Low carb -how much protein is too much?

hannahdispatch911

So im doing the keto low carb diet. I love it. And have been dping great. However. Im having difficulty with protein vs fat. My proteins always higher than my fat. And i know its supposed to be%: 70fat 29protein 1carb. Mines more like 40fat 59protein 1carb.

How can i switch that without loosing the fullnees. Heres the last three days counts so you see what i mean. I dont want to eat less but i need ideas on how to switch it up

Monday: 1,329cal 26carbs 88gfat 123gprotein

Tuesday: 1,038cal 45gcarbs 61gfat 80gprotein

Wends: 1,811cal 28gcarbs 100gfat 185gprotein (tried adding 4tbs butter today it added lots of fat but 400 cals as well

Fataf99

why would you want to eat more fat?

anyway sirloin steak in oilive oil or something

weistdudochnet

From a medical standpoint, and if i remember correctly, a average person can absorb up to 5g protein / kg Bodyweight / per day, But you have to drink lots of water not to damage ur kidneys when eating that much protein. If u want to raise your fat intake, I myself prefered almonds when I was keto dieting, loads of fat (without trans-fats), protein, no carbs. Just remember to do a minimum of 4 workouts a minimum of 30-45min a week when eating lots of fats, cause otherwise this diet raises your risk for cardio-vascular-disease.

psuLemon

For the most part, your protein is fine. I know a lot of people freak out while doing keto about protein kicking them out of ketosis, but I haven't seen any concrete evidence to suggest at what level. What you would probably have to do, is turn to more fatty cuts of meats to help increase fat while maintaining protein levels.

In general, people should be aiming for .6-1g/lb, less if they are morbidly obese.

RodaRose

Eat salmon, pork chops, small steak, chicken thighs,

nvmomketo

I think it is rare for people to eat too much protein. For those hoping for a ketogenic diet, too much protein (200+ g) may lower your ketones but that is only an issue if you need high ketones for a medically needed ketogenic diet. Your protein levels are not overly high. Unless you need high ketones to treat some issue, you are probably fine.

Low carbers often approach macros thinking:
Carbs are a ceiling - you don't want to exceed it.
Protein is a goal - you want to hit it.
Fat is what fills in the rest.

Ketosis is the result of eating lowred carbs, and not just high fat. Some fats will make ketones (MCTs) right off the bat, but you don't need to eat a lot of fat to be in ketosis. Hitting your protein goal is better, IMO.

A low carb diet will cause a slight loss in muscle fullness as you lose glycogen reserves. Conversely, muscle may become more visible due to water loss from low carbs and insulin.

toxikon

Normal macros for keto are around 5% carbs, 70% fat, 25% protein.

You do have some wiggle room to play with fat and protein macros. Carbs shouldn't go above 10% to maintain ketosis (for most people). You could bump the protein up to the 40-45% range without issue.

lemurcat12

MacLean12 wrote: »

why would you want to eat more fat?

anyway sirloin steak in oilive oil or something

Because that's how LCHF works, you get energy from fat. There's no particular benefit to super high protein, and if you are uncomfortable replacing carb calories with fat it's not a good choice for someone (IMO).

OP, if you are uncomfortable with eating more fat, read one of Phinney and Volek's books (New Atkins or Art and Science of Low Carb Living), they are good sources.

hannahdispatch911 wrote: »

So im doing the keto low carb diet. I love it. And have been dping great. However. Im having difficulty with protein vs fat. My proteins always higher than my fat. And i know its supposed to be%: 70fat 29protein 1carb.

Why do you think it's supposed to be that? I'd actually recommend going by grams (and seeing carbs as a ceiling, protein as a goal, and fat to fill in the rest of the calories, as mentioned above).

My preference for protein if at a deficit is around .8 g/lb of a healthy goal weight (for example, my goal weight is 120, so I aim for around 100). If you know your LBM, that works too (mine is around 95, so in theory 95 g would be a good goal, 95-100 g is about the same to me).

Carbs for ketosis depends on how active you are. I've seen about 10% of calories (which I take to mean maintenance calories) or else under 30 g net (assuming you are somewhat active). I know it's popular to go super low, but frankly I think vegetables are important and I struggle to get to 50 g total (or below 30 g net) without cutting down on veg or cutting out dairy/nuts, none of which I think makes sense nutritionally, so I stay active and aim for around 50 g.

Then fat for the rest, which at 1500 calories and after my protein and carbs are accounted for, comes to about 100 grams.

How to get that many? I do tend to go over my protein a little, but find cooking vegetables in fat, eggs, higher fat dairy, avocados and nuts and seeds, and allowing myself to eat a variety of protein sources with fat in them tends to generally get me in the ballpark. I find I don't need huge amounts of protein to feel sated.

I don't actually think your numbers seem that off. You want fat to be a higher percentage of calories than protein, but remember fat has more calories per gram. So:

"Monday: 1,329cal 26carbs 88gfat 123gprotein": this would be 37% protein, 60% fat -- seems fine

"Tuesday: 1,038cal 45gcarbs 61gfat 80gprotein": this would be 31% protein, 52% fat -- on such a low cal day that's fine, and one reason grams work better than percentages as you wouldn't want protein to go really low just because calories did

Also remember you are going to have some variation day to day.

hannahdispatch911

lemurcat12 wrote: »

MacLean12 wrote: »

why would you want to eat more fat?

anyway sirloin steak in oilive oil or something

Because that's how LCHF works, you get energy from fat. There's no particular benefit to super high protein, and if you are uncomfortable replacing carb calories with fat it's not a good choice for someone (IMO).

OP, if you are uncomfortable with eating more fat, read one of Phinney and Volek's books (New Atkins or Art and Science of Low Carb Living), they are good sources.

hannahdispatch911 wrote: »

So im doing the keto low carb diet. I love it. And have been dping great. However. Im having difficulty with protein vs fat. My proteins always higher than my fat. And i know its supposed to be%: 70fat 29protein 1carb.

Why do you think it's supposed to be that? I'd actually recommend going by grams (and seeing carbs as a ceiling, protein as a goal, and fat to fill in the rest of the calories, as mentioned above).

My preference for protein if at a deficit is around .8 g/lb of a healthy goal weight (for example, my goal weight is 120, so I aim for around 100). If you know your LBM, that works too (mine is around 95, so in theory 95 g would be a good goal, 95-100 g is about the same to me).

Carbs for ketosis depends on how active you are. I've seen about 10% of calories (which I take to mean maintenance calories) or else under 30 g net (assuming you are somewhat active). I know it's popular to go super low, but frankly I think vegetables are important and I struggle to get to 50 g total (or below 30 g net) without cutting down on veg or cutting out dairy/nuts, none of which I think makes sense nutritionally, so I stay active and aim for around 50 g.

Then fat for the rest, which at 1500 calories and after my protein and carbs are accounted for, comes to about 100 grams.

How to get that many? I do tend to go over my protein a little, but find cooking vegetables in fat, eggs, higher fat dairy, avocados and nuts and seeds, and allowing myself to eat a variety of protein sources with fat in them tends to generally get me in the ballpark. I find I don't need huge amounts of protein to feel sated.

I don't actually think your numbers seem that off. You want fat to be a higher percentage of calories than protein, but remember fat has more calories per gram. So:

"Monday: 1,329cal 26carbs 88gfat 123gprotein": this would be 37% protein, 60% fat -- seems fine

"Tuesday: 1,038cal 45gcarbs 61gfat 80gprotein": this would be 31% protein, 52% fat -- on such a low cal day that's fine, and one reason grams work better than percentages as you wouldn't want protein to go really low just because calories did

Also remember you are going to have some variation day to day.

Thankyou! This actually helped a lot. I didnt realize the percents were different so it actually sounds like i am on track even though my grams are higher in protein. Awsome!

Colectable93

I just started the induction phase and actually add a tsp of coconut oil to the mayo/ mustard mix for my deviled eggs .