Editor’s note: It has come to our attention that many people have read this piece and assume the fat to protein ratios listed here are the set in stone, beginning and ending of all things Keto. It imperative that you understand that we here at Ketovangelist are in the business of giving general guidelines, but we cannot calculate the ideal macros for everyone in one, solitary post. The guidelines below are intended to give you a place to begin. You have to do the work of tweaking your macros to meet your individual needs. For further clarification, please see the post Running on Empty. If you’re still confused and need help figuring out your macros, please consider the Macros Evaluation available through our coaching services.
Macros? What kind of alien planet have you landed on, and what language are we speaking? Here you were thinking this Keto thing was supposed to be simple and people are talking about MATH?
I hope this might go some way to explaining what we’re going on about.
Macros is short for Macronutrients, which is the basic breakdown of the food we eat.
There are MACROnutrients which are Protein, Fat, Carbohydrates, and then there are MICROnutrients which are the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, sugars and other things we get from our food.
A Ketogenic Lifestyle concentrates on changing the body’s fuel system from burning carbohydrates as primary fuel to burning fat as primary fuel and allowing the body to utilise its most effective fueling mechanism, ketogenesis: the process of utilizing stored body fat to produce ketone bodies for energy.
We look at the levels of Macro-nutrients in a Ketogenic Lifestyle in order to maintain a state of nutritional ketosis (as opposed to ketosis derived from starvation or malnutrition), which is the stable, fat-burning, ketone-fuel state that maintains optimum health, body-fuel-efficiency, and brain power.
If you are first starting out in your Ketogenic journey, this is helpful information to know. You don’t need to do much with it at this stage, except to understand what you are doing with your body so, when you are a little less hangry, you can have fun with the formulas!
Now here are the numbers.
If you are like me, generally allergic to exercise, and haven’t started any official heavy lifting yet (except your functional fitness- lifting your groceries, chopping wood, digging in the garden, chasing the kids or in my case, the dog), then your Macro numbers will look like this:
To lose weight and maintain your muscle mass:
| Macros | Ladies | Gentlemen |
| Carbs | 20 grams net | 20 grams net |
| Protein | (45.5 grams/5’) + (2.3gmx1” over 5’) | (50gm/5’) + (2.3gmx1” over 5’) |
| Fat | 1:1 – 2:1 your protein | 1:1 – 2:1 your protein |
Source: Dr Adam Nally, www.docmuscles.com
Now let’s use the decoder ring you saved from primary school to work out the table…
20 grams net carbohydrate means you have taken out the fibre (a type of carbohydrate that is indigestible and is typically passed through the body without absorption).
That tricky little math formula?
What it means is this: If I am a girl who is 5 foot 3 inches (which I am) I can eat 45.5 grams of protein for my first five foot of height plus 2.3 grams for each of the extra three inches.
In a sum, it looks like this: 45.5 + 2.3 + 2.3 + 2.3 = 52.4 grams.
If you’re a little bit trickier at math: 45.5 + (2.3 x 3) = 52.4
Then for the fat, I need to have between 52.4 and 104.8 grams at least, (more if I’m still hungry).
It also is important to understand you don’t have to eat this amount if you’re not hungry. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. Easy!
Here are my Macros in a table:
| Daily Macros | Anita | Total Daily Percentages |
| Carbs | 20 grams net | 5% |
| Protein | 52.4 grams | 15% |
| Fat | 104.8 grams minimum | 80% |
Here is the same table for athletes- people who lift heavy things and train a lot.
| For Serious Athletes & Heavy Lifters (more than 60mins x 5 times a week) | ||
| Macros | Ladies | Gentlemen |
| Carbs | 20 grams net | 20 grams net |
| Protein | [(45.5 grams/5’) + (2.3gmx1” over 5’)] x 1.4 |
[(50gm/5’) + (2.3gmx1” over 5’)] x 1.6 |
| Fat | 1:1 to 2:1 your protein | 1:1 to 2:1 your protein |
Source: Dr Adam Nally, www.docmuscles.com
In a nutshell: for ladies you take the result from the formula in the first table and multiply your result by 1.4 to get your protein. If you’re a gentleman, you multiply your result by 1.6. This is only to increase protein intake for people who exercise so much they need the additional protein to maintain muscle mass. In other words, if you’re lifting heavy weights at the gym five days or more a week, use this formula. If you walk around the neighborhood a few times a week, this additional formula is not for you.
Once we’re into maintenance stage, we may slowly be able to add more carbohydrates in the form of Keto compliant vegetables up to 50 grams of carbs, as our bodies tolerate. This should be carefully monitored watching for signs of inflammation and other body tolerance issues as well as remaining in ketosis.
Every person is different and we will be able to make judgements on the body’s tolerance for remaining in ketosis and maintaining the work which has been done in healing, losing weight, and maximising our physical potential for fitness and efficiency.
Here are simple protein and carbohydrate charts from Ketogenic Diet Resource to help get you started. Make sure you check these lists against the Ketovangelist food list. They are not an acceptable foods list, but a place to start with your charting.
For other protein, carbs, and fats look on the nutritional panel on the packages of foods, and remember to double check the fibre content, some countries tend to list it separately and some tend to list it inclusively. (In the United States, for example, fibre is included in the total carbohydrate number, but also listed as a separate subhead underneath total carbohydrates. In this case, it is acceptable to subtract the fiber, which is a type of carbohydrate, from the total number to produce a “net” carbohydrate count.) It can also be different from product to product, which is very confusing, but you will get the hang of it, I promise.
One day, when you least expect it, you’ll be driving the Macros cart like a pro and realise you can calculate and satisfy your bodily needs efficiently, effectively, and quickly rather than needing to eat and eat and count and count.
You will have reached the point where all this research and practice you’ve been doing has paid off in ways beyond your clothing size.
We are more than our bodies. In fact, our bodies are a just house for who we really are. The Ketogenic Lifestyle is the best way to care for these bodies so we can really live to our potential.
All of the person you really are is amazing. Keto on!