Increase it (along with exercise) to gain muscle, or decrease it to lose weight. “Fat is a lever” means that you can increase or decrease your fat intake depending on your goals and hunger levels. That means that as long as you are not overdoing your overall calorie intake, you’ll efficiently burn your body fat for fuel as well.
It keeps you full and satisfied, making it easier to stick to, and using it as the primary fuel source makes it easier on your body to burn body fat, with a lower chance of breaking down your muscle (provided you get enough protein).Īside from reaching your protein goal and limiting your carbs, the remainder of your calories on a keto diet comes from fat.ĭon’t fear fat – it’s your main energy source on keto, and getting enough of it trains your body to use fat for fuel instead of sugar. Fat as a fuel source will come from your food, and if you are losing weight, from your body.Ī big advantage of a keto lifestyle is the high fat intake. Fat Is A Lever.įat is the primary macronutrient in a keto lifestyle, because being in ketosis means that fat is your primary fuel source. You want enough for your needs, but excess protein can trigger gluconeogenesis, which is protein being converted to sugar and can kick you out of ketosis. “Protein is a goal” means that you always want to eat enough protein to reach the goal each day, but not exceed it too much. It’s a crucial for keeping our muscles strong and for many cellular functions. Protein is made up of amino acids, the building blocks of all our cells. This is called the metabolic state of ketosis. In the absence of sufficient carbs to use as energy, the body will switch to using fat as fuel. Ideally most of your carbs would come from low carb vegetables, and if you’re eating enough veggies, you’ll usually get close to the limit naturally.Ī common misconception is that reaching ketosis requires a certain macro ratio, but it’s really only restricting your carb intake that gets you there. You don’t have to hit that limit, so if you’re under that’s okay, just don’t go over. “Carbs are a limit” means that you set a limit for how many carbs to eat per day and don’t exceed it. People who are very active may be able to do more and stay in ketosis, up to around 50 grams per day. Ketosis means that you’re using fat as your primary energy source instead of sugar, and requires keeping carbs very low.Ī good starting point is 20-25 grams net carbs per day, but you can experiment after a few weeks to see if your body stays in ketosis at higher levels. Keeping carbs low is what gets you into ketosis and keeps you there. You can calculate your own macros using the macro calculator, but the macro keto cheat sheet below will explain how to look at macros when following a keto lifestyle. They include fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The table below will give you ideas for what to choose. That’s approximately 60-75% of calories from fat, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrates. Simply follow the keto cheat sheet formula of protein + veggie + fat for your meals.īe sure to choose a moderate amount of protein, only low carb vegetables (mostly ones that grow above ground), and generous fat to attain an optimal macro ratio. Get The Printable Keto Cheat Sheet System + EBooks (Only $37) The Basic Keto Meal FormulaĮating keto doesn’t have to be complicated! While there are plenty of delicious easy keto recipes to choose from, you don’t even have to cook from a recipe to get started.
Keto food list (230+ foods) – Super detailed & color-coded, with net carb counts, so you’ll know exactly what to eat.Get all this information and MORE in convenient printer-friendly format – 13 cheat sheet pages you can take with you anywhere or keep in your kitchen, plus 4 recipe cookbooks! Includes: Want The Keto Cheat Sheet Printable PDF System?