Master Keto Carb Counting: The Ultimate Guide to Staying in Ketosis Effortlessly!

The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a dietary approach that drastically reduces carbohydrate intake and replaces it with fats, pushing the body into a metabolic state known as ketosis. This article delves into the intricacies of carb counting on a keto diet, providing a detailed guide on how to navigate this dietary approach effectively.

Understanding the Keto Diet

The ketogenic (keto) diet limits carbohydrates and replaces them with fats, putting the body into a state of ketosis. A person following a keto diet eats foods with high levels of fats and very low levels of carbohydrates. The diet excludes a wide range of foods, including some fruits and vegetables, as well as bread, beans, and legumes.

To stay in ketosis, a person requires up to 50 grams (g) of carbs per day. According to a 2018 review of the different types of keto diet, a person should consume up to 50 grams (g) of carbohydrates per day to stay in ketosis.

Macronutrient Ratios in Keto Diets

Different keto diets allow for different amounts of carbs, protein, and fat:

Standard ketogenic diet: Overall, 70% of a person’s intake is fat, 20% is protein, and 10% is carbs.
Cyclical ketogenic diet: There is a cycle of 5 low carb days and 2 high carb days.
Targeted ketogenic diet: A person can eat more carbs around high intensity workouts.
High protein ketogenic diet: Overall, 60% of a person’s intake is fat, 35% is protein, and 5% is carbs.

The standard keto diet has been the subject of most research, and experts who recommend ketogenic diets tend to be more likely to recommend this type. The average recommended daily protein intake for a person assigned female at birth following a keto dietary plan is 46 g, and for a person assigned male at birth, it is 56 g. In addition to low carbs, the keto diet involves moderate amounts of protein, as excess protein can prevent ketosis.

Net Carbs vs. Total Carbs: What's the Difference?

For anyone following the keto diet, it is important to consider the number of “net carbs” in foods. Calculating the number of net carbs in a serving involves subtracting the amount of fiber from the total number of carbs. If the food is processed, a person should also subtract half the sugar alcohol content. These quantities are available on food labels.

Total carbs: These are all the carbs in a serving of food, including the type the body cannot completely digest and transfer into glucose for energy.
Net carbs: The body is able to absorb net carbs, also called digestible carbs. To calculate the number of net carbs in a serving, subtract the fiber content from the number of total carbs. If the food is processed, also subtract half the sugar alcohol content.
Fiber: Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest and so cannot transform into glucose to store and use for energy. The amount of fiber is included in the number of total carbs, but not in the number of net carbs.
Sugar alcohol: To calculate the number of net carbohydrates in processed foods, a person also needs to subtract half the amount of sugar alcohol from the number of total carbs. The body does not digest all sugar alcohols, so they have less effect on blood sugar levels than regular sugar. Some examples of sugar alcohols include sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, isomalt, maltitol, lactitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.

The Science Behind Ketosis

When a person consumes carbohydrates, the body turns those carbs into sugar, which cells use for energy. Significantly limiting carb intake causes the body to burn fat instead of carbs for energy, causing glucose levels to drop. This forces the body to produce ketones, acids that appear in the blood and urine when the body burns fat. When the body uses fat as energy and releases ketones, this is called ketosis.

During ketosis, the body also produces less insulin and stores less fat as a result. The keto diet may help support weight loss, if this is a goal, by burning fat for energy. It may also help manage type 2 diabetes.

Navigating Food Choices on Keto

Below, we explore how many net carbs various foods contain. This measurement excludes fiber and half the amount of sugar alcohols from the total number of carbs in the serving.

Keto-Friendly Foods

Fresh meat and fish: These foods tend to make up a large part of a keto diet, as they contain no carbohydrates but can be good sources of some nutrients. Some examples of fresh meat and fish included in the keto diet include turkey, pork, chicken, lamb, beef, veal, venison, shellfish, tuna, cod, salmon, and sardines.
Dairy: Cheese tends to be low in carbs but high in fat, making it a good choice for keto diets. For example, 100 g of cheddar cheese has 2.44 g of carbs and 34 g of fat.
Vegetables: Vegetables contain fewer carbs, lower calories, and higher fiber than fruits. They are packed with phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals, and are an important part of any healthy diet.
Fruits: Fruits are an important part of any diet, as they are rich in vitamins and minerals. However, some fruits are high in carbs, so researching - including checking labels - is key. Examples of low-carb fruits are raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, peaches, clementines, and grapefruit.
Nuts and seeds

Foods to Limit or Avoid

Wheat-based products, such as rice, pasta, and cereals, are high in carbs. Therefore, a person following a keto diet should limit them.

Read also: Diet Plan: No Sugar, Carbs, Dairy

Making the Keto Diet Sustainable

Keeping the keto diet sustainable can be challenging because it is very restrictive. A person may become bored by what they can eat. Moreover, the diet can cause side effects.

Gradual changes: It can help to ease into the diet gradually. For instance, a person might stop eating one type of food at a time, such as bread or juice that is high in carbs and sugar.
Whole, unprocessed foods: Aim to consume carbs from whole, unprocessed foods to benefit from their vitamins and minerals.
Monitoring: For people following the keto diet, regular health monitoring is important to check whether the diet is having any effects on the heart. For people with diabetes, it is also important to monitor for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

Overall, it is important for people to check with a doctor before making any significant changes to their diet, such as switching to a ketogenic diet.

Common Questions About Carb Intake on Keto

How many carbs can I eat and stay in ketosis? The amount of carbs a person can consume and stay in ketosis may vary slightly between people. However, in general, a person should consume up to 50 g of carbs per day to stay in ketosis.
Is 100 g carbs a day keto? The ketogenic dietary plan typically reduces net carbohydrate intake to roughly 50 g a day. However, other low carb dietary plans may allow up to 130 g of carbs per day.
Can you lose weight on 50 g carbs a day? Following a low carbohydrate diet that involves consuming roughly 50 g of carbs a day, such as the keto diet, may help with weight loss. Before changing the diet to help with weight loss, a person may wish to consult a dietitian.
What does 50 g net carbs look like? Depending on the foods a person consumes, 50 g net carbs can vary. For example, with low carb foods, around 1,000 g of broccoli, raspberries, or Brazil nuts are roughly 50 g net carbs. However, with high carb foods, 200 g of cashews or 100 g of lentils are about 50 g net carbs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid on a Low Carb Diet

While low carb diets are very popular, it’s also easy to make mistakes on them. To reap all the metabolic benefits of low carb diets, merely cutting back on carbs isn’t enough.

Not Cutting Carbs Enough: While there is no strict definition of a low carb diet, anything under 100-150 grams per day is generally considered low carb. Most people will need to go under 50 grams per day to reach ketosis.
Eating Too Much Protein: A good range to aim for is 0.7-0.9 grams of protein per pound (1.5-2.0 grams per kg) of body weight. Excessive protein consumption on a low carb diet can prevent you from getting into ketosis.
Fearing Fat: A very low carb diet must be high in fat. A fat intake around 70% of total calories may be a good choice for some people on low carb or ketogenic diets.
Not Replenishing Sodium: The best way to avoid this issue is to add more sodium to your diet. You can do this by salting your foods - but if that doesn’t suffice, try drinking a cup of broth every day.
Giving Up Too Soon: On a low carb diet, it can take a few days to overcome unpleasant symptoms and several weeks for your body to fully adapt. It’s important to be patient and not to abandon your diet too soon.

The Ketogenic Diet for Weight Loss and Type 2 Diabetes

Low carb diets may offer a potential solution for health conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Research on the Ketogenic Diet

A meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials following overweight and obese participants for 1-2 years on either low-fat diets or very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets found that the ketogenic diet produced a small but significantly greater reduction in weight, triglycerides, and blood pressure, and a greater increase in HDL and LDL cholesterol compared with the low-fat diet at one year.
A systematic review of 26 short-term intervention trials (varying from 4-12 weeks) evaluated the appetites of overweight and obese individuals on either a very low calorie (~800 calories daily) or ketogenic diet (no calorie restriction but ≤50 gm carbohydrate daily) using a standardized and validated appetite scale. Despite losing a significant amount of weight on both diets, participants reported less hunger and a reduced desire to eat compared with baseline measures.
A study of 39 obese adults placed on a ketogenic very low-calorie diet for 8 weeks found a mean loss of 13% of their starting weight and significant reductions in fat mass, insulin levels, blood pressure, and waist and hip circumferences.
A study of 89 obese adults who were placed on a two-phase diet regimen (6 months of a very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and 6 months of a reintroduction phase on a normal calorie Mediterranean diet) showed a significant mean 10% weight loss with no weight regain at one year.

Potential Risks and Considerations

Following a very high-fat diet may be challenging to maintain. Some negative side effects of a long-term ketogenic diet have been suggested, including increased risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis, and increased blood levels of uric acid (a risk factor for gout). Possible nutrient deficiencies may arise if a variety of recommended foods on the ketogenic diet are not included. It is important to not solely focus on eating high-fat foods, but to include a daily variety of the allowed meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds to ensure adequate intakes of fiber, B vitamins, and minerals (iron, magnesium, zinc)-nutrients typically found in foods like whole grains that are restricted from the diet.

Available research on the ketogenic diet for weight loss is still limited. Most of the studies so far have had a small number of participants, were short-term (12 weeks or less), and did not include control groups. Eliminating several food groups and the potential for unpleasant symptoms may make compliance difficult. An emphasis on foods high in saturated fat also counters recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association and may have adverse effects on blood LDL cholesterol.

Carb Counting for Diabetes Management

Carbohydrates, or carbs, are naturally found in certain foods. For example, grains, sweets, starches, legumes and dairy all contain different amounts of carbs. When foods and drinks with carbs are digested, the carbs break down into glucose to fuel our cells, and the body's blood glucose, or blood sugar, level rises. In people without diabetes, blood glucose levels rise after eating but the body's insulin response keeps levels from rising too high.

For people with diabetes, insulin does not function properly to process blood glucose. Learning how to count carbs can be an effective tool for managing blood glucose levels when paired with the right treatment plan.

Type 1: If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas stops making insulin, so you need to take insulin to manage blood glucose changes from the food you eat. To do this, you have to know how many carbs are in your meals and snacks-cue carb counting!
Type 2: If you have type 2 diabetes, you are resistant to the insulin your body makes and you don't produce enough to reach your target blood glucose levels. It’s important that you be mindful of your carb intake.

How to Count Carbs

Carb counting at its most basic level involves counting the number of grams of carbohydrate in a meal and matching that to your dose of insulin. If you take mealtime insulin, that means first accounting for each carbohydrate gram you eat and dosing mealtime insulin based on that count. You will use what's known as an insulin-to-carb ratio to calculate how much insulin you should take in order to manage your blood sugars after eating. This advanced form of carb counting is recommended for people on intensive insulin therapy by shots or pump, such as those with type 1 and some people with type 2.

Determining Your Ideal Carb Intake

As for the ideal number of carbs per meal, there's no magic number. How much carbohydrate each person needs is in large part determined by your body size and activity level. Appetite and hunger also play a role. In order to figure out how many carbs you should be eating, schedule an appointment with your RD/RDN or CDCES. They’ll work out an eating plan specifically for you. This service, when provided by a dietitian, is known as medical nutrition therapy.

Finding Carb Information

You can find how many carbs foods have by reading food labels. If a product doesn’t have a food label, such as a whole piece of fruit or a vegetable, there are apps and other tools available to help you calculate. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Composition Database has nutrition information for thousands of foods in a searchable format.

There are two items on the nutrition facts label that you’ll want to pay attention to when carb counting:

Serving size: The serving size refers to how much a person usually eats or drinks, and all the information on the label is about this specific amount of food.
Grams of total carbohydrate: This number includes all carbs: sugar, starch and fiber.

Low Carb Diet Meal Ideas

Breakfast is an important meal to get right on a low carb diet. The sandwich and burger have become the go-to lunches for generations. Even when we try to reduce carb intake by switching to a salad, many salads have even more carbohydrates than a sandwich due to the addition of dried fruits and salad dressing to the salad. Dinner can often be the easiest meal for compliance with a low carb food diet plan. Most dinners already include a protein, vegetable and starch. Therefore, for many a low carb diet is just a matter of eliminating the starch and staying away from starchy vegetables like corn and peas.

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