Let's Talk Macros

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, trainer, or any other kind of professional in regards to a ketogenic diet. Everything you read below is based on my personal research and opinions.

We’ve all heard of counting calories and before I get into the rest, for ME, I have found this to be almost as important as counting carbs.  But I get ahead of myself.  The macros are carbs, calories, protein, and fat.  ALL of them are important.  I am not a nutritionist and only know what worked for me so you need to figure out your macros on your own.  There are many websites that will help you calculate your goals.  Just search “macro calculator for keto” and you’ll find several options.

First and foremost, you need to watch your carbs.  If you’re aiming for 20-30 carbs, that’s probably a good start.  I started there and it worked well for me.  As I got further into it, I dropped and most days am well under that but it’s not necessary to do that.  The goal is to get your body into ketosis.  Again, I am not a nutritionist and don’t truly understand all the science behind it but you can find all the explanations you want online if you search.  What I do know is that when in ketosis, your body is burning fat at a higher rate.  Here’s a pretty good explanation (https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ketosis).

Most resources are going to tell you to also reach for your protein and fat goals to ensure you’re getting the right nutrition.  I am sure that is important.  In fact, fat is of great concern because that is what keeps you full!  Yes - FAT IS GOOD!  It just needs to be healthy fats.  I can’t tell you how happy this made me.  I do not buy ANY low fat or fat free products anymore.  Full fat sour cream, full fat Ranch dressing, I even use heavy whipping cream is some of my recipes!  FAT IS GOOD!  But do your research and make sure you don’t overdo it.  

Let’s talk about calories.  When on a low carb diet you’re naturally going to consume fewer calories.  But because you’re also eating a lot of fat when on keto, you could easily consume more calories than you realize.  I did when I first started this way of eating.  I wasn’t losing weight consistently so I started looking really hard for patterns and problems.  I recorded everything on My Fitness Pal so it was pretty easy to analyze the data.  What I found was that my calories were all over the place.  So I reduced them.  Again, you have to make a choice for yourself based on your health.  I found a number I was happy with and started planning out my entire day of food BEFORE that day.  This helped me control all my macros much more easily.  Counting calories was what helped me truly feel like I had control over the whole process and I started seeing a more consistent weight loss week after week.  The science is simple, the more calories you burn, the fewer calories you consume, the more fat you burn.  If you consume 1200 calories a day but you burn 2000, that’s a deficit of 800 calories.  One pound equals about 3500 calories.  You can do the rest of the math.  My goal was to lose 2-4 pounds a week and most weeks when I still had a lot to lose, I did it.  But not until I started paying attention to those calories.  As I progressed, the amount lost per week did slow down but that’s normal.