Im trying to get started on this diet, aiming for 80% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs, just wondering if it is ok to go by the %'s rather than g’s for each as some times I don’t eat much and would struggle to meet the g’s and also what if I don’t reach the carb %'s will that prevent keto? im looking to loose about 28lbs (2 stone). finding it hard to make meal plans that I will manage to eat to hit everything, think it will be a lot og eggs, bacon, cheese, butter, coffee with cream mushrooms and courgettes! and also if im low on my fats can I just drink double cream??
Hmmm help please!
MarkGossage
(bulkbiker)
#2
They all sound good… just keep carbs down and forget the other bits for the first 3 months.
Carbs less than 20g per day forget percentages and other macros.
Madeleine
#3
It’s better to go by grams than by percentages, and you’re looking for a maximum for carb grams (20 or under) and a range for protein. I always forget the protein range and there’s a bit of controversy around it, but basically you need a certain amount over the course of a week to maintain your lean body mass. The rest is fat, and if all is working well and you’re keeping your insulin low (only eating 1- 3 times/day with no snacks) you should be able to access some of your body fat for fuel.
Ilana_Rose
(mole person)
#4
You don’t need to have a single gram of carbs. There is nothing good about having carbs, so only worry about not having more than 20 grams. Your protein macro in grams is the only macro that you actually need to target. Like @Madeleine said there is a range that is ok and it doesn’t have to be exact every day, a weekly average is fine. Check out some keto calculators to find your protein macro in grams. As for fat, that’s your fuel source on keto, but you only need to add as much as you’re hungry for.
So as you can see there is no reason to stuff yourself past fullness to get in all the macros.
I’ll give you an example of a day in my own eating:
75 grams of protein is actually the top of my range. I target between 50 and 75.
Ilana_Rose
(mole person)
#5
I should add. I am at maintenance having already lost all of the fat that I need to. In my case I do eat my fat macro entirely because I’m always hungry for it. But when I was losing fat on keto my hunger was much less since I had plenty of body fat still and as a result my fat macro regularly came in well under 100 grams. So let your hunger be your guide with respect to fat.
OgreZed
#6
Ditch the percentages. Your proteins need is not a percentage of caloric intake. And, if you’re trying to lose weight, you want some of your fat needs to be satisfied with stored body fat. Those won’t be part of your caloric intake.
In the end, “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”
When I do the online calculators, the only thing I take away is the guesstimate for my proteins. The two main priorities should be to keep carbs low, so you stay in ketosis, and to get enough proteins, because your body needs them. You don’t need to be eating fats if you’re not hungry.
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#7
Welcome to the forums. The ket to a ketogenic diet is lowering your insulin level to the point where your adipose tissue (fat cells) can release excess stored fat to be metabolised. You lower your insulin by reducing your carbohydrate intake, since carbohydrate is broken up into its constituent glucose molecules, and too much glucose in the bloodstream really stimulates insulin production (glucose is toxic in high amounts, so the body works to get it metabolised in the muscles and stored as fat in the adipose tissue). So if you keep your carb intake very low (or even non-existent), your fat store is no longer trapped in your fat tissue. Unless you are extremely insulin-resistant, keeping your carb intake under 20 g/day should work well for you.
Protein stimulates insulin production at about half the rate of carbohydrate, but in a low-carbohydrate context, this is not much of a concern. Protein is also essential to the diet. We recommend keeping your protein to the range of 1.0-1.5 grams per kilogram of lean body mass a day. There is some dispute among the experts about just how much protein we really need and can tolerate, but this is a good range at which to start.
Since your calories have to come from somewhere, you will need plenty of fat in your diet, to replace the carbohydrate calories you are no longer eating. The good news is that fat has almost zero effect on insulin production, so it is actually a safe source of calories. It is also much more calorie-dense than carbohydrate, so it won’t take as much to fill you up. We recommend eating fat to satiety, because giving your body enough calories is the surest way to make it comfortable with using up your excess stored fat. By eating to satiety, you will find your appetite adjusting itself so that you burn both the fat you eat and the stored fat you have in excess. And once your excess fat is burned off, eating to satiety will continue to ensure that you are giving your body the energy it needs. Skimping on calories will only slow down your metabolism, making continue fat loss that much harder. So it is not actually necessary to count calories or calculate macro percentages when you eat to satiety.
As far as the type of fat to eat is concerned, stick to saturated and monounsaturated fats, such as are found in butter, tallow, lard, bacon grease, beef fat, and in avocado, coconut, or olive oils. Vegetable oils are too high in polyunsaturated fats, which you only need in very small amounts. Saturated fat is excellent at increasing your HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol), and monounsaturated fat helps most people get their LDL under control. There are a few people who find that their lipid numbers alarm their doctors, when they embark on a ketogenic diet, but such people can affect those numbers by how they eat during the week before getting tested. See www.cholesterolcode.com for the details.