Confused about pie chart

At the end of the day, should my pie chart segments be at 5%, 25% and 70? This is pretty tricky to do. the times it does, I still have grams left to eat, I’m not at my full limit for fat, protein and carbs. And the other way around.  And if I eat something else it sends it all out of balance. Does this pie chart even matter? I’m finding sometimes I’m adding cream to my coffee just for the hell of it just to try to get the pie chart right. Surely this isn’t how it works? Any help would be great. Thanks 

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Any help appreciated. Thank you

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Have I posted this in the wrong place or something?  Thanks 

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  • Hi. I haven't been doing this very long, but I started planning out my meals.  I have my coffee (with MUCH) less cream and sugar than I usually use, so I know that's going to use up most of my carbs. Then I usually just eat protein and fat and leafy veggies.  That generally takes care of the rest.  I have my calories set a little lower also. I just try to get close, if I go to the gym, I don't usually eat the extra carbs but I do eat a little more protein. And water, lots of water

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    • Moondrake
    • Mother of Doggies
    • Moondrake
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Setting aside the issue of calories for the moment, you want your carbs macro to be as low as possible, never higher than 5%. You want to stay within 10% of your protein and fat goals. It's best not to exceed your protein goal, it's okay to exceed your fat as long as you don't go overboard. On the subject of calories many of us find our desire to eat to be diminished due to the filling nature of the keto diet. You don't want to go too low on calories consistently, as it can cause your metabolism to slow down. However eating short calories from time to time is fine, just make sure to keep an eye on your percent on the pie chart especially for carbs. If you need to make up calories at the end of the day, these are my two main suggestions. For protein, I drink a cup of chicken bone broth with a scoop of collagen peptides, a dash of lemon, and a dash of my favorite seasoning blend. This generates 17 grams of protein with zero carbs and fat. For fat, I keep an assortment of delicious fat bombs in the freezer, along with some keto brownies. The keto brownies are so rich that I put a dollop of sour cream on top.

    Like 3
    • Moondrake
    • Mother of Doggies
    • Moondrake
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    feepeters1  Unless you are super low carb, if you are using most of your carbs for your coffee, I assume you are still using actual sugar.  If so, it's likely going to prevent you from getting into ketosis. I'd suggest trying out the different non-caloric sweeteners. The keto favorites (monkfruit, erythritol, xylitol) don't work for my tea, I'm still using Stevia and Equal. I'm not sure what you are using for cream, hopefully it is heavy whipping cream. Creamers and milks, even half and half, are not good keto choices and can get in the way of ketosis.

    Like 2
  • Moondrake 

    Thanks for the info

    I'm new at this and still finding my way

    I realize that this is a new way of eating, but I have cut my coffee consumption down from 4 or more cups a day, with 2tblsp sugar and about 4 tblsp of cream to 2 cups each with 1 1\2tsp sugar and 1 tbsp cream.  Any lower, people may get hurt lol

    I dont do fake sweetner, dont like the tsste, but as I said, I'm still feeling my way along, and I absolutely appreciate the advice and direction.  I guess I feel that since ive given up so many of my favorite things, and I can't have most fruit, and I dont like a lot of veggies, dont eat fish, I need something everyday I can look forward to. A cup of coffee. Heck went out to dinner with hubby and friends this weekend, everyone had yummy pasta, breaded apps, bread, butter etc, and I was very good. I had sirloin and grilled asparagus with sauteed mushrooms. Yeah me lol

    Like 1
    • Moondrake
    • Mother of Doggies
    • Moondrake
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    feepeters1 Not being judgemental, just warning you that any sugar can prevent ketosis.  This diet isn't about giving things up like the diets we grew up with, it's about inducing a massive metabolic change in our bodies.  Before starting keto, our bodies were fueled by glucose.  The purpose of keto is to remove the glucose so our bodies learn to burn ketones for fuel instead.  This means as much as possible completely eliminating glucose from our diets. Some people can consume a little glucose and be okay, others can't.  Consuming sugar may be preventing you from getting into ketosis and becoming "fat adapted".  Also, monkfruit, erythritol, xylitol, allulose and stevia are not "fake" or artificial sweeteners.  They are natural non-caloric sweeteners.  Everyone reacts differently to them, for me only stevia is sweet in tea, but all of them are sweet in food.  Eat what you want.  But if you're having trouble making progress, you may be undermining yourself by consuming sugar.

    With ketosis, "Essentially your body has been restricted in glucose, your body's primary fuel source, for long enough to need to resort to alternative sources of fuel, in this case Ketone bodies.  Ingesting sugar/glucose in sufficient quantities, the amount varies depending on your body type and activity levels, will stop ketosis as your body now has a supply of glucose to fuel it."  From a Livestrong article.

    Like 3
    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Moondrake 

    think my post has been mixed with other people comments. Could anyone explain the pie chart to me please. The app has worked  out the amount of grams I should be eating within the fat, protein and carbs and despite eating less protein for instance my pie chart is saying sometimes I’ve had 29% when I’m stil under the full amount of grams? Does this mean I’m eating too much. If I add some fat all of a sudden it’s saying less. Thanks 

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  • Debdob

    So here is the issue the percentage is in ratio to the others even though you are still under in grams but the percentage ratio to the others aren’t where they need to be it will calculate accordingly. Ideally what you want to do is make sure each meal (fats and proteins) is the percentage ratio to your goal otherwise it won’t be on par. So if one meal your protein percetage was higher than your fat and/or carb then it will have a larger slice of the pie. Keto unfortunately is all a balancing act. You of course want to keep your carbs low the lower the better, proteins you want to have the exact or lower grams otherwise it can keep you from reaching ketosis, fats will basically make up any difference. MCT oil and Fat bombs are the easiest way to increase your fat intake without increasing your protein.

    Hope this helps!

    Like 1
    • Jen
    • freedomlowcarb
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    feepeters1 Just curious, when you say fake sweeteners, do you mean Stevia, erythritol (all natural sweeteners) etc? or are you talking about sweeteners with sucralose and aspartame?  I just ask because there is a big difference in the taste between the two, as well as nutritionally.  I know it's not easy finding substitutions for our favorite foods and drinks.  You just have to do what is best for you and it's okay to take time to get there.  For me, I slowly introduced low carbs into my life and gradually substituted out real sugar for low carb alternatives.  I love my tea and previously enjoyed it with either real sugar or honey.  I slowly began to reduce my sugar and honey I added to it and then began adjusting it by adding in the natural sweeteners.  After a couple of months, I began only using the natural sweeteners (Stevia is my favorite for tea).  I always say the low carb lifestyle is not a race, its a journey for me, so I took my time to get here and gradually made the changes.  Good luck to you!

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jen hi are you able to help with the original problem? Thanks 

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  • Debdob

    Apologies if this shows up twice my other one shows Pending Review for some reason. 

    So here is the issue the percentage is in ratio to the others even though you are still under in grams but the percentage ratio to the others aren’t where they need to be it will calculate accordingly. Ideally what you want to do is make sure each meal (fats and proteins) is the percentage ratio to your goal otherwise it won’t be on par. So if one meal your protein percetage was higher than your fat and/or carb then it will have a larger slice of the pie. Keto unfortunately is all a balancing act. You of course want to keep your carbs low the lower the better, proteins you want to have the exact or lower grams otherwise it can keep you from reaching ketosis, fats will basically make up any difference. MCT oil and Fat bombs are the easiest way to increase your fat intake without increasing your protein.

    Hope this helps!

    Like 1
    • Jen
    • freedomlowcarb
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Debdob  Hi, trying to balance both percentages (pie chart) and grams at the same time is too tough to do.   Trying to balance the pie chart is frustrating.  For me personally, I only follow my grams and stick to those.  For example, my macros to lose weight are: carbs 21grams (5%) ; protein 104grams (25%); fat 129grams (70%).  I'll only watch the grams.  And remember to view them each like this:  For Carbs, they are a limit, so I won't go over 21 grams.  For Protein, they are a goal, so I try to reach my 104 grams daily; For Fat, they are a Lever, I won't go over my 129 grams but it's okay if I'm under it as well.  I don't even bother using the pie chart, because it becomes about trying to balance the numbers and it's too hard.  But, counting your grams is easy, it's exact.  Hope this helps.

    Like 1
    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    nancylufitness thank you for taking time to reply. My only concern is that if I’m eating lower than the amount of grams calculated I’m doing it right? If my pie chart is showing carbs at 7.9% for

    instance that sounds bad as it should be on 5% so does this matter if I’ve not exceeded my 18grams?? Thanks x

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Jen thank you Jen for replying. I am about to give it all up as too hard work! My settings were the max 35% calorie deficit and that only puts me at 6.6lb a month loss. I want that a week lol! I’m 18g carb, 89 protein and 111g fat. I am getting my knickers in a twist about the fact that my carb % can be at 7.9 at the end of the day despite eating under my 18g carb allowance. So we are saying I’m still doing it right if I haven’t exceeded my grams?! Thanks 

    Like 1
  • Debdob 

    What Jen said is helpful, start by just tracking the grams if that is easier the percentage will not always be 100% spot on but should be close to that percentage ratio. If the % is only a bit off but the grams are good you should be fine. 

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  • Debdob 

    Also, make sure you increase your water intake, it will help. I drink 8 oz first thing when I wake up to start my body off and 12 oz warm water before bed. Everything else in between. 

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    nancylufitness I clearly need to spend 6 hours a day and not 4 trying to calculate what foods I can have with what. My % are way off some days and the only way I can balance it is by eating unnecessary fats. I can balance it then! But don’t see why I should have too. There must be an easier way for people to work out what to eat Lol 🤦🏽‍♀️ X 

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    nancylufitness I drink about 2 litres a day. Sometimes a little less. I feel very bloated doing it tho! X

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  • Debdob 

    Just a reminder fats are a huge part of the Keto diet. Maybe you need to incorporate more with your meals so that way you aren’t having to add it at the end. That’s what I had to do because it sucks at the end of the day to notice that the fat is short for the day. I added MCT oil to my coffee and/or water in the morning, Avocado is an easy add-on. Sorry you’re finding it so hard right now, it was hard for me to get started and I’m still not 100% within my goals on certain days. I’ve had to cut down how much veggies is eat because I didn’t realize how much in carbs it was contributing to my count. I was eating 2 cups with each meal and went down to 1. 

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    • Moondrake
    • Mother of Doggies
    • Moondrake
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Debdob The pie chart is based on what percent of which macro you have eaten so far today.  So if you get up in the morning and eat a tablespoon of butter, it's going to say 0% carbs, 0% protein, 100% fat.  If instead you had a cup of Imagine bone broth, it would say 0% carbs, 100% protein, 0% fat.  And if instead you had an apple, it would say 100% carbs, 0% protein, 0% fat.  If you had all three, your pie chart would show 236 calories, 34.8% carbs, 17.3% protein, and 47.9% fat, which is the ratio of those macros contributed by each of those foods.

     

    You do not need to eat all your macros every day.  But you need to keep your carbs under 5%, and you want to keep your protein and fat as close to your percent goals in those categories as possible. So it is true that if your carbs are at 10%, you need to eat some fat and protein to increase them in proportion to carbs.  Whether you eat 800 calories or 1,600, you want to try to balance your macros based on your target percents.

    Like 1
    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Moondrake brilliant thanks For that. So I actually does matter if I don’t balance them even if I remain below my allowances. This is exactly what I needed to know. How exactly I achieve this is tough. So I’m just gonna have to keep adding the fats when really I don’t need to or want to! It’s mad!!! Crazy 😏 I thought the point was to not have to eat your fats if you was satisfied. Maybe this isn’t for me?  x

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    • Moondrake
    • Mother of Doggies
    • Moondrake
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    @Debdob There are two solutions to your problem.  1.  Eat less carbs to keep them below 5%.  2. Eat more fat and protein to increase their ratio in your daily intake and push the ratio for carbs down below 5%.  An easy way to pick up protein at the end of the day to balance your pie chart is to drink 1c chicken bone broth with a scoop of collagen, a tsp of lemon and a dash of your favorite seasoning = 17g protein, 0g carbs and fat.  A delicious way to pick up fat at the end of the day is with fat bombs, keto brownies, or sugar free jello with real whipped cream.  Or even just have a nice cup of non-citrus herbal tea with heavy whipping cream in it.

    Like 1
    • Dana
    • Dana.11
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    I always have leftovers. I try to get all my fat grams in while staying at or below my calories as I’m trying (and succeeding☺️) to lose weight.  Try not to exceed carbs and protein. 

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    • Debdob
    • debdob
    • 5 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Moondrake ok thanks for that. Bone broth doesn’t sound nice? And collagen!! Didn’t even know you could eat it. Thought people just injected it lol! I’ll look up some recipes. 😊 I’m getting better at all this. Was having a moment 🤦🏽‍♀️ Thank you for your help 

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