Newbie with question

(Scott) #1

I am a newbie and just started 3 days ago. I am 50 years old , 6,2 and 290’lbs . I did the calculator and gave me macros of 1995 calories . 20 net carbs , 103 protein and 167 fats . I have stayed under 20 net keto and don’t see it as the big problem . But both days not today I have gone over the proteins by 25 grams . Not from junk but cheese chicken breast steak or ground beef And eggs . Do those macros seems correct and looking for a list of food with low protein low carbs .

an example is chicken breast , cauliflower butter and if 3 hard boiled eggs for breakfast the carbs are fine but proteins get high . But feel full with higher protein . Around 130-140

plus lots of going to the bathroom number 1. Seems like I always have to go

(Allie) #2

Scrap the breast and get yourself a nice thigh… chicken that is :joy:

Though TBH, many of us don’t worry at all about protein macros. Just keep the carbs as low as possible (under 20g as you have been) and eat enough protein and fat to not be hungry. Thighs are a much better cut though, from a keto perspective, and taste better, and cheaper too.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #3

Not to worry. As long as you keep carbs sub-20 grams per day, you’ll be fine. Protein is not going to be an issue. Eat enough protein and fat not to be hungry. As for peeing a lot, that’s par for the course. Keto is water releasing not water retaining. Both glucose and glycogen retain lots of water. Keto lets it go, which is the normal course. The main thing to be aware of, though, is that sodium, potassium and magnesium go with the water, so you have to keep your intake of those electrolytes higher than when you ate carbs.

#4

The proteins macro is a lower limit, while the carbs and fats macros are upper limits.

(Scott) #5

Thanks I’m a breast man for chicken and other things. Thanks protein was hard keeping it that law . Carbs not so much so far

#6

Barely over 100g of protein for an over 6’ dude is crazy! You’re not going over on protein! Eat the damn protein! I’d pull the fat down though. Do you have an actual medical problem where you’re trying to avoid protein?

Keto has a diuretic effect, that’s why upping salt helps especially at first.

#7

I’m with the others… I am a short woman and I eat way over your 103g protein on most day even trying to keep it as low as I can to avoid wasting precious protein. But my body is perfectly happy with my 160-180g days too (sometimes I am hungrier or eat more meat or something. Staying around 100g is borderline unrealistic to me as all my normal food is protein rich but it never caused a problem) .
If you are fine with higher protein, don’t worry. But 130-140g doesn’t even seem high for you, maybe you don’t need it all especially if you are inactive but it’s not particularly high for a tall person, don’t even start to worrying about that, I surely wouldn’t do that.

I never trusted calculators, they have no idea about our personal needs. It’s just some starting point. And even if they would know what we need, it’s a range, not a single point. I don’t even eat the same amount every day and it’s fine, I am not a robot, sometimes we need more or less.
You eat little carbs, that’s the main thing. And eating enough, not too much, not too little, in lucky cases hunger and satiation is a good guide.

#8

There can be a tendency when decreasing carbohydrate intake to naturally turn to increasing protein intake. Protein from animals can taste sweet once your affinity for sugar diminishes. I have been taught that overeating on protein translates to more glucose in the body when broken down. This would offset the benefit of ultra low carbohydrate intake in the long run I think.
When you use the calculators to determine the protein macro make sure you factor in your exercise needs. Endurance exercise requirements, for examp!e, are slightly less than strength exercise. And both are much more than sedentary.
As far as bathroom 1, for every carbohydrate gram the body holds 4 grams of water. We hold a lot of water when carbohydrate intake is high. When the carbohydrate intake diminishes then the body let’s go of the excess water. In time you won’t hold so much water and will need to make sure you are not dehydrated (think headaches) and that you haven’t exhausted your minerals, and you won’t be in the bathroom so frequently.

(Scott) #9

I just used the calculator and that it was it gave me . I thought protein low but have gone over every day . I’m about 135g of protein . What would you recommend for fat if it looks to high and how about my calories . I am 6’2 and 290lbs

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

@macscott It’s on the low end of the range, but okay. We recommend 1.0-1.5 g/kg of lean body mass/day. You weigh 290 lbs., which is 132 kg. Your lean mass is probably around 92 kg, so to eat in our recommended range, you would want 92-138 g of protein, which is 368-552 g (13-19.5 oz.) of meat.

This is not strictly true. Gluconeogenesis is fairly tightly regulated, so extra protein will not automatically turn into sugar in the body.

Your protein is fine. Eat enough fat to satisfy your hunger. It is a source of calories that does not stimulate insulin secretion, so it is okay to eat. The point of a ketogenic diet is to keep insulin levels low.

Carbohydrate, being glucose molecules arranged in various ways, raises your blood glucose and hence your insulin quite a bit. Protein has an effect on insulin, but that effect is counteracted by the secretion of glucagon when we are on a low-carbohydrate diet. Fat has almost no effect on insulin at all, beyond the minimum necessary for survival. (Some insulin is necessary; a lot is not good.)

(Allie) #11

This is now known to not be an issue.
Gluconeogenesis is demand driven so if your body NEEDS glucose it will make some, but eating additional protein doesn’t magically turn into sugar.

#12

Who told you fat looks too high…? If you are hungry with less, feel free to eat more and if you still get your results, it’s fine. But people with much fat to lose often are fine with a smaller fat intake. It can’t be calculated.
135g protein sounds very good to me. But don’t worry if you go over sometimes.

#13

Of course. I wasn’t suggesting anything magical or automatic. Keeping with the thought of demand driven (need) and not supply driven, what is the current understanding regarding a body that is not fat adapted. Someone just beginning a keto woe? If the protein threshhold of that body is exceeded? Numerous people have experienced a subsequent rise in blood glucose that can last for a couple days. Some people who were in ketosis report excess protein bumps them out of ketosis, again for a few days. The body, if not needing the amino acids from the protein for rebuilding and repair, store it as fat?
I’m interested in what to name this process. In my laziness of my previous post I referred to it as turning into sugar (glucose) and that was wrong.

(Gregory - You can teach an old dog new tricks.) #14

What kind of rise are you talking about?

BG Rises and falls in the space of minutes or hours depending on the ingestion of sugar or the liver producing glucose when it senses a need…

An elevated level that lasted for days would require a steady input of glucose.

Ingested protein is not likely to result in a rise in BG unless there is a lack of insulin.

A lack of insulin is going to be a problem with or without a keto WOE. Adapting a Keto WOE, and increasing protein consumption, is unlikely to trigger the problems associated with insufficient insulin.

(Bob M) #15

Not true in my case.

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Many tests like this, trying to CAUSE my blood sugar to rise. Many w/o fasting 36 hours. Could never find a blood sugar rise, no matter how much protein I ate in a single meal.

As for ketones, that also does not happen to me. Could show that, but I don’t see that data offhand. I’d have to go into the 2,200+ results I have and find it.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #16


(Bob M) #17

@amwassil Michael…please, not Marty Kendall…please? If I had to choose between Amber O’Hearn and Marty Kendall, I’d choose Amber. I wouldn’t choose Marty for anything.

I personally think he’s too data-centric. Anyone who takes a very specific group of people (those who happen to track data using certain apps) and tries to apply that to everyone is bound to be wrong. Has he never heard of the healthy user effect? Or the adherer effect?

Apparently not, as he blithely goes on without nary a mention of these.