How Much Protein do you Really Need: Unlocking the Keto Diet

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Hello. Hello. I'm glad you're back.

[00:00:02]Today, we're going to talk about protein. On the ketogenic diet, the protein is about 15 to 20% of your daily calories. With that being said, protein needs are different for everyone. As we approach menopause and permenopause, it's been said to increase our protein, to increase it so much that we're going to intake one gram of protein per pound of body weight. And that's to build muscle. Okay? I don't think that you should take one gram of protein just for maintenance. Out of my 25 years of working out, I can tell you right now, with the exception of my early 20s, I never did one gram of protein per pound body weight. I've always done between 0.5 and8. So, with that being said, it's based on the individual. Okay? Maybe I have a little bit of extra muscle. Okay?

[00:00:55]Everybody doesn't have a lot of muscle.

[00:00:57]So, if you don't have a lot of muscle and your goal is to build muscle, sure, you can do one gram of protein per pound body weight. However, your body will let you know if it's too much. Just because that's the recommendation, does not mean that that's what you should do. Even if you do struggle with muscle building, we have to understand that we cannot intake more protein in one sitting than we should. As I mentioned in the other video, when you take too much protein at one time, it turns into glucose, and that's not what we want. Okay? It's called gluconiogenesis.

[00:01:37]I have experienced taking in too much protein. Have you ever went to a restaurant and you had a big steak and then after the steak you're like, "Oh, I feel tired, full, and stuffed." That means you ate too much protein in one sitting. For a healthy woman, in my opinion, you can start out with about 6.8 and maybe work yourself up from there. I don't think that one pound of protein per body weight is for an average older woman that's approaching menopause, permenopause. Maybe for the younger folks, a younger woman or younger person could do one gram per pound body weight, but you will be eating all day. It is the truth. You have to separate the protein throughout the day. And to get that much protein per pound of body weight, you're going to be eating all day. So, let's just say if I need 120 grams of protein a day, that's six meals for me because I only can eat 20 gram of protein in one sitting. So, that means every 3 hours I have to consume some sort of protein, a protein powder, some form of chicken, beef, fish, eggs. It has to be 20 grams in order to hit that 120 goal. And in my opinion, it's just too much. But again, that's my opinion.

[00:03:00]You got to do what works for you. With menopause, it says that we need to increase our protein, which is a good thing, okay? Because you increase your protein, it does make you feel better.

[00:03:10]It does help you get all of the nutrients that you need to build muscle and to just function properly. When you want to add or increase protein to your diet, make that the forefront of your diet. On the keto plan, you want to make sure that the protein is at the forefront, but you also have to focus on your fats. Your fats are 80% of the diet. Between 70 and 80, it just depends on the person. Okay? I have done between 80% and 70% of my total fat for a day.

[00:03:44]So, if I'm at 70%, that's about 100 grams a day. So, that means that every single meal I'm adding in fat. If I have a snack, I'm adding in fat. So, to increase the protein, make sure it's the forefront of the meal. Never ever do a plate of waffles and then add extra bacon, okay? Or never add a protein shake to your Subway sandwich meal. That is that is a recipe for disaster. That is not only adding extra protein, that's adding extra unneeded calories. You want the forefront to be protein, then fats, then focus on the vegetable. Okay? For other diets, you may want to add in a carb. But for the keto diet, the carb is the vegetable. Green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, that's what you want to focus on for your carbs. Like I've mentioned before, keto is a fat-based diet with a little bit of protein and very low carbs. Okay? But like I've said, people have made this diet a higher protein diet, which is okay. But you just got to know your limits so where the protein doesn't turn into glucose. So for the purpose of this video, in order to add more protein, make it the forefront of your meal. Make sure the quality is good, okay? Make sure it's about four to five ounces depending on your needs. But for average woman, four to five ounces of protein is sufficient for a meal. Make sure that it's chicken, beef, fish, eggs, protein powder. I'm not really big into protein powder, but sometimes we need a little bit of supplement to help us get to the protein marks that we're trying to get to. As far as fats, anything such as butter, tallow, olive oil, coconut oil, I utilize all those oils. I drizzle it on my food as needed and I get my requirements for that day. So, always remember, everyone's needs are different. You are the one that's in control over how much you need for that day. The only way to do that is to really write everything down. Calculate how many calories that you want to intake that day. break down the percentages of the macros. So, for the keto diet, between 70 and 80%, okay, the true keto is 80% fat. For protein, true keto is 15% protein, but some people do a 20% ratio for their protein requirements. And then, of course, the carbs, 5 to 10%. So, all you do is get your calculator, write everything down, write your percentages down, get the grams that you're supposed to have for each meal, and make sure that you follow it to a tea to see how your body reacts, to see how your body feels. It is the only way. I can't tell you how much you need. Only you can tell you how much you need. Okay, I hope this helps and I'll see you for the next one.