Exhausted my daily protein, what fat to eat?

(Alex) #1

I’m new to keto. I have eaten my daily allotment of protein (just found out).
I only have fat left as I don’t want to eat carbs when I don’t have to.
Should I just eat a piece of grass fed butter or an avocado for dinner?
I usually eat between once or twice a day, more likely once because I am also doing IF.

(Allie) #2

Don’t stress about sticking to a certain amount of protein, just eat to your appetite. The only thing you need to count and keep low is carbs.

(Alex) #3

Thanks. Do I not need to eat more fat as I haven’t eaten enough fat today?

(Joey) #4

Are you hungry? If so, eat - just avoid those pesky carbs and you’ll do great.

(Alex) #5

Thanks, no I am not hungry. I just thought that I need to eat a minimum amount of fat everyday, I am new to keto or diets in general.

(Joey) #6

If you’re truly not hungry, then don’t force food down your throat.

Most folks approach controlling their eating patterns as a “diet” … which translates into putting an upper limit on their food consumption. Yet they’re hungry and want more.

In the case keto (carb restriction), you can essentially eat as much as you’re genuinely hungry for, and still get all the health benefits. But there’s no minimum amount of food you need to eat if you’re NOT hungry.

Sure, if you don’t get enough caloric intake, at some point your body will go into starvation mode - which slows down your metabolism and is counterproductive.

But if you’re really not hungry, then no, you are not starving. Trust your hunger signals and honor them without eating the carbs. There are plenty of other details to conquer if you want to fine tune things over time. But otherwise, it’s pretty much that simple.

:vulcan_salute:

(Allie) #7

No it’s fine. It’s not a macro you have to meet, just make sure carbs are low, and protein and fats are enough to keep hunger away. It’s that simple.

#8

No, eat more protein. You didn’t hit a limit that doesn’t exist. If you’re like most, you probably under eat protein to begin with, but even if not, eating more isn’t going to hurt anything. Eating more fat can.

(Alex) #9

I thought Keto was all about eating more fat than protein so you can enter ketosis??
I don’t even know If I am in ketosis after 3 weeks…

#10

Unless your protein is crazy high and you risk protein toxicity… Eat some fatty protein, I say, if you need more food.
I can’t eat pure fat and except anything good when I am hungry. Okay, I don’t go for lean protein is my protein intake is already over 3g/kg for LBM but fatty protein? Sure. I know I can go over even 4 occasionally and no problem happens (it probably wouldn’t be good regularly though IDK if the maximum protein intake has a serious individual factor). So I don’t worry about my protein intake. I just try to minimize it to avoid it being unnecessarily quite high. But if I am hungrier one day or I fancy leaner cuts and I go over 200g (quite much for me)? So be it. Next day I will eat less for sure again, using my properly fatty protein sources. But some people eat very much fat all the time and it works for them too…

I wonder how much protein is your target… People’s opinion about what is right for protein is all over the place… Often very small.

(Alex) #11

Oh man. I’m also a hypochondriac and your sentenced triggered me :sweat:

#12

Sorry. But too much protein IS a thing. It’s just most of us CAN’T eat that much protein, at least not from proper food… I never ever could eat too much and I live on protein sources and not much else and prone to overeating (not so much on carnivore but I have my moments).
A single very high protein day is fine for me and probably for most of us.
It’s not THAT easy to seriously overeat protein. Some people can do it but our body is usually smart enough to avoid it :slight_smile:

I’ve read your other thread… If your target is 100 or 150g protein, it’s almost surely fine. Eat more if you need more food. Crazy high would be significantly over 200g for me and my protein need can’t be so high, I am a short woman with moderate activity and not much muscles. 200g is pretty good for many others as they are bigger, more active and muscular… And if they eat 300g, it’s still not a big deal.

Even if your target is fine for you, going over with 100g shouldn’t be a problem. Some people has a special condition and it’s different for them but normally we can get away with more protein that strictly needed (I mean optimal, not some very low minimal protein intake) :wink:

So I don’t think you need to worry.

#13

No, ketosis is from lack of carbs. Your fat and protein don’t come into it. At one point it was pushed that “too much” protein screwed up ketosis via gluconeogenesis, which is real, but not a concern. Very few people ever eat enough protein to make that an issue for them.

That said, it’s easier to store fat than it is protein, so if you’re going to over eat something, protein is the better choice every time. Plus, most people under eat it to begin with, so half the time you’d just be doing yourself a favor.

If you’ve been eating 20g of carbs, or even 30-40g realistically, you’re in ketosis!

(Megan) #14

There’s so much contradictory information on the web about how much protein is okay on keto. Some people say it’s anti-ketogenic and that scares me. I am having no trouble keeping my carbs under 20 grams since starting keto about 5 weeks ago, and am having no trouble eating enough good fats, but having to constantly watch my protein intake will make me miserable.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #15

Keto is all about eating less carbohydrate so you can enter ketosis. Fat is merely the replacement energy source that doesn’t stimulate insulin secretion the way carbohydrate does.

By the by, equal amounts of fat and protein by weight yield 69% fat and 31% protein by calories. This is because carbohydrate and protein contain 4 cal/g (approximately), whereas fatty acids contain (on average) around 9 cal/g. Remember, however, that where food calories are concerned, we are talking about what a physicist would call kilocalories, and all values are very approximate.

If your carbohydrate intake is low enough to keep your insulin below 25 μU/mL, then you will have entered ketosis within about a day.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #16

If you start to smell ammonia, or if people tell you that they can smell ammonia on your breath or in your perspiration, cut back on the protein, because you have overwhelmed your uric acid cycle, and ammonia toxicity is not a pleasant way to die. But you will only reach that level by eating an extraordinary amount of protein.

Some researchers posit that mammals, including human beings, have an instinct for getting the right amount of protein, so eat as much meat as you feel you need, and add fat, if necessary, to satisfy your hunger. You’ll be fine.

#17

I think you can also get ammonia toxicity when your body eats itself.

I think one needs a good amount of protein for sure but I think we need the fat to digest the protein. At least I do. My mom used to say “the sausage digests the egg”. I never ate sausage but I kind of agree with her theory. But in the absence of fat it is best to eat more protein I do agree with that.

#18

^^^THIS. Forget the “daily allotment” thing. Simply control carbs, prioritise protein, then a bit of fat to fullness.

Over-thinking, obsessively counting macros and worrying about every last damn thing are the enemy of the newbie. Relax, get used to just keeping your carbs lower, find the new foods and meals you enjoy, and give the process time.

(Michael) #19

Can you provide a link to this please, you keep mentioning it and I am curious Thanks in advance.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

Bonadonna, R. C. et al., 1990. “Dose-dependent effect of insulin on plasma free fatty acid turnover and oxidation in humans,” Am. J. Physiol., 259, no. 5, part 1 (November): E 736-750.