New to Keto...have a couple of questions

kiddycat73

Hi everyone I’m just starting out with this Keto lifestyle change. I didn’t intend to at first, I had originally wanted to do just high protein/low carb, but I noticed how much better I feel when I eat more fat (I was literally only eating meat and veggies...blah it was boring and I was hungry all the time) Anyway, I decided to try to ease into this way of eating.

My questions are 1, is it ok if I am still eating somewhat higher protein? Right now my macros are 45% protein, 40% fat and 15% carbs. I just had 2 major spine surgeries, and my Dr has advised an increased protein intake. I read that too much protein could prevent staying in Ketosis.

And 2, I noticed that the nutrients calculator only counts full carbs, but it was my understanding that net carbs are the only ones to count for Keto. I just bought some bread that has 14g of carbs along with 14g of fiber, so that has zero net carbs right? I also got some zero net carb bagels as well. But since MFP doesn’t count net, my macros are wayyyyy out of whack when I eat those things. I’m so anal about how my numbers look in the diary that kinda freaked me out at first lol. As long as I stay in Ketosis that’s all that matters right?

Sorry for the dumb questions, thank you for taking the time to read all that

Sunny_Bunny_

You can eat all the protein you want. If you aren’t keto to treat a medical condition you don’t need to worry about Ketosis at all. Eating higher protein may or may not affect Ketosis for you but it doesn’t matter unless you require a certain level of ketones for a medical reason anyway. Even if higher protein interferes with Ketosis for you it’s only temporary. It’s ok to have varying degrees of ketones throughout the course of the day. It’s totally normal. Even people restricting protein will have varying measures all day long.
I personally would count total carbs. The idea of net carbs was introduced by Michael Eads in his book Protein Power to encourage people to eat more green leafy vegetables. He has been on record many times stating that it should not be applied to added fiber in processed foods or to sweeteners. That is not how he intended it to be used and he has even said that he regrets introducing the idea because of how it has become so commonly applied.
That said, you may not need to limit carbs to 20g. 50g may work great for you.
It helps to know what your goals are.

kiddycat73

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

You can eat all the protein you want. If you aren’t keto to treat a medical condition you don’t need to worry about Ketosis at all. Eating higher protein may or may not affect Ketosis for you but it doesn’t matter unless you require a certain level of ketones for a medical reason anyway. Even if higher protein interferes with Ketosis for you it’s only temporary. It’s ok to have varying degrees of ketones throughout the course of the day. It’s totally normal. Even people restricting protein will have varying measures all day long.
I personally would count total carbs. The idea of net carbs was introduced by Michael Eads in his book Protein Power to encourage people to eat more green leafy vegetables. He has been on record many times stating that it should not be applied to added fiber in processed foods or to sweeteners. That is not how he intended it to be used and he has even said that he regrets introducing the idea because of how it has become so commonly applied.
That said, you may not need to limit carbs to 20g. 50g may work great for you.
It helps to know what your goals are.

Thank you so much for all the great info!

gwendyprism

If you are doing this to lose weight: Don't worry too much about macros. Just count carbs. Let protein and fats take care of themselves. If you are hungry add some more fat but don't try to eat fat to a certain level.

Emmapatterson1729

Once in ketosis, excess protein gets converted to ketones. If consuming a higher carb diet, excess protein gets converted to glucose.

I cook my meats and veggies in olive oil, to up my fats a little and to up my calories.

sandhillsmom

I just watch my carbs and try hard to keep them down to a reasonable level for Keto. So far the biggest issue I have is increasing my fats to really kick things in gear.

2t9nty

I have settled into a higher protein and lower fat keto than most people seem to follow. I tried to pay attention to what worked for me wrt to satiation, etc. It was going to have to be sustainable for me because I am using the diet to manage blood glucose without meds.