Hitting the correct amounts

(Steven Boone) #1

So I’ve been on keto for a few weeks and have done great. I feel better, I am loosing weight, great amount of energy the works!
So my question is I’ve done the best calculations I can do and still unsure if they are correct but I believe I need
200g of fat
160 g protein
32g carbs
Drink 8+ glasses of water
I’m not coming close to any of it. I am eating more fat than protein and my carbs are also below target. I don’t want to over eat. I am full and not starving at all. Am I ok as long as I eat more fat than the others? I’m a big guy I weigh 300 lbs.

(Siobhan) #2

For keto the general recommendation is <20g of carbs per day (some people do total, some people do NET [minus fiber]) to start, as it’s guaranteed to get you into ketosis.
Protein seems pretty high, the general recommendation is somewhere between .3 - 1g per kilo of lean body mass, and that is different for everyone. If you are eating below that amount of protein, it is probably for a reason (e.g. you don’t need as much as you think you do). Plus, you want to make sure that you don’t over eat protein, as excess protein is converted to glucose (sugar!).
As for fat, generally this is the bulk of where your calories are coming from. There’s not really a fat “goal”, you just use it to fill up any gap in satiety.
So to recap:

  • <20g of carbs, there is no “minimum” amount of carbs needed, your body can make glucose on demand. The carb amount is really just some leeway so you have some for leafy greens, etc
  • Somewhere around .3 - 1g of protein per kg of lean body mass (there are lean body mass calculators around that you can use to estimate)
  • Fat until satiated. Generally this will be far more than protein! Think of it this way: If you were a big carb eater before, the bulk of your calories were coming from carbs. What you want to do here is replace the carbs you were eating with fat

Hope that helps! I would also suggest you listen to the newbies and getting started episodes of the podcast (episode 1, and episode 11), it may answer a lot of questions you have!

(Steven Boone) #3

My lean body mass says 178 so it’s almost 1g per. But I’m not getting close I don’t think.
Today I’ve had
Fats 148g
Protein 94g
Carbs 15g
I’m trying to learn. Thanks for the help.

(What The Fast?!) #4

@Steven_Boone 178 lbs or kgs?

(Siobhan) #5

Assuming that is pounds, if you do 1g per 1kg of lean body mass that would calculate out to about 80g of protein (1 kg = 2.2 pounds), which is about where you’re at.
Protein is more of a range that you have to tweak until you get it just right, but signals for not enough protein (craving savory foods) and too much (feeling sick or finding more protein unappealing) tend to be pretty clear. If you’re eating 80-90g of protein per day and are turned away by the thought of eating more, it’s likely that you’re eating about as much as you need with maybe some tweaking needed down the road.
As for carbs, looks great! And for the fat as long as you are eating it to satiety (not leaving the table hungry, or overly full) I think you are good to go. :slight_smile: