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What Are Keto Macros?

How Do I Calculate Them On Keto?

MACROS, What Are They?

"Macros" is a short form of "Macro Nutrients" in other words the overall Nutrients that provide us with energy.  When talking about KETO and the Keto diet, we use Macros to refer to 3 main Macro Nutrients namely:

1. Carbohydrates (Carbs)

2. Protein

3. Fat

When we talk about watching our macros we mean, watching everything we eat and calculating how much Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat are in Everything we eat and drink, then making sure the ratio of each one is correct.

For our body to get and stay in ketosis we need to make sure that our Macros are in the correct ratio. And this can be slightly different for each person. So someone may be able to eat more carbs, and still be in Ketosis, while someone else needs to have less.

The most important Macros we need to look at are #1 Carbohydrates and #3 Fat. In general if we keep our carb intake low enough, and our Fat high enough we will be able to get into and stay in ketosis.  

The generallly accepted ratio of CARBS : PROTEIN : FAT is 5% : 20% : 75%

In addition to this ratio it is also important to keep the carbohydrate intake below 20gms of Carbs (Some people require less and some more but this is a good rule of thumb), and make sure that the the largest proportion of the calories come from fat.

(Definitely not Protein, as it can possibly lead to our body metabolising protein instead of fat, and that is were we lose muscle mass).

So how do we calculate our Macros?

Well the easiest way is to use a tool like Carb Manager, which can be downloaded from the App store, or accessed via their website. They have a build in Macro Calculator, and this is certainly one of the easier ways to keep track.

Enter all the foods you consume in there. Usually by quantity or weight, and then i will churn out all the Macro details from the meal. It will also save them and keep track of them each day if you want. So it's possible to record and adjust your intake of macros accordingly.

Pro Tip: If you want to be on the ketogenic diet, make sure to set your macro ratio before you start, so that it will be giving you correct figures.

There are also numerous recipes to be found which will tell you the carb quantity, so you can calculate and keep track of your macros daily to make sure you are keeping within the limits.

Potential Macro Counting Pitfalls

Although it may seem pretty straightforward to calculate and count your macros, it can be difficult to really know what you are eating when you eat packaged products or even restaurant meals.

Make sure you look at the nutrition labels

You really need to know what the Total Carbohydrates, Total Fat, and Protein are. In this case you can see:

Total Fat = 12g

Total Carbohydrates = 31g

Total Protein = 5g

Which means it is totally KETO UNFRIENDLY, and you probably should put this product (Whatever it is) Far away from you. Only one serving would put you over the edge and probably either knock you out of ketosis or stop you getting there.

Look out for Hidden Sugars

Sugar has so many names these days. Things that look ok, can have things like Maltodextrin, or Sucrose, or other fancy names that look like sugar.

virahealth.com lists 56 hidden names for sugar which I have listed below for your reference.

‍Basic Simple Sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides):

Dextrose
Fructose
Galactose
Glucose
Lactose
Maltose
Sucrose

Solid or Granulated Sugars:

Beet sugar
Brown sugar
Cane juice crystals
Cane sugar
Castor sugar
Coconut sugar
Confectioner's sugar (aka, powdered sugar)
Corn syrup solids
Crystalline fructose
Date sugar
Demerara sugar
Dextrin
Diastatic malt
Ethyl maltol
Florida crystals
Golden sugar
Glucose syrup solids
Grape sugar
Icing sugar
Maltodextrin
Muscovado sugar
Panela sugar
Raw sugar
Sugar (granulated or table)
Sucanat
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar

Liquid or Syrup Sugars:

Agave Nectar/Syrup
Barley malt
Blackstrap molasses
Brown rice syrup
Buttered sugar/buttercream
Caramel
Carob syrup
Corn syrup
Evaporated cane juice
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Golden syrup
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
Honey
Invert sugar
Malt syrup
Maple syrup
Molasses
Rice syrup
Refiner's syrup
Sorghum syrup
Treacle

Eat Healthy High Quality Fats and Other Foods

No matter what diet you are on you should always try to eat the best quality foods. Organic Vegetables, Grass Fed Meat, and Healthy oils with OMEGA 3's etc should be taken rather than just substituting for fast food which keeps your Macros in line, but doesn't consider your health properly. You do still need to get enough fibre and nutrition in your diet and remember the old saying Garbage in Garbage out. You want to make sure you are eating right even if you are doing KETO.

One of the keys to Keto is getting your macros right, and you need to avoid the pitfalls. Of course there are some clever people out there, like the inventor of Speed Keto, who went and did all the recipes and calculation for you if you are getting fed up trying to keep track of everything, so you might want to check that out. Also you can find out more about Keto by checking out the other articles on our site, or scrolling down and joining our facebook group where you can be supported by other people doing keto and get lots of great recipes and information.

Happy Ketoing!