Welcome to day 10 of The Keto Cut - a series that will follow my daily routines as I cut for the summer on a ketogenic diet. These posts may not be for all of you as they are intensely focused on fitness and nutrition. Health is one of the most important parts of my life and I take it very seriously and I figured I would share my experiences and daily "logs" with all of you who may also be interested in this topic.
How to Find Your Carb Limit for Ketosis:
The tricky part about a ketogenic diet is that everything is subjective to the person who is following the program. Some people can stay in ketosis while eating 100g of carbs per day and some people have to limit their carbs to 20g per day just to maintain ketosis.
The silver lining is that anyone can get into ketosis and maintain that ketogenic state by eating about 25g of net carbs per day.
Net carbs are different than total carbs. Net carbs can be calculated by simply subtracting the amount of fiber by the number of total carbs. Total carbs are just the total amount of carbs including fiber.
For example, broccoli has about 4g of total carbs per serving. There are 3g of fiber per serving as well, so if you subtract 4g-3g then you get 1g of net carbs.
Some people prefer to count total carbs rather than net carbs, but I prefer to count net carbs. Fiber isn’t digested in the same way as “normal” carbs which means that it isn’t used for glucose production and thus, won’t knock you out of ketosis.
For anyone just starting a ketogenic diet, I would recommend starting at 25g of net carbs (or total if you prefer). If you feel great, then keep it at that level. If you’re feeling overly tired after 2 weeks, then you may want to adjust those carbs higher or take a look at your fat intake.
The interesting thing about ketogenic diets is that the most common problem is that people aren’t eating enough fat. It’s very counterintuitive, but if you’re not eating enough fat, then your body will be encouraged to store more of what you eat as body fat because it thinks that you’re starving. That’s why I highly recommend keeping a very close eye on your fat intake while keeping your carbs right around that 25g a day level.
If you’re really concerned about being in ketosis, and you’re unable to identify the signs of ketosis on your own, you can also buy keto strips or a blood-glucose monitor.
Day 10 Log:
Weigh-In:
| Start Weight | Goal Weight | Weight Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 198 | 173 | 4 |
| Today's Weight | Fat Mass (%) | Body Mass BMI |
|---|---|---|
| 194 | 24.2 | 26.1 |
Workout:
Off Day
*Note: I took 2 off days in a row here mainly because my energy levels have been low and my body is physically exhausted. It's important when doing any diet that you listen to your body. It's something that is easily overlooked, but if you overwork your body in the gym, then there can be times where you will struggle to lose weight. This is mainly caused by something referred to as overtraining.
Cortisol - the hormone we release when we feel stressed - is a fat-storing hormone. If you overtrain your body, you will produce more cortisol which can lead to weight gain or plateauing when trying to cut down.
What I Ate Today:
| Meal | Food |
|---|---|
| 0 | Bulletproof Coffee (2 TBSP Half & Half, 1 TBSP MCT Oil) |
| 1 | 4 Eggs, 2 Slices of Swiss Cheese, 6 oz deli turkey |
| 2 | 8 Oz Chicken Breast Sauteed in Garlic and Butter, Broccoli topped with butter and Asparagus roasted in the oven with garlic |
| 3 | 8 Oz Ground Chicken and Lettuce (I made this into a lettuce wrap) |
| 4 | 1 FitCrunch Protein Bar, 1 Avocado, 1 TBSP MCT Oil |
Here's the Question of The Day, don't forget to post your answers in the comments!
QOTD: Do you prefer counting net carbs or counting total carbs when doing a ketogenic diet?
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave your thoughts below and I look forward to seeing you in the comments!
-