How many carbs should I eat per day if I am on a keto diet?
This is a very frequent question we are going to respond here. This post also includes information regarding keto diet food list, fundamental information on keto diet, and the most frequent mistakes people make when starting a ketogenic diet.
How many carbohydrates should I consume per day on a ketogenic diet? It depends on several aspects, like how you respond to a keto diet. The perfect amount of carb on a keto diet depends on each person. Some people achieve ketosis and stay there by consuming just 60 grams of total carb per day, while others need to stay around 20-30 grams of carb per day.
Also, it depends on your lifestyle. Your experience with keto diets, the amount of exercise you do on a daily basis, and your keto goals are other variables we need to consider for that matter.
Remember: The keto program recommends a diet that is low on carbs, moderate on protein and high in fat. The idea is to fine-tune nutritional intake in order to send the body into the metabolic state known as ketosis.
How Low Carb is Keto?
Again, the answer depends on you as an individuals and your goals. As a rule of thumb, the fewer the carbs, the greater the impact on weight loss and reduction of hunger and cravings.
Keto low carb is considered less than 20 grams of carb per day, while moderate low carb is between 20 and 50 g per day, and liberal low carb is between 50 and 100 g per day.
Remember: The most effective keto diet, and probably the healthiest, is the one that is based on real food.
Which Carbs Can You Consume On Keto?
One of the basic principles of the ketogenic diet is keeping carbohydrate intake at a very low levels. This way, your body will start using fat as a source of energy instead of relying on the glucose carbohydrates provide.
In principle, most ketogenic diets recommend to stay 5 – 10% of total calories coming from carbs, which is about 15-30 grams of net carbohydrates per day.
What are Net Carbs?
Net carbs, also known as digestible carbs or impact carbs, are those absorbed by the body. During digestion, most carbs are broken down into individual sugar units. However, there are carbs that are not absorbed, or are only partially absorbed. Among those we have fibers and sugar alcohols. Because of this, fiber and sugar alcohols are substracted from total carbs when calculating net carbs.
Remember: Net carbohydrates = Total carbohydrates – fiber – sugar alcohol
If you’re a very active person who exercises 4 to 5 times a week, you can consume more carbohydrates without any repercussions. But if you live a sedentary lifestyle and are overweight, we encourage you to keep carb intake as low as possible.
How Many Calories in Total?
To encourage your body to enter ketosis, the ideal caloric intake can be broken down into:
- 70-75% fat
- 20-25% protein
- 5% carbs
One gram of fat provides 9 calories, while one gram of carbs and proteins provide 4 calories each. If you need about 1400 calories per day to lose weight at a rate of about one pound per week, the you need 108 grams of fats, 22 grams of net carbs, and 81 grams of proteins.
What’s the Composition of What Someone Ate Yesterday?
As an example, let’s see what percentage of carbs, fats and proteins an random person not following any diet is eating. Some of the results may surprise you:
| Food | Fats (g) | Proteins (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almond milk | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Bran muffin | 6 | 3 | 30 |
| Cheerios | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| Apple | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Broccoli | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Hard boiled egg | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Chicken | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Feta cheese | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| Olive oil | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Dark chocolate | 9 | 0 | 17 |
| Beer | 0 | 1 | 11 |
Keto Diet Food List
Here you have a list of foods for your keto diet you can easily find at the supermarket. Keto grocery shopping has never been easier:
Produce: Avocados, asparagus, lettuce, spinach, turnip, zucchini, tomatoes, kale, collard, artichokes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, raspberries, blackberries.
Seafood, fish, and meat: Chicken, lamb, pork, beef, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, fatty fish and white fish, crab, lobster, mussels, octopus, oysters, scallops, shrimp, and squid.
Deli: corned beef, ham, pancetta, pastrami, prosciutto, roast beef, speck, turkey, salame, chorizo, pepperoni, sliced cheese, prepared salads (chicken, tuna, egg).
Most Frequent Low-Carb Mistakes
Eating too many carbs: If you want to get into ketosis and reap the full metabolic benefits of low-carb diets, going under 50 grams of carbs per day may be necessary.
Eating too few carbs: To maintain a healthy diet while going low-carb, ensure you’re getting a healthy amount of all the macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbs). Low-carb does not mean no-carb.
Eating too much protein: Excessive protein consumption on a low-carb diet can prevent you from getting into ketosis.
Overeating “allowed” foods: Overdoing it on meat and cheese has its own health risks and may lead to weight gain, as these foods contain a lot of calories.
Being afraid of eating fat: A very-low-carb diet must be high in fat. Otherwise, you won’t get enough energy or nutrition to sustain yourself.
Skipping vegetables: As a rule, half your plate (or more) should be filled with vegetables.
Not replenishing sodium: Low-carb diets lower insulin levels, making your kidneys excrete excess sodium. This can lead to a mild sodium deficiency.
Avoiding fat: Try having half an avocado with your eggs at breakfast and dress your salads with olive oil-based dressings.
Forgetting fiber: Adequate fiber helps prevent gastrointestinal disturbances, such as constipation and bloating, you might experience when you first start cutting out high-carbohydrate, high-fiber foods.
Not exercising: When you first start eating low-carb, the loss of weight (and water weight) might make you feel as though exercise is unnecessary. To achieve the results you want, and maintain them long term, you’ll need to get active rather than staying sedentary.
Quitting too soon: On a low-carb diet, it can take a few days to overcome unpleasant symptoms and several weeks for full adaptation. It is important to be patient and not abandon your diet too soon.
In Summary…
In summary, the keto diet is considered one of the best programs for losing weight, apart from other beneficial effects it provides. However, there are plenty of things to take care of when embarking into a keto diet. As you see, there are potential issues like lack of clarity of what to eat or not, how many carbs are in a specific food, how to adapt the diet to our specific lifestyle, and so on. A specialized diet like this is not 100% free of side effects either.
” I just need a tool (hoping this is it), that tells me how much of something I can eat and lose weight. The complexity of Carbs, Net Carbs, Macros, Calories, etc are so confusing…its a full time job. Is there a spot on this tool that if I input my height and weight and my weight goal, they can tell me how much of XX I can eat, etc?”
I’ve got you covered. What if I tell you that I found a system which provides a custom meal plan service designed to help men and women all over the world turn their lives around and take charge of their health and figure?
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This system, or program, uses scientific research and proven studies to create personalized ketogenic diet plans that maximize fat burning via the correct calories and macronutrients for each individual.
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The content in this article is not medical advice and is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always talk to your doctor before changing your diet.
