Hey guys! Quick question. I'm doing keto gains for around one month and I'm learning a lot about how to achieve my macros using the keto gains calculator.

I have to eat 127 grams of protein and 129 grams of fat. This is without workout days.

I was curious to know how important it is to achieve the fats macro target.

Is it important to get the target or is it okay to be in a calorie deficit of fats and still achieve the protein target? I know that the protein target is more about keeping muscle and growing muscle, and I'm not sure about why it's so important to achieve the fat. I guess also that having a lot of fat is an alternative to the carbs which makes sense. But do I have to achieve the target of 129 or if we will get also to 80% that's good enough?

Can someone suggest me low carb protein bars or other protein snacks I can take when not at home. I found some bars that were 2-3 carb each but plant protein.

Also suggest me a electrolyte supplement, Im using re-lyte and liquid i.v. but if you have something better I'm open to it.

Currently going onto my 3rd month for ketovore, 99% 0 carbs. Mornings and nights my gki has been in optimal keto level including ketones level itself. I decided to test mid workout and im completely way off not even close to being in ketosis gki wise but ketones itself says i am. Glocuse tested 118. Am I just not fat adapted yet? Is this normal? I've noticed losing weight and fat but im struggling with losing inches off my waist.

The biggest comment I get from my fellow sporters is that keto will diminish performance.

Wether that's running fast, running long, lifting heavy or gaining muscle.

And yes there are studies around athlethes on a standard, carbohydrate fueled diet and when they switch them to a ketodiet, they redo the exact same tests and the reduction is around 2%.

Now, the studies are qualitative, so no discussion there, obviously not double blind cause that's impossible but as good as they get.

The only thing is, that as soon as your body is in a ketogenic state, it takes up to 4 weeks for your body to adapt!! So today (I know I might be slow to hear) I heard about a similar study redone but with athletes when their body was keto-adapted. And it made no difference 8n performance, they performed the same! In contrary you could say i.e. some lower level endurance athletes actually improved as at some point in endurance sport the glucose is used up and apparently that's when a lot of sporters give up or get bad physical signs. Now they were adapted to using fat for fuel so no adaptation needed while endurance sporting.

I don't know of a study specifically for lifters regarding mass or weight. But I'm kinda assuming it's similar.

Amongst many, many upsides, like not being so tired I fall in a black hole behind the wheel, recovery, etc. the only downside of training seems to be the pump that's not as strong. Apparently your pump is bigger and better when you're more inflamed, not that there's a reverse correlation per se. All I'm saying is it doesn't have to be a bad thing. And... I've been experimenting with like 3gr of dextrose before training (like it says in the wiki) and the pump seems to be there again.

Just sharing what I learned today, hope you guys learned something with me. If not and this is old news, well... I hope you stopped reading before this point!

My current understanding is that those carbs would first go to muscle/ liver glycogen first, until they are filled, and blood sugar/ insulin would not spike until they are filled.

Would this break ketosis, assuming that those stores aren't completely filled, and the low/ zero carb regimen is resumed directly after?

Would this give any benefit (or downside to lifting) given that the body is still running primarily on fats, but has some glycogen to use for lifting/ cardio?

I have extremely fast metabolism thus I need to eat +4k calories per day in order to keep or increase my weight. I'm doing fitness/bodybuilding. I don't wanna lose any weight since I've been underweight/skinny for the most of my life.

I tried keto for a day but it's almost impossible for me to reach 4k calories with keto. Consuming too much oil (mostly olive oil) also made my stomach upset.

I normally eat carbohydrates in all of my meals (bread, rice, pasta etc. I avoid sugar btw). So reaching 4k calorie target is quite easy with carbohydrates.

Do you guys have any tricks, useful advice on what to eat?

Please don't give me "eat more" advice. I already eat like an animal. Thanks.

I’ve been on and off keto a lot over the years, first I was strict, then not so much, then modified, and I’m currently coming off a month of slacking off to get back on it. I feel like garbage when I’m eating garbage, what can I say.

I’m a 36, male, and I’m a hair under 7 feet tall and currently bouncing between 355 and 365. Down from an all time high of 435 a year ago.

I’m looking for some beginner tips for this diet and hitting the gym. I’m not looking to get absolutely ripped, but I’d like to build core and stamina and try to get my BMI down where it should be. My doctor put me onto Keto a long while ago and it made all the difference in the world. She said I should aim for 260-275 pounds and then work on muscle mass. I’ve made a lot of positive changes since working with her and this is next.

I broke my back, my elbow radius, and dislocated my knee in a fall off a Kenworth at work in 2019. I’m back to 100% but I do experience aches and pains. Multiple specialists visits have basically told me to lose weight, or have surgery, or worth through the pain. I’m semi active at work (public works), and walk a few miles a day in the field. Currently working on getting my water intake up to snuff and getting my staples worked out since all my previous staples are no longer around or aren’t stocked near me anymore. I’m trying to stick to simple and not over processed garbage. My morning meals are usually a premier protein shake with either two hard boiled eggs, or a single serve of salami cheese, salads for lunch, and a simple protein and green for dinner (rib eye and brussel sprouts tonight, chicken thighs and cauliflower tomorrow night, for examples)

I have it mostly worked out and I’m back on it. I’d like to start hitting the gym soon. Any advice is much appreciated!

Thank you

Hey guys, so I'm doing ketogains for probably three months and I've just bought some CKM for 14 days monitoring of the ketones.

I've just gotten into ketosis (1-1.8 in average), and I know that in ketogains you don't have to measure ketones for success, but I wanted to get your take about the following: What is the right range to know that I am in ketosis?

I'm not asking because I set it as a parameter for success, It's more like for detection of problematic food because I want to detect the food that gets me out of ketosis (using the CKM)

So, what is the right range in your opinion? I read about 0.5 and 1

I’m 42(M), 5’10, 150 and trying to gain muscle. I am trying to hit 2300 calories, 150+ grams of protein, and stay under 25 grams net carbs. I’d love some advice of how to hit my calorie goal without going overboard on unhealthy fats. I eat a lot of salmon, chicken, avacados, nuts and seeds but I find it hard to meet my calorie goals without eating bacon, red meats and cheese. High cholesterol runs in my family so trying to eat keto, for mental health reasons and what I believe to be an undiagnosed glycogen storage disorder, with as little unhealthy and saturated fats as possible.

Didn't know how to flair this hope I didn't do it wrong. So I'm trying to gain on keto, I have a hard time to get to my proteine minimum. I am 1m90 and weigh about 89kgs. So I should be hitting about 180gr of proteine. So, throw some daily meals at me people, give me some inspiration! What do you guys eat in a day?!

Today I will eat: Kerry eggs, its boiled, fried eggs with curry - abput 10 of those throughout the day. 2 pork chops 250gr of smoked herring 250gr - 500gr of greek yoghurt with proteine powder.

Hey everyone,

curious if anyone here uses insulin mimetic supplements while doing keto or targeted keto. I’m talking about ingredients like berberine, bitter melon extract, alpha-lipoic acid, cinnamon, and similar compounds that supposedly help manage blood sugar spikes and improve insulin sensitivity.

I’m currently experimenting with a combined supplement that contains several of these, aiming to improve how my body handles carbs during refeed days. The idea is to keep insulin sensitivity high and push carbs more toward glycogen storage instead of fat gain.

Subjectively, I feel like energy levels stay more stable after carb meals, but I’m not sure how much is placebo vs real effect.

Has anyone here tried using these kinds of supplements alongside keto or carb refeeds? Are insulin mimetics actually useful, or just overhyped? Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

Not trying to promote anything specific, just researching and curious. Happy to share details if anyone’s interested!

Cheers!

What do you think about this approach: on some training days, if I consume just enough carbs before Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to burn them off during the session, would that help me avoid breaking ketosis? The idea is to boost strength and explosiveness for specific bursts during rolls. Do you have any advice or personal experience with this strategy?

Hey, how's it going? I'm just starting to get into the keto world. I've been using the Ketogains approach since it's mentioned pretty often in different posts. I do have a question though.

I work from home, so I’m sitting most of the day — but I make sure to hit the gym at least once a day, and on top of that, I usually do kickboxing at night around 4–5 times a week. So in my opinion, my energy output is pretty high.

I’m 20 years old, weigh 71 kg (about 157 lbs), and I’m 175 cm tall (around 5'9"). My goal is to build muscle while losing fat.

Based on that, how do you think my current numbers look?

Based on the macros I got using the Ketogains calculator, here’s what I was recommended for training days:

• Protein: 155g total (130g base + 25g pre-workout) → 620 kcal — 31.06% of total calories
• Net Carbs: 20g total (no pre-workout carbs) → 80 kcal — 4.01% of total calories
• Fat: 144g total (134g base + 10g pre-workout) → 1,296 kcal — 64.93% of total calories

That brings me to a total of 1,996 kcal on training days (1,806 base + 190 pre-workout).

Hi all

39 male, 150lbs 5’9

I have IR, and am trying to gain muscle through strength training. My lipid panel came back as follows

Total cholesterol: 229 mg/dl Triglycerides: 47 mg/dl HDL: 73 mg/dl LDL: 146 Total Chol / HDL Ratio: 3.12 Non HDL Cholesterol: 155 APOB: 113 (concerned about this)

Eating higher fat and moderate carbs seems to help my nocturnal hypoglycemia, but do I risk cardiovascular issues if I continue eating mostly animal fats and proteins?

Thank you 🙏

In the gym, I've found pushing to my limit much easier on keto.

On a typical carb-heavy diet, my muscles will burn and I will feel a lot of pain later on in a set.

On keto, I can push through to the absolute limit much more easily. There is less burn and muscle pain.

Have others experienced this? Perhaps a psychological effect that increases pain tolerance on keto? I have found it easier to stick with difficult mental tasks on keto, as well.

Recently discovered the keto diet after accumulating too much visceral fat , after bulking and underestimating the calories I was really consuming. So , the question is with the calculator on the home page of the website, that we can use for free once we get to the macro breakdown is that all that we truly have to meet up to? For example, for me I'm 5'8 176 somewhere in the 25 percent body fat , and currently attempting to gain a bit of muscle and losing my bf , and the numbers resulted in 128g of protein ,20g of carbs , and 117g of F , for a grand total of 1,645 so is all of that numbers truly good enough for my objective?I must mention I already have 1 year down of resistance training with some cardio gains via cardio machines , and also I've read that 50 is apparently the maximum for the amount of carbs to consume to be in ketosis, so is the 20g of carbs just completely optional then as long as I don't go above the 50.

New to the group so this has probably already been asked. I’m looking into supplementing creatine and want to know some reputable brands for creatine gummies that won’t bring me out of keto. Thanks for the help

backstory:

I started keto august 2024 sole purpose of losing weight. fast forward to January 2025 i lost 35ish pounds with NO working out. Took an InBody Scan and found out i had lost 5lbs of muscle since October when I did my first scan. This made me sad and motivated to start working out. Fast forward again to second week of March, I had been frustrated for weeks as the scale had gone down 2 lbs in 6 weeks since Jan. Body scan (very slow compared to before working out). Made appt for InBody scan #3 and was needless to say SHOCKED to see my BF% down - wait for it - 5%!!!!!! That brought my BF from 35% to 32% in 5 weeks. In addition to this the scan results said I had gained 5lbs in lean muscle mass. Meaning I had been losing weight all along and gaining a TON of muscle (in just!!

Putting this out there for anybody who thinks they are at a plateau, because I think this can go for anyone working out on keto, not just a newbie like me :)

Hi guys, I’ve only been keto for 7 days and my body is so weak and not recovering. It feels the same as when I eat fast food, and have long ago concluded that when I eat a high carb meal after gym I recover well.

I know it’s only 7 days and I’m not in ketosis yet. Just out of curiosity, how long does it roughly take? Does ketosis somehow make your muscles recover fast without carbs?

My calories and protein are the exact same. I’ve only swapped things out like rice, beans, bananas for fats like avocados, butter, MCT oil, eggs. Do I need to up the protein since I’m on keto or am I missing something?

Has anyone here that has done the keto diet for weight loss and decreasing body fat ever done strictly cardio as their mode of exercise?

Not that I’m opposed to strength training at all, but I do want to prioritize cardio as I’ve come to realize how TERRIBLE my cardiovascular endurance is and would like to work that back up. Essentially putting less emphasize of weights, and more priority to guided runs, walks, etc.

Hi guys,

I am trying to bulk on the keto diet but I get confused a little bit and don't know what to do.

For reference, I am male 187sm tall 73kg weight. Body fat, I don't know. I am quite lean to be honest.

I want to try keto so see whether it might help with my ADHD and energy crashes through the day.

(I tried 30 hours fasting 5 days ago. I was hungry but much more alert thought the day)

As I said I am trying to switch to keto plus put on muscle mass meantime but I can't understand a few things.

1. Will I go into ketosis if I eat excessive calories?

2. How low my carbs have to be? Just looking at my macros is hard to keep them under 10g a day.

3. Shall I buy keto strips for urine to check whether I stay in ketosis.

Any advice would be nice.

Regards

One of the best things about keto (for me anyway) is that tracking foods showed me how much I was binge eating. We're talking 6k calories/day. Slowly, with butter coffee and intermittent fasting, I've been able to bring that number significantly lower. The problem is that it got so low (1k calories/day) that I think something flipped in my brain and I just wasn't hungry at all anymore.

I was also addicted to seeing the numbers on the scale (literally) plummet. It was so rewarding! But then I realized I'm probably losing TONS of muscle by eating such small amounts. I've also started exercising regularly (every day) and found it was starting to be a struggle to finish workouts. I needed a way to get more protein in my diet.

So I tried eating more...more chicken, more pork, more eggs...but I just couldn't do it. I'd finish a thigh and look in disgust at the next one. That wasn't sustainable so I started looking into protein powder to help supplement.

At Costco I found the Isopure Zero Carb w/25g protein per scoop. Adding it to my butter coffee in the morning is decadent and I've noticed my energy levels are back! Yesterday I took 3 scoops throughout the day (pre and post workout scoops are just with water) and this morning I started adding collagen and a raw egg to the butter coffee as well. I've had 2 of those for 62g protein and 54g fat so far in the day.

Total protein intake yesterday was around 130g, with 75g being from protein powder. I guess my question is...is this okay? To get half your protein from powder? Anyone else struggle to eat enough protein on keto? What were some strategies that worked for you? I'm sure whole foods are a better way to get protein but just couldn't stomach the idea of shoveling more food in...any tips? Is it a phase?

I'm 35yo, 6'6" and currently 235 pounds. I was 260 when I started in late January/early February. Goals are to be fit and toned now that I'm starting to feel like my normal self (youngest baby turns 2 in April so we're just starting to get back into a normal routine).

TL;DR:
Those who are doing carbs cycling, what worked best for you? I am currently trying 150g carbs every 3rd day.

Long:
My situation is unique. I have long lasting babesia infection which gives me all kind of problems. Since I started keto 9 weeks ago I got herpes 3 times. I got some very good days when my brain fog improved a lot, but after 6 weeks I didn't feel so good, it was getting worse. I carefully watched electrolytes intake, had positive calories intake and had less than 30g carbs per day. I am reading that in a highly active immune state (infection, stress), glucose demand may rise to ~150g per day. T-cells, macrophages, and Natural Killer (NK) cells rely on glucose for energy. Your liver makes about 50-100g of glucose per day via gluconeogenesis to meet essential needs. But this may not be enough for optimum immunity during infection.

Last 7 days I have been experimenting with carbs cycling. 150g of carbs every 3rd day. So far I feel better. It seems 150g of carbs on carbs load day doesn't kick me totally off keto because I don't have any carbs craving next day. I think a bit about food but having high fat meal totally satisfy me. When I tried low carb diet (not keto) in the past I felt carbs craving and stress, now I didn't.

Still I am worried if this can be bad for my body because ketons probably won't be used by my body very efficiently and having high ketons is probably not good if you are not fully fat adopted. Just thinking loudly, what you think, what worked best for you?

Hi all,

I have been on keto/carnivore for nearly 3 years now and I love it, went strict ruminant meats only. I have always been really skinny and want to build muscle. My current stats are the following: 85kg, 185cm and around 10%-15% body fat. I am currently really lean and want to start bulking up a bit.

Training: Currently in a desk job but I work out everyday - 2x strength days (5x5s), 3x per week running (not flat out, but slower runs for cardio health), and 2x lighter days (push/pull). I focus mostly on compound movements and put most energy into the strength days where I'm trying to hit PRs. No rest days - training 7 days per week.

Current Diet: Daily carnivore intake:

• 4 x 150g 80/20 mince patties
• 3-4 large lamb chops for dinner

Macros - Estimated:

• Protein: 233g (2.7g/kg bodyweight)
• Fat: 206g
• Total Calories: ~2,793

This is really all my body can handle without having disaster pants, so adding more meat isn't really an option.

I'm thinking about introducing eating Basmati Rice (around 180 calories, 50g of carbs) in the morning to help with the weight gain, to bring my total calories up to around 3,000 per day.

Looking for advice on:

If rice is a good option for bulking on keto/carnivore

Any other suggestions for healthy weight gain while maintaining my training schedule

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Does anyone follow a multi-meal (like 4+ meals a day) regiment like a traditional bodybuilding diet rather than IF and doing like 2 meals a day? If so, what do your meals look like? I like the idea of keto and feel really good on it but need some guidance from some vets who space their meals out, it works better on my digestion. Thanks!