Keto Macros: How to Calculate and Track Them

If you are new to the keto diet, understanding macros (short for macronutrients) is an important part of successful weight loss.

The standard keto diet is defined as a high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carb diet.

To calculate your keto diet macros and achieve ketosis, you must significantly increase your fat intake to around 75% of your daily calories, eat approximately 20% protein, and drastically restrict carbohydrates to 5% of your daily calories. This article will guide you through understanding macronutrients, calculating your ideal keto macros, tracking and adjusting them for weight loss goals, and providing some tips for successful macro tracking on the ketogenic diet.

Understanding Macronutrients

Macros are the three primary nutrients in food: fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Our food provides macro- and micronutrients, but we mainly focus on the three largest sources of keto. On the ketogenic diet, your macronutrient intake is drastically different from a standard diet. Here's what you need to know about the three main macronutrients—carbs, protein, and fat—when following a keto lifestyle:

Carbohydrates

On keto, your carb intake is limited to 5–10% of your total calories. This typically amounts to 20–30 grams of carbs daily. Until you started your keto diet, carbs were your body's primary energy source. When we limit the intake of carbs to 20 grams, the body triggers a metabolic switch called ketosis. In ketosis, your body starts to break down your own body fat for fuel instead of relying on carbs.

To stay in ketosis, you must avoid carb-rich foods like rice, pasta, and bread and instead focus on low-carb veggies like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other non-starchy options.

On the topic of carbohydrates, you will also hear about net carbs. Net carbs are simply subtracting the fiber and a portion of sugar alcohols from the total carbs.

For example: add

Protein

On keto, you'll consume moderate protein, typically 20–35% of your total calories. Protein is essential for building and repairing tissues, producing hormones and enzymes, and preserving muscle mass during weight loss.

Keto-friendly protein sources include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and cheese.Plant-based options like tofu, tempeh, and low-carb nuts and seeds can also contribute to protein intake, but it is difficult to achieve protein goals with plant-based foods. When I design my clients' meal plans, I usually work on a protein target of 0.7 to 1.3 grams or 1.5–1.8 grams, depending on their goal.

Fat

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat diet, with a total fat-calorie intake of 60–75% from healthy fats. Your fat macro will also depend on your goal, and it needs to be adjusted at different stages of your diet.

Include healthy fats from foods such as avocados, olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish. A contentious topic is saturated fats and the potential risk of high cholesterol levels. The cholesterol myth is old and false, as Dr. Eric Berg explains in his video. Fats from sources like butter, ghee, and coconut oil are great options on your keto diet. Fats are a great energy source and will help you feel more satisfied on the keto diet.

Remember, your specific macronutrient ratios may need to be adjusted based on your individual goals and activity levels, but the premise of the keto diet is that it is low in carbs, and to achieve ketosis, the general daily carb limit is around 20 grams per day.

Calculating Macros for Ketogenic Diet

Using Food Diary Tracking Apps

Tracking your macronutrient intake is essential to staying on track with your keto diet. Many apps, such as Carb Manager, MyFitnessPal, and Cronometer, are popular ways of keeping a food diary and calculating your keto macros. With these apps, you can log your food, scan barcodes, and calculate the macronutrient breakdown of your meals. Carb Manager, for instance, offers features like a keto calculator, macro and calorie tracking, and a nutrition database with over 1 million foods.  MyFitnessPal is one of the oldest and most popular apps.

I personally use Cronometer's Gold version, which integrates with my fitness device and ketone monitoring tool, Keto Mojo.

Calculating Your Keto Macros

Most of these low-carb apps start by creating your profile and your goal. You'll enter details such as age, height, current, and goal weight. Next, some apps will determine your daily calorie needs. On keto, we focus on macros instead of calories, but keeping an eye on your calories is good. Next up will be selecting your activity level. Here are some guidelines on which to choose:

Which Activity Level To Choose

• Sedentary: Typical desk job, little or no exercise, or below 5,000 daily steps.

• Light activity: Select this option when you make at least 10,000 steps a day and exercise for 1–3 hours a week.

• High activity: This option would be if you worked out between 3 – 5 hours a week or did heavy lifting at least three times per week.

Once you have entered all your details, the app or software should calculate your macros for you, and you can start tracking your meals.

Calculating Your Macros: Cronometer Tutorials

If you'd like a more detailed guide on setting up your macros, you can follow along in these two tutorials.

Setting Up Your Cronometer Profile: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/778074564

How to Calculate Fixed Macros in Cronometer: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/778074564

Understanding Net Carbs

Most calculators will provide you with a choice between total or net carbs. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber and a portion of sugar alcohols from the total carb count.

For example, if a food has 10 grams of total carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of sugar alcohols, the net carb count would be:

10 grams (total carbs) and 3 grams (fiber) 1 gram (half of sugar alcohols) = 6 grams (net carbs)

I like to focus on net carbs, as I can better manage my carb intake this way.

Benefits of using a Macro Tracking app:

1. Food diary apps can help you know whether you're hitting your daily macro targets for carbs, protein, and fat.

2. It can help identify areas where you need to make adjustments, such as increasing fat intake or reducing protein.

3. Keeping track of your food intake helps you stay accountable and consistent with your keto meal plan.

It's also important to remember that while hitting your macro targets precisely every day may not be realistic, using an app can help you get as close as possible and make adjustments as needed. Consistently tracking your macros will also help you understand which keto-friendly foods and portions work best for your body.

Monitoring Progress

In addition to tracking your macros, I would encourage anyone to continue to monitor their overall progress. Tracking your weight and body measurements as you start out, as well as your ongoing progress, can be motivating. Cronometer, for example, also offers a section to track your ketone levels, whether you are testing via urine, breath, or blood. It provides visually pleasing graphs to display your progress.

When you track in a food diary app, you have data you can use to see what you have done, what is working, and where you need to make adjustments. Tracking is a key exercise if I am working with my clients one-on-one. It isn't easy to make adjustments and improvements if you don't have any data.

Adjusting Macros

As you progress on your keto journey, you may need to recalculate your macros to avoid weight loss plateaus or to accommodate changes in your activity levels or goals. You may need to recalculate your macros when:

1. After your initial weight loss, transition to a maintenance phase.

2. Weight gain.

3. Changes in your exercise routine or activity levels.

4. Adjusting your goals, such as increasing muscle mass or improving athletic performance.

Tips for Meeting Macronutrient Goals

Protein Sources

In my years of coaching, I have found that most of my female clients do not consume enough protein. On the keto diet, your protein macro may be 20 to 35% of your daily calories.

This is what the macros for a 39-year-old female with moderate physical activity levels may look like:

• Fats: 70% (980 calories) ≈ 109 grams

• Proteins: 25% (350 calories) ≈ 88 grams

• Carbohydrates: 5% (70 calories) ≈ 18 grams

And this is what a typical day's protein intake would look like this:

Two large, free-range eggs contain approximately 12 grams of protein. Typically, 150 grams of rump steak would contain about 46 grams of protein, and 100 grams of cooked chicken breast would contain about 31 grams. All of this protein adds up to 89 grams of protein. Most females consume way less than this.

Free-range or Not

There is a lot of debate on whether you should consume free-range grass-fed meat products. It is expensive, so I always say to do the best with what you have. I don't always buy free-range meats, but I do only buy free-range eggs. Eggs are a perfect protein source for keto because they are complete, easily accessible, and versatile. Free-range eggs contain more omega-3 fatty acids and are higher in vitamins A, E and antioxidants.

As I mentioned earlier, plant-based protein sources like nuts, seeds, and tofu can also be included in a keto diet, but it is a little more difficult as these plant-based proteins contain a lot of carbohydrates.

Fat Sources

A common mistake I have noticed is people overeating fat. When following a keto diet, it's important to consume healthy fats. Butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil are great sources of fat. Dairy, avocados, olives, and nuts are also good sources of fat.

Limiting Carb Intake

For your body to switch to burning ketones, you must restrict your carbs to 20 grams daily. The most obvious carb-heavy foods are bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. Vegetables also contain carbs, but don't be afraid to limit your vegetables; just focus on leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables. Also, watch out for carbs in beverages and other low-carb processed foods.

While hitting your macro targets precisely every day may not be realistic, consistently tracking your macros will help you understand which keto-friendly foods and portions work best for your body. In addition to using a food diary app, you will also learn to read food labels and understand serving sizes.

Conclusion

The ketogenic diet is a highly effective approach for weight loss and improving overall health. Still, its success hinges on understanding your keto macros and how to track them. By understanding the importance of macronutrient ratios and how to calculate your personalized targets, you'll be better equipped to navigate the keto journey. Remember, consistency and patience are key. It may take some time to get used to tracking and finding the right balance of macros that works for your body and goals.

While this guide has provided a comprehensive overview of keto macros, everyone's journey is unique. If you need further assistance calculating your macros or navigating the intricacies of the ketogenic diet, consider booking a quick one-on-one consultation with me.