Most people on any low-carb diet, and especially a keto diet, should get at least a rough idea of their goals and limits for macronutrients, namely carbohydrates, fat, protein, and calories. A tool like the free keto macros calculator can help a lot. Like all such tools, it has the shortcomings of only factoring in body weight, body fat, age, height, and gender.
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Two people with exactly the same numbers may have very different metabolisms, activity levels, and goals. For instance, many people start their keto journey to lose weight. However, some find it helps them control health conditions, build muscles, or even gain weight. This quick guide to understanding your macros can help you interpret and adjust your nutritional numbers.
What Are Keto Macros?
The macros to consider include calories, fat, protein, and of course, carbohydrates. View or your results in an online keto macros calculator in light of your new understanding of nutritional macros.
Calories
Calories are a LIMIT
Some people assume they don’t need to count calories on a keto or low-carbohydrate diet. That’s not really true. While restricting carbs can help a lot with controlling hormones and appetite, they don’t invalidate the Second Law of Thermodynamics. If you consume too much energy, your body won’t see any reason to use up stored fat. It will just use what you’re eating because it’s easier.
On the other hand, if you don’t eat enough, you may feel hungry. Some people don’t feel that hungry after they’ve adapted to using fat for energy. They actually feel like they’ve got to force themselves to consume enough calories. For most people who are trying to lose weight, that sounds like a good problem to have.
Protein
Protein is a GOAL
Protein, the building block of our body, should be the last thing to sacrifice in an effort to lose weight. A lot of people consider fat the main macro to watch on a keto diet. However, you will see in the section on fat, that it’s considered a “lever” and for most people, should be considered a limit.
Not everybody agrees with the protein calculation on the macro calculator, and that’s OK! Protein helps keep us from losing muscles as well as to develop more muscle mass. It’s also used in metabolic processes that help us burn stored fat for energy. Perhaps, most important, many people find protein helps satiate them and cut cravings. Go ahead and adjust your protein for your goals, but you probably want to be careful to at least meet your goal every day.
Fat
Fat is a LIMIT and a LEVER
Fat, the macro that makes food taste delicious, also helps us feel satiated. Lots of people love keto dieting because they can enjoy generous servings of butter, meat, and even creamy sauces and soups. However, each gram of fat contains over twice as many calories as protein. Thus, we call fat a level because we can adjust it to balance satiety vs. calories.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are a LIMIT
Like fat, carbohydrate consumption should serve as a limit. Strict keto diets may limit carbs to 20 grams a day because that’s the level when almost everybody can achieve ketosis after a few days. However, many people find they can get away with twice or even three times that much and still achieve their goals.
In Dr. Atkins original diet book, he suggested starting with 20 grams for a couple of weeks and then experimenting to see if you can increase it a bit. Some people can’t, especially sedentary ones. Others can achieve weight-loss or other goals with 60 grams or even more. Mostly, carbs tend to make a lot of people who struggle with their weight also struggle with carb cravings. After strictly reducing carbohydrates, many people are delighted to find their cravings disappear.
Is the Keto Macros Calculator Accurate?
Again, even two people of the same height, weight, and age will have different activity levels, preferences, goals, and metabolisms. These online macro calculators offer an excellent place to start, but as you get more in tune with your needs, you may adjust the counts. Also, if you lose or gain weight, don’t forget to come back to check your macros again. Of course, they will change over time, just like you’re growing and changing each day.
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