Caloric deficit and macros

[nc2211]

So I’ve been cutting for a while with some good results. I’ve got a small frame (5’6, 140lbs) and am pretty lean. Im looking to get a little leaner before climbing on the muscle bulk phase. So my aim now is to reduce body fat and not weight.

I’m used to eating low carbs regularly, and not had more than 70g of carbs for a long time. I’m working through a 1400-1500 cals diet with a 130p/70c/40f split on avarage.

My question is whether when switching to keto I’d maintain the same caloric deficit and would need to build my menu around 1400cals. It’s proving rather difficult to keep that limit when swapping protein and fat as fat is 9kcals..

[Plateauplower]

So I’ve been cutting for a while with some good results. I’ve got a small frame (5’6, 140lbs) and am pretty lean. Im looking to get a little leaner before climbing on the muscle bulk phase. So my aim now is to reduce body fat and not weight.

I’m used to eating low carbs regularly, and not had more than 70g of carbs for a long time. I’m working through a 1400-1500 cals diet with a 130p/70c/40f split on avarage.

My question is whether when switching to keto I’d maintain the same caloric deficit and would need to build my menu around 1400cals. It’s proving rather difficult to keep that limit when swapping protein and fat as fat is 9kcals..

Ya, pretty much will want to use the same caloric intake if that’s what is working for you. If you are doing fine in terms of hunger with more carbs there might not be any real reason to further reduce carb intake. If you do keto it tends to be a little more satiating eating more fat, even though the volume of food is sometimes small. 6 oz or so of fatty meat and some greens is not very much food, but is surprisingly satiating. I don’t think keto is for everyone, it’s worth trying perhaps to see how you feel etc, but if you are having success dieting the way you have been, I’d suggest not trying to fix something that isn’t broken.

[nc2211]

Ya, pretty much will want to use the same caloric intake if that’s what is working for you. If you are doing fine in terms of hunger with more carbs there might not be any real reason to further reduce carb intake. If you do keto it tends to be a little more satiating eating more fat, even though the volume of food is sometimes small. 6 oz or so of fatty meat and some greens is not very much food, but is surprisingly satiating. I don’t think keto is for everyone, it’s worth trying perhaps to see how you feel etc, but if you are having success dieting the way you have been, I’d suggest not trying to fix something that isn’t broken.

Thanks. Totally with you on the notion of “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix...” which is why I’m planning to stay within the 1400-500 ‘budget’. I’d like to experiment in various combos, so keto is something I’ve not tried yet. For the past 9 days for example I’ve upped the protein significantly with very low carb and fat to see how my body reacts. It’s been at 215p/35f/35c for 3-4 days and then a carb load day followed by another set of low days, and another cycle. That has dropped off 9lbs already. I’m not sure how much of that weight is just water, but it looks like it does the job and quick! It’s not sustainable of course, which is why I’m thinking of tweaking the macros again to fit keto. Reading your log perhaps a “modified” version like yours would work for me as well.

As my body is already used to very low carb, can I just reduce the 215g of protein and add to the 35g of fat so I’ll end up with say 120g protein and around 100g fat? with the right food choices, would I get into a ketosis state rather quickly?

[Plateauplower]

Thanks. Totally with you on the notion of “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix...” which is why I’m planning to stay within the 1400-500 ‘budget’. I’d like to experiment in various combos, so keto is something I’ve not tried yet. For the past 9 days for example I’ve upped the protein significantly with very low carb and fat to see how my body reacts. It’s been at 215p/35f/35c for 3-4 days and then a carb load day followed by another set of low days, and another cycle. That has dropped off 9lbs already. I’m not sure how much of that weight is just water, but it looks like it does the job and quick! It’s not sustainable of course, which is why I’m thinking of tweaking the macros again to fit keto. Reading your log perhaps a “modified” version like yours would work for me as well.

As my body is already used to very low carb, can I just reduce the 215g of protein and add to the 35g of fat so I’ll end up with say 120g protein and around 100g fat? with the right food choices, would I get into a ketosis state rather quickly?

Yes 120g pro / 100-115g fat. You could probably run protein as high as .8-1g / lb of lean body mass or even total weight if pretty lean and be able to hit mild ketosis if you keep your carbs low. I don’t really care so much about ketosis really. For me it’s all about satiation, I frequently run my protein up so high that I am likely borderline out of ketosis, but it works for me. Low fat diets are not good for a longer term imo, I ran a cut with pretty low fat and it wasn’t good for my hormones or joints.

Riced cauliflower is great stuff if you need more bulk. I eat a lot of that lately. It’s easy to manipulate the meal macros by adding some butter, olive oil etc, season to taste and add some meat. Makes for a filling meal and helps get more micros. Fresh steamed broc**** is also good. I just ate a mound of kale and mixed greens sautéed in butter olive oil mix, even the kids liked it

[nc2211]

Yes 120g pro / 100-115g fat. You could probably run protein as high as .8-1g / lb of lean body mass or even total weight if pretty lean and be able to hit mild ketosis if you keep your carbs low. I don’t really care so much about ketosis really. For me it’s all about satiation, I frequently run my protein up so high that I am likely borderline out of ketosis, but it works for me. Low fat diets are not good for a longer term imo, I ran a cut with pretty low fat and it wasn’t good for my hormones or joints.

Riced cauliflower is great stuff if you need more bulk. I eat a lot of that lately. It’s easy to manipulate the meal macros by adding some butter, olive oil etc, season to taste and add some meat. Makes for a filling meal and helps get more micros. Fresh steamed broc**** is also good. I just ate a mound of kale and mixed greens sautéed in butter olive oil mix, even the kids liked it

Sounds good - thank you! I’ll try and build a menu which will last a couple of months and see how I react to high pro and high fat. Just need to find good choices that would fit into the (relatively) low cals ‘budget’. I love fish and meat, lots of veg, avocado and nuts, and greek yogurt, so should be able to incorporate those...

Btw, what’s the deal with the broc****? When did broc**** become such a banned term? What have I missed 😊...