New to LCHF

(Amanda ) #1

2 Weeks into Keto, have been doing really well until I hit a major hurdle going out for dinner tonight. Back into it tomorrow though. How does everyone else measure the correct carb and protein in their diet? And how do I measure my lean body mass?

(Scott) #2

If you think about food on the menu you can almost always find something keto friendly. Last night I went to a restaurant and decided to get the steak but all the sides were some form of potato. I asked if the had anything else and they said broccoli and carrots so I asked can I have just the broccoli? Yes, problem solved.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

There’s a lot of leeway as regards protein. You probably don’t need to change how much you are eating. But just so you know, the recommendations range from as little as 0.6 grams/day/kilo of lean body mass to as high as 2.0 g. Carl and Richard recommend 1.0-1.5 g.

There is no completely accurate way to measure lean body mass. The impedance scales are notoriously inaccurate, BMI is silly, your doctor can come fairly close with a pair of calipers, and even a DEXA scan can misinterpret things. If your doctor is willing to get out her calipers, that would be a good combination of accuracy and reasonable cost; a DEXA scan might be even more accurate, but at a much higher, probably non-reimbursable, cost.

(Running from stupidity) #4

Tracking is a great way to learn about carb amounts in foods. I use and recommend this app/website.

One of the main reasons is that it has a tightly-controlled food database that will only be altered by the staff at the app dev company, not just any nuffie with a phone.

It’s also easy to add your own foods/recipes to, and if you subscribe, has awesome reporting functions.

(Laurie) #5

Welcome!

(Carl Keller) #6

Welcome Amanda.

You can use a online calculator to give you a rough idea of what your LBM is. Here’s one:
https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/lean-body-mass

#7

Welcome.

I had to take my family out to a restaurant, was worried about my keto, but just about every food place will serve some sort of “steak with veggies” and bingo there was my answer. I just had to swap potatoes out for something else … so some adjustment and quick thinking was required. But that’s my secret formula. Chose places where I can get steak and veggies.

“Back into it tomorrow” - yep that’s the way to go. Definitely eat keto again ASAP. But remember the body takes a few days to switch from carbs and glucose burning to keto and fat burning - people who say they’re having a “cheat day” have it totally wrong. It isn’t a cheat day, sure they may eat carbs one day, but it’s really a cheat pretty well half a week to nearly full week all from one bad eating day.

Definitely use an app, there are many, eg cronometer …

#8

I use cronometer, and on the lean measurement… calculators make a LOT of assumptions, I’ve yet to find one that doesn’t underestimate my lean mass at least 20lbs less than it actually is. Thinking you have an extra 20lbs of fat vs muscle can make a decent dent on how you plan your strategy. BodPod’s are a good and more or less cheap way to measure yourself very accurately, InBody measurements are a little cheaper, they’re still a bio-impedance type measurement but a much more accurate one than those bathroom scales that claim to do it. People that have a GOOD bodyfat caliper, AND know how to use it can be very accurate but near impossible to measure yourself most of the time.

(Robert C) #9

Yes, but they also talk about body weight - using your actual scale weight when you were finished growing but relatively lean (late high school or so). I think they are trying to keep it simple because not everyone knows their lean body mass. Pulling a value from a standard height / weight chart could be a good stand in value if you were always heavy.

(Robert C) #10

Quick answer to body fat %?
Which picture are you?
https://www.ketogains.com/2015/09/how-to-estimate-your-body-fat-percentage-bf/

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

Protein by reference weight:

https://blog.virtahealth.com/how-much-protein-on-keto/

(Amanda ) #12

Ahh I think this forum is going to make a world of difference to my progress, thankyou for everyone’s support it is much appreciated.

#13

The good ol’ ketogains scale, by that one I’m the 20-24%, my last measurement was 19% so pretty good, when I was heavier though I didn’t line up with that thing. But I think that thing is a lot better in most cases than the height/weight things.