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KetoDiet-Buddy Calculator
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KetoDiet Buddy
Easy Macro Calculator for the
Ketogenic Diet
KetoDiet Buddy is the most precise keto calculator designed to help you determine
your ideal food intake (macronutrients) for the ketogenic diet as well as other types
of low-carbs diets.
Measurement Units
Units
We auto-select units based on your location. If they are wrong please change them
below.
Metric US Customary Imperial
Female Male
35
Age years
80
Weight Kg
Height
1.68
meters
Activity Level
Body fat
To learn more about measuring body fat, have a look here.
25
%
Net carbs
Specify the amount of daily net carbs you'd like to consume. Typically, 20-30 grams is
25
grams
keep in mind that these calculations are estimates and small differences won't impair
your progress. You likely have different energy requirements every day, so what
really matters is the long-term average, e.g. over a week, not your exact daily values.
Maintenance
Goal
Weight loss Weight gain Custom
Below is a range of calorie deficits to help you lose weight. For best results, it is
We have open sourced KetoDiet Buddy, you can now find the source code for
Simple Keto
GET IT NOW
The exact amount of fat and protein is a matter of individual body responses and
activity levels. However, most people on ketogenic diets don't consume over 5% of
In most cases, you won’t need to count calories on a ketogenic diet. However, if you
find it hard to lose weight or you are relatively fit and trying to lose a small amount
If you just started following a low-carb diet, don't forget to read my free Guide to
Keto & Paleo Diet which includes a print-friendly PDF version! You will find all the
information you need, including the keto food list and tips on how to follow the diet
to achieve your goals.
Maintenance Level
Maintenance Level, also known as Total Energy Expenditure, is a level at which you
where:
Thermal Effect of Activity, also known as Activity Level, determines additional energy
multipliers from Lyle McDonald's book to better reflect different activity levels that
1. Sedentary: very little or no exercise (light walking) and most office jobs (receptionists,
2. Lightly Active: 1-3 times a week, light exercise such as light cardio (walking, light
3. Moderately Active: 3-5 times a week (moderate cardio and muscle training) and
4. Very Active: 5 and more times a week (hard exercise, intense cardio and muscle
training at fitness level) and very active jobs (constructive workers, farmers,
landscapers, etc.)
Thermal Effect of Feeding TEF represents the increase in metabolic rate when food is
ingested. Protein and carbohydrates have the highest specific dynamic action, while
fat has the lowest. As a result, TEF on the ketogenic diet will be 10% on average.
Protein Intake
The optimal protein intake depends on your lean mass (total weight minus body fat)
and your activity level. Too much protein may disrupt ketosis, as excessive protein
will be converted into glycogen and have a similar effect on ketosis as eating too
many carbs. On the other hand, too little protein may cause muscle loss.
You don’t want to lose muscles because this will also slow down your metabolism
and your body will burn less calories. To find out your ideal protein intake, you need
According to Volek and Phinney (The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate
Performance), the multiplying factor should be between 0.6 - 1 grams per a pound
As an example, if your weight is 160 pounds and your body fat is 30%, your lean
Using your activity level will help you determine your protein intake more precisely.
Based on the figures above, the ideal protein intake for different activity levels would
be as follows:
1. Minimum protein intake for sedentary people = 0.6 x lean body mass in lbs
Protein intake on a ketogenic diet does not change based on your goal - in other
words it's the same for weight loss, weight maintenance and weight gain!
Adequate protein intake and developing ketosis are both critical for maximising fat
loss and sparing muscle mass during the ketogenic diet. However, it will take up to 3
weeks before your body gets keto-adapted (in some cases even more). During the
initial phase of the ketogenic diet, nitrogen losses may occur if your daily net carbs
intake is very low. When your carbohydrate intake goes down, your body converts
body protein into glucose. Since about 16% of protein is nitrogen, you may lose
muscle mass which will cause a decrease in your metabolic rate. This could have a
negative impact on fat loss. For example, if your carbs intake is close to zero, you you
may have to eat more protein (aka protein sparing modified fast). Keep in mind this
applies to zero carbohydrate intake which means it does not affect most people
Early research into the topic of starvation and low-carbohydrate dieting found that as
few as 15 grams of carbohydrates per day can limit nitrogen loss in the body. And
raising carbohydrate intake to 50 grams per day severely limits the need for the body
to use amino acids for gluoconeogenesis (which is why I suggested setting daily carbs
1) The increased carb intake maintains blood glucose and insulin at a higher level
2) The carbohydrate provides glucose for the brain, limiting the need to break down
body protein.
Basically, in the context of dieting, dieters can either jack up dietary protein to cover
carbohydrates to provide them directly. Both have the same end-result. 15-50 grams
per day limits the body’s need to break down protein and will allow protein
requirements to be set lower than a diet providing essentially zero carbohydrates per
day.
There are several ways of varying accuracy and complexity for estimating your body
fat.
To get a good estimate of your body fat percentage, use our Body Fat
Calculator (Jackson / Pollock method). For the most accurate results, use a formula
best suited for your needs (read more about other caliper methods).
2. Body measurement method
Not the most accurate but can give you a rough idea - it uses your body
measurements (waist, hips and neck). Here is a good on-line calculator you can use.
comparison images.
Carbs
The aim is to find the level best suited for you. There are two ways to count carbs -
you can either count total carbs or net carbs (net carbs are total carbs minus fibre).
According to Volek and Phinney, you should not eat more than 50 grams of total
carbs (25-30 grams of net carbs) on a ketogenic diet. If your aim is to lose weight or
maintain a healthy weight, eating 20-30 grams of net carbs (up to 50 grams of total
carbs) is a great way to start. If you want to learn more about total vs net carbs,
In cases such as for the Restricted Ketogenic Diet for therapeutical uses, you may
need to eat less than 20 grams of net carbs, or even less than 20 grams of total carbs.
your net carbs intake is specified by you, the only macronutrient that needs adjusting
is the fat intake. Your fat intake is used to adjust the calorie intake. The more fat, the
more calories. Typically, you adjust fat so that you reach but not exceed your target
calories.
Obviously, the bigger the calorie deficit, the faster the weight loss. However, for best
long term results a moderate deficit is recommended. Even for active individuals,
1. Essential body fat is vital fat mass you cannot lose and it’s 8-12% for women and 3-
5% for men.
2. To prevent the formation of gallstones, your fat intake should not be less than 30
grams per day (Phinney and Volek, The Art and Science of Low-carbohydrate Living).
3. The maximum rate at which your body can release fat is 69.2 kcal per a kilogram of
Although the maximum rate at which your body can release fat is based on a study
that has not been done specifically for low-carb, ketogenic diets, it can be used as a
The minimum food intake in calories tells us the maximum rate at which your body
can metabolize fat and, therefore, at which you can lose fat. You should not go below
this limit to avoid negative side effects such as loss of muscle mass, or decreased
Additional tips
First of all, don't weigh yourself more than once a week. There are natural
fluctuations related to water retention and hormonal balance. If you are a woman,
you will notice these fluctuations more often. If you see no movement on the scales
or even if your weight goes up, it doesn't mean you are not losing fat. If you exercise,
you may even see a little increase in weight, as muscles are heavier than fat. The
important thing here is to concentrate on losing body fat. Don’t rely just on scales,
and body fat change, your macronutrient ratio will also change.
We have open sourced KetoDiet Buddy, you can now find the source code for our Keto
Calculator on Github.
https://github.com/ketodiet/keto-calculator