Confused about protein intake on Keto...

[Birchinio]

Ok I've been doing keto for about 3 weeks. I've been working out on and off for about two years and for the next 6-8 weeks I've trying to lose the only visible fat I have (on my stomach). I decided to try keto after reading up on it.

So far I've lost about 2-3lbs, which I'm happy with considering my BF% is around 17% and I don't have too much to lose. I'm confused now though and thinking I might not actually be in Ketosis because of my protein intake. With food + Whey protein shakes I consume on average 150-190g per day (I weigh 180lbs). I've started reading now that high protein on Keto is bad as it is converted into glucose and causes insulin spikes. Is this true?

I don't want to cut the protein intake and lose muscle mass..

Cliffs -

On keto for 3 weeks,
Worried my 150-180g of protein is kicking me out of Ketosis
Don't want to cut down protein intake/lose muscle mass.

Thanks.

[manlutbrah]

Ok I've been doing keto for about 3 weeks. I've been working out on and off for about two years and for the next 6-8 weeks I've trying to lose the only visible fat I have (on my stomach). I decided to try keto after reading up on it.

So far I've lost about 2-3lbs, which I'm happy with considering my BF% is around 17% and I don't have too much to lose. I'm confused now though and thinking I might not actually be in Ketosis because of my protein intake. With food + Whey protein shakes I consume on average 150-190g per day (I weigh 180lbs). I've started reading now that high protein on Keto is bad as it is converted into glucose and causes insulin spikes. Is this true?

I don't want to cut the protein intake and lose muscle mass..

Cliffs -

On keto for 3 weeks,
Worried my 150-180g of protein is kicking me out of Ketosis
Don't want to cut down protein intake/lose muscle mass.

Thanks.

How much do you weigh? How much calories are you eating per day ? What's your f/p/c caloric ratio atm? Can't really say without knowing these, also need to know your m9aintenance calories.

If you eat too much protein and not enough fats then you won't enter ketosis at all

[startingKETO]

Ok I've been doing keto for about 3 weeks. I've been working out on and off for about two years and for the next 6-8 weeks I've trying to lose the only visible fat I have (on my stomach). I decided to try keto after reading up on it.

So far I've lost about 2-3lbs, which I'm happy with considering my BF% is around 17% and I don't have too much to lose. I'm confused now though and thinking I might not actually be in Ketosis because of my protein intake. With food + Whey protein shakes I consume on average 150-190g per day (I weigh 180lbs). I've started reading now that high protein on Keto is bad as it is converted into glucose and causes insulin spikes. Is this true?

I don't want to cut the protein intake and lose muscle mass..

Cliffs -

On keto for 3 weeks,
Worried my 150-180g of protein is kicking me out of Ketosis
Don't want to cut down protein intake/lose muscle mass.

Thanks.

You want to eat 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. 180 x .17 = 30 -> 180 - 30 = 150 grams of protein.
Then 20-30 grams of carbs
Fill the rest with fats

Also, I think your 3-week loss is slightly low considering that the first week on keto I lost 5lbs of water weight alone (I started at 16-17% body fat). I would try to lower the protein slightly and up the fats so that the body aims to use fat for energy good luck!

[Birchinio]

How much do you weigh? How much calories are you eating per day ? What's your f/p/c caloric ratio atm? Can't really say without knowing these, also need to know your m9aintenance calories.

If you eat too much protein and not enough fats then you won't enter ketosis at all

180lbls. Maintenance is around 2600 I've cut down to about 1900 kcals which I hit consistently. My fear with lowering protein is losing muscle mass and wasting my time going to the gym...

My daily diet is generally:

Omelette with bacon/chorizo for breakfast, or scrambled/fried eggs with bacon/chorizo and some tomatoes etc.

Protein shake mid morning.

Lunch - Veggies, usually brocolli/cauliflower with cheese and then tuna/chicken/steak with chorizo. (I love chorizo).

Protein shake before gym.

Post gym I have what I had for my lunch, then for snacks I'll have boiled eggs, cheese, babybels, almond pancakes with double cream etc.

I don't feel like I'm not getting enough fat because I don't really ever feel hungry. I'm drinking plenty of water too.


Thats basically what I eat 6/7 days a week. Everything is cooked with butter/cheese/Olive oil.

[startingKETO]

180lbls. Maintenance is around 2600 I've cut down to about 1900 kcals which I hit consistently. My fear with lowering protein is losing muscle mass and wasting my time going to the gym...

My daily diet is generally:

Omelette with bacon/chorizo for breakfast, or scrambled/fried eggs with bacon/chorizo and some tomatoes etc.

Protein shake mid morning.

Lunch - Veggies, usually brocolli/cauliflower with cheese and then tuna/chicken/steak with chorizo. (I love chorizo).

Protein shake before gym.

Post gym I have what I had for my lunch, then for snacks I'll have boiled eggs, cheese, babybels, almond pancakes with double cream etc.

I don't feel like I'm not getting enough fat because I don't really ever feel hungry. I'm drinking plenty of water too.


Thats basically what I eat 6/7 days a week. Everything is cooked with butter/cheese/Olive oil.

According to Blindfaith's post 1 gram of protein per lbm is the suggested amount to minimize loss of muscle mass. I've been doing it this way for 10 weeks now and the majority of what I've lost is fat.

Up the fat a bit and slightly lower the protein, see if it works for you for the next 2 weeks. If not, then it wasn't the issue. But you should definitely see a good change in weight due to losing water weight at the start of the diet if you're doing it right. Also, you could toss out a protein shake mid morning and replace it with chicken or a burger. Whole food is always better than processed.

[Birchinio]

According to Blindfaith's post 1 gram of protein per lbm is the suggested amount to minimize loss of muscle mass. I've been doing it this way for 10 weeks now and the majority of what I've lost is fat.

Up the fat a bit and slightly lower the protein, see if it works for you for the next 2 weeks. If not, then it wasn't the issue. But you should definitely see a good change in weight due to losing water weight at the start of the diet if you're doing it right. Also, you could toss out a protein shake mid morning and replace it with chicken or a burger. Whole food is always better than processed.

Ok cool cheers for the advice.

I'll cut down on the shakes and replace with something with more substance. Time to buy some sausages/burgers

[startingKETO]

Ok cool cheers for the advice.

I'll cut down on the shakes and replace with something with more substance. Time to buy some sausages/burgers

Out of curiosity, how many grams of fat are you taking in per day? (the grams of fat generally should be slightly higher than the grams of protein -- at least that is the trend I've seen with keto)

If you need to squeeze in some fat and find it hard, you could always eat some almonds, natural peanut butter, or add some real mayo to your tuna or boiled eggs

[SamirR]

i dont count my macros just freely eat fats

[startingKETO]

i dont count my macros just freely eat fats

What does that have to do with the price of rice in China?

[Atavis]

That is not a lot of or too much protein.

[startingKETO]

That is not a lot of or too much protein.

If he has not noticed initial water weight loss, should he not lower the protein intake to near 1g per lbm and raise the fat?

[calutaxi]

If he has not noticed initial water weight loss, should he not lower the protein intake to near 1g per lbm and raise the fat?

Not really. If he has his deficit right, then being a little over in the protein department isn't going to hurt him. You really need to have a large amount of protein for gluconeogensis to kick you out of ketosis.

I freaked out when I first started because I had a pretty big stall right off the bat, despite my diet being right. Your body sometimes holds onto water, and there's not really much you can do about it.

[Birchinio]

That is not a lot of or too much protein.

Yeah I know generally in BB this isn't a lot of protein, but I mean for Keto purposes I've been reading too much protein can kick you of of Ketosis...

Anyways I just got some Ketostix and they didn't turn purple so I assume I'm not in Ketosis...

I don't get it, for the past 3 weeks my diet has been what I listed above every single day. I've had possibly 2-3 days where I might have had too many carbs (I had a bottle of white wine last week and when my GF's dad made dinner I ate a piece of bread and he said the stew we had contained a little flour) Both these occasions were over a week ago though and apart from that I've been 100% clean...

[Kai12]

Yeah I know generally in BB this isn't a lot of protein, but I mean for Keto purposes I've been reading too much protein can kick you of of Ketosis...

Anyways I just got some Ketostix and they didn't turn purple so I assume I'm not in Ketosis...

I don't get it, for the past 3 weeks my diet has been what I listed above every single day. I've had possibly 2-3 days where I might have had too many carbs (I had a bottle of white wine last week and when my GF's dad made dinner I ate a piece of bread and he said the stew we had contained a little flour) Both these occasions were over a week ago though and apart from that I've been 100% clean...

Drinking alot of water will not make the ketostix work. Try using them in the morning or when you haven't pissed in awhile.

[Birchinio]

Drinking alot of water will not make the ketostix work. Try using them in the morning or when you haven't pissed in awhile.

I did i again before bed and it went slightly purple, then again first thing when i got up and was dying to pee and it showed negative...

I don't see how i can have any less carbs in my diet :\ weird.

[nowheateater]

I did i again before bed and it went slightly purple, then again first thing when i got up and was dying to pee and it showed negative...

I don't see how i can have any less carbs in my diet :\ weird.

Just keep carbs low eat the protien you are eating and fill in cals with fats and good to go . Ketostix are not always accurate they read EXCESS ketones in urine and should not be used as the end all if your in ketosis. Low carbs, moderate protien and high fat = keto
Trust that it works

[AlwaysTryin]

I did i again before bed and it went slightly purple, then again first thing when i got up and was dying to pee and it showed negative...

I don't see how i can have any less carbs in my diet :\ weird.

Ditch the stix and stop wasting $

[Birchinio]

Ditch the stix and stop wasting $

Cool cheers, I got the stix free anyways.

It's just sort of starting to feel pointless, I've still got that spare fat on my abs that is a good inch thick when I pinch it but I don't carry any anywhere else, and after 3 weeks it doesn't look any different and my weight seems to fluctuate 2-3 lbs anyway so I can't tell if it's working.

[AlwaysTryin]

Cool cheers, I got the stix free anyways.

It's just sort of starting to feel pointless, I've still got that spare fat on my abs that is a good inch thick when I pinch it but I don't carry any anywhere else, and after 3 weeks it doesn't look any different and my weight seems to fluctuate 2-3 lbs anyway so I can't tell if it's working.

What were you expecting? Keto is just like any other caloric deficit diet regarding fat loss, and you'll barely notice any change in 2-3 weeks on any diet