Hello Keto Guys, I am new in Keto diet. I read lots about keto…conatantly watching youtube. I have a confusion in macro calculation. Everybody is saysing 20gm card… Thats totally fine…but in terms of fat and protein, some are saying high fat and some high protein… Too much confusion arise then.
Can any body tell me which one is correct?
which macro calculator is perfact?
Which carb manager you guys are following?
I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks
Hello and welcome Zobeda Dewan.
In conventional terms, keto is high fat and moderate protein while restricting carbs. The fat is our fuel source and the protein offers amino acids that are required to produce ketones and is what helps keep our hunger in check.
You will find many here, including me, who only pay attention to how many carbs we eat. We eat protein and fat until we are not hungry and let the number of grams, fall where they fall.
IMO, healthy weight loss is mostly about understanding our hunger and making the appropriate response. No macro will tell you when you stop being hungry because everyone is different. If you can master this, you will have learned one of keto’s greatest lessons. It truly is a gift.
I use cronometer.com to track my carbs. It tracks everything else too but I only pay attention to those things out of curiousity.
I like this keto macro calculator
But seriously I use Cronometer to track carbs. Macros for fat and protein are variable whether you’re active, sedentary, how old you are, whether weight loss or maintenance is what you’re after and other variables so that’s why it can be confusing. None are really wrong it’s the variables they estimate. I use protein and fats as targets and carbs as an upper limit. I have just tweaked my macro for protein down and fats up. You can play with the recommended ratio for these two later if you’re not getting results. Never try to hit your carb limit, be happy when you’re under 20 and look at it as a smart victory for the day! @CarlKeller Pretty much laid it out for what we call “Lazy Keto” which works great. Juice’s Easy Keto lays it out too. Good luck 
“Moderate” protein has a huge range of definitions though. Some people define moderate as something close to the RDA (I think this is about 50g/day), other people (including me) think this is far too low. Generally something around .8g per lb. of lean body mass or 1g per kilo of total body weight are common tools to estimate (assuming you’re not an athlete). Maybe a little more, maybe a little less. I’d suggest you start there and adjust up or down depending on how you feel after a few weeks.
You don’t necessarily need to add lots of dietary fat to meet a predefined macro. Carbs are a max, protein is a goal, and then add enough fat to your diet so you eat until you’re full.
And no calculator is perfect.
I spoke about protein in a way that was relative to the OP’s reference to “high protein”. I do agree that moderate is a vague description.
I personally feel that we don’t need to eat to a predetermined amount of protein. Eating toward a specific amount of protein doesn’t necessarily satisfy hunger and making the correct response to hunger is crucial for getting our hunger hormones to behave properly. The entire process of eating to satiety is regulated by our hormones. We instinctively know when we need to eat more and when we need to stop (unless we have leptin resistance). A million years of evolution has perfected this relationship between food and health and I believe that strengthening the involved mechanisms by listening to what they tell us, is the best way to correct our problems.
I know this advice conflicts with some keto experts, but if you look up Amy Berger’s or Ben Bikman’s views on why restricting protein is unnecessary, you will find that my thinking follows theirs. I would be happy to provide links if you are interested.
Lastly, my N=1 says that I can lose weight, without ill effect, at 100-150 grams of protein per day which is a heck of a lot more than many macros suggest. On top of that, I haven’t felt better and I have complete control of what I eat and how much, for the first time in my life.
I agree. “High protein” is notoriously vague, too.
I think we’re in agreement, maybe just saying it differently. I believe each of us needs to eat the amount of protein that is right for us, makes us feel our best, and satisfies our hunger. For some people this is much higher than for others. Lots of people (especially women, older people, and those who’ve been on low calorie diets) are chronically under eating protein and so eating to a goal is good practice at first, I think.
I came to low-carb eating originally via the Drs. Eades (Protein Power), so I definitely don’t believe in shying away from protein. I also agree with Amy Berger’s views on protein. I haven’t had a chance to read Bikman, yet, but I think it’s along the same lines. By goal, I meant a minimum, but not to let it rule.
@Parisa is asking for calculations for where to start as a newbie. So, I think those numbers are a good place to start and see how you go.
Hi and welcome,
On keto we are trying to avoid insulin overload, you need pathology tests to determine insulin levels, too much hassle, so instead we approximate everything by eating less than 20g carbs. But this is just an approximation which works for most people most of the time. Nothing magical about “20”. Everybody is different.
Similarly there no magical number for protein. Everybody is different. There are lab tests but again that’s a hassle. So we approximate. Mind you I ignore what the apps tell me, they are good for tracking carbs but I ignore the fat and protein suggestions…
But the good news is your body knows.
Make sure of the 20g carbs - from there it’s largely automatic. You can eat to satiety, make sure you get plenty of protein. Tons of water and plenty of salt daily!
Or put a completely different way. I just try to eat meat/fish/chicken and veggies. Bingo - great keto numbers.
Thanks all…lots of good information you guys have. I appreciate all. I started on March 15, 2019… I am eating less then 20 gms carbs…but the problem is, I never met the fat and protien goal. I drink about 3L water… So far I have lost 6 lbs…
As long as you are keeping the carbohydrate low, that’s the main thing. Your insulin level will drop, allowing your body to restore metabolic health, and in the process using excess stored fat, instead of keeping it stored.
We advise eating to satiety, that is, enough to quench your hunger. The risk of deliberately restricting caloric intake is that the body might react as though there’s a famine going on and hang onto its resources. But just as the body can cut back the metabolism in time of famine, it can increase it in time of abundance. So don’t overeat, but don’t stint on the calories, either. Your body may choose a lower caloric intake by taking away your appetite, but that is very different from setting an arbitrary calorie target and imposing it on the body. Hope this makes sense.
Seems like a lot of water to me. The ‘danger’ of drinking too much water is that you’re constantly flushing electrolytes from your body when you urinate. For sure there’s a happy amount of water that your body needs for hydration and to keep us from having to wake up and use the restroom two or three times during the night. Just keep this in mind if you find a need to relieve yourself an abnormal amount of times.
Thanks Carl… From now I will drink less. I read some where that if you do keto you have to drink 3 to 4L water… After that I started to drink lots of water… Lots of missguided information on the internet… Too much confusion…
Welcome, @Parisa. You need to figure out what works for you. This isn’t one-size fits all. Start with the basics. Limit carbs to 20g. Then eat enough protein for your lean body mass. Then eat the rest fat until you are full. Once you are fully adapted, you’ll figure out what works for you!
Wow. Sometimes someone just puts it the right way for me to actually “get it”. I’ve been stressing because I was losing daily and then had 3 days staying the same weight. The only thing I could figure was the cals were up from the days I was losing. Carbs were below 20g each day but cals were up to 1855 or 1900ish rather than 1530-1600
Great to hear all this info. I started keto about 2.5 weeks ago and have been stressing a bit about figuring out what I’m gonna eat for the day. I don’t weigh myself everyday cause I think that would stress me out but I’ve lost about 20lbs since I started. I have no problems staying below 20g of carbs per day but sometimes getting enough fats is an issue. I’ve heard conflicting things about proteins though. I’ve heard some say that too much protein will kick you out of ketosis while others say it isn’t true. I used a keto calculator to figure out how much of each I should have so I get worried that if I go over on the proteins that it tells me I’ll be out of ketosis. Then I also think about the fact that I’ve lost some weight, should my macros now be different because I calculated them when I was heavier.
I came from the caloric deficit side of weight loss and counted everything. It was very time consuming and bothered people around me. When I started keto I watched but didn’t count carbs. I really don’t think a lot of math is required unless you like doing it. I aim for <50g carb and then like has been said high fat and adequate protein. The extra carbs are for wine with dinner and some beer on the weekend.
Moderate is 25% protein of all the food you eat in a day. 70% from fat and 5% from carbs.
Hope this helps you and good luck!
Michael
