Keto, Low Carb, & Macros
Ketosis is such a buzzword being thrown around nowadays. But do you really know what it means?
The Ketogenic Macro Distribution
If you’re looking at the totality of your calories in a macronutrient distribution, 5% of your calories come from carbohydrates. That’s about 25 grams a day equivalent to eating a medium apple in a day. Fat makes up 80% of your diet and proteins are somewhere in the 10% to 15% range. In contrast to someone just following a low carb lifestyle, their carb intake is around 5% to 10%.
Is carbohydrate the enemy then? Not really.
What Happens During Ketogenesis
As we eat food, specifically carbohydrates, our glucose levels rise and our body turns that into glycogen, which is the source of energy that our body relies on for the majority of its function and physical activity.
Now, when you deplete or restrict or remove carbohydrates for an extended period of time, such that your stores of glycogen that have built up over time are depleted, your body then has nothing to produce glycogen from. It has no glucose in its system to produce glycogen.
As a result, your body starts to seek out fats, either from the food you consume or from stored energy. It then converts fat into ketone bodies, which are in and of themselves a very high-quality fuel source.
Things to think about when you’re on a keto or low carb diet:
- Complete the process.
If you’re not eating enough carbohydrates to have quality fuel, and at the same time, you’re also not restricting carbohydrates enough to be in ketosis, you could find yourself in the middle space. When you don’t have enough carbs and you’re not producing enough ketones, you will just feel funky, you won’t perform well in your workouts, and you won’t have cognitive clarity.
- Transition slowly.
Once you’ve reduced body fat levels after a highly aggressive, restrictive elimination type of diet, make sure to transition slowly. Add carbohydrates back in at a slow rate to let your body adapt without any immediate response.
- Focus on quality.
Think avocado, salmon, nuts, whole eggs, and some red meat here and there.
- Don’t forget your proteins.
If you’re in too much of a calorie deficit on keto, your body does take into account utilizing some amino acid/proteins/muscle for fuel because again, you’ve removed glycogen. The last thing you want is to deplete your lean muscles by being in too much of a deficit.
At the end of the day, you have to be consistent with whatever approach you take, commit to the process, learn the ins and outs, learn the risks and the benefits, and make that decision.
If you want to learn more about keto, low carb, and macros, check out https://workwithdrtiff.com/episode-007.
