Keto Macros: Nightly Tally For Success?

The keto diet is a regimented way of eating that requires a lot of dedication. It involves tracking your macronutrients (macros) – the energy-supplying nutrients that the body needs in large quantities: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The keto diet is based on eating large amounts of good fats, moderate amounts of protein, and drastically cutting down on carbohydrates. This shift in the way your body uses energy causes it to enter a fat-burning state called ketosis, which suppresses your appetite and makes it easier to eat less.

To enter ketosis, you need to restrict your carb intake and replace those calories with fat and protein. This usually looks like getting 70-80% of your daily calories from fat, 20-25% from protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrates.

To calculate your macros, you need to take into account your age, height, weight, gender, activity level, and BMI. You can use a keto calculator to help you work out the optimal amount of macros for your body and goals.

Once you know your macros, you can start tracking them nightly to ensure you're staying within your daily ranges. This can be done manually or using an app.

Counting macros helps you maintain ketosis

Counting macros is essential for maintaining ketosis and achieving the desired results from a keto diet plan. The keto diet is a regimented way of eating that involves significantly increasing fat intake while drastically reducing carbohydrates. By tracking macros, individuals can ensure they are consuming the right ratio of fat, protein, and carbs, which is crucial for entering and sustaining ketosis.

The key to the keto diet's effectiveness lies in its ability to change the way the body uses energy. Typically, the body relies on glycogen, derived from carbohydrates, as its primary fuel source. However, the keto diet encourages the body to utilise ketones, byproducts of fat metabolism, as an alternative energy source. This shift puts the body into a fat-burning state called ketosis, which can lead to weight loss and improved body composition.

To achieve and maintain ketosis, it is necessary to monitor the percentage of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in one's diet. Macros, or macronutrients, refer to the energy-supplying nutrients that the body requires in large quantities. On a keto diet, the typical macro ratio aims for approximately 70-80% of calories from fat, 20-30% from protein, and only about 5-10% from carbohydrates. This ratio can vary slightly depending on individual factors such as age, height, weight, and activity level.

Counting macros involves tallying the total calories, fat, protein, and net carbs consumed daily. While it may require some effort, various tools are available to simplify the process, such as macro calculators, food journals, and macros tracker apps. By inputting personal information and tracking food intake, individuals can ensure they are adhering to their specific macro targets. This precision is crucial for optimising the keto diet's effectiveness in suppressing appetite, boosting energy levels, and promoting weight loss.

Additionally, counting macros can help individuals make more informed food choices and develop a better understanding of their eating habits. It empowers them to take control of their nutrition and make adjustments as needed to stay on track with their keto diet goals. Counting macros is a valuable tool for anyone embarking on a keto journey, providing structure, accountability, and a deeper awareness of the impact of different nutrients on the body.

Macros are macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are eventually broken down into glucose, the main energy source for the body. Some organs, like the brain, need glucose to function. Carbohydrates also help synthesize specific amino acids (protein building blocks) and enable consistent bowel movements. Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot break down, but it helps to rid the body of waste and keeps the intestinal tract healthy.

Protein allows the body to grow, build and repair tissues, and protect lean body mass (muscle mass). It is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of organs, bones, hair, enzymes, and tissues. A high-protein diet has a number of health benefits, including helping to maintain and lose weight, stabilize blood sugar levels, improve concentration, and boost energy levels.

Fat is the most calorie-dense nutrient, supplying nine calories per gram. It allows the body to store energy, cushion organs, make hormones, absorb fat-soluble vitamins, and maintain cell membrane integrity.

The general rule for the recommended macronutrient breakdown is 20-30% fat, 30% protein, and 40-50% carbohydrates. However, if you are trying to lose weight, the recommended breakdown is 10-30% carbohydrates, 40-50% protein, and 30-40% fat.

You can use a keto calculator to work out your macros

The keto diet is a regimented way of eating that requires careful planning and tracking of macronutrients. The three main components of a keto diet are fat, protein, and carbohydrates, in that order. To enter ketosis, you need to restrict your carb intake and replace those calories with fat and protein.

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Enter Your Details

Input your gender, age, height, and weight. The keto calculator uses this information to find your basal metabolic rate (BMR), or the amount of energy you spend per unit of time while resting. The Mifflin-St. Jeor Formula is used to calculate BMR, which is considered one of the most accurate formulas.

Step 2: Enter Your Activity Level

Your physical activity level (PAL) measures how much energy you spend daily when you're active. The calculator combines your BMR and your PAL to find your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), or the number of calories your body burns in 24 hours.

Step 3: Calorie Intake Goal

Here, you can specify whether you want to maintain, lose, or gain weight by selecting a calorie deficit or surplus. For example, choosing a 10% calorie deficit will result in a total daily calorie intake that is 10% lower than what you need for weight loss.

Step 4: Advanced Fields (Optional)

If you're using a specialized calculator, you may have additional fields to fill in, such as body fat %, protein ratio, and total carb intake. These contribute to a more accurate estimation of your TDEE and help the calculator determine how many calories you need from protein to lose weight without losing muscle mass.

Once you have your macro targets, you can start planning your meals and creating a keto meal plan that works for you. This may involve selecting recipes, making a grocery list, and prepping your meals in advance.

While it may seem intimidating at first, using a keto calculator can be a helpful tool for tailoring your diet to your unique needs and lifestyle.

A keto diet is different from other low-carb diets

Secondly, keto diets focus on fat as the primary fuel source, with fat comprising up to 70%-80% of daily calories. In contrast, other low-carb diets emphasize protein as the main source of energy. To achieve ketosis, the metabolic state where the body burns fat for fuel, keto diets require a significant reduction in carb intake and a moderate protein intake, usually around 20% of total calories.

Another key difference is that keto diets are often prescribed by doctors as part of a treatment plan for specific health conditions such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's, certain types of diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The therapeutic benefits of keto diets extend beyond weight loss, which is a common goal for those following a low-carb diet.

Keto diets can lead to quicker weight loss results, but they are more challenging to adhere to in the long term due to their restrictive nature. Low-carb diets, on the other hand, are generally easier to maintain and can still promote weight loss, albeit at a slower pace.

Additionally, keto diets come with potential health risks that should be carefully considered. The high fat content, especially saturated fats, can increase the risk of heart disease by raising "bad" LDL cholesterol levels. Other possible side effects of keto diets include nutrient deficiencies, liver and kidney problems, constipation, and fuzzy thinking.

In summary, while all keto diets are low-carb, not all low-carb diets are keto. The distinction lies in the degree of carbohydrate restriction and the emphasis on fat versus protein as the primary energy source.

You can track your macros with a food journal or an app

To successfully follow a keto diet, it is important to track your macros. This means keeping a tally of the total calories, fat, protein, and "net carbs" for everything you eat and drink each day to ensure you don't surpass your daily goals. You can track your macros with a food journal or an app.

A food journal requires a few extra steps but is an equally effective means to track macros. You can rely on the information found on a food's nutrition label and valuable tools like the USDA Nutrient Analysis Library, which allow you to determine the nutrient content of generic and branded foods, as well as fresh produce. Once you determine the macronutrients found in your food, simply follow these formulas when journaling:

• For percentage fat: Multiply total grams of fat by nine. Divide the result by total daily calories. Multiply this number by 100 for the percentage of calories from fat.
• For percentage carbohydrate: Multiply total grams of carbohydrates by four. Divide the result by the total daily calories. Multiply this number by 100 for the percentage of calories from carbohydrates.
• For percentage protein: Multiply total grams of protein by four. Divide the result by the total daily calories. Multiply this number by 100 for the percentage of calories from protein.

There are also many different macro-tracking apps to choose from. All of them serve the same primary function: to show you the percentage of calories you've consumed from each macronutrient based on the food you've tracked that day. Some go a step further, allowing you to track your weight over time, plan healthy meals, compete in wellness challenges with friends, and even scan barcodes of food packaging for easier tracking.

Some popular apps for tracking keto macros include MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, Carb Manager, and the Trifecta App.

Frequently asked questions