Here’s a quick example of your daily macronutrient breakdown on a keto diet when eating about 2000 calories per day:Īgain, the total calories you consume isn’t as much of a concern as keeping your macros in check. Try an app that will help you keep your ratios clear, and focus on meal planning whenever possible. If this feels somewhat overwhelming, don’t worry - there are ways to track your macros as you eat throughout the day. Your eating patterns and body’s natural hunger signals will auto-correct. Keep carbs under 20g, hit your protein goal, and eat fat until you’re full.Īt first, you may be overeating calories, but overtime, the keto diet will auto correct that. For most people this figure should be north of 70 percent of daily calories. Fat is what makes you full, gives you energy (when in ketosis), and makes food taste delicious. It’s easy to get caught up on the “low-carb” part of the diet and not give enough attention to the “high-fat” part. That means your daily protein should be between 105 grams and 175 grams.

Moderate protein is between 0.6 and 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.Īs an example, if you weigh 250 pounds with 30% body fat that means you have 75 pounds of fat and 175 pounds of lean mass. Look to hit your protein target each day without exceeding it by much. To properly shift your body over to using fat for fuel, protein needs to be kept moderate. When removing carbs from the diet, it is easy to replace them with protein, but eating a high protein diet does not promote a state of ketosis. We count net carbs because dietary fiber does not have a significant metabolic effect, meaning it doesn’t spike blood sugar levels. That would mean one cup of broccoli has 3.6g of net carbs. This calculation is pretty straightforward: Net Carbs = Total Carbs – Fiber.įor example, one cup of broccoli has 6g of total carbs and 2.4g of fiber. Net carb intake is what you should track when following a ketogenic diet. A good ratio to go by is 1.5g net carbs per 100 calories. When getting started, less than 20g daily is recommended. Total Carbs or Net Carbs?Ĭarbs should make up less than 5% of your caloric intake. Put simply, your body needs a specific ratio of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) in order to sustain ketosis. With the keto diet, macros are everything. Focusing on nutrient dense food, and keeping carbs low will allow you to automatically keep calories in check, without actively restricting. Weight loss has revolved around counting calories for the last 50+ years and it hasn’t worked very well. In fact, you should be able to lose weight while in ketosis without ever counting calories. Keto isn’t like a standard calories-in, calories-out diet.

Not only did this diet work exceptionally well in reducing seizures, it unexpectedly brought about rapid weight loss. – Chela LeBlanc, ketogenic diet has its roots in the 1920s, when it was used to treat refractory epilepsy in children that wasn’t cured by medication. Knowing I can do that is really powerful and I like having that control.” It’s about manipulating my macros to optimize the way I feel.

“Food is no longer about weight loss, it’s about my energy levels and mood.

Percentages for keto