Macro #3: Protein.
Through complex biological processes, proteins are broken down into amino acids. These amino acids break down into further compounds and become the basic building tools our body needs to repair itself after the strain of daily life (or hard workouts.) Amino acids facilitate connections between neurons in our body and brain. Ingest an overt amount of protein and it becomes stored as glucose which, as weve seen already, is sugar that the body will then rely on for energy.
Macro Counting
Counting macros is a complex task. You can get into number-crunching macros in detail on any number of free websites, which will guide you through the calculations. Keeping track of your macros is an important part of committing to a ketogenic diet, because macros are essentially what will keep you in (or out) of ketosis.
Accurately Counting Carbs
While calculating macros can get tricky, calculating net carbs is easy and will help you stay in ketosis. In unscientific terms, carbs have two parts: the part that breaks down into glucose (which you dont want), and the part thats fiber (which you do want). So when calculating carbs for their net value, subtract fiber from the total carbs. For example, if a food item has 15 carbs but 10 of them are fiber, then net carbs are only 5.
But What If
You suddenly stop losing weight? Not just for that erratic week or two we mentioned earlier. What if youre stuck after a month, and just not seeing any more numbers moving? First of all, remember that the numbers arent fully reliable, so you may want to use a tape measure to check inch loss. That could be wholly different from what youre seeing on the scale, given that size loss doesnt always equal weight loss.
If its been longer than a month and youre absolutely sure youve plateaued, dont start reducing immediately. Thats right. Dont. Your body just figured out how to work with this new regime and is efficiently burning calories. If you cut back, you may confuse things all over again. Try other alternatives before you decide to revise your caloric intake. For instance, try logging your foods for a few days, to make sure extra carbs and sugar arent sneaking in. Its easy to slip back into old habits, so you may have fallen out of the ketogenic diet without noticing. Check your macros, to make sure theyre in balance. Rearrange the number of calories you eat in a given time period, so maybe youre eating the bulk of your calories in the morning and at lunch, and minimal calories for dinner, just for a few days to rev things up again. Amp up your exercise. HIIT is outstanding for building endurance, which helps your body learn to better process glucose. Be patient and you should start to see a change before long. Dont give up and go back to the habits you had before going ketogenic. This diet is proven to work. You just have to stick to it consistently and with the awareness that sometimes there will be natural stalls in the overall movement toward weight loss and health.
Using the Keto Calculator
You can make use of the keto calculator to figure out what you need to eat every day, below is an explanation of each element required to use the calculator. Estimated body fat %, estimated calorie expenditure, and desired approach to macros.
First, youre going to need to put your measurements into the calculator and your total body fat percentage. If unsure of your body fat percentage, then you can visually estimate the amount of body fat you have.
Estimating Body Fat
Body fat can be simply estimated using a body fat calculator estimator, using calipers, or estimating based on the descriptions below.
59% Body Fat
For men who have 59% body fat, muscles will show noticeably with clear definition and clear vascularity in muscles. The essential body fat for men is 2%-5%.
It is not healthy for women to have less than 10%-13% body fat.
1014%
Men who are between 1014% body fat will have a separation amongst muscles, but not in all muscles. The veins will mostly show on their arms and sometimes their legs.
Women are usually in this body fat range if are competitive athletes. The essential body fat for a woman is 10%-13% while its 2%-5% for men. This is the range for bodybuilders, both women and men, are seen in, but its not considered healthy for long-term. Muscles will be clearly distinct and divided for women, and vascularity is obvious over the entire body.
1519%
Men who are in this range will have a lean look with less muscle visibility and vascularity. The definition of their muscles recedes and there isnt a clear separation between muscles. Most of the vascularity are gone, but some will be seen on the arms.