Lean Food Log on Keto? Keep the Chicken Skin and Count the Butter
This is a 41-second clip from July 2017, a month into my own keto start. It was never on YouTube. It isn't a full video, just me answering one person who had sent me a list of what they were eating. The machine transcript hears "food blog", but it was most likely a food log.
In this recording
- [0:01] Keep your carbs low, and if you're not hungry, don't eat.
- [0:01] Everything on the list was very low in fat: chicken breast, lean beef. Leave the skin on the chicken, eat thighs, try something like a chuck roast.
- [0:01] None of the cooking fat was in the tracker. If you cook in butter or oil, estimate how much of it ends up on the food, or butter the food afterwards.
- [0:01] If you want a gravy, thicken it with gelatin or xanthan gum, not flour.
(The whole clip is one paragraph in the transcript, so every point carries the same stamp.)
Watching this in 2026
Two things in here I'd still say word for word: if you're not hungry, don't eat, and the oil in the pan counts. Cooking fat is the calorie people forget to log, and it's the first place I look when someone's numbers don't add up. More on that in hidden calories.
The fat advice is where I've changed. In July 2017 I was telling a beginner to add fat: skin on, fattier cuts, butter on top. A few weeks later I made a whole video about eating too much fat for weight loss (video NUJNFG6lLWw). By January 2019 I was saying it straight: while you're losing, go easy on the butter and the olive oil, and fat is what you add back when you reach maintenance (live OBND7135). Fattier cuts are fine for month one, when fullness matters most. After that, fat is the dial you turn down to lose and up to maintain.
Key points
- Keep carbs low. Eat when you're hungry, not by the clock.
- Log cooking fat, or add it after cooking so you can measure it.
- Thicken sauces with gelatin or xanthan gum instead of flour.
- Fattier cuts help early on. Later, fat is the amount you adjust.
Related
- Guide: food list · how much fat · too much fat · tracking
- Blog: cheap fatty cuts · eat fat to satiety? · is keto a high-fat diet?
- Videos: eating too much fat · beginner questions by a random guy · maintenance live, 2019