A Peters) #15

I keep slavishly at or below my carb macro, hit my protein macro, and don’t usually eat to my fat macro - I am trying to heal, but part of that is losing body fat and weight. I’m trying to encourage my body to make up the difference in fat consumption by feasting off my body reserves. However, if I am hungry, I will ensure that I get some more fat … I just don’t go over that macro. I am assuming that I am reasonably fat-adapted since I can do back-to-back, high intensity water aerobics classes without difficulty and without ensuing hunger or other adverse effects - fasted.


(Sharon A Peters) #16

But that’s how it is currently working for me. The great and frustrating thing about keto is that, although it works for me, I need to monitor and tweak from time to time, and that what works for me may not be exactly what works for you or anyone else. There’s a commitment and responsibility to how your particular metabolism is reacting to what you eat, for example, some find that certain artificial sweeteners cause insulin spikes while others seem to not have adverse responses. I have, as a learning tool, embraced my glucometers as never before.


(Angelique Jury) #17

Well it’s only been 5 days for me today. I really havn’t battled as such in terms of hunger or discomfort etc. So that’s great. I guess as u say ill need ti just see what my body likes.


(Angelique Jury) #18

Ok…i weighed myself for the first time this morning (5 days in) and down only 0.6kg. Is this normal?


(Olivia) #19

I’d say 0.5 kg in less than a week is good, however, it depends a bit on your starting weight. If you’re already in a healthy bmi range and you want to lose some vanity pounds, weight loss will be slow. I am in that boat and I have to be very accurate with my calorie intake. I have a very small margin of error between weight loss and bmr, which I try to increase with sport. If you have a similar situation, I recommend you watch primarily total carbs and calories.


(Marie Dantoni) #20

So, as you can see by the responses you have gotten, there is little co consensus in the way of advice other than keeping carbs under 20 net.
Here is my 2¢ worth:
You will have to do some n=1 experiments to see what works, but for now, track your carbs and protein. I eat lots of salads and vegies, but seldom exceed the limit. It depends on the vegie choices, so track for a while till you can eyeball it. Later track once in a while to spot check.
One thing jumped out at me. You may slowed down your metabolism due to the calorie deficits you had just before going keto. Make sure you eat enough fat so your body doesn’t conserve energy.
You will hit plateau at some point, kcko