So what is a macro and why are they important to you while doing the ketogenic diet?
First, a macro is short for macronutrient. A macro is a protein, carb or fat in the food world.
It is how we are able to measure what we eat. The next measurement is in grams. One gram of
carbs and proteins have 4 calories each. A fat gram has 9 calories.
Interesting Fact: In the last few decades of the 20th century when the low fat and fat free diets
were all the rage and we were told fat was bad and carbs loaded with sugar was good, part of
this thinking was that because fats had 9 calories and carbs had only 4, if we reduced or
eliminated fat, we would all become skinny Minnie’s. We can see how well that line of thinking
worked. HA!
Fat, as it turns out, plays a vital role in our diets and by eliminating it we created a whole host of other health-related problems. Plus good fats taste amazing and they keep us full longer. I don’t know about you but I can never get enough carbs. The more I eat, the more I want! It’s better to get good carbs via foods like broccoli smothered in butter and hemp seeds. Yum!
Back to Macros. So how do I know how many grams of carbs, proteins, and fats to eat?
You can start by weighing yourself. It takes 15 calories to maintain the average person’s
weight. So let’s say you weight 150 pounds, and you want to eat a Ketogenic macro ratio to
become a fat burner. We target 80% fat, 15% protein and 5% carb program to start with. The
math is as follows:
15 calories* 150 Pounds = 2,250 daily calories
2,250 *.80 = 1,800 daily fat calories / 9 = 200 grams of fat per day
2,250 *.15 = 338 daily protein calories / 4 = 84 grams of protein per day
2,250 * .05 = 112 daily carb calories / 4 = 28 grams of carbs a day
Two hundred grams of fat is a LOT of fat. Twenty-eight grams of carbs are not many carbs.
Getting the fat into my diet has been a challenge. This is a process, that for me 
requires a lot more macro counting than I like to do. In fact, I haven’t gotten right even one day yet. Some of it is reversing the idea that all
this fat is bad. Because this is a lifestyle I am committed to, I just keep showing up and doing my best. The great news is that I have more energy and I feel better than I have in years. I can’t wait to see what all this feels like three months from now. The other thing is I am really having fun exploring new foods options. Hemp Hearts, avocados and butter are great ways to up the
fat grams without many carbs and proteins as well.
One final point is that this is your starting place. You may find this is too much food or not
enough. Be patient and let your body tell you how this scenario is working for your body. You
can always tweak.
This is definitely a journey! Be sure to enjoy the process.
Till next time! Sherri
PS Next blog will have more on Kylee, my daughter, and her journey with me on this lifestyle change!
