The best way to calculate your keto diet macros

All you really need now on the keto diet is that fat equals good, carbs equal to bad … no?

If only. The keto diet certainly aims to limit your daily intake of carbohydrates and strengthen the good fats in your diet, but it can get a little more complicated than that, especially if you follow the keto diet up to a T and, you know. , actually counting your keto macros how many grams of carbohydrates, fat and protein you get each day.

TBH, counting your macros is difficult regardless of the diet (mathematics, thrills ??), but it becomes even more complicated when all your diet depends on it (too much carbohydrate and not enough fat does not mean ketosis and less weight loss).

Here's how to break down your keto macros so that you have the best chance of seeing these sugary and sweet results.

So, what are the macros of the keto diet like?

REAL SPEECH: It's hard to quantify percentages or percentages on the keto diet, because there are many different opinions on the "right way to do the keto" and little research to corroborate the different methods, says J. Wesley McWhorter , registered dietitian at UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston. "Keto diets have evolved into a variety of macroscopic levels with ranges of up to 20% carbohydrates, 10 to 30% protein and 50 to 90% fat."

READ MORE: "I did the vegan Keto diet and that's what happened"

Okay, but how does it break down into grams of protein, fat and carbohydrates?

There is a simple equation to help you determine the number of grams of carbohydrates you should eat, for example, on a 1,600-calorie diet a day, but you must first know that:

• Carbohydrates have four calories per gram.
• Fat has nine calories per gram
• The protein has four calories per gram.

Let's also assume you're on a standard 10% carbohydrate keto diet – "low enough to let most people fall into nutritional ketosis," says Amanda Maucere, a graduate nutritionist at the Lung Health Institute in Tampa, Florida – 20 percent protein and 70 percent fat.

Just use these simple equations to determine how many grams of carbohydrate, protein and fat you should aim for:

• Carbohydrates: Calories per day (1,600) x percentage of calories from carbohydrates (0,10) / Number of calories per gram of carbohydrates (4) = 40 grams of carbohydrates per day
• Protein: calories per day (1,600) x percentage of calories from protein (0,20) / Number of calories per gram of protein (4) = 80 grams of protein per day
• Fat: Calories per day (1,600) x percentage of calories from carbohydrates (0,70) / Number of calories per gram in fat (9) = 125 grams of fat per day

Tracking your carbs is probably the most important part of the keto diet – but you can have a little more flexibility with regard to your protein and fat macros.

When it comes to your protein intake, as a general rule, it's best to eat about half of your ideal weight, says Maucere. "For example, if you feel at best at 68 kilos, you would like to eat about 75 grams of protein a day," she says (which, tbh, is very close to the 80 grams of protein you will get from the equation below). above).

The rest of your diet should primarily include fats, but even that varies depending on your energy needs, says Maucere. "In general, I tell my patients to eat enough fat to feel full between meals," she adds. For some, this could mean a lot less than the 125 grams of fat per day calculated above.

READ MORE: 10 Keto-Friendly vegetables that are incredibly low in carbohydrates

That's … a lot of maths. Is there an easier way to keep track of this?

I understood; Counting all these grams and percentages can be a bit daunting (no one said that there would be no mathematical calculations in this part of the test!). You can try applications like Cron-o-meter (the favorite of Maucere), old school notebooks, etc. But remember, "The best method of tracking macros is always the one you can use and keep up to," says Jen Oikarinen, a registered dietitian and dietician at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix.

If counting is not really your jam, you can also look at your macros: "A typical keto plate would have a meat portion the size of a palm, one or two handfuls of vegetables and the amount of fat you need to reach satiety, "says Maucere. To find out what satiety looks like, she suggests starting with one or two servings of fat the size of an inch. "Thus, a meal can look like a small piece of steak with a good serving of green beans and chopped nuts."

Of course, it's even more important than counting your keto macros, according to McWhorter, to pay attention to the quality of the foods you put in your body. "Even if you reach your" macro goals ", but you do not include fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, you may have problems." Do not forget that all these food groups are high in fiber and beneficial. in the fight against diabetes, cardiovascular disease and the promotion of satiety and weight control.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

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