Keto Macro Counting: What's On Your Plate?

The ketogenic diet is a regimented way of eating that involves a high-fat, low-carb, and moderate-protein intake. The keto diet can be an effective way to lose weight without experiencing the hunger, cravings, and muscle loss that often come with other weight-loss plans. To achieve ketosis, the body's fat-burning state, it is crucial to monitor your macronutrients or macros. Macros are the energy-supplying nutrients (fat, protein, and carbohydrates) that the body needs in large quantities. By tracking your macros, you can ensure you're consuming the right ratio of nutrients to stay in ketosis and achieve your desired results. There are various methods and tools available, such as food journals, macro tracker apps, and online calculators, to help you determine the specific macro ratios that align with your keto diet and fitness goals.

How to calculate your keto macros

The keto diet is a very regimented way of eating, and tracking your macros can help you maintain ketosis and ensure you're following a high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carb plan. The key to the keto diet is to change the way your body uses energy, so it burns fat instead of glucose for energy. To do this, you need to restrict your carb intake and increase your fat intake.

Step 1: Understand the Basics

Macros, or macronutrients, are the energy-supplying nutrients that the body needs in large quantities: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. On the keto diet, your macro ratio will typically be:

• 5% or fewer calories from carbohydrates
• 70-80% of calories from healthy fats
• 20-30% of calories from protein

Step 2: Calculate Your Calorie Needs

The number of calories you need each day depends on your fitness goal:

• To lose weight, you need a calorie deficit
• To gain weight, you need a calorie surplus
• To maintain weight, keep your calorie intake the same

Step 3: Determine Your Carb Needs

Estimating your keto carb needs is critical to achieving ketosis. Research suggests a carb intake of less than 20 to 50 grams per day is sufficient for most people, but you can start with 20-25 grams per day and adjust as needed. Use your total calorie intake as a guide:

• For a calorie intake of less than 2,000 per day, aim for 20 grams of carbs
• For a calorie intake of 2,000 to 2,500 per day, aim for 25 to 30 grams of carbs
• For a calorie intake of 2,500 to 3,000 per day, aim for 30 to 35 grams of carbs
• For a calorie intake of more than 3,000 per day, aim for 35 to 50 grams of carbs

Step 4: Calculate Your Protein Needs

Protein intake is important as it supports your lean body mass and other essential bodily functions. It's recommended that you consume:

• 0.6g/pound of body weight per day if you're sedentary
• 0.9g/pound of body weight per day if you're moderately active
• 1.1g/pound of body weight per day if you're very active or looking to gain muscle

Step 5: Calculate Your Fat Needs

Your keto fat needs can be calculated based on your remaining calories. Each gram of fat contains about nine calories. Subtract the calories from carbs and protein from your total daily calorie needs, then divide by nine to get the number of grams of fat you need per day.

Step 6: Calculate Your Macro Percentage

To get your macro percentage, divide the calories from each macro by your daily calorie needs and multiply by 100%. For example:

• (Calories from carbs / daily calorie needs) x 100%
• (Calories from protein / daily calorie needs) x 100%
• (Calories from fat / daily calorie needs) x 100%

The total should equal 100%.

Step 7: Track Your Macros

Once you know your macros, you can use a keto-friendly app or a food journal to track your food choices and ensure you stay within your daily ranges. You can also plan your meals ahead of time and do meal prep to make sure you're hitting your keto macro targets.

How to count your keto macros

Counting your keto macros is essential to staying on track with your ketogenic diet. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you count your macros effectively:

Determine Your Calorie Needs

The first step is to determine your calorie needs based on your fitness goals. Are you trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your current weight? This will help you establish the number of calories you need each day. For weight loss, create a calorie deficit, and for weight gain, opt for a calorie surplus.

Calculate Your Carb Needs

Estimating your carb needs is crucial for achieving ketosis. Most keto diets recommend limiting carbs to 20-50 grams per day. You can use your total calorie intake as a guide. Since carbs provide 4 calories per gram, you can adjust your carb intake based on your calorie range. For example, if you consume less than 2,000 calories per day, aim for 20 grams of carbs or less.

Determine Your Protein Needs

Protein is essential for supporting lean body mass and other bodily functions. The amount of protein you need will depend on your activity level and fitness goals. As a general guideline, aim for:

• Little to no exercise: 0.6g/pound of body weight per day
• Moderate exercise 2 or more days a week: 0.9g/pound of body weight per day
• Hard exercise 3 or more days a week: 1.1g/pound of body weight per day

Calculate Your Fat Needs

After determining your carb and protein needs, you can calculate your fat needs based on your remaining calories. Each gram of fat contains approximately 9 calories. Subtract the calories from carbs and protein from your total daily calorie needs, then divide that number by 9 to get your daily gram intake of fat.

Track Your Macros

Once you've calculated your macro targets, the next step is to build your meals accordingly. Utilize keto food lists and macro meal planners to create a keto meal prep menu that aligns with your macros. Additionally, consider using keto-friendly nutrition apps to log your food choices and ensure you stay within your daily ranges.

The importance of tracking macros

Tracking your macros is essential for achieving the desired results on the keto diet. Macros, or macronutrients, are the energy-supplying nutrients – fat, protein, and carbohydrates – that the body needs in large quantities. The keto diet is a very regimented way of eating, and tracking macros helps ensure you're following a high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carb plan. This is crucial for maintaining ketosis, the state where your body burns fat for energy instead of sugars.

The precise intake of macros leads to better outcomes, including weight loss and body composition changes. By tracking your macros, you can make sure you're consuming the right ratio of nutrients to stay in ketosis. This typically involves getting 5% of your calories from carbs, 20-30% from protein, and 55-70% from fat.

There are several ways to track your macros. You can use a food journal or a macros tracker app, which can show you the percentage of calories consumed from each macronutrient. Additionally, you can calculate your macros using online calculators that take into account your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level.

Tracking your macros is especially important if you're using keto for body recomposition or trying to gain muscle. It ensures you're getting the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat to attain fat loss and increase muscle mass. It also helps you stay accountable and make better food choices.

In conclusion, tracking macros is vital for achieving your goals on the keto diet. It helps you stay in ketosis, ensures you're consuming the right ratio of nutrients, and keeps you on track with your meal choices. By being mindful of your macronutrient intake, you can maximise the benefits of the keto diet.

Macronutrients and their calorie counts

Macronutrients, or macros, are the energy-supplying nutrients that the body needs in large quantities. There are three macronutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Each of these nutrients has a different number of calories per gram.

Calorie Counts of Macronutrients

• Fat: 9 calories per gram
• Protein: 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram

Counting Macros

Counting macros is a popular approach in the fitness community. It involves tracking the number of grams of each macronutrient consumed to ensure that the desired ratio of fat, protein, and carbohydrates is achieved. This can be done through various methods, such as using a food journal, a macro calculator, or a macro tracker app.

Keto Diet and Macros

The keto diet is a popular dietary approach that involves significantly restricting carbohydrate intake while increasing fat intake. The standard macro ratio for the keto diet is:

• Fat: 70-80% of calories
• Protein: 20-30% of calories
• Carbohydrates: 5% or fewer of calories

It is important to note that the keto diet can be challenging to follow and may not be suitable for everyone. It is always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new diet.

How to track ketone levels

To track ketone levels, it's important to understand the three types of ketone bodies: Acetone, Acetoacetate, and Beta-Hydroxybutyrate (BHB). Each of these can be tested through different methods, which we will outline below.

Blood Ketone Meter

This method measures BHB and is considered the most accurate way to track ketone levels. It involves pricking your finger to draw blood and using a meter to determine the precise ketone level. While this method is highly accurate, it can also be pricey and invasive for some people. The Precision Xtra blood glucose and ketone meter is a commonly used option, with the meter costing around $30 and the test strips costing approximately $4 each. For a more cost-effective solution, the Keto Mojo meter offers a great value with strips available at 99 cents each.

Breath Testing

Breath testing is a non-invasive and cheaper alternative to blood testing. It measures ketone levels through the acetone levels in the breath. The Ketonix Acetone Breathalyzer is a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use device for testing breath ketone levels. It is a one-time purchase and does not require any additional costs. However, it's important to note that breath ketone levels can be influenced by factors such as alcohol consumption and water intake.

Urine Testing

Urine testing is the most common method used to measure ketone levels through the presence of acetoacetate. It is cheap and easy to perform, with ketone strips costing around $9 for 150 strips. However, it is not considered as reliable as blood testing since the body naturally excretes more ketones before becoming keto-adapted. Additionally, hydration levels and electrolyte intake can impact the concentration of ketones in the urine.

Testing Blood Glucose Levels

While less common, testing blood glucose levels is less expensive than testing blood ketone levels. The Precision Xtra blood glucose and ketone meter can be used for this purpose. For a more cost-effective option, the Keto Mojo offers blood glucose test strips at 30 cents each.

Subjective Evaluation

In addition to the objective testing methods mentioned above, you can also evaluate how you feel when following a ketogenic diet. When in ketosis, individuals typically experience increased energy, reduced cravings, mental clarity, and a relaxed state. Conversely, if you feel fatigued throughout the day and have frequent cravings, it may indicate that you are not in ketosis.

Ketone Tracking Apps

To simplify the process of tracking ketone levels and macronutrient intake, several apps are available. These include Carb Manager, Keto.app, Total Keto Diet, KetoDiet, Senza (which syncs with the BioSense breath ketone monitor), Lifesum, Cronometer, Drama Labs, Stupid Simple Keto, Lazy Keto, and MacroTracker. These apps offer features such as tracking meals, creating grocery lists, and providing keto-friendly recipes and guides.

Frequently asked questions