All You Need to Know About Protein on a Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet

Why is Protein so Important for Weight Loss?

Studies show that  protein is the most sating while  carbs are the least sating macronutrients. In other words, if you eat enough protein, you will feel less hungry and eat fewer calories. That's why it's critical to eat an adequate amount of protein if your aim is to lose fat.

Protein has also been shown to  increase energy expenditure. This means that by following a diet rich in protein, you will burn more calories. This metabolic advantage is not significant (around 100 kcal a day) but every bit counts!

Another way to burn more calories is to build muscle mass. Protein is the most important macronutrient for preserving and building muscle tissue, especially for physically active individuals. More muscles burn more calories and slightly increase your base metabolic rate. This means that you will burn slightly more calories even at rest.

Although protein slightly increases insulin, there is no need to worry about negative effects on weight loss. According to Dr. Briffa in his book Escape the Diet Trap:

"... while protein increases insulin secretion, the rise in glucagon that comes at the same time mitigates the fat-forming effect of insulin."

How important is protein intake for weight loss?

How Much Protein is Adequate?

The amount of dietary protein you need can be determined by your body weight and activity level. This means that people who are more physically active have higher protein requirements than those whose lifestyles are sedentary. A more accurate estimate, especially for people with high body fat, can be reached by calculating protein intake from lean mass, which is calculated as total body weight minus body fat.

There are other factors such as gender or age that may affect protein intake, but they are less relevant. Eating enough protein is important for preserving and building muscle mass while eating excessive amounts of protein will likely decrease your ketone levels. Although it's true that significant excess of protein may disrupt ketosis, you don't need to worry about a few extra grams of protein.

Find Your Body Fat Percentage

As mentioned above it's better to use your lean mass weight when calculating your protein intake requirements instead of your total weight. As a guide, the average recommended percentage of body fat for women should be 18-25% and for men 10-15%.

There are two main types of body fat: essential and non-essential. Essential body fat is vital fat mass you cannot lose and it's 11-13% for women and 2-5% for men. If you are trying to lose fat, it's very likely your body fat will be higher than average. There are many ways of varying accuracy to estimate your body fat percentage. You can use skinfold calipers, visit a specialised centre with body fat testers, or use scales that show percentage of fat.

1) Calipers and Tape measure method
Depending on your approximate fitness level, you will need to use a formula best suited for your needs.

• Athletes (very low body fat): Jackson / Pollock (4 sites)
• Fitness level, up to 15 % Body fat: Parillo (9 sites)
• Over 15% body fat: Durnin / Womersley (4 sites)

2) Body measurement method
Not the most accurate but it can give you a rough idea — it uses your body measurements (waist, hips and neck). Here is a good on-line calculator you can use.

3) Using  DEXA (Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) which is the most accurate way of measuring body fat.

4) Visual estimates using comparison illustrations, like the one below.

How Much Protein Should I Eat Per Day?

If your weight is in pounds, multiply it by 0.6 and 1.0 to get the minimum and maximum amount of protein in grams you should eat each day. If your weight is in kilograms, simply multiply it by 1.3 and 2.2 to get the same range. Although this rule applies to the vast majority of people, the protein requirements for athletes are higher.

Make sure you eat at least the minimum amount of protein to prevent losing muscle tissue during the diet. If you significantly exceed the maximum amount, as mentioned above, you may put your body out of ketosis (Volek, Jeff S., Phinney, Stephen D., The Art And Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance, chapter 7, 2012).

To make it easy for you to calculate your ideal protein intake on a ketogenic diet, we developed a free online keto calculator, KetoDiet Buddy - try it now!

Does Grass-fed Meat Matter?

The reason you should try to get grass-fed meat is mainly for its more favourable fat profile and micronutrients rather than protein itself. If you can't afford or it's hard to find grass-fed meat, you can have some grain-fed meat, too. It may contain more omega-6s but it's still a great source of healthy protein.

Always avoid farmed fish, farmed pork and animals fed with hormones and antibiotics which can damage your health in the long-term. If you want to read more about which protein sources to avoid, check out my list of best keto/paleo sources of protein.

If you want to find out more about the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed meat, Mark Sisson has explained it perfectly in his article here.

Grass-fed vs grain-fed meat: Does it matter?

Is Eating Too Much Protein Dangerous?

Let me emphasise again that the ketogenic diet is not high in protein. However, even if it were, would that be a problem?

The main concern is the increased occurrence of kidney stones and kidney damage. There is little research data to suggest any negative effect of high-protein diets on kidney function or kidney stones and only people with kidney problems need to be alert. In fact, recent studies confirm that protein does not cause kidney damage.

A secondary concern is often raised against the potentially bad effect of high-protein diets on the liver. In the short-term studies that have been performed, the ketogenic diet has been found to cause no damage to the liver (Lyle McDonald, "The Ketogenic Diet", page 77-78, 1998).

Lastly, high protein has been criticised for causing osteoporosis. In fact,  studies have shown the opposite to be true.

To sum up, there is no evidence that increased intake of protein causes kidney damage, liver failure or osteoporosis.

Recently, a study was published with a press release claiming “Meat and cheese may be as bad for you as smoking“. This study kind of reminded me of the Harvard School study from 2012 which linked the consumption of red meat to cancer and which I have written about in my post here. I won't go into details on how poorly the research was done and how ludicrous the press release was but I highly recommend reading an article written by the amazing Zoë Harcombe: Animal protein as bad as smoking? Headlines based on 6 deaths!

Do I Need to Include Protein Supplements?

Increased amount of protein is generally recommended for physically active individuals, elderly people and those recovering from injuries. These groups usually have special needs for protein.

When it comes to protein supplements, most people won't need them. You can try whey, casein, milk, egg white, hemp, hydrolysed gelatine or other types of proteins that are easily digestible and great for post-workout snacks. Just be aware that some products may contain unhealthy ingredients such as soy, artificial sweeteners, gluten or even milk from hormone-fed cows.

You can get high-quality protein from Jay Robb (US) or Pulsin and Reflex Natural (UK). You can also get egg white protein from Jay Robb if you are allergic to whey. I use whey protein for making sweet treats like low-carb waffles, smoothies or even for making savoury baked goods.

There are also a few alternatives to whey and egg white protein powder (pea, hemp and other) which may be the best way to boost your protein intake if for any reason you avoid all animal sources.

If you are concerned about denatured protein powders, have a look at this post from Mark Sisson at Marks Daily Apple.

You can read even more about protein and exercise nutrition in this post: Ketogenic Nutrition and Exercise: Protein

Finding it Hard to Meet Your Targets?

You may find it hard to meet your macronutrient targets, including your ideal protein intake. Here are just some of the great features KetoDiet offers to help you stay on track.

Each recipe includes detailed nutrition data including macronutrient ratios. It also lets you filter all meals according to your needs (net carbs, protein, fats, time to prepare, etc.).

The first time you use the KetoDiet planner, it will ask you to enter some basic data. It uses these data to calculate your macronutrient requirements and will warn you when you don't meet them. Furthermore, you can track your body measurements and monitor your micronutrient intake (potassium, magnesium, sodium).

As you progress with your diet, you can monitor your progress over time (macros, calories, weight, body fat %, calories, etc). Tracking your progress is especially helpful when you reach a weight loss plateau. It provides the information you need to understand why you may experience a slowdown in your weight loss and how to overcome it.

Learn more about all the great features KetoDiet offers and read what our users say!

Low-carb / paleo sources of your daily protein

Protein is not found just in meats. There are many meat-free and plant-based sources of protein! The more fat the meat contains, the less protein is usually has.

Meat, Fish and Seafood

For vegetarian options, these are the main sources of protein:

Eggs and Dairy

You can always boost your protein intake with high-quality whey protein powders.

Apart from legumes (peanuts, chickpeas, lentils, etc.) and quinoa, which are not a part of the paleo diet, these are the main sources of protein for vegan-friendly diets:

Nuts and seeds

Vegetables, fruits and other