How do you keep in your protein macros?

(VICTORIA E WALL) #1

Hi, I’m very new to Keto, just doing a bit of research & so was wondering how you keep within your protein macros? Protein seems to be in everything & if I have for example scrambled eggs for breakfast & then a salad with a chicken fillet for lunch then I’m already over on my protein macros. I haven’t found keeping in the 5-10÷ of carbs difficult so far but the protein is another story. Can anyone advise please. Thanks Victoria

(Allie) #2

Avoid the fillet and have a thigh, always choose the fattiest cuts of meat. It’s no major drama if you go over anyway, I don’t even track it.

(The amazing autoimmune 🦄) #3

I am at this point doing lazy keto and only track my carbs not my protein. There is a bit of a debate about the protein requirement here on the board. At this stage I don’t worry about it to much. If you are new to keto I would not focus too much on the protein right now.

#4

I also don’t worry about ‘going over’ my protein. You may find this of interest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3fO5aTD6JU

#5

Don’t worry about eating too much protein. Focus on eliminating carbs and eat until satiety.

(Carl Keller) #6

I agree with the others who posted but if you insist (or will feel better) if you have a specific number, 1 gram of protein per kilogram of weight is a good ballpark figure. I often exceed that figure by 20% or so and it’s never kicked me out of ketosis.

And welcome to the forum. :slight_smile:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #7

A lot of plants, such as leafy greens, have very little protein. Also, even meat is not 100% protein. For example, the USDA database gives the protein content of steak as 25% by weight, so in order to get 80 g of protein, say, you would have to eat 320 g of steak.

The last thing to remember is that macro percentages are calculated off of total calories, and fat contains over twice the calories of protein or carbohydrate. Say you were to eat 18.75 g of carbohydrate, 75 g of protein, and 125 g of fat. That would give you 75 + 300 + 1125 = 1500 total calories, of which 5.0% would be carbohydrate, 20.0% would be protein, and 75.0% would be fat. Or if you were to eat 20 g carbohydrate, 80 g protein, and 180 g fat (as you might in maintenance mode), you would be getting 80 + 320 + 1620 = 2020 calories, of which 3.96% would be fat, 15.84% would be protein, and 80.2% would be fat.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #8

I also don’t count protein but I do use heavy whipping cream and eat pork cracklin which has a fair amount of fat. Instead of buying bacon strips, I buy the big package of ends and pieces which is cheaper but has a higher fat to meat ratio than the more expensive strips. Avocado has fat without the protein of lean meat.

All of these things keep me fuller longer and I personally don’t count protein because I do well with plenty of it. I am losing and feeling strong.

(Ken) #9

The most important thing is to understand the online “Keto Calculators” are just some Guru’s OPNION on what macros you should follow. Actual science shows you have much wider latitude as far as macros to be in Lipolysis. However, low amounts of carbs is universal.

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #10

I regularly go over my protein.
I weigh 63kg yet I eat over 100g of protein a day on my feasting days and as far as I can tell this has only helped my weight loss.
The best way is to choose how many meals you are eating per day, then divide your protein macro by those 2 meals and try and stay within your macro as much as possibile. If you are still hungry, eat fat to satiety.

(Laurie) #11

I don’t know your height, but for me (female, 5’6"), about 70 grams a day is recommended. (Actually it’s a bit more for me because I’m a “senior.”) At first I couldn’t believe how little meat/fish/eggs/cheese that actually entailed, as I’d probably been eating several times that each day. 70 grams of protein really isn’t very much; I was probably eating that much at each supper meal, plus more protein for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

So how big is your chicken fillet? 100 grams? 200 or 300 grams? How tall are you? Two scrambled eggs and a 200-gram chicken fillet would give you about 60 grams of protein, which might fulfill your protein requirement for the day if you’re fairly short. If that’s the case, I guess you need to get used to eating less, as I did.

My approach now is to know how much I need to eat in one day, and then decide how I’m going to get it. So to get 80 grams of protein I might plan out the following protein foods for the whole day:

3 eggs, 2.5 oz cheese, 8 oz ground beef

And I stick to that. At first I did feel hungry for more some days, and I’d supplement with a few almonds or an ounce of cream cheese, but I tried to stay within the limit.

You might find that this works better than trying to figure out how much you ate after you already ate it. Good luck!