How many calories do you consume per day?
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MrsSportcat1
Posts: 4 Member
I'm still trying to adjust my macros. I know I want to keep carbs under 20/g per day. But I'm not sure about overall calories. Or...should I not focus on calories?
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there are several keto calculators...to get a general idea. i use this one:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/0 -
MSC:MrsSportcat1 wrote: »I'm still trying to adjust my macros. I know I want to keep carbs under 20/g per day. But I'm not sure about overall calories. Or...should I not focus on calories?
We'll need a few more details in order to answer effectively.
You don't say (and since your food diary is closed, no one can check) what your current cal in and overall macros look like.
Are you currently using MFP generated "targets"? (BMR, TDEE, cals in, etc).
What does your current "total" carb intake look like? (50g, 100, 500?)
Don't let yourself get thrown off track by the "I don't count calories", proponents. At least in the beginning, and for MOST people, it IS important to track total cal input - BOTH because it does matter, AND because it's impossible to calculate macro ratios without tracking cals.
Down the road, when you have firmly established yourself on a "proper" macro regimen and you body has had sufficient time to ADJUST, it "might" no longer be necessary (to count), but, at best that's a ways down the road.
For the time being focus on fine tuning the ratios and then hitting them EVERY day (best you can).
Start with your current cals in total (assuming it's properly calculated, been in effect for a while, and is, at least "close".)
Decide on your goals, - lowER carbs (100-150g); Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) (<50g C, >60-65% F, 20-25% P; Nutritional Ketosis (Fat Adapted) - <20g C, >65% F, <25% P for at least a few weeks (3-6) and consistent B-OHB levels of 0.5 - 3.0mmol.
Sorry for the long answer to what you probably thought was a "simple" question. It's really not as complicated as it might sound but it DOES matter that you understand WHY it's not as simple as "just eat xxx cals and you'll be fine".
If you haven't already go to one of the online calculators (doesn't really matter which one they are all based on a couple of algorithms that are "guesstimates", at best), and get your starting "numbers".
Here's one that's as good as any:
tinyurl.com/kubswve
If you would like to be able to calculate current body fat % a little more accurately, this might help:
tinyurl.com/3pzjnw
Post back with the results and answers to some of the earlier questions, AND open up your food diary if you feel comfortable doing so, and we'll be able to give much more "specific" answers and get you started.
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Overall calories and your caloric deficit will determine if you lose weight and how fast. Low-carbing is a great way to maintain such a deficit, and you may not even need to count calories as counting carbs may ensure your intake is sufficiently low to lose weight.
What I did was keep my carbs in line with the level I was comfortable with, and also kept an eye on my daily calorie levels also, just to see what I could expect to be losing.
Re: macros, I tend to take a loose and fast approach, and namely make sure I'm eating an adequate amount of protein every day. Once I'm roughly hitting my protein target every day, I let the carbs and fat fall where they may, except when tweaking things in favour of higher levels of fats over carbs if I'm having problems adhering to my desired deficit. If you're eating low-carb and have decided upon your carb level, then it's a no-brainer imo, as you aim for your desired protein level, you know your desired carb level, and the fats simply fall where they may.
Hope this helps, and would say don't overcomplicate things if you can avoid it. Knowing your adequate protein level, your desired carb level, and your calorie target should be all you need to get started
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Wow, thanks guys! Great info. I have been toying with low-carb for some time now...reading tips here and there...but have yet to get strict with it. Therefore, I don't have a food diary to share yet. But I REALLY want to get on the ball with this. Two kids later and I'm still 38 pounds over where I was pre-kid. I read about this WOE all the time...but when it comes to starting, I just feel so overwhelmed!0
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LoraKay131 wrote: »there are several keto calculators...to get a general idea. i use this one:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
I second this! This is what I go by.
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MrsSportcat1 wrote: »Wow, thanks guys! Great info. I have been toying with low-carb for some time now...reading tips here and there...but have yet to get strict with it. Therefore, I don't have a food diary to share yet. But I REALLY want to get on the ball with this. Two kids later and I'm still 38 pounds over where I was pre-kid. I read about this WOE all the time...but when it comes to starting, I just feel so overwhelmed!
It might help to start by focusing on one meal.
For example, start with breakfast and swap out that oatmeal and toast for eggs and bacon. Give bulletproof coffee or butter tea a try.
Do that for a week, then start dropping the starches out of your dinner. Trade grain pasta for spaghetti squash or zoodles ("noodles" made by cutting various types of vegetables, or running them through a gadget like the spiralizer). Drop the rolls from the meal and just put the butter on the steak (or chicken...or turkey....). Get skin-on chicken and eat the skin. And douse your veggies in butter (or bacon grease!).
Eat leftovers for lunch, and lunch will quickly follow suit. If you eat out, get the burger and have it lettuce-wrapped and trade the ketchup for mayo. Get a big salad with non-starchy vegetables, avocado, and some kind of meat on it, and top it with a fatty dressing (oil and vinegar is a good standby).
Also, look up "cream cheese clouds" and "fat bombs." These are great snacks in a pinch to get some more fat in and satisfy a munchy. Keep low-sugar beef sticks, jerky, or cheese around.
Basically...take everything all the diet and fitness articles tell you to do about "simple tricks to eat healthier" and do the exact opposite.
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MrsSportcat1 wrote: »I read about this WOE all the time...but when it comes to starting, I just feel so overwhelmed!
I found it best to adopt a gradual approach to reducing the carbs. By tracking/ logging for a little, you should quickly get a good idea of the main sources of carbs in your daily diet, and get a good idea of what you need to tackle first. Treat it like peeling an onion, and take a layer at a time, get used to that new level, and when ready, tackle the next layer
No matter what way you look at it, alcohol and added sugar are usually the first things that need to be dialled back strongly. After that, you should be in a good position to look at reducing grains and starches to moderate/ low levels. Restricting most fruits a bit will be next. After that it will probably depend on whether ketosis is your aim, or rather simply low-carb. If the latter, you're probably good where you are now, and of going for ketosis, you should have a good idea what needs to go next to reach that.
Just remember you don't have to do it all at once, and taking it in stages can be a good way to bed everything in 0 -
^^^^ this. Cut out sugar to lose the cravings, and look for the hidden sugar in fruit and starches, too. Beware too much fat, too soon = disaster pants!
All good advice here. I started out 11kg ago by just using MFP's 1200, low fat diet advice and was constantly "hangry," but did lose a bit. Then I found LCHF and switched things around, upping my cals to abut 1400. I used the http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/, bought a fitbit (which eventually showed that the keto calculator was pretty close to my TDEE), and lost the rest of the weight. Now maintaining well. A few weeks ago, I decided to up my cals to about 1600 per day, and start lifting weights. So far, I have not seen a gain in weight, so go figure. It must be working!
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Many women of a certain age find calorie counting helpful, even on LCHF. I would be one of those women. But don't do the MFP standard of 1200. Follow other's advice for calculating your particular needs. I don't have an algorithm. But you asked for what "people" do. So I'll tell you what i do: I eat 1500 calories a day. And I am a sedentary, 4'11" woman, of a certain age. I felt my way to that amount. Ate what I thought was a good amount and counted what that was, and then worked backwards. When I was younger and more active, I didn't find it necessary. I just relied on carb restriction. But now that I'm older, I find it to be necessary.0
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MrsSportcat1 all these posts makes good points. camtosh first paragraph reminds me of my early experience. It took me two months to do as far as cutting out the sugar then finding the sources of hidden sugar or what I often call 'accidental carbs'. I got some macadamia nuts at WalGreens and after the the fact learned they had an added sugar. As time goes along I am learning the accidental carbs are not a huge factor so I will eat these nuts vs. tossing them out.
After I got the pain management part worked out I am now looking more at the macros and different ones have me as a 220 pound 63 year old male at 2000-2400 calories. Now I am working on getting the counting part working so I know.
Picked up a Precision Xtra Blood Glucose and Ketone Monitoring System three days ago and that is really helping me to learn more about my diet. Right now I test fasting each morning and late in the day and plotting the results. Clearly going to the max side on protein can bump up the glucose levels and suppress the ketone levels. Hopefully after a couple weeks of plotting and counting calories better I will have a general understanding of how my body responds to carbs, protein and fat better than I do today. Nutritional ketosis I found was hard to know how to do without the ketone blood testing.
Everyone is different and our understanding of low carb life style evolve at different rates. I want to be at the point when I loose the desired weight I can just increase carbs by eating something like grapes to maybe closer to 100 grams and still stay in nutritional ketosis.
I have no plans to be come a carb based eater EVER again.0 -
I count calories as well. The first 2 months, I just focused on counting carbs and it naturally brought me down to a more reasonable calorie level. After that, I started counting calories and have been doing it ever since.0
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Like LoraKay I used a keto calculator to kick off. I aim for 5% carbs, 65% fat and 30% protein.
I'm 48 yo, mostly sedentary in that I run around after school kids and like to garden which mainly consists of potting plants, weeding and pruning. MFP suggested that 2100 calories would be a 20% deficit but I found that I rarely eat that much. Most days I barely reach 1800 and tend to eat between 1500-1800. A heavy carb day for me is still below 50g and that's about once a week.
I've been at this about 6 weeks and am about 9kgs lighter (20lbs) but I've lost more in measurements. 30 cms (12 inches) off my waist.
For me, this has to fit into my life. Life has to be worth living. Low carb is proving to be the answer to that. The food is delicious. I'm not calorie focused. Keep track of your carbs, fats and proteins and the calories will fall in to place.0 -
You guys rock.
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