If you’ve tried to lose weight before, chances are you have tried cutting calories to achieve your weight loss goals. You’ve probably heard that the key to losing weight is all about the amount of calories you’re consuming in relation to the calories you’re burning that matters. So how does it work on a keto diet, especially when you’re allowed to eat high fat foods? Do calories still matter on a keto diet, or do you just have to limit your carb intake to get drastic weight loss results?
It may not be as simple as an easy yes or no answer. There are many other factors that come into play when it comes to calories, even on a ketogenic diet.
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WHAT IS A CALORIE?
Calories measure the amount of energy in your food. So when referring to the number of calories in a particular food, you are basically stating the amount of energy your body can get out of that food you’re consuming.
Different macronutrients have different calorie contents:
1g protein = 4 calories
1g carbohydrate = 4 calories
1g fat = 9 calories
Your body is using calories all day to run both voluntary and involuntary functions to keep things running smoothly. These calories are either coming from the food you eat, or the fat already stored on your body.
CALORIES IN vs CALORIES OUT
To simplify, to lose weight you have to eat fewer calories than you use for energy. YES, even on a ketogenic diet. The amount of calories you consume should be lower than the amount of calories you burn throughout the day.
If everyone is different, how are you supposed to know how many calories you need per day? There are tons of keto macro calculators online that can help get you started in determining the adequate amount of fat, protein, carbs, and calories you need per day. This will allow you to track how many calories you’re consuming every day to ensure you’re remaining in a deficit. The best Apps for tracking your macros and calories on keto based on what most keto-ers use regularly are CarbManager, MyFitnessPal, and Cronometer.
With that being said, not all calories are created equal so while being in a caloric deficit is important, there are other factors that play a role in how efficiently your body burns calories.
THE THERMIC EFFECT OF FOOD
The thermic effect of food (TEF) refers to the amount of energy it takes to consume and break down certain foods within the body. For example, your body requires a lot more energy to break down protein than it does carbohydrates or fats. So that means that your body has to work harder and burn more calories to digest protein, therefore the thermic effect of protein is higher.
The TEF amount of protein is 25% which means that your body uses 25% of the calories from that protein source you’re eating JUST to break it down! With carbohydrates the TEF amount is only 8% so the calories leftover are much higher.
Example:
If you eat 100 calories of protein ~ 75% of calories are leftover after digestion.
If you eat 100 calories of carbs ~ 92% of calories are leftover after digestion.
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OXIDATIVE PRIORITY
Researchers have coined the term Oxidative Priority to refer to the order in which the body chooses which fuel to burn first when there are multiple options found in the bloodstream. Oxidation simply means “fuel burning”.
The priority in which the body burns fuel is as follows:
#1 ALCOHOL: when alcohol is in your bloodstream, it will be burned first no matter what other macronutrients are available because the body has no way to store alcohol. This means all other macronutrients are put onto a back-burner and stored until the alcohol has been burned through.
#2 PROTEIN: your body has countless ways to use protein from building muscle, creating hormones, protecting cell membranes, etc etc. Therefore your body will find a use for protein fairly quickly since it’s essential in so many different processes in the body and won’t be stored.
#3 CARBOHYDRATES: if your liver and glycogen stores are already full, carbohydrates can easily be stored on the body waiting to be used for fuel.
#4 FATS: technically, our bodies have an unlimited capacity to store fats in our fat cells to wait around indefinitely until they need to be used for fuel. This is an adaptive result from our ancestral hunter-gatherer days when food was more scarce.
This just goes to show that calories from different macronutrient sources have a vastly different metabolic effect on the body.
SATIETY
Satiety refers to how satisfying and full you feel after eating. This is important for two main reasons when it comes to your keto weight loss goals.
First, a diet that has a high level of satiety such as keto, allows you to decrease the number of calories you consume so you can tap into your body fat stores. Second, it helps decrease cravings so that you don’t feel the need to overeat at meals.
Protein is the most satiating macronutrient, even more so than fat! This means that if you eat a meal that is higher in protein, you are less likely to crave sweets or more savory foods afterwards. Aim to consume 0.8g - 1g of protein per pound of body weight, broken up into each meal daily. This will help you feel more full and satisfied which helps burn body fat and lose weight.
QUALITY OF FOOD
Imagine that you have two meals that are exactly identical in Thermic Effect, Oxidative Priority and Satiety, but one of those meals is ALSO full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes while the other is void of any additional nutritional value.
When you consume calories made up of whole foods you are getting a wide variety of nutrients that help your metabolic system run most efficiently. This makes a difference with not only how satisfied you’ll feel after your meal, but how well your metabolism will burn calories in general.
CALORIES MATTER ON KETO
If your goal is weight loss on a ketogenic diet, then YES calories do still matter. The benefit of eating a ketogenic diet is that the foods are full of fat and protein so you may notice a natural decrease in appetite. It is extremely helpful in decreasing sugar cravings because your meals themselves are so satisfying.
A keto diet is also very thermogenic in nature. It can help you burn calories more efficiently while you feel more satisfied with less food. This is an important factor to note that it is an incredible tool for weight loss, but you must still be aware of what you eat, and how much you eat. If you still eat more than your body needs, it WILL be stored as fat. Regardless if you’re in ketosis or not.
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SHOULD YOU COUNT CALORIES ON KETO?
This decision is entirely up to you, your weight loss goals, and where you’re at in your keto journey.
Some people prefer to simply focus on eating whole, nutrient dense foods and avoiding all processed keto foods and treats. For some people it is more about the type of calories they’re consuming vs the amount of calories they’re consuming.
If you’re new to keto, have reached a keto weight loss stall, or have a specific goal weight you’d like to achieve, tracking your macros and counting calories is highly recommended. This is the only way to know for sure that you’re eating the right amount of calories and carbs to move you towards your goals.
If you’ve been living a ketogenic lifestyle for quite some time, you may not feel the need to count calories and just stick to keto foods. But if you find yourself overeating or consuming too many processed keto foods or treats, you can always rely back on using macro tracking and calorie counting as a tool to remind yourself of carb counts, calories, and appropriate portion sizes.
Keto is an incredible way to lose weight while eating foods that are totally satisfying. Whether you count calories or not, they definitely play a role in achieving your weight loss goals even when you’re in ketosis. If you’re feeling overwhelmed about starting a keto diet, or want help tweaking your current eating habits to reach your ideal weight click here to learn more about how coaching can help get you in a body you’re comfortable and confident in. You can also join the free Keto Weight Loss for Women facebook group for additional information and support.
