Too much Protein but good on Net carbs

food
#1

I am new to the Keto diet. I have done a lot of reading on this and have been eating a Keto diet for 2 weeks. I have downloaded the app, Carb Manager to track my macros. Right now my carbs are set at 21 net carbs, 68g protein and 77g fat. Everyday I am under on my net carbs by a few, way over on my protein and somewhat over on my fat. I have read that too much protein will turn into glucose. Is that true? And what am I doing wrong that my protein is so high? I appreciate any help and advice.

(Ron) #2

What are you doing wrong?

LOL- not eating enough fat.
I know - smart azz.
When I fallowed my macro’s I too had a hard time and over ate protein almost daily. I (like you) researched and asked. A keto friend here on the forum pointed me to research protein consumption as per lean body mass (LBM). Suggested levels are .8 to 1.5 kg’s per LBM. This gave me a little more leeway. The main priority is carbs 20g and below. Protein has some flexibility and fat is open ended to satiety. Unless your doubling protein macro I wouldn’t worry about it but try upping the fat volume.

(Rob) #3

Just to clarify this, it’s 0.8-1.5g of protein per Kg of Lean body mass

Here is a calculator.
http://www.calculator.net/lean-body-mass-calculator.html

Your calories are very low (about 1000) so I echo Ron’s advice. Eat more (fat). Keto works better for most when you eat more, to heal your metabolism. Without knowing your weight/height/age and other conditions it’s hard to say more.

(Brian) #4

FWIW, I have more problems with the weight stalling when I eat too little protein. And I really notice the internal thermostat being turned up when I get plenty.

I kinda think a person has to find their sweet spot when it comes to how much protein is enough and how much is too much. Calculators give a pretty wide range for “normal”.

My “range”, according to the 0.8 - 1.5 numbers works out to 56g on the low side, 105g on the high side. That’s a lot of wiggle room.

(Chris) #5

Consensus is foggy on this, but the way I understand it is the brain and some other functions of the body require some glucose to function. Your body, using a process called gluconeogenesis, will create its own glucose using protein. Now, the protein either comes from lean mass stored in the body, or apparently from dietary protein. Gluconeogenesis doesn’t care how much protein you eat, it’s going to require what it’s going to require. Protein is not very insulinogenic on its own, and from what I can tell, endogenous glucose created by this process does not appear to raise insulin. Short answer, you probably won’t ever reach too much protein, and eating a little more than you think you should most likely won’t increase glucose in a noticeable way. Some of this may depend on how insulin-resistant you are.

(Vincent Hall) #6

I’m also struggling to keep my protein within my chosen range.
My LBM is around 44kg, trying to build a little more muscle as I’ve lost some I reckon over last year.
I’m aiming for 1.5grm per kilo LBM so around the 66grm mark.
I have to add fat (butter, coconut, olive oil etc) to maintain my calorie intake of around 2000 cals. Staying under 20grms carbs or there abouts.
\v/

#7

I am 41, 5’6 and 175lbs.

(Jeannie Oliver) #8

The notion that “too much” protein will stimulate insulin and/or raise blood sugar has been thrown into question by recent research. Apparently it does not apply WHEN THE PROTEIN IS CONSUMED ON A LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIET. Here Dr. Benjamin Bikman explains why (presented at Low Carb Down Under 2018).

(Rob) #9

Thanks. So this suggests 115lbs of LBM (51kg) so a protein range of 40-100g of protein.

Your TDEE is about 2200kcal so your 1000 is way low. My advice while starting is to try to eat to your TDEE so that you boost your metabolism and don’t stress it while you are adapting to being a primary fat burner. After a while, your appetite should fall naturally.

When starting, as others have said, I wouldn’t worry too much about protein. It only turns into glucose as and when you need it. Eat to a level you want to try but don’t sweat the over/under day to day.

The key thing is learning to love the fat (more than you ever thought you could :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) and not to starve yourself of energy. If you were a calorie restricter in prior CICO days, it is good to get out of those bad habits. The body should want to regulate its own energy needs but many will need to let it relearn those talents.

(Martin Liversage) #10

Your macro targets convert to 85 + 276 + 681 = 1042 calories. Entering your numbers into a random basal metabolic rate calculator on the internet your BMR is supposed to be 1460 calories. So, it is not surprising that you tend to eat more than your macros. Undereating can lower your BMR and that’s not good.

Guessing, your lean body mass could be something like 51 kg and with 1,5 grams per kg of LBM you should try to not eat more than 77 g of protein. This is just a rule of thumb and not exact science. Assuming that you are not in bed all day long you need more than 1460 calories a day (unless your BMR is already lower than normal perhaps from undereating).

You can get a reasonable number of calories by eating 2 x 77 = 154 g of fat, i.e. eating fat and protein in a 2:1 ratio. This is probably a lot fatter than you are used to and for me it took a while to change my eating habits to increase fat so much.

However, instead of going for a specific fat target you should eat to satiety. Your body “knows” much more about your true calorie requirements than any BMR calculator on the internet. :slight_smile:

(Ron) #11

LOL…You two must have been typing at the same time.:+1:

#12

wow! thanks for all of this great information!!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

Always remember that when diet sites are talking about percentages, they are talking about percentages of energy intake, not percentages of quantity; in other words, they are talking about percentages of calories. You need to convert your macros into calories (protein and carbohydrate at 4 calories / gram and fat at 9 calories / gram.) before figuring percentages. Remember also that meat is not 100% protein. So if you have steak, roughly 1/4 of it by weight is protein; the rest is fat. So if you are eating 100g of steak, you’re getting roughly 25g of protein.

You may or may not care, but for the sake of completeness, I need to mention that where food is concerned, we speak of “calories” when really we mean what a physicist would refer to as “kilocalories” (this is why you will sometimes see “Calorie” spelled with a capital letter in connection with food energy). Knowing this may avoid some confusion if you should get into the physics of it all.

(Angelica Lopez) #14

If you’re new to keto then following macros isn’t really the most important thing right now, in my opinion, especially if you have a lot to lose. Focus in the beginning should be on adjusting to the diet and eating right in general, then once you’re accustomed to it, your menu can be tweaked. I feel that once you begin to stall or hit long plateaus, then macros will come in handy. But to answer your question, excess protein can be converted into glucose, under what circumstances though, I couldn’t tell you. From experience, I am 5’2 89 lbs at my lowest and I’ve eaten WAY over my protein everyday and lost weight easily. You aren’t eating enough fat, add more.