Macros on a ketogenicdiet?

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ZodFit
ZodFit Posts: 394 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've tried keto in the past but was eating too much fat and protein. Where can I find a good calculator for keto?

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  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 353 Member
    edited September 2017
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    ZodFit wrote: »
    I've tried keto in the past but was eating too much fat and protein. Where can I find a good calculator for keto?

    https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/
    https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/

    PS Your profile photo is awesome.
  • GlassAngyl
    GlassAngyl Posts: 478 Member
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    Each calculator is slightly different, so take the mean of three of them and just work around it until you are happy. Just because a calculator says you need 72% fat, 19% protein, and 9% carbs doesn't mean that it will work for you. Our bodies are all different.

    Here are some calculators that I like.
    https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com
    https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
    https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/page/KetoDiet-Buddy

    I really like the last one as it gives you three macro options.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
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    How much protein are you considering to be "too much"?
    I've always used my protein intake as the main macro, and have adjusted the others accordingly. I've followed the 1g/lb LBM (which for me tended to be a little higher than the typical 30/60/10 ratio for SKD). Personally I like to simplify things as much as possible.

    So what I do is first work out my protein intake. Which comes to about 150g/day, then I shoot for less than 50g carbs/day, and add the rest as fats (or even just to hit my calorie target).

    Basically I've never been overly obsessed with macro ratios; as long as I'm getting the protein I want, and staying under my carb cap I'm good. I just hit my daily calorie target, with those 2 things in mind.
    I've never had any issues maintaining ketosis that way either.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2017
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    The approach I like is figuring out your carb maximum (from what I've read a non sedentary person should be able to be in ketosis at 50 g net carbs, which is much higher than some of the crazy low goals that seem to be currently trendy -- I went with about 10% of my maintenance calories, so around 55 g total, which puts me at below 35 g net). Then I figured out a good protein goal -- .8 x healthy goal weight = about 100 g, which is a good round number.

    So I had 55 g carbs and 100 g protein, which adds up to 620. Carbs was in theory a maximum, protein a minimum, and I ate the rest (to satiety, in theory) in fat.

    But for MFP's purposes I picked a goal number, 1600, and then made the numbers fit as closely as possible.

    Worked out to about 15% carbs (60 g), 25% protein (100 g), and then 60% fat (107 g). But when doing it I kept in mind I wanted under about 35 g net carbs.
  • ZodFit
    ZodFit Posts: 394 Member
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    need2belean wrote: »
    ZodFit wrote: »
    I've tried keto in the past but was eating too much fat and protein. Where can I find a good calculator for keto?

    https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/
    https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/

    PS Your profile photo is awesome.

    Thank you, Big badaboom
  • ZodFit
    ZodFit Posts: 394 Member
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    medic2038 wrote: »
    How much protein are you considering to be "too much"?
    I've always used my protein intake as the main macro, and have adjusted the others accordingly. I've followed the 1g/lb LBM (which for me tended to be a little higher than the typical 30/60/10 ratio for SKD). Personally I like to simplify things as much as possible.

    So what I do is first work out my protein intake. Which comes to about 150g/day, then I shoot for less than 50g carbs/day, and add the rest as fats (or even just to hit my calorie target).

    Basically I've never been overly obsessed with macro ratios; as long as I'm getting the protein I want, and staying under my carb cap I'm good. I just hit my daily calorie target, with those 2 things in mind.
    I've never had any issues maintaining ketosis that way either.

    200 grams of protein roughly and I heard if you consume too much protein it isn't good for keto since your body turns excess protons into glucose?I know I can hit keto without tracking macros but I don't want to consume any more fats or proteins than needed. Damn when I tried less I was staying under 25g carb. Going to up the carbs a bit. Messing with a calculator now
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
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    ZodFit wrote: »
    medic2038 wrote: »
    How much protein are you considering to be "too much"?
    I've always used my protein intake as the main macro, and have adjusted the others accordingly. I've followed the 1g/lb LBM (which for me tended to be a little higher than the typical 30/60/10 ratio for SKD). Personally I like to simplify things as much as possible.

    So what I do is first work out my protein intake. Which comes to about 150g/day, then I shoot for less than 50g carbs/day, and add the rest as fats (or even just to hit my calorie target).

    Basically I've never been overly obsessed with macro ratios; as long as I'm getting the protein I want, and staying under my carb cap I'm good. I just hit my daily calorie target, with those 2 things in mind.
    I've never had any issues maintaining ketosis that way either.

    200 grams of protein roughly and I heard if you consume too much protein it isn't good for keto since your body turns excess protons into glucose?I know I can hit keto without tracking macros but I don't want to consume any more fats or proteins than needed. Damn when I tried less I was staying under 25g carb. Going to up the carbs a bit. Messing with a calculator now

    Too much protein can lead to GNG (gluconeogenesis) yes, but that's typically a bit higher than most people reasonably hit. The easiest way most people figure out protein is .8g/lb total body weight. If you're a little more savvy and want to figure out your body fat %, you can go with 1g/lb LBM. Even overshooting/undershooting this by a little shouldn't cause you any problems.

    In any case "close enough" is usually good enough. Generally speaking most people when they want to "lose weight" actually want to "lose fat". Making sure you're getting enough protein will help offset losing lean mass (which happens regardless, but having enough protein does help to minimize this).

    I've always erred on the side of caution with protein, as I had a certain body composition in mind through my weight loss. When using a straight 30/60/10 ratio my protein ended up being around 100g/day, which was a bit lower than I was willing to go (having estimated my LBM at about 150lbs).

    As with most things... They're good starting points, and finding what works best for you is going to be a big part of it.
  • ZodFit
    ZodFit Posts: 394 Member
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    25g net carbs* it's what it has me at. 160 some odd fats. Which isn't too bad I can get them from nuts, avacado, eggs, and fish/chicken. My protein is much lower now that what I tried before which I like. I'm Going to stick with this and track myself through out the week.

    Will you remain in ketosis going off of net carbs? Maybe I won't have to give up my quest bar
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Most will be in ketosis if they are under 20-50g of total carbs per day but there is variations. I have insulin resistance and a liver that takes gluconeogenesis as a challenge. If I go much above 20g of carbs I will test negative on ketostix (urine tests). But then I knew a very active man who was riding his bike a few hours a day; he could eat upwards of 200g of carbs if he timed them around his workout.

    25g of net carbs should have most people in ketosis. That's probably 35-40g of total carbs depending on their fibre content.

    Very high protein will cause people to not be deeply in ketosis, but very high protein is over 200g. For a woman, if you are under 150g of protein, I wouldn't worry about it unless you need deeper ketosis for medical reasons.

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