Receive Free Keto Recipes by Email
Sign Up

Real Balanced

A food blog dedicated to sharing easy and delicious low-carb, keto, paleo, and nut-free recipes and resources.

Home Blog A Guide to Macro Tracking For A Ketogenic Diet

A Guide to Macro Tracking For A Ketogenic Diet

25 Comments This post contains affiliate links.

With the below tips discussing macro tracking and conscious effort on your part, there’s nothing you can’t do!

Guide To Macro Tracking for Keto Diets blog post pinterest graphic

The main goal in moving to a ketogenic diet is to exhaust your body of its previous energy source, glucose, and to transition your body to instead rely on ketones for fuel. Making the jump headfirst into this type of diet can be difficult, no one is denying that; but when it comes to your health, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Real Balanced is here to help you along the way. If you have any questions we don’t address below, feel free to leave your comments below!

Macro Tracking: Where to Begin

Calculate Your Macros

While on a ketogenic diet, there is a general macronutrient (“macro”) breakdown you can follow to track your food intake:

  • High Fat – 60%-80% of total calories come from fat.
  • Moderate Protein – 15%-35% of total calories come from protein.
  • Low Carbohydrate – 5% or less of total calories come from carbohydrates.

Everyone’s macro intake will be different based on your body type, but luckily, you can calculate your personal macros with this macro calculator to see what will work best for you, your goals, and your body weight/type!

As you begin to track your macros and limit your carb intake, your body will deplete its supply of glycogen, transitioning your energy from a state of glycosis to ketosis. For more information on the basics and the benefits of a ketogenic diet, check out my ketogenic diet resource index!

As you learn more about what you can and cannot eat and find your favorite recipes, eating will be much easier! Many keep their carb intake to under 40-50 grams of net carbs, but the ideal goal is for your intake to be below 20 grams of net carbs (the formula to calculate net carbs: total carb content – fiber – sugar alcohols = net carbs).

Invest In A Food Scale

To accurately track your food intake, you are going to need a food scale. I use this food scale, which I purchased from Amazon and it has served me well for the past few years.

If, however, you want to be a little more lenient and aren’t looking to be “as accurate,” you can skip on the food scale and just do your best to guesstimate the weight of your food.

Personally, I suggest you weigh your food with a food scale for at least 6 months (you might be surprised to see just how much 2 tablespoons of nut or seed butter is!) and, once you have a good eye for it, you can start moving away from weighing everything.

I used to weigh every morsel of food I ate, but I now can quite accurately look at food and know how many grams or ounces it weighs. Using this tactic allows me to still follow a macro-based ketogenic protocol, yet doesn’t require me to lug a food scale around with me.

How to start macro tracking on a keto diet

Going from eating a diet high in carbohydrates to a diet that contains less than 5% of calories coming from carbs may be a difficult transition, but, trust me, it can be done! When following a ketogenic diet, tracking your carbs, specifically, your net carbs is key.

Why net carbs?

Because “dietary fiber does not have a significant metabolic effect” and, therefore, doesn’t lead to an insulin spike. Tracking net carbs versus total carbs allow for a much higher intake of many nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, nuts and seeds, and even chocolate!

Additionally, it is important to note that sugar alcohols are calculated just like fiber (e.g., grams of sugar alcohol can be subtracted from total carbs). This is especially good to know if you’re like me and LOVE dessert! Low-carb sweeteners, like my favorite, monk fruit sweetener, contain 0 grams of net carbs per serving (4g total carbs – 4g sugar alcohols = 0g net carbs).

What to eat on a Keto Diet

Guide-To-Macro-Tracking-for-Keto-Diets

Low-carb, high-fats is the basis of the ketogenic diet. Most people usually hone in on the “low-carb” part, completely forgetting about high-fats. For most diets, fats will account for upwards of 70% of your intake. This is a LOT! 

Some of our favorite ways to get easy fats:

Protein on a Keto Diet

The other main macronutrient that you want to monitor the most is protein, which will replace your intake of carbs. The protein converts to glucose, meaning that eating a LOT of protein is NOT conducive to a ketogenic diet. Staying on track with how much protein you consume is key, otherwise you will have troubles consistently staying in ketosis.

If you prefer to use exact numbers, the generally accepted amount of protein to be consumed on a ketogenic diet is between 0.6 grams and 1.2 grams per pound of lean body mass. Those who are less active will be only need to consume around 0.6 grams, while those more active and athletic will be in the 0.9-1.2 grams range.

Ideas for protein and recipes to try:

Macro Tracking Done Right: What to Limit or Avoid on a Keto Diet

Guide-To-Macro-Tracking-for-Keto-Diets

Your main goal is to avoid foods filled with sugars and starch. There are a myriad of alternatives to all the foods listed in the graphic above. 

Heavy, starch-filled items should be altogether avoided. While bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes may taste good, there are plenty of keto-friendly alternatives to each of these!

Soft drinks, sugary juices, and energy drinks full of sugar must also be eliminated from your diet. You probably don’t realize just how much sugar is in those things!

Here are some of my favorites:

And for those who love their ketchup and super sugary sauces and jams, I hate to break it to you: but these are not recommended for a ketogenic diet. 🙁 What you CAN have instead: mayonnaise, olive oil, aiolis, vinaigrette, and mustard. 

What to drink

Water will obviously be your number one option and should be your go-to daily, hourly, all the time! Coffee and tea are also a great option to drink on a keto diet. You can even incorporate some extras in your coffee and tea, like collagen, MCT oil, and MCT oil powder. (Remember that you can use code “REALBALANCED” for 15% off your Perfect Keto products!)

Milk is not recommended as lactose is processed by our bodies as sugar. If you love milk in your coffee, I’d suggest replacing that with heavy cream, butter, and/or coconut oil!

I should also be sure to mention that the occasional glass of wine won’t hurt! 😉

Summary of macro tracking on a keto diet

Track your net carbs. Eat meats, veggies, and healthy fats. Stay away from sugary drinks, foods, and snacks, along with starch-filled food items. I believe in you!

If you have any questions about more specific things you can or cannot eat, ask away below!

Click here to view all of my recipes to help you transition to a ketogenic diet!

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

25 Comments

  1. Lani C. says

    I am starting my diet tomorrow! Very excited. And nervous. I have used a calculator so I know my targets. My concern is that I will hit my max calories before I have gotten in all the required fats. If say 1600 calories is my target, won’t I reach that quickly with all the high calorie foods before I have eaten enough fats?

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      You won’t just be adding fats, so the lower calorie content of protein and carbs will offset the higher calorie fats you’ll be consuming. So long as you hit all of your target macros, you won’t exceed your daily calorie goals.

      Reply

  2. jan says

    where do you track your macros on keto? is there a chart etc. How do you know what percentage you are getting of each food group?

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      Just guessing or “eyeballing” measurements is not exact whatsoever and will lead to inaccurately entering what you are eating. You take all of the guesswork out of it by weighing your food, typically in grams, ounces, milliliters, etc.

      Reply

  4. Quincey Henry says

    OK, I don’t get any of it, I guess. I’ll admit it. First off: Fat Sources-what foods comprise this macro? It is inconceivable to eat to eat a plate of food consisting of 80% of avaocados, olive oil, nut butters, nuts, cocnut oil…Second: Protein: if I must balance the protein percent, where does the notion eating as much as I want, or until full come out in? Third: how am I supposed to know recognize the macro count between various plates of food? I have been trying Keto since May of this year, and the only difference I’ noticed, albeit a great difference, is blood sugar stabilization. I cannot lose weight, achieve ketosis, lower blood pressure, or realize any of the projected benefits of Keto.

    In an promote the elusive Keto benefits, I skip breakfast, add MCT caps and oils, butter, and other recommendations to every meal; and still, no success.

    It might help to know that I am also T2 diabetic. Therefore, I am vigilant about sugar restrictions, and walk as part of my job, for exercise.

    I expected a challenge with this new dietary lifestyle change, but this is proving to be unattainable.

    At this point, I fear I may be doing more harm than good—where cholesterol, heart disease and kidney problems are concerned.

    Any help/assistance and encouragement you can provide is wholly appreciated.

    Kind regards,
    Mr. Uncertain

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      I know it seems complicated, but once you get the hang of tracking your macros, it becomes quite simple! The first thing you need to do is download a macro tracking app; in your case, I would suggest Carb Manager, which is free in the app store and very user-friendly. Use a keto macro calculator to determine how much fat, protein, and carbs you personally should be consuming each day, then invest in a food scale. Weigh your food, enter it into Carb Manager, and it will do the calculations for you. Try and not let the process overwhelm you, which it sounds like it currently is. And, if tracking all of your macros is just too much, simply track your carb intake and don’t worry as much about protein and fat in the beginning.

      Reply

      • Stan says

        I started a Keto diet 2 weeks ago. I have lost about 10 pounds. The biggest difference that I have noticed is the I am not hungry. Very rarely eating between meals and often not eating breakfast. I eat almost no carbs and no sugar. I have been eating eggs and bacon, meat, seafood, some vegetables and salad. I am concerned that I am not eating enough fat. Not sure how to change to less protein and more fat.

        Reply

        • Sara Nelson says

          A great way to get in additional fat without adding additional carbs or protein would be adding oil or butter to your meals. It’s also a good idea to eat fatty protein, rather than lean meat, so you’re getting in both fat and protein (e.g., beef, sardines, salmon, bacon).

          Reply

  5. Kirsten Williams says

    Hi- I’m unclear whether I need to strictly balance my macros at every meal, or just over the course of a day. For example, can I eat some berries or watermelon alone, or do I have to combine them with fat? Thnx!

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      Great question! This would be a personal choice, but I’d suggest eating carbs with fat. I personally always try and combine carbs with fat (“no naked carbs”) because it seems to help better regulate my blood sugar.

      Reply

  8. Alphea Cole says

    I am still confused on how I know I am getting 70% Fat, 20% Protein and 5% Carbs. Do I need to basically track every item in a recipe? Write down each ingredients ‘DNA’ so to speak. I am unsure how to equate 70% Fat on a plate???

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      Yes, you need to track everything you eat and enter it into a calculator. I personally like the MyFitnessPal app. To accurately measure everything, a food scale is necessary. So, if you were going to make yourself a burger, you’d weigh the raw ground beef, the toppings you use (e.g., cheddar cheese, bacon, etc.), and then enter all of that into the app. It will calculate what percentage of your daily macros you’ve consumed. Before you do any of that though, be sure you calculate your individualized macro amounts. Those percentages you mention are just general guidelines.

      Reply

  9. Rachel Green says

    I have been having issues with Greek yogurt each time i try to have it in a smoothie or by itself i feel acid refulx :/ Can i use regular yogurt instead with no fat?

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      That’s totally up to you, but I probably personally wouldn’t, as regular yogurt is much higher in carbs due to the lactose content. My advice would be to altogether remove yogurt from your diet, especially if it’s causing reflux.

      Reply

  10. Andrea Sager says

    Is Greek yogurt, then, eliminated b/c of lactose?
    And no fruit at all? Specifically berries (blue/black) ?

    Reply

    • Sara Nelson says

      Hi, Andrea! For the Greek yogurt, it would depend on the ingredients and the carb content. If you want to incorporate yogurt into your personal diet, I say, “go for it!” Just be sure to check that the carb content is low. As for fruit, berries can be included, as they are low in net carbs, however, be sure to not overdo it as the carb content will quickly add up! I love to eat blueberries and raspberries (they are both low in net carbs).

      Reply