How many carbs do we normally eat?
I think it’s super important to know what is recommended for a normal, everyday diet so that you understand how the keto diet is different.
Most people on the Western diet will consume 250g net carbs a day. That is pretty high and you can probably see why we have the obesity that we do. Some people will refer to ‘low carb’ diets and in general, that means anything under 100g net carbs a day.
How many carbs on keto are allowed?
Generally speaking when on the keto diet, we are aiming to have around 20g net carbs a day, give or take a few. With this amount of net carbs, your body will enter ketosis and you should start to lose weight.
Ther are a few variations on that and one is if you’re exercising 4-5 times a week, you might find that you are able to maintain ketosis with more net carbs a day. Everyone is different and that’s why it’s so important to monitor your ketones with urine test strips and get to know how many carbs you can tolerate and stay in ketosis.
The difference between total carbs and net carbs.
It’s important to understand the difference between total carbs and net carbs. When we’re talking about keeping your carb intake to 20g/day, we mean your net carbs.
Your net carbs = total carbs – fiber
This is so important to understand! The reason we look at net carbs is that the fibre that’s in foods will ultimately get expelled with your faeces. Fibre is there to help food pass through the digestive tract and isn’t digested so, therefore, it doesn’t count as calories.
Low carb staples to help you stay in ketosis
You might be wondering what you’ll be able to eat on the keto diet! It’s good to know that there are plenty of options and you’ll get into a groove with it!
These are the foods that should make up the majority of your diet
- Fresh, low carb vegetable – broccoli, leafy greens, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, capsicum. Generally, anything that grows about the ground and isn’t sugar-containing fruit.
- Avocados – are the keto diet superfood!
- Berries – raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries are all low in carb and high in fibre.
- Olives – contain a high percentage of fats, perfect for keto
- Dairy – consume good quality dairy
- Meats – again, make sure they’re good quality and preferably organic.
When you’re starting out on the keto diet, it can be challenging! This product, Blood Sugar Support Capsules by Perfect Keto will help you when transitioning to the keto diet.
There you go! I hope that helps to answer the ‘how many carbs on keto am I allowed’ question!
