Keto Way of Life/Eating: Tracking to Hit Macros & Get Essential Nutrients

The most crucial things I have found living a keto way of life is getting the essential nutrients, and hitting my macros.

In an earlier post, I talked about calculating your keto macros to get the right ratio of protein and fat while you're trying to live a very low carb life.

Here's my current keto macros and you can see the URL to calculate your own:

I've always tracked my food, not because I'm obsessed by calories (or eating too much). On the contrary, I naturally forget to eat and tend to not eat enough generally. When I first started keto, my inadequate protein consumption led to hair loss and muscle wasting!!

I keep myself on track nutritionally by tracking food consumption using "My Fitness Pal."
Some people don't officially track their food and do fine, but it's too easy for me to be off track.

BOTTOM LINE:  In my personal opinion, just get nutritional values for your list of foods so you can do a quick check to make sure you have the right balance for you and your goals.

I do a quick manual check every couple of days to make sure I'm on track.
The REASON I do a MANUAL check is because none of the apps track net carbs, which is what we care about. :-)

I admit I DO get CARRIED AWAY because I like spreadsheets!!!

My Supplement List: As Part of My Keto Way of Life

My Supplement List:  As Part of My Keto Way of Life

You’ll want to do your own research based on what you need as a supplement to what you eat. Because my diet will vary from someone else’s, my supplement list is provided as an illustration only. However, the essential elements for electrolyte balance are Sodium— Potassium—Magnesium (see below).

Multi-Vitamin

For me, the most comprehensive vitamin that provides BOTH my supplemental vitamin needs as well as my micronutrients is Vita4Life Multi-Plus Formula. It is the closest “one pill” solution I have found outside of my food intake--I buy mine on Amazon (search for Vita4life Multi-Plus).

3 x day multi-vitamin that gives nearly 100% requirements for the following vitamins and minerals:

Vit A, C, D3, E, B1, B2, B6, B12, B5, Iron, Zinc, Selenium

Provides trace amounts (less than 50%) for Vit K, B3, folic acid, biotin, calcium, magnesium, chromium

The multi-vitamin is not 100% so I add the following additional supplements:

Calcium, Mag & Zinc (500mg/250/mg15mg) per serving x 2 capsules daily

Nature’s Way is the gluten free, non-filler blend that I take. 

Probiotics (40 billion CFU)—one capsule twice a day

I take it after my first meal and after my last meal of the day.

Turmeric (with curcumin and ginger)—one capsule twice a day

Turmeric is an amazing anti-inflammatory. 40+ should consider adding this supplement to help naturally reduce inflammation caused by overuse, stress, and general exercise.

I take it after my first meal and after my last meal of the day.

D3—dosage varies (in Winter or gloomy days ONLY)

Many people over 40 or 50 are deficient in D3. If you don’t get enough sunlight and/or avoid dairy, you may be deficient. I take D3 daily in the winter, but do not take it in the summer.

B 12 (take one sublingual 1.000 mcg daily)

Since I am naturally hyper and high energy, I find a B12 once a day to boost my immune system and keep me from rarely getting sick. It’s important to buy B12 with METHYLcobalamin NOT CYANOCOcobalamin which is synthetic and contains traces of arsenic!!

Biotin (10-30 mcg)

Many folks on Keto complain of hair loss and less than healthy finger nails. I started by adding one Biotin tablet daily and increased to 2 x a day.

Essentials for Electrolyte Balance:  Sodium – Potassium - Magnesium

Getting enough potassium and sodium on Keto is a real challenge for me.

Sodium Aim for an extra 3,000mg sodium daily via:

·         Pink Himalayan / Celtic Sea salt (not standard table) or broth / bouillon 240 mg (1-2 cups per day) OR consider table salt with iodine since the average American is iodine deficient and pink Himalayan salt does not provide an advocate supply of iodine, so I TRY to add 1/4 = 1/2 tsp of table salt.

Potassium Recommended: Men & Women: ¼ tsp x 2 = 1,200 max or 600 mg x 2 daily

Symptoms of low sodium include fatigue, headaches, compromised ability to perform (especially outdoors in the heat) and in more serious cases you may pass out.

·         Remember that most of the sodium in your body is found in your bloodstream, so if your body gets deficient, you don’t have many reserves to tap into.

·         In the first few weeks on a keto diet, only about half of your weight loss is from body-fat. The other half is from water and sodium loss. Therefore, getting enough sodium is crucial.

Potassium is present in every cell of your body and plays a vital role in muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses, and maintenance of fluid balance. Experts consider adequate potassium intake a way to keep blood pressure in check and to promote bone health.

Low potassium affects your risk of stroke and other conditions to such an extent that the FDA now allows potassium-rich foods to carry the following claim: "Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke."

People who have high blood pressure should generally strive to get more than the daily recommended intake of potassium (but should get their doctor's approval first). Although it is not known if the need for potassium increases with age, the risk of high blood pressure does increase with age, making it more important to get plenty of potassium. Many medications that are prescribed to treat high blood pressure are diuretics, which deplete the body of potassium, increasing the need even more!!

Magnesium

Recommended: Men: 420mg a day; Women: 320mg a day (my combo is 250 mg x 2)

Like calcium and vitamin D, magnesium is an essential nutrient for bone health. It is VERY important to note that magnesium’s importance in the body is far-reaching. Why? Magnesium is involved in more than 300 metabolic processes in the body, including muscle contraction, protein synthesis, cell reproduction, energy metabolism, and the transport of nutrients into cells. Magnesium is most studied for its role in bone health, blood pressure regulation, cardiovascular health, and diabetes. Several studies show some elderly people get little magnesium in their diets. In addition, as we get older, magnesium absorption decreases and excretion in urine increases which leads to magnesium depletion and deficiency.