Keto Calorie Counting: Understanding The Percentage Breakdown

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. It involves replacing starchy foods and sugar with avocados, butter, and fatty meat. The keto diet is not a standard calories-in, calories-out diet. Instead, it focuses on nutrient-dense foods and keeping carbs low, which automatically keeps calories in check. The keto diet is about getting the right ratio of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) to sustain ketosis. Typically, carbs should make up less than 5% of your caloric intake, which works out to be an average of 30g net carbs a day.

Carbs should be less than 5% of your caloric intake

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. On it, one replaces starchy breads and sugary cereals with avocados, butter, and fatty cuts of meat. The diet is used to treat health conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and chronic inflammation.

The keto diet works because of a process known as ketosis. The body turns carbohydrates into sugar, which cells use for energy. Significantly limiting carb intake causes the body to burn fat instead of carbs for energy, causing glucose levels to drop. This forces the body to produce ketones, acids that appear in the blood and urine when the body burns fat. When the body uses fat as energy and releases ketones, this is called ketosis.

During ketosis, the body also produces less insulin and stores less fat. Ketosis provides sustained energy levels, less cravings, satiety (feeling full), and reduced inflammation.

To stay in ketosis, a person requires up to 50 grams of carbs per day. The average recommended daily protein intake for a person assigned female at birth following a keto dietary plan is 46 grams, and for a person assigned male at birth, it is 56 grams. In addition to low carbs, the keto diet involves moderate amounts of protein, as excess protein can prevent ketosis.

For a standard ketogenic meal plan, carbs should make up less than 5% of your energy intake. This is where the keto calculator comes in. Knowing your daily calorie needs is crucial for your ability to lose weight on keto and can also help you quickly estimate your keto macro ratio.

Typically, the more calories you can eat, the more carbohydrates you can eat—and vice versa. Your calorie needs are most strongly tied to your body weight and activity level—the more you weigh and the more you move, the more energy you need to fuel your body.

So, if you need 1,200 calories a day, your carbohydrate threshold would be 60 calories from carbs or 15 grams of carbs a day. And for someone who eats 2,500 calories a day, that number would increase to 125 carb calories or 31 grams per day.

The bottom line is that the higher your daily calorie needs, the more carbs you can eat on keto.

A keto diet doesn't require calorie counting

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. It involves replacing starchy foods and sugary cereals with avocados, butter, and fatty cuts of meat. The keto diet is not a new fad; it's been around for almost 100 years.

The keto diet works by putting your body into a state of ketosis. This is when your body switches from burning sugar to burning fat for energy. This happens when you eat almost no carbohydrates.

Calorie Counting

Calorie counting is a tool that can help people get a rough idea of their caloric intake and pinpoint mistakes if they hit a plateau. However, it is not necessary on a keto diet.

Weight Loss

Weight loss on keto happens because your body can dig into your fat stores since you're naturally restricting calories. You will eat less food and therefore fewer calories.

Cravings

On a keto diet, you will experience less intense cravings. This is because you will have more fullness from vegetables, satiety from protein, and feel fuller for longer from the fat.

Blood Glucose

With high-carb diets, you will see swings in blood glucose. This makes it easy to give in to cravings and succumb to "carb addiction".

Appetite Suppression

Ketosis suppresses appetite in more than one way. When you start eating more fat and cut out carbs, you will stop experiencing the blood sugar swings that cause intense hunger.

Hormones

Ketosis helps control hunger and satiety hormones. Studies have shown that ketones impact cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that makes you feel full, and ghrelin, the "hunger hormone".

While calorie counting can be a helpful tool, it is not necessary for the keto diet to be effective. By eating highly satiating foods and cutting out processed, carb-ridden, and binge-worthy foods, you can experience tremendous amounts of fat loss.

Weight loss is not the only goal of keto

The ketogenic diet, or keto, is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet. It is well-known for its weight-loss benefits, but it has other advantages too.

First, keto is not a new fad. It has been around for nearly 100 years, initially used to treat refractory epilepsy in children. The diet was found to be exceptionally effective in reducing seizures and also brought about rapid weight loss.

Today, keto is used to treat various health conditions, including arthritis, diabetes, and chronic inflammation. It is also said to provide sustained energy levels, reduce sugar cravings and addiction, and promote satiety (feeling full).

Keto is not a standard calories-in, calories-out diet. It is not necessary to count calories while on keto, as focusing on nutrient-dense foods and keeping carbs low will automatically keep calories in check.

The key to keto is achieving and maintaining a state of ketosis, where the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. To reach ketosis, carbohydrate intake must be drastically reduced to around 5-10% of total calories. This typically means consuming between 20-50 grams of carbs per day on a 2000-calorie diet.

While weight loss is a common goal for those starting keto, it is important to remember that this diet has numerous other health benefits. Here are some reasons why keto may be beneficial beyond weight loss:

• Improved heart health: Keto diets have been shown to improve cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. A long-term keto diet has been found to result in lower levels of all heart disease risk factors, including increased "good" HDL cholesterol.
• Sustained energy levels: Once the body adapts to burning fat as its primary fuel source, you will experience increased and stable energy throughout the day. This is because blood sugar levels remain stable, avoiding the highs and crashes caused by blood glucose spikes and dips.
• Reduction in epileptic seizures: Keto has been found to reduce epileptic seizures, with clinical trials showing that 24% or more of patients achieved zero seizures once in ketosis.
• Aid in diabetes treatment: A long-term keto diet can improve blood sugar control and combat insulin resistance in people with diabetes. In some cases, the diet has even allowed patients to get off diabetes medications entirely.
• Improved PCOS symptoms: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a leading cause of female infertility. A clinical trial found that a keto diet improved insulin sensitivity, testosterone levels, body weight, and hormone levels in women with PCOS.
• Potential acne improvements: Early-stage research suggests that the autophagic improvements caused by keto may improve skin health and reduce acne breakouts.
• Hope for brain disease treatment: Keto may be effective in reversing symptoms of brain-related diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, ALS, and schizophrenia.
• Increased longevity: Keto may help increase lifespan by supporting cellular regeneration through autophagy, a biological process that restores and refreshes the body at the cellular level.

While weight loss is a common goal for those starting keto, it is clear that this diet has numerous other benefits beyond shedding pounds. These include improved heart health, reduced seizures, better blood sugar control, and potential improvements in skin health and brain function.

Keto is not a standard calories-in, calories-out diet

The ketogenic diet is not a standard "calories-in, calories-out" diet. It is a high-fat, low-carb diet that focuses on achieving a state of ketosis, where the body uses fat as its primary fuel source. While the number of calories consumed is important, the main focus of the keto diet is on restricting carbohydrates and increasing healthy fats.

On a keto diet, individuals replace starchy breads and sugary cereals with avocados, butter, and fatty cuts of meat. The diet is designed to keep carbs under 5% of total caloric intake, with less than 20 grams of net carbs recommended per day. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting dietary fiber from total carbs, as fiber does not have a significant metabolic effect and does not spike blood sugar levels.

The keto diet differs from a standard "calories-in, calories-out" diet in that it emphasizes the quality of macronutrients rather than the quantity of calories. By focusing on consuming healthy fats, moderate protein, and low carbs, individuals on the keto diet can achieve ketosis and experience reduced hunger and more consistent energy levels. This makes it easier to maintain a calorie deficit without actively restricting calories.

In addition, the keto diet has been associated with various health benefits beyond weight loss. Research suggests that it can support metabolic health, reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, improve brain health, and relieve symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and seizure disorders.

However, it is important to note that the keto diet may not be suitable for everyone. It is a restrictive diet that limits entire food groups, including carbs, and can lead to potential nutrient deficiencies if not properly managed. Additionally, the high-fat intake could impact cholesterol levels, so it is important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new diet.

Keto is a high-fat, low-carb diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. On it, you’ll replace starchy breads and sugary cereals with avocados, butter, and fatty cuts of meat. Many people use the keto lifestyle to treat health conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and chronic inflammation.

The keto diet is not a standard calories-in, calories-out diet. You should be able to lose weight while in ketosis without ever counting calories. Weight loss has revolved around counting calories for the last 50+ years and it hasn’t worked very well. Focusing on nutrient-dense food and keeping carbs low will allow you to automatically keep calories in check, without actively restricting.

With the keto diet, macros are everything. Your body needs a specific ratio of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) in order to sustain ketosis. It is recommended to keep carbs under 20g, hit your protein goal, and eat fat until you’re full.

On a keto diet, it is recommended to keep your carb intake to 5% or less of total calories. This works out to be an average of 30g net carbs a day.

The keto diet follows this standard macro ratio:

5% or fewer calories from carbohydrates

70-80% of calories from healthy fats

20-30% of calories from protein

For example, if you’re consuming 2,000 calories per day to lose weight, your carb, fat, and protein intake would be as follows:

25 grams of carbs or less

156-178 grams of fat

100-150 grams of protein

Keto is not just a fat-burning diet. The way your brain gets energy on a ketogenic diet is one reason it’s so effective for seizures. The brain needs far fewer ketone bodies than it needs glucose molecules. This super-efficient energy means that people on a keto diet often eliminate brain fog and are able to think more clearly.

Frequently asked questions