The first thing I would tell someone is to get the "Carb Manager" app.
With this app, you can figure out your macros, by plugging in your height, weight and activity level. That tells you how many calories you need.
You need to know how many calories you need, so you can determine how many grams of carbs, protein and fat you need.
Side Note about carbs. In keto world, you only have to limit "net" carbs, not "total" carbs. Net carbs are how many carbs are left after you deduct however many grams of fiber there are.
You'll also learn there are two camps of people in the keto world; those who stick to "clean" keto, and those who are happy with "dirty" keto.
Clean keto folks tend to track total carbs instead of net carbs. They also avoid all of the stuff that is technically keto, like low carb tortillas, and faux sweeteners, in order to be "healthier", or to breakthrough a weight loss stall.
Whatever helps you stick to keto, is the way to go. They're both anti-inflammatory.
The next thing is to EASE into it. Pick a higher carb ratio on the Carb Manager app when you're starting out, and gradually turn it down until you reach keto.
Your body will slowly become fat adapted. If your body needs more carbs than you are consuming, it will start to squeeze glycogen out of your muscles to meet its needs.
This is when you start getting at risk of developing keto flu. Keto flu is the result of having too low of electrolytes. The glycogen in your muscles is comprised of one part glucose to three parts water. This water is where your electrolytes are stored.
This can also lead to "charlie horses" and muscle cramps.
Some people combat that by consuming electrolytes, which is a fine idea. But I'd take it as a sign that you need a little more carbs. If you want to stay "clean" keto, and help your body adapt quicker to using fat as fuel, you might choose a low glycemic food for this, like cantaloupe, or berries.
Just to give you a couple more options in this case, you could also use whole milk (which has lactose, and is therefore not keto), or Greek God's brand plain Greek Yogurt. It has pectin to make it taste great, but it's also not keto.
Again, you want to avoid non keto foods once you've reached your goal of becoming comfortably keto. But you want to work with your body, that way it's as safe as possible...and also sustainable.
Your body makes new mitochondria every couple of weeks. If you're starving the carb loving ones (slowly), they'll be replaced with fat loving ones. That's how you become fat adapted over time.
So how many carbs do you need at minimum to not die? Well it's slightly variable, based on size and activity level, but it's roughly 25 grams per day.
Those 25ish grams are used for a certain part of your brain, and a certain part of your kidneys.
But one of the coolest things I learned is that humans can make all of the carbs they need through gluconeogenesis.
It may never be your goal to go zero carb, but that's how people on the carnivore diet do it. You also have to be fully fat adapted before that would be safe to attempt.
The last thing I would say is to buy a "Keto Mojo" monitor to test your ketones and glucose. It's really motivating to be able to see that you're actually in ketosis. It'll also help you find out if a "keto" marketed product spikes your blood sugar.
Eventually, people abandon the monitor because they can feel when they're in ketosis. They also get really good about knowing which foods are keto, and they just stick to that.
Some keto people like to utilize carbs during the "work-out" phase of their weight loss journey, but do that with caution. It doesn't take much for those glucose loving mitochondria to come back, and you risk going through keto flu all over again.
I hope that was helpful!
Keto on!
Comments
Post a Comment