How much do I eat?

One important part of eating a keto lifestyle is to know what macros you’re aiming for. There are many different ways that people calculate their macros. Below is my favorite way to calculate protein. I find that some of the online macro calculators allow for too much protein. Too much protein can stall your progress (more on this in a future article).

This protein calculation is based on an estimation of your ideal body weight and so it is based on your height.

Calculating protein macros for keto

For females:

45.5 grams for 5 foot tall

Add 2.3 grams for each inch over 5 foot

(subtract 2.3 grams for each inch under 5 foot)

For males:

50 grams for 5 foot tall

Add 2.3 grams for each inch over 5 foot

(subtract 2.3 grams for each inch under 5 foot)

Example – For a 5’2” female

45.5 + (2.3 x 2) = 45.5 + 4.6 = 50.1 grams of protein per day

Carbohydrates

You will aim for 20 grams or less of carbohydrates. Especially starting out. Later you can experiment with how many carbs you can handle without getting kicked out of ketosis. Most of your carbohydrates will come from low carbohydrate vegetables. These contain so many important nutrients so yes, eat your veggies. There are two ways to count carbs. The first is total carbs and the second way is net carbs. Net carbs are calculated from subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from total carbs. To start out with I recommend that you just stick with total carbs until you get the hang of this.

Fat

Now comes the easy part. You will eat fat to satiety. Aim for eating at least as much fat as protein but on most days aim for twice the amount of fat.

I am 5’7”. My macros are 20g carbs, 64g protein and 152g fat. I am pretty good bout keeping my total carbs under 20 and I usually get close to my protein goal. My fat usually comes in around 100 grams because I’m just not hungry after that point.

You don’t need to stress over calories. I’m not going to go into detail here – that will be the subject of another post. Just trust me. Stay under 20 grams of carbohydrates, get close to your protein goal, and eat fat to satiety. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. You won’t go into “starvation mode.” Your body will begin to use your stored body fat for energy as it was designed to do. That’s the beauty of this whole way of eating.