Low Carb Basics - Counting Carbs

For those interesated in following a low carb diet or lifestyle for weight loss and eventual basis, I thought I would share a few basics. 

First of all it's important to know HOW to count your carbs.  When you first start a low carb diet you have to spend about two weeks on an extremely low carb level, less than 20 grams of carbs per day.  This phase of the diet is call "induction" on the Atkins diet, but the concept is the same no matter what plan you are following.  You cut your carbs to that low level for a period of 2 weeks in order to begin the chemical process of "ketosis."

Ketosis is when your body ceases to burn carbohydrates for energy and burns instead your fat reserves.  After induction each person has to find their own "critical carb level" to continue the stages of weight loss, pre-maintenance and eventually maintenance.  Testing for ketosis (you pee on a stick) you can monitor how your body reacts to carbohydrates.  Some people will have to stay low, taking in only 25-30 NET carbs per day.  Other folks can tolerate as many as 60-70 carbs per day. Trial and error is the only way to discover the answer, and of course the fewer carbs anyone takes in, the faster the weigh tends to come off, but even more so, you will lose inches faster than pounds. 

So I said it NET carbs?  What exactly is a NET carb?  It's the carb count low carb eaters need to concern themselves with.  Certain carbs, specifically dietary fiber and sugar alcohols do not have a profound effect on blood sugar or the ketosis process. 

In induction you want to stay extremely low, so you should stick to (lean) meats and cheese, eggs and beyond that a salad is all you should incorporate during the first two weeks, and by salad I mean lettuce , a little tomato and either a couple tbs or Ranch, or oil and vinegar dressing.  Basic salad, but hold on tight things will get better after the first two weeks.

Once beyond induction you can begin to try more foods.  You should 5-10 carbs (to each day) a week at a time as you discover how many carbs you can tolerate and still lose weight.  So that means week 3 you're looking to be between 20-30 carbs, and week 4 30-35 carbs per day.  When you're no longer testing in the darker phase of ketosis then you need to lower your carb intake again, and be warned "sugar carbs" are the worst of all.

 

Here's an example of how to figure out your net carb count.  What we have here are 3 items I put together to make one of my favorite desserts/ treats. The three items above are Ralphs brand CarbMaster yogurt Carrot Cake flavor.  I top it with a scoop of Ralph's equivalent of "Cool Whip" (which is also low carb) and a tbs of walnuts.

The yogurt (left) has 4 NET carbs.  The total carbs = 4 and there is no dietary fiber or sugar alcohol to deduct.  The second photo is of the whipped topping (real whipped cream is NOT a low carb alternative, it has a lot more sugar in it). Likewise there is nothing to deduct from the carb count, it's total NET carbs is 2.
Then we add the walnuts (photo on the right). Total carbs = 4, BUT we DEDUCT 2 carbs for "dietary fiber." So the walnuts actual NET carbs are 2 (4 total - 2 dietary fiber.)  So the entire carb count for the "treat (which is quite yummy by the way) is 8 NET carbs. 

That's how you count carbs.  Typically most meats (unless they are processed or are treated with sugars or syrups) have no carbs.  Hard cheeses (cheddar, swiss, provolone, etc.) are negligible, <1 g. Be careful of sandwich meats and thinks like prepared tri-tips, you HAVE to read the labels.

OK, that's our first lesson.  Come back soon for more. :)