Macros ? How do you calculate

(Sue Harrison) #1

Sorry if this is a stupid question but I keep reading about macros. Is this the percentage of fat protein and carbs ?
How do you all work these out… Is there an app or online calculator you use ?

#2

So glad you asked this question. I’m new to the site, and have been browsing around for a week or so now, trying to learn as much as I can. I understand that the macros are important but can’t work out how to do it. If we don’t count calories, what are they a percentage of? Is it total grams of food eaten in that meal?

(Pete A) #3

Here a popular macro calculator you can play around with to help you determine what you should eat!

(Sue Harrison) #4

Thank you. I’ve been looking on MyFitness Pal but it just tells me I’m not eating enough and too much fat … It doesn’t put it into percentages .

(charlie3) #6

I’ve been doing keto for 2 months and using a food tracking app called cronometer… There is a free and paid version ($35 a year). Crono has a keto mode that is very helpful. After some days I got the paid version. The compliment to that is a kitchen scale. I got a small flat one at walmart for may be $25. Does everything needed and easy to store. The combination has taught me what I’m eating. I’m not sure I’d have made any progress without them. May be eventually I’ll get along without using them but for now they are useful.

(Diane) #7

@J_A-M has really good advice for beginners. Well said and pretty concise.

“ If you do a search for CICO and calories, you can read plenty of good topics regarding why most of us don’t count calories.

Especially when you are first beginning keto, don’t count anything but carbs. If you are restricting calories while trying to live a keto life, you’re going to burn out fast, give up, and move on to another yo yo diet. Not only that but, anecdotal evidence from this forum shows newbies who restrict calories seeing no changes or even gaining weight.

A ketogenic way of eating is not about restricting anything but insulin spikes which we control by eating low carbohydrates and allowing our bodies to shift to burning ketones as fuel. It is not a yo yo diet. It’s not yo mama’s diet. It’s a way of eating that allows your body to heal itself with a side effect of weight loss. Your body does not care what arbitrary number you use to judge it by. All it cares about is taking the right inputs and being its best self. We have two sayings here, “keep calm and keto on” and “trust the process.”

There are two phases to ketosis and a ketogenic lifestyle.

Nutritional ketosis is phase one. Your body begins to produce and uptake some ketones while dumping the rest. It will still search for glucose to use as fuel. In this phase it’s not an efficient process. It has to work actively to get rid of stored glycogen, clean up excess blood sugar, and turn on the ability to use ketones.

Fat adaptation is phase two. Your body is efficiently producing ketones from intake and stored body fat and is also using them efficiently for energy. It takes around 6-8 weeks of strict keto to achieve for many but not all.

Basically, the whole point of doing the ketosis is to reach the fat adaptation. People who stop short won’t ever experience the true reason for the work they and their body have put into this metabolic shift.

The basic “rules” I go by and many others can agree with especially for beginners are:

*20g net carbs max (you might tolerate more but, starting out, 20g net carbs or less will get you into ketosis.)

*Moderate protein (1g-1.5g per kg of lean bodyweight is a good goal based on the 2 Dudes recommendations.)

*Fat to satiety (add fat to every meal and, if you are hungry, eat more fat. Don’t be afraid of fat. It is energy.)

*Do not restrict calories

*Drink plenty of water

*Get plenty of sodium and other electrolytes

*Do not do excessive exercise to try losing excess weight. You may notice decreased stamina in the beginning. Listen to your body.”

Welcome! I wish you well on your journey!

(Sue Harrison) #8

Wow, quick replies. thank you everyone.
I’m using keto to help in my fight against cervical cancer. 3 weeks in. I’m feeling good and rarely hungry. Ketone meter is usually showing between 0.9 and 1.6.

#9

Thank you all from me, too, especially @DiMo for your very clear explanation. I haven’t started keto yet (not confident enough!) but I plan to do so soonest.

My apols to @daisyduck/Sue Harrison for butting in on your post; I was so pleased to see someone ask what I had been wondering, I just jumped in without thinking overmuch; hope you don’t mind.

I’ll butt out now, and go have a search for CICO and calories.

(Diane) #10

Happy to help! Just to be clear, I was quoting @J_A-M. It was her (?) advice which I copied from another thread.

#11

Oops, didn’t cotton on to that; but thanks for finding it & re-posting, with thanks also to @J_A-M for the original.

(Sue Harrison) #12

No worries, I’m glad my post helped . we are all learning as we go along x

(Jay AM) #13

@DiMo

I’m glad you liked my post enough to share it! Though, that one is more tough love, I haven’t changed my recommendations.

Keto is as easy or complicated as you make it.

(Mark Anderson) #14

Thanks for comprehensive post DIane. i’m new to this. What do you use to get enough sodium and electrolytes?

(Diane) #15

Personally, I put 1/8 tsp pink Himalayan salt under my tongue in the morning, let it dissolve and then drink some water (supposedly that gets it into your system faster). I repeat that several times a day depending on how I feel (I take more if I’m feeling washed out or headachy). I also take more if I’m a little more active or doing an extended fast. I haven’t needed to supplement potassium (the salt helps your body hang onto potassium too, though that can vary from person to person). I take 500 mg of magnesium (at bedtime since it also helps me fall asleep). I use this one because it doesn’t seem to have the laxative effect on me like others I have tried: Doctor’s Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate.

(Chris W) #16

pink salt on and in everything, the more you keep a stable amount throughout the day the less peaks and valleys you have, for me its almost directly replaced sugar in the way it acts. If you are new I would ramp up the salt after the first week, once your body has started to down regulate it out from the drop in insulin. 1-2 teaspoons through out the day works well for me most of it going into water.