There are many people who wonder if counting macros is necessary when doing the ketogenic diet. This article will provide information on whether or not it matters, and give you some tips for how to know what to eat while following a keto lifestyle!
Yes, this is definitely something that you can get to over time but many shouldn’t start their new diet this way. Many foods you may not expect to have carbohydrate actually have many grams and can cause you to falter in your results.
So now that you are aware of the ability to do keto without tracking macros, you should know that it may not be the best idea. There are often hidden carbs, these are carb counts that are rounded down on labels, in certain foods and this can cause you to go over your daily limit without realizing it!
So if you aren’t going to track macros when doing keto, what is some ways people have been seeing success without tracking protein intake and daily calories?
What is Lazy Keto? Is It Right For You?
As the name suggests “lazy keto” is for those people who don’t like to manage their calories and macro’s due to all the time it takes. In order to be successful with “lazy keto” you must know your body’s limits!
If you are thinking about trying out lazy keto, there is something that everyone should keep in mind: this way of doing things will work best for those who have a lot of weight to lose and will nearly always be under when removing carbs from the diet.
This is a great way for those people who are just starting their weight loss goals to dip their toes in the water and see how this diet works before investing fully into it!
So if you aren’t going to track macros when doing keto, what is one way many have been seeing success?
How to Do Keto Without Tracking Macros Successfully
The best way to do a ketogenic diet without tracking is to use your knowledge and uderstanding of the right foods and choose based on that as the main criteria.
The focus should be on actual whole foods and not the processed foods which are often masquerading behind a nutritional label as being “good for you”.
So, if you want to go on a ketogenic diet without tracking macros or calories it is possible but will require some extra knowledge and effort from your side.
It may sound like more trouble than it’s worth at first glance – so let me tell you what you can expect:
It will be a lot more work at first – but that’s just because you have to build up your knowledge of the keto foods and break bad eating habits. Once you know what good food choices are, it becomes easy as pie!
You’ll enjoy better health overall from going on this diet and when you stick with it, you’ll feel great and be able to maintain the results for a long time!
If you’re willing to make sacrifices in order to get better health and lose all that extra weight then it’s definitely worthwhile giving this diet a go.
So Lazy Keto sounds like something right up your alley if tracking macros isn’t something which you can commit to doing!
Can You Actually Do Keto Without Tracking Macros?
Yes, most people cn learn over time how to approach their keto diet without counting macros. There are many people who wonder if counting macros is necessary when doing the ketogenic diet.
So Lazy Keto sounds like something right up your alley if tracking macros isn’t something which you can commit to doing!
If you’re willing to make sacrifices in order to get better health and lose all that extra body fat weight then it’s definitely worthwhile giving this diet a go.
In order for lazy keto to work, there are some things about yourself that you should know: it may take longer at first – but once you learn what good food choices are, it becomes easy as pie!
You’ll enjoy better overall from going on an actual whole foods based approach rather than processed foods masquerading behind a nutritional label as being “good for you”.
Listening to Your Body’s Feedback
Focus will be needed on your body and the way it adapts to the keto diet. Keto dieters should listen to their body’s feedback and gauge how they are feeling after certain meals, especially if they are higher in fat than before.
Just because you ate a meal with high fat content does not mean that your keto diet is working if you feel lethargic or yucky afterwards.
You may need more time on the keto diet before knowing whether to count macros for it will take some trial-and-error until your system becomes efficient in using fats as energy sources instead of carbohydrate sources, which means better health benefits all around.
Once you get through the keto flu timeframe and more into “keto adapted” you will feel more energy, mental clarity and better quality sleep. At this point, you will know whether counting macros on your keto diet is necessary for you or not.
One large idea behind the ketogenic diet is to be mindful of what you are putting into your body in terms of food intake because it can affect your health and wellness greatly if not done right.
Mindful Eating for Keto
Mindful eating is learning when your body is signaling that it is hungry or full, instead of following calories on a food label. There is many benefits to learning to go back to the old days before labels, trusting your body.
The problems that occur here is that many of todays foods are tasty, they are tasty because they layer in extra carbs and fats in a mixture our bodies wouldn’t find in nature itself.
This can lead to incredibly out of whack diets with a large deficit in actual nutritional value but with a high caloric impact and bad changes to your body composition, primarily that belly fat.
Trusting your brain can cause you massive health problems and can lead to a very unhealthy relationship with food.
Evaluate What Works for You
In the end you will want to watch how you eat and what the scale shows to figure out whether you need to track or if you are able to practice a more mindful eating method.
This is a very personal decision. If you feel like tracking can help you stick to the keto diet then go for it, if not try eating whole foods and using your body’s feedback as an indicator of whether or not what you ate was good for your goals.
Lazy Keto Tip: When starting out on the lazy keto approach, take things slow! You may be tempted to eat more traditional carbs because they are easier than finding healthy sources of fat in nature that will fit into lazy keto.
However, this may set back progress since these food choices will spike insulin which is counterproductive when trying to lose weight with low carb diets such as the ketogenic diet.
If it goes sideways and you aren’t losing any weight then you may really need to start tracking, whether on paper or in an app on your smartphone.
Tracking your macronutrients and micronutrients can be a huge help in learning what works and what doesn’t work for you.
In Summary
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate. The idea behind this type of eating pattern is to force the body into using fats rather than carbohydrates as its primary fuel source.
However, counting macros on your keto diet may not be necessary if you are mindful about what you eat and how your body responds after certain meals. It’s important that you tune in with yourself by evaluating what works best for you!
