If you are new to keto, you may be wondering what this ‘macro’ stuff is all about. It’s thrown around everywhere by keto’ers giving advice to newbies:
“If it fits your macros,”
“track those macros,”
“your macros may be off."
I admit I do it all the time too. I recently conducted a poll in my Intentionally Bare Keto facebook group, asking how many people do not know what macros are; surprisingly, 40% said they did not. This can be very confusing for people just starting on keto, so here is a little ‘Macro’s 101’ so you can start saying ‘IIFYM’s’ (if it fits your macro’s) like a BOSS!
The term “macros” is short for macronutrient in the context of nutrition and the keto diet. Macronutrients are the energy-giving components of food that fuels our body. They include carbohydrates, protein, and fat; this is where your dietary calories come from.
Calculating your macro ratio is vital for the keto diet because you need to find the right balance of carbs, protein, and fats to get into ketosis, stay in ketosis, and turn your body into a fat burning machine.
Understanding Keto Diet Macros
Generally, the keto diet macros vary within the following ranges: 60-75% of calories from fat (or even more), 15-30% of calories from protein, and 5-10% of calories from carbs.
This will vary from person to person, and also depending on what you are doing (regular keto, intermittent fasting, fat fasting, etc.).
Using a keto calculator really helps. Here is a website for a good free one, but I also have a keto app on my phone (I like the Keto Diet app, it’s blue) so I can track my daily macros right on my phone. It's super easy to use too:
https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com
There is a very large demographic of keto peeps that do’ freestyle keto’ or ‘lazy keto.’ Truthfully, this is me 90% of the time. I usually have a fatty coffee for breakfast, one for lunch, and then a regular keto dinner. Weekends I freestyle a little more, and I am still losing weight and feeling great.
I revert back to tracking my macro’s when my weight loss has stalled, or I am not feeling as energetic as usual. That drop in energy tells me that something is off and I use the macro calculator to get back on track.
You also need to ‘tweak’ your macro’s from time to time. Say after losing 10 lbs, or if you find your weight loss is not going as well as you would like.
If your carb and protein macros are too high, or your fat macros are too low, you may find that weight loss slows down or you may experience no weight loss. Each person is different! The more carb sensitive you are, the lower your carb and protein macro’s need to be. So use the macro calculator as a jumping off point, but don’t be scared to do experiments on yourself. Track what you’re doing, adjust the macros if necessary and see if you get improved results.
Are you still confused by macros? I would love the chance to answer your questions! Stop on by my Facebook group to learn more about how macros can impact your diet!
You got this!
Leta ~ Intentionally Bare
DISCLAIMER: The information in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only. The content in here is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or heard here.
