What Is My Carb Limit on Keto?

Your carb limit on keto depends on how big you’re & how much you exercise. But, for most people, if you limit your carbs to under 50 grams per day, you’ll likely reach ketosis.

But, how many carbs you can eat on keto depends on who you are.

There is no specified carb limit for the ketogenic diet. However, somewhere between 20–50 grams per day of net carbs is good as a general guideline.

It would be nice if there were just one magic number to remember. It is, however, crucial to keep in mind that numerous factors can alter and determine your carb limit on keto.

Every person should adhere to their unique carb limit to ensure that they stay within the required range, as some people can get away with eating more carbs due to their weight or exercise level.

I’ll help you find the answer to the question ‘What is my carb limit on keto?’ in this article.

What Can I Eat on Keto?

Focus on fatty meats, oils, leafy greens, low-carb fruits, nuts, seeds, and cruciferous vegetables, they are the foundation of a ketogenic diet.

On keto, no direct carbs, like grains, starchy fruits, or root vegetables should be eaten.

A person’s carb limit can vary, but there is a carb limit that doesn’t change. Anyone can achieve ketosis with 35 grams of total carbs and 25 grams of net carbs.

If you want a full list of keto-approved foods, here’s an article where I go more in-depth.

Remember to subtract the amount of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate content to determine the net carbs.

When Can I Increase Carbs?

On keto, it’s best to wait about three to six months before starting to eat more carbs. That’s because the longer you do keto, the more your body will be adjusted to using fats. This will allow you to eat a small amount more of carbs per day — something like <50 grams per day.

It’s contingent on how long you’ve been on the ketogenic diet, how often you exercise, and how much protein you eat

It takes your cells time to get used to producing and using ketones for energy. So, once you start producing a lot of ketones, you can get away with eating around 50 grams of net carbs per day on keto.

This allows you to eat more foods without worrying. For example, you may be able to eat more dairy or high-carb nuts for example.

Does Exercise Affect How Many Carbs I Can Eat?

Your muscles’ glycogen stores, which are depleted via high-intensity activity, can be used up quickly when you work out on keto. If you exercise often, you can get away with eating on the higher range of carbs, around 50 grams per day early on.

If you do a workout with 30 to 60 minutes of high-intensity exercise, you’ll burn through your glycogen stores.

This allows you to eat a little more carbs since they won’t be stored as fat. However, remember that the more carbs you eat, the more you spike insulin, & the less you burn your own fat for fuel.

If you just want to burn your own fat on keto, don’t eat carbs, & fast or do long-duration cardio like a brisk walk or bike ride as it can help you burn fat and use ketones.

If you exercise before you eat, you’ll burn through your own fat quicker. This is because you’re already fat-adapted, so when you workout, you can use your own fat for fuel.

Does Stress Affect Carbs?

If you’re experiencing stress during keto, you might find that your weight-loss stalls as cortisol, the stress hormone, has been linked to fat storage. If your weight loss has stalled, then it’s best to limit carbs further & solve the problem you’re experiencing that’s causing the stress.

Your blood sugar levels may be raised by stress-related hormones like cortisol, lowering ketone production.

It’s impossible to avoid occasional stress, but real problems occur when you fail to manage your stress.

Too much exercise, not eating enough, focusing too much on mistakes, worrying about the future, and long periods of non-stop work without breaks are common causes of all-day stress.

These combined stressors can cause increased blood sugar levels, and maintaining the stress can keep your blood sugar levels high.

You won’t lose fat or maintain muscle mass when you’re constantly stressed.

How to Manage Stress

To manage your stress whilst on keto, try to solve the problem causing the stress. If that doesn’t work, or if you can’t control it, then try to get more sleep, eat less before bed, meditate, & prolonged fasting.

Make Sure to Not Eat Too Much Protein

You should get about 25% of your calories from protein on a ketogenic diet.

When you eat protein, more than 50% of it gets converted into glycogen, the sugar in your muscles, through gluconeogenesis.

An excess of protein in the diet results in the body excessively going through gluconeogenesis, which can kick you out of keto.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can either experiment on your own or stay below 35 grams of carbs to remain in ketosis. It’s up to you.

How long you have been in ketosis, your exercise routine, your stress level, and your protein consumption all play a role in how quickly you achieve results on keto.

If you’re interested in starting keto, here’s another one of my articles detailing the benefits of keto & how to start.