Can I not count the carbs in certain vegetables?

#1

I am struggling to stay under 20 grams of carbs a day but I am only eating a tiny amount of veg. I have a salad with my bacon for lunch and it’s tiny and I would like more. Lettuce-40g cucumber 40g and cherry tomatoes (only two of those). The only other veg I eat is frozen cauliflower rice and broccoli rice (and a superfood rice which also has kale and spinach). The cauliflower rice has 3.9 net carbs per 160g serving. When added to the carbs in the meat, cheese and butter etc I am struggling.

#2

Oh and I eat an avocado a day (approx 2 g net carbs) and I like red peppers but only use tiny amounts because of carbs in them.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

So what’s the struggle? I find it easy to keep under 20 except on occasion where I eat a lot of vegetables, like a pound. The stuff you’re listing is pretty low carb. Where are the other carbs in your food. If you list a typical day of food and quantities I will help you figure out what to do. :cowboy_hat_face:

#4

Ok here’s what I had yesterday (that contained carbs:
45 g cooked Cajun chicken - 1 carb
2 cherry toms - 1 carb
30g iceberg lettuce- 1 carb
40 g red pepper- 2 carbs (not a lot when cooked)
60g mushrooms (not a lot when cooked)
1 teaspoon cocoa powder- 1 carb
1 teaspoon peanut butter- 1 carb
1.5 teaspoon Alpro coconut yogurt-1 carb
1/4 cup killed flaxseed - 2 carb
1 egg - 1 carb
10g pecan nuts -1 carb
10g salted peanuts - 1 carb.

I think I would feel more satisfied with my meals with more veg. Also I find that when I try to make meals a bit more tasty by using spices (curry powders etc) the carbs really add up and I go over 20g.
Thanks for any advice!

(Raj Seth) #5

To the contrary, you might be more satisfied if your meals had more more more fat, and fat has the best macro!

#6

Many people go by net carbs, many ignore carbs from green veggies. If you experiment you’ll find you probably have a lot more leeway than you think. I take a carb supplement after my gym sessions to reload muscle glycogen which by itself ads 25g of carbs, no effect on blood sugar/insulin (it’s designed not too) and has no negative effects on how I feel or my ability to loose weight. I don’t pay too much attention to carbs from veggies as even the higher carb ones we eat are typically still lower GI than something like a potato. Your metabolism and your lifestyle will determine how you tailor your diet to work for you. You don’t have to live by the default template of how most of us start keto, just keep in mind the end goal and how we get there.

#7

I had over 100g of fat yesterday. The meats I ate were bacon and chicken, low fat I know, so the fat was mainly in the bacon, cheese (feta, Gouda), cream, butter and coconut oil/ milk and the avocado. The red pepper and mushrooms were with my dinner and were so small I hardly registered them (so felt like a waste of carbs really).

(Full Metal KETO AF) #8

What @lfod14 suggested would definitely not work for me. As a person doing weight training his experience is going to be unique to him. I think it’s important to track all your carbs vegetable or not. That being said I would be using a tracking app (I like Cronometer) and a digital scale the measures in grams (looks like you are doing that) and focus on <20g. of net carbs daily. Spices and herbs are quite low in carbs in general, onions and garlic being easy to use too much and add lots of carbs. Green onions are a good choice. My solution for this in most of my cooking is to use dry onion and garlic added towards the end of cooking to get those flavors. I use tons of Cajun seasoning, make curries, Italian and Mexican dishes and have no problem with staying under my carb limits except when I make tomato based sauces consumed in a liberal serving. The carb content of the food you listed is only 13g. There’s no way spices will take you over 20g. unless you’re using lots of onion and garlic in your foods. I think you’re doing fine and can add some additional vegetables without worrying.

As a side note I eat a lot of home fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi. This reduces carbohydrates by as much as 80%. As an example one cup of steamed shredded cabbage is 5.4 g. of carbs. The same amount of sauerkraut is 1.2 g. of carbs. This allows me to eat as much fermented vegetables as I want along with fresh low carb greens that I grow. Eating fermented raw vegetables increases the efficiency of your metabolism with healthy bacteria.

I would recommend that you get your satisfaction eating from more fat and protein and less vegetables which only keep you satisfied for a short time compared with protein and fats. Many people struggle with this concept but vegetables aren’t necessary at all with keto if you’re eating good quality beef and some organ meats but that’s not for everyone, I like the variety plants add to my food, but I have started to focus on them less and weight loss has increased with that reduction. CARBS ARE CARBS so I personally don’t think that some people’s strategy of as much veggies as they want and don’t have to count veggies as carbs is erroneous. Carbs trigger an insulin response and keeping insulin low is the key to ketogenic weight loss. You’re body is going to make better use of the vegetables you’re consuming in a low carb setting without the grains and starches. :cowboy_hat_face:

#9

So maybe I should experiment and have a bit more of the green stuff with my meals and keep the red peppers and tomatoes low and see what happens. I will have to leave them off MFP as I tend to do things to the letter and won’t be able to cope with the macros going over! I am struggling as it is to ignore all the macros except carbs and I’m weighing everything, so counting calories when I know I shouldn’t. I need to relax :scream:

(John) #10

I don’t worry about carbs from green leafy vegetables. Lettuce, spinach, that kind of thing. I eat salads pretty regularly. I don’t use macro counters or apps.

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #11

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I still struggle with the concept that fat is good, and I’ve been at it for 9 months now. Today was the first time I got heavy cream in my Starbucks coffee instead of almond milk, and I feel so full and satisfied just from a medium coffee :smiley:

#12

I checked again and I left some things off my list, so I had 19g of carbs yesterday. I hate measuring everything but if I don’t I feel that I would be way over 20 g of carbs (especially with spices). Also there are lots of foods that have .5 carbs or .6 etc and these all add up. I think I need to re-evaluate the whole way I’m doing Keto to be honest. I struggle to eat to satiety (and then always feel hungry and I’m always thinking about food). I worry about eating so much fat because I keep reading that I should be burning my own fat not fat that I’m eating… I think it’s because I’m so hung up on calories and macros. Years of low fat, calorie restricted diets has left me terrified that I won’t lose weight if I don’t follow my ‘allowances’ to the letter. I am female, 51 years old, 5.5 and currently weigh 138 lbs (I’ve lost 11lbs since coming back to keto 7 weeks ago and it was lost in the first two weeks, nothing since). I would like to lose another 10lbs or for my body shape to be more like it is when I weigh 128 lbs- I don’t really mind what the scale says I just want to fit, comfortably into my clothes! My macros (Keto ruled me calculator) for weight loss are:
Based on your inputs, we suggest you eat: 1113 calories. From those, 87g fats, 20g net carbs, and 62g protein
and for maintenance are:
Based on your inputs, we suggest you eat: 1391 calories. From those, 118g fats, 20g net carbs, and 62g protein.
I am following the maintenance macros after advice I received on here on my last Keto journey.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #13

Struggling isn’t necessary, try this method for a while. Stop thinking calories and trying to have perfect macros. Stress is as bad or worse than a few extra carbs, protein or fat. While I shoot for a 20g. carb limit my usual amount falls between 7g. and 23g. depending on what I feel like I want to eat. Average is about 15-17g. daily. I have lost 43 lbs. in 9 months this way. KCKO (Keep Calm Keto On) :cowboy_hat_face:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

@Gillybean your macros look pretty light for maintenance, especially the 1300 calorie total. I think you should abandon those macros.

Keto Karma calculation:

I don’t know how you would classify your activity level, you’ not running a deficit as you said maintenance levels so

Sedentary 19/69/113 calories 1359

Lightly active 20/79/118 calories 1465

Moderately active 19/89/118 calories 1482

I think you need to eat a bit more in any case. :cowboy_hat_face:

#15

Thanks David👍. I’m going to try (with all my might) to do this! I’m looking forward to feeling free and losing the stress of counting!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

Absolutely, try that link I posted and I guarantee things will sort themselves out. Your body will respond appropriately. :cowboy_hat_face:

#17

I am not a gym/weights person and would usually be lightly active (office during the day and a walk in the evenings plus housework) but due to an injury I am currently sedentary) I want to lose weight but the macros for weight loss are very low! I have followed maintenance macros but always held the doubt that I won’t shift any weight.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #18

This sounds like an impossible dream, carbs with no effect on BG and insulin? Personally I don’t find this fact believable.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(bulkbiker) #19

There seem to be a lot of carby bits and bobs there and nowhere near enough meat.
Ditch the peanut butter and nuts completely… dump out flaxseed and add in a nice juicy steak with some butter on it. Then tell me you feel hungry…!

#20

Hi Mark, I only listed the foods I ate yesterday that had carbs in them. I also ate meat (well bacon). I must admit that I tend to eat more chicken than red meat. I find it very hard to eat only 60 odd grams of protein a day and I’m usually way over!