Get to Know Your Macronutrients

Get to Know Your Macronutrients

When on the keto diet, it is important to become familiar with the three main macronutrients: carbs, fat and protein. They play a vital role in the Keto Diet, and dieters need to consume the right proportions of each. Everyone needs vitamins and minerals, but macros are really what count on Keto. Not sure what macronutrients are? Keep reading to find out.

Meet the macros and their role in Keto

Simply put, macronutrients are nutrients your body needs in large quantities. Macronutrients supply the body with energy, help you build muscle and maintain a healthy weight. By contrast, micronutrients are nutrients your body needs in very small amounts, like vitamins and minerals.

The three primary macronutrients are carbs, proteins and fat. Every Keto dieter needs to get intimately familiar with them, since the diet relies on eating specific proportions of each.

  • Carbohydrates. Keto is a very low-carb diet. This is because it focuses on shifting the body away from burning glucose (derived from carbs), instead using fat as the main energy source. 
  • Protein. Keto allows the dieter to eat a moderate amount of protein. This macronutrient is essential for maintaining consistent muscle mass, especially if you exercise a lot. Muscles need protein to recover after a workout, and protein can also reduce cravings by making you feel full.
  • Fat. When you’re on the Keto Diet, most of your calories will come from fat. Keto is all about making fat the body’s new source of energy. Someone who decides to go Keto should expect to eat as much as 80% of their daily calories in fat!

    • Net carbs vs. total carbs (and why it’s important)

    When on Keto, you’ll specifically want to pay attention to your carb intake. It needs to remain as low as possible to keep your body in ketosis. To do that, get familiar with net vs. total carbs. 

    Total carbs are the result of adding up all the different types of carbs in a food product. This includes fiber, sugar, starch and other carbohydrates. The number of total carbs will factor in both digestible and indigestible carbs. 

    On the other hand, net carbs only count the carbs that your body can turn into glucose. Glucose is the digested form of carbs that cells use for energy. People on the Keto Diet only need to focus on net carbs. Indigestible carbohydrates like fiber have no impact on the body’s blood glucose levels. 

    How to shop for Keto-friendly foods

    You can learn a lot about a food product by reading its nutrition label. The nutrition label will tell you how much of each macronutrient is in the food. For the Keto Diet, you’ll want to focus on counting net carbs. Find the total carbohydrates, then subtract grams of fiber from that total to get net carbs. It’s as easy as that!

    Mind your macros with every meal

    Before starting the Keto Diet, you probably didn’t pay too much attention to macronutrients. Now that you’re on this journey, it’s crucial that you count net carbs to make sure you don’t accidentally get kicked out of ketosis and have to start all over again. Remember, Keto is all about the macros—specifically fat.

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