Tracking Carbs On Keto: A Comprehensive Guide

Tracking your carb intake is an important part of the keto diet. The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that involves reducing your carbohydrate intake to less than 5% of your total calorie intake, so that your body enters a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. This means that tracking your carb intake is essential to ensuring that you stay within the strict limits of the keto diet.

There are several apps available that can help you to track your carb intake, including MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, and Carb Manager. These apps allow you to log the food you eat and track the number of carbs you are consuming. They also provide additional features such as recipe databases, barcode scanners, and progress tracking.

In addition to using an app, you can also calculate your net carbs manually by subtracting the grams of fibre and certain sugar alcohols from the total grams of carbohydrates you consume. This is important because not all carbs are digested and absorbed by the body in the same way, and some types of carbs can be subtracted from your daily total.

Using a calorie-counting app

Calorie-counting apps are a fantastic way to track your daily calorie and macronutrient intake. They can be a hassle at first, especially when you're transitioning to a ketogenic diet, but they're a great way to understand what you're putting into your body.

There are several apps available for carb and calorie tracking, with the most popular being MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, and Carb Manager.

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular calorie-tracking apps and is free to use unless you want extra features that are helpful for keto dieters. The app has a massive food database, allowing you to find almost any food or keto recipe. However, the database includes user-submitted entries, which can make it difficult to choose the correct food item. The free version also doesn't track net carbs, only total carbohydrates and fibre, requiring manual calculations for net carbs.

Cronometer

Cronometer is known for its curated food database, which provides more detailed and accurate information, including micronutrients and amino acids. It also has the ability to track net carbs and set a net carb limit, a useful feature for keto dieters. However, the app lacks a social sharing aspect and has a limited food database compared to other apps.

Carb Manager

Carb Manager is tailored specifically for tracking net carbs, making it ideal for keto dieters. It has similar functionality to MyFitnessPal and Cronometer but integrates with other apps and devices like FitBit and Garmin via Apple Health and Google Fit. It also offers automatic meal plans and grocery lists based on your preferences and macros. The premium version allows you to log food by snapping a picture.

Choosing the Right App

Each of these apps has its pros and cons, and the best choice depends on your personal preferences. If you want highly precise tracking of macronutrients, net carbs, vitamins, and minerals, Cronometer is a good choice. On the other hand, if you prefer a larger database of foods and recipes, MyFitnessPal or Carb Manager might be better options.

Regardless of the app you choose, calorie-counting apps are a valuable tool for monitoring your food intake and ensuring you stay on track with your keto diet.

Understanding net carbs

When following a ketogenic diet, tracking your net carbs is key. Net carbs are the carbohydrates in food that you digest and use for energy. Your body can't completely break down and absorb some types of carbs, like fibre and sugar alcohols. These carbs pass through your body without being digested, so you can subtract most fibre and sugar alcohols from your daily carb total.

On a keto diet, eating too many carbs can kick you out of ketosis. When you calculate net carbs, you'll have a better idea of how many carbs you're eating in a day. The formula to calculate net carbs is: grams of total carbs – fibre – sugar alcohols = net carbs.

For example, if a food has 10 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fibre, then it has 8 grams of net carbs (10 – 2 = 8).

It's important to note that not all sugar alcohols are truly carb-free. Some sugar alcohols can kick you out of ketosis because they have a high glycemic load. These sugar alcohols do count (at least partially) towards net carbs: maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and glycerin. Each gram of these sugar alcohols counts as about half a gram of carbs for keto.

Additionally, manufacturers of processed low-carb foods may include labels indicating "net carbs", which reflect their total carbs minus added fibre and sweeteners known as sugar alcohols. However, studies have shown that some of these additives can be partially absorbed and raise blood sugar levels. Therefore, the term "net carbs" on packaged foods may be misleading. When calculating net carbs, it is recommended to only subtract fibre from whole foods, and to stick with whole foods while avoiding processed and packaged "low-carb" products.

Tracking your macros

There are several apps available to help you track your macros, such as MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, and Carb Manager. These apps can help you calculate your personal macros and track your food intake. It is recommended to use a food scale to accurately weigh and measure your food portions.

• Calculate your macros: Use a macro calculator to determine your personal macros based on your body type, goals, and weight.
• High Fat: 60%-80% of your total calories should come from fat.
• Moderate Protein: 15%-35% of total calories from protein.
• Low Carbohydrate: Keep your carb intake below 20 grams of net carbs per day. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting dietary fiber and certain sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrate content.
• Track your net carbs: This is key to staying in ketosis. Use the formula: Total Carbohydrates - Fiber - Sugar Alcohols = Net Carbs.
• Limit or avoid certain foods: Stay away from sugary drinks, snacks, and starch-filled food items like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes.
• Protein intake: Monitor your protein intake as it can affect ketosis. The recommended amount is between 0.6-1.2 grams per pound of lean body mass.

Using a food scale

To ensure you are adhering to these guidelines, it is important to weigh your food. You can purchase a food scale from Amazon, or another retailer, and use it to weigh your food for at least the first six months of your diet. This will help you to develop an eye for how much food you are consuming, and ensure you are not overeating.

For example, you may be surprised to see just how much 2 tablespoons of nut or seed butter is! Weighing your food will help you to stay within the keto guidelines, and ensure you are getting the right amount of macros.

After a while, you may be able to move away from weighing every morsel of food. You will be able to look at food and know how many grams or ounces it weighs, and can thus estimate your intake. This will allow you to still follow a macro-based ketogenic protocol, without needing to carry a food scale with you at all times.

Knowing what to eat

• High-Fat Foods: Aim for 60%-80% of your total calories from fat. This can include fattier cuts of meat, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) supplements, butter or ghee, and fat bombs.
• Moderate Protein: Keep your protein intake moderate, with 15%-35% of your total calories coming from protein. This includes meat, chicken, and fish. The recommended amount is between 0.6 grams and 1.2 grams per pound of lean body mass, depending on your activity level.
• Low Carbohydrates: Limit your carbohydrate intake to 5% or less of your total calories. This includes vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some fruits. Aim for below 20 grams of net carbs per day, but this may vary depending on your activity level and lifestyle.
• Sugar Substitutes: Sugar alcohols like monk fruit sweetener can be used in desserts as they have 0 grams of net carbs per serving. However, be mindful that not all sugar alcohols are created equal, and some may impact your blood sugar.
• Drink Choices: Water should be your primary drink choice. Coffee and tea are also suitable, and you can add extras like collagen, MCT oil, and MCT oil powder. Avoid milk, soft drinks, sugary juices, and energy drinks.

Additionally, it's important to understand the concept of "net carbs." Net carbs refer to the amount of carbohydrates in food after subtracting the fiber content. While dietary fiber doesn't significantly impact your blood sugar, some processed low-carb foods may include additives that can be partially absorbed and affect your blood sugar levels. Therefore, it's generally recommended to only subtract fiber from whole foods when calculating net carbs.

Frequently asked questions