How to Count Your Macros on a Keto Diet

How to Count Your Macros on a Keto Diet

Do you know about macros? If you love dieting like Keto, you came across the term ‘macros’ many times. This term is frequently thrown up by ketoers when they advise to new learners.

I’ll tell you what this term is and why dietitian uses it often in Keto diet plans.

The term ‘macros’ is a short form of macro nutrients; now, what a macronutrient does?

Fairly straightforward, yet meaning full question, Macronutrients are energy elements of food that act to fuel our body.  They came from protein, carbohydrates and fat and meant a whole lot of dietary calories for you.

If you are new on a Keto diet, it is integral to learn what the significance of macros is, and how you need the right balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein.

It is crucial because fat taken from a diet, goes and stay in ketosis and prepare your body to act as a fat burner.

Usually, any diet plan offers you maintain your diet and thrive at ultimate weight loss goal, and that counts average level of macros.

It is good to emphasize here that Keto diet is a flexible eating approach that goes long term and help you achieve your fitness goals.

How To Count Macros (Macro-nutrients)?

Here the information given is pretty straightforward and easy, best for newbies, however refreshing for ongoing Keto diet. Macro-nutrients, mainly fall into three categories, as pointed above,

• Protein
• Carbohydrates
• Fats

This caloric content of food is not difficult to determine. The simple breakdown is as follows:

• fat 1g = 09 calories
• carbohydrates 1g = 04 calories
• protein 1g  = 04 calories

What matters most is, what kind of calories you intake, not how many. Sticking a set limit of calorie content, without knowing the worth of calories is useless.

Ditching your calorie count would ‘not work anymore, particularly for starters, “let yourself be free and eat out other than boring stuff’’, for eating what you won’t like will end up your deficiency in calories and craving arises.

Protein

Famous is the notion; good quantity protein will build up your muscles, or preserve your muscles.

Besides, it has many functions; it controls your appetite, makes you feel full, and serve hunger better than fats. However, it needs high energy level as compared to other macros to work with digestion and burning more calories to aid this process. This is why protein diets work great for shedding fat.

Now, the question striking your mind is what the sources of protein are? To cover that, you can go to informational piece of grocery list on Keto diet.

Moreover, fish, meat, eggs, beans and dairy are excellent sources.  For instance, almond has only 14% protein with 73% fats, needless to say, a terrible source of macros.

How Much Your Body Needs?

It is an entirely dependent on your body-fat, weight and your goals. The lower limit of lean body mass a day is 0.5 g/pounds, and an upper limit is 1.5-2 g/pounds, again depending on the bodily needs and conditions.

Lean body mass is less your total body weight, for instance, consider you weigh 150 pounds and your body fat is 15%, your lean body mass is equal to 127 lbs, i.e. 150-(150 *15%)

Now, you weigh 150 pounds, and your lean body mass is 127 lbs, per day 0.5-gram means, 127*0.5 = 63 g protein.

Carbohydrate

This main food item is glycogen, stored in brain, liver, muscles and blood and mainly serves for energy. Again, if you are stumbling where to get this, find out the complete list of grocery on Keto diet.

If you have gone through a low-carb diet, you would have craved for processed food, drinks and snacks. It is available in grains, vegetables, and fruits.

How Much Your Body Needs?

On a Keto diet, you are going to live on less and less carbs, yet bodybuilders and athletes consume more than 700 grams a day so that you may vary its quantity.

The prudent range is 0.5-2 grams a day as per lean body mass, though it depends on height, weight, a percentage of body-fat and fitness goals.

Fat

Everyone knows fat is the essential requirement of our body. Organs need this to live as it aids in the absorption of vitamins, complex substances, regulation of hormones and brain functioning.

How Much Your Body Needs?

Sources of fats are numerous, such as dairy products, milk, yoghurt, cheese, oils, meat and fatty fish. Depending on physical conditions, one can decide, how much you need.

The main factors that determine are body fat, weight and fitness goals. It should be 15-45% of daily needs but solely depends on the calorie consumption, for sometimes the body is in the calorie deficit or surplus state. The best range of fats lies between 0.35 to 0.7 grams per pound.

How To Manage Macros?

Managing macros in daily life is important. Food packs come with nutritional labels. It is wise to take 20 seconds and have a look at the label, count your macros and go for desired range.

What matters’ gazing at the label is to find out what’s important, for many nonsense labeling you can skip, focusing on what you need.

Next, comes the serving size, in some products, more than 2-3 servings are available in packing, for instance, in a mountain dew bottle,

Macros listed as:

• Protein = 0g
• Fat = 0g
• Carbohydrate = 31g

Still, there is 2.5 serving in one packing? Seems strange, that means macros in this drink are:

• Protein = 0g (0*2.5)
• Fat = 0g (0*2.5)
• Carbs = 78g (78*2.5)

This means 31g sugar and 110 calories, will you caught in such brainless activity?? Decide yourself.

Bottom Line

Don’t count calories because all calories belong to protein, carb and fats while micro nutrients do not possess them. 

Saturated fats harm heart health, and a leading cause of obesity is not good to count. However, they help brain functioning, immunity boosting and signalling nerves.

Cholesterol is also a type of saturated fatty acid, so don’t count this either, in macros. Importantly, avoid high sodium foods, for it causes high blood pressure.

When it comes to counting sugar, a carbohydrate, better replace it with natural sugar, fruits and veggies. However, you can reach your macros limit by mixing some desserts with natural foods.

Another worth mentioning point here is, is this limit goes for males or females? Both have different bodily needs, and the quantity of macros vary for both. Keto diet is around for a few decades, but a surge in its popularity is seen as an ultra low carb eating festival.