It’s no secret that people following the ketogenic diet need to count their macros. Also known as macronutrients (or macros for short), thesedietary components must be kept in balance in order to succeed on the diet and stay healthy. Since the keto diet requires people to eat a small amount of carbs and plenty of proteins and healthy fats, measuring macros ensures that they get everything that they need every single day while remaining in a state of fat-burning ketosis.

So, the big question is—what are macros? And how do you count them? Not to worry – we’re here to help. So, let’s jump into the basics.

What Is the Keto Diet? 

The keto diet is designed to put the body in a state of ketosis, where it begins burning off fat stores. This provides not only weight loss, but also excess energy and a clearer mind (although, of course, you should speak with your doctor or a registered dietitian before beginning any specific diet). By avoiding things that contain sugar (although a bit is allowed in very small amounts) that have carbohydrates in them, the body adjusts, and you stop craving things like sweet snacks every few hours.

When combined with the fact that you’re eating a low carb diet (notice that it's not no-carb – some are allowed every day), the keto diet forces your body to begin burning off your belly fat and the fatty stores in your liver and pancreas via ketones, so you'll lose weight and feel healthier. This is often accompanied by moderate exercise or even hard exercise, as well. However, in order to get your body into a state of ketosis, you need to count your macros.

What Are Macros?

It helps to start out by defining macronutrients. They are the building blocks of every diet, whether you’re trying to eat healthy or following a more specific diet. To get specific, macronutrients, known as macros for short, are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. These three things are very important, as you need to eat a healthy balance of them in your diet—a certain percent protein, a certain percent fat, and a certain percent carbs. Now, let’s break it down a little further:

Fats

Fats consist of things like butter and ghee that are found in dairy, as well as cheeses. They also are a component of most proteins, specifically meats. Also, coconut oil and olive oil fit into this category, as well as avocados, nuts, and seeds.

You do need to eat some good fats every day, as they help you have a well-rounded diet, although you should limit the amount of unhealthy fats that you eat. It’s all about keeping everything in proportion.

Proteins

Now, proteins are very important. Not only are they high in thermic properties, meaning that they make you feel fuller longer and burn more calories while digesting than they consist of (thus boosting your metabolism), but they also give you energy.

No matter which specific diet you choose to follow, you need to ensure that you eat enough proteins during the day, so you need to track this particular macro. Protein can be anything from chicken and red meat like beef to fatty fish like salmon and tuna. There are vegetarian sources of protein as well.

Carbohydrates

Although carbs aren’t necessarily evil, they should be eaten in moderation. And, if you’re following the keto diet, you need to keep your total amount of net carbs low—which is easier to do when you take fiber into account. By measuring the total carbs in everything that you eat and tracking this important macro, you’ll be able to tell whether your carb intake makes up too heavy of aproportion of your diet. It’s important to note that vegetables are largely made of carbs, so you need to keep that in mind when planning your diet.

What Role Do Macros Play in the Keto Diet? 

Since you need to eat as few carbs as possible, it's important to measure them on a daily basis. The easiest way to do this is by tracking your keto macros. Getting this ratio correct is incredibly important, as eating too many carbs can cause your body to move out of ketosis.

In addition, you need to stay healthy while on the diet as well, and ensuring that you get all of your macronutrients (as well as your micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals) can help with this. The better your macros stay in balance, the better you'll feel as you go into – and stay in – ketosis.

How Do I Count My Macros?

Are you ready to do some math? We hope so because that’s what’s required here. In order to track your macros, you need to know quite a few other numbers as well. So, let’s start at the beginning.

How Many Calories Do You Burn Each Day? 

This simple equation is designed to help you determine the rate of your metabolism or just how many calories you burn every day (on average.) Yes, we mentioned the issues withcalories above, but that doesn’t mean that they should be discounted altogether.

There are two equations here, one for women and one for men:

For women: calories/day = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161

For men: calories/day = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5

As you can see, you’ll need your current weight in kilograms, as well as your height in centimeters.

Once you have this number, you’ll need to multiply it by a number known as an activity factor. That is, just how much activity you do each day. Here are those numbers:

1.2 – you live a sedentary lifestyle

1.375 – you work out at least three times per week

1.55 – you go to the gym and work out every day

1.725 – you do plenty of hard exercises (like marathon training) every day

1.9 – you either have a very strenuous job or are at the gym most days of the week

The final number is known as a TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

How Many of Each Macro? 

Next, you need to determine the best macro ratio for your needs and diet. While on the keto diet, you need to keep your carbs as low as possible. A good general amount to go off of is:

Protein – On the keto diet, this should be 25% of your daily calories

Carbs – Since you're following a low-carb diet, aim for around 5% of your daily calories

Fats – This makes up most of your daily calories, coming in at 70%

Since you're on a low-carb diet, that amount will be lower while your proteins will be higher. Feel free to fiddle with those ratios until you get a set of numbers that works for you.

Do the Math 

Now, it’s time to take those ratios and convert them into numbers. Following a 2,000-calorie diet as an example, this means that:

Protein: There are 4 calories per gram of protein. With them making up 25% of your 2,000-calorie diet, this translates to 500 calories (25% X 2,000) or 600/4 = 125 grams of protein.

Fat: Each gram of fat consists of 9 calories. If fats make up 70% of your diet (70% X 2,000), you’ll need to eat 1,400 calories, or 1,400/9 = 155 grams of fats each day.

Carbs: At 4 calories per gram of carbs, and with them making up 5% of your diet, you’ll want to eat 100 calories worth of carbs per day (5% X 2,000). In grams, that’s 100/4 = 20 grams.

Tracking Your Macros 

When it comes to tracking your daily macros, those on the keto diet have two choices: an app that allows them to enter their meals and macros or a paper tracker that requires them to do a little legwork.

Using an App 

There's an app for just about everything these days, and tracking macros while on the keto diet is one of those. Choose a keto calculator app that has a user-friendly interface, as well as a large number of meal breakdowns that have already been created. This makes life easier for you, since you'll just need to search for the item and enter your portions. Some of these apps also allow you to enter your ideal macros, so they'll alert you when you get close to your totals or go over.

Tracking on Paper 

Some people choose to track their macros the old-fashioned way, and there's nothing wrong with that. You can create a food diary (or use an already created one, as there are plenty to choose from on the internet) and use it to not only write down what you eat every day but also what the macros are for each meal.

This ensures that you stay within the range that you prefer. The only issue with this method is the fact that you'll have to do a lot of the math yourself. But hey, if you think that’s fun, we applaud you!

In Conclusion: Counting Macros Is Worth It 

Following the keto diet is much easier when you count your macros, whether you use a keto macro calculator or you do the hard work yourself. Once you know how to break down your ideal macros into grams, you'll be able to track them, so you can stay in ketosis.

Remember that the keto diet allows you to eat some carbs (just a small amount), which makes it even more important to know exactly how many are in your daily diet. In order to see results on this diet, you simply need to track carbs, proteins, and fats every day and stay consistent. Just think, “counting macros can be fun.” We know you can do it!

Sources:

Macro Calculator: How to Count Macros As a Beginner | Women's Health

How to Count Macros: A Step-By-Step Guide | Healthline

What Are Macros And Why Should I Be Counting Them? | SCL Health