Ketogenic diet Protein Threshold Variation

How much protein on a Keto Diet?

If your reading this, you probably are attempting a Ketogenic Diet, and are tring to figure out how much protein that you should be eating……Ketogenic diet protein amounts are often debated. This could be the most important factor in not just a ketogenic diet, but also overall fat loss in general. Marketing and “bro science” has told us the last decade that we need hundreds of grams of protein or that we will wither away like a starving refuge. Upon embarking on a Keto diet many people basically do a low carb, high protein diet, because they think they must consume their one gram per pound of protein requirements. I know this because I was guilty of this myself until I actually tested for ketones and realized that I wasn’t in ketosis. The truth is that after 6 years of lifting and a significant amount of muscle mass, I thought to maintain it that I had to eat a lot of protein. What I didn’t realize, and why I am sharing this article, is that maintaining muscle and growing muscle are two separate ball games. 

Figuring out Protein Threshold

Ketogenic diet protein
I am 190lb at 10% body Fat and can only tolerate 80 Grams of Protein to stay in ketosis.

I wanted to feel ketosis, so I kept my carbs low, and my fat high, and set out to lower my protein and find out my protein threshold. Protein Threshold is the amount of protein that you currently need to maintain, grow, and repair tissue in the human body. Any Protein that doesn’t get utilized duew to over abundance just gets converted ito sugar via “gluconeogenesis”.  So I started at 100g, and I registered a 0.3 mmol in blood ketones. I went down to 90g the next day and got a 0.5 mmol. At this point I still didn’t feel any cognitive or energy benefits that everyone was raving about. So I went down to 80g, which I thought was way too low, and immediately registered a 1.0 mmol in blood ketones. This was the first day that I really felt the difference in energy, focus, and emotional stability. After tinkering I found out that on my workout days I could handle around 80g of protein, and on my rest days I could only tolerate about 75g or I would wake the next day out of ketosis. Most guys that are growing muscle can handle much more protein than me. However, they are probably growing new muscle tissue. I am not. I have pretty much reached my genetic potential when it comes to natural muscle size, therefor I just don’t need as much protein as I once thought I did….

Keys to Ketosis and Protein

  • Obviously keep Carbohydrates below 50g(net if your an athlete, total if not) vegetable, or nut carbs per day.
  • Began testing your ketones with blood or breath meters, pee strips are not accurate over time.
  • Start with 1 gram protein per kg of body weight, and decrease until you are in nutritional ketosis.
  • Keep fat above 70 percent of total caloriesProtein on keto

Protein, Ketosis, and Fat Loss

I realized very quickly that I enjoyed ketosis and I enjoyed eating less protein. I thought that frequent gas and bloating was just normal. But after days with no frequent gas, no bloating, and better bowel movements, I decided that I would do some research and find out if it was the protein that was giving me all the problems. I quickly realized that too much protein is directly linked to causing frequent gas, kidney problems, and digestive issues. After A few months in out of ketosis I have realized that whether I am doing keto or not sticking to my protein threshold is key to maintaining my current body fat percentage. When I go too high on protein, the gas creeps up, and I start putting on weight from the excess sugar production.

Conclusion: If your having trouble getting into Nutritional Ketosis, or just losing weight on a low carb diet, try finding your protein threshold. It could be lower than you think. It was for me. For any other questions regarding ketogenic diets or Keto coaching, feel free to contact me at musclesandveggies@gmail.com.

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