Carb Count Including Fiber

(Donna) #1

Does anyone count their total carbs daily, without subtracting for the fiber? I have been on Keto for a month and have been counting all carbs. At this point for me, keeping my carbs low and not subtracting the fiber count hasn’t been an issue, so I figure I would stay with that for now.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

If it works for you, go for it. Lots of folks count total carbs, not net.

(Brandy) #3

I started out a year and a half ago counting net carbs, but as time went on and I got the hang of it, I started noticing that my average daily intake was just naturally falling well below 20 total carbs. I still consider myself a net carb tracker, but I do take notice of that total count. Every couple of weeks it might inch up into the 20 to 30 total mark if I have a chia/flax porridge or something but it’s not very often. Throwing away those occasions, my average total carb intake is about 11g per day and my average net carb intake is about 3g per day.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #4

Well it’s certainly not going to hurt you, if you eat less than 20gms of carbs a day. So if your counting some non-digestable carbs in your total, that’s fine, but your kind of ripping yourself off.

I’ve always been a “bottom line” kind of guy. I don’t care how things seem, or how they feel. Give me 40gms of carbs a day, with 20 of them being non-digestable fiber, and I’m totally okay with that :slightly_smiling_face:

(Donna) #5

Thanks! Wasn’t sure if I was alone and doing it wrong.

(Donna) #6

I never knew about being able to subtract fiber counts, since I am new to Keto. I agree with you though. I guess I’m paranoid I will consume more then the amount of carbs, if I subtract. It’s just a mental thing and something I need to get over, so I can have more carbs in my diet.

(Donna) #7

Thanks! I average about 16-17 of carbs a day without subtracting the fiber and so far I have been satisfied with my food choices, however I may look into subtracting the fiber, if I can add a few more carbs. I don’t have a huge calorie count (1290), so by the time I am done logging all my food, I never get to 20g of carbs anyway, which I want to stay at for now. I have been so worried to do anything different from I have been doing, in fear I may stall my consistant weight loss.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #8

So hey, where you guys will really see a substantially higher total carb count, but lower net carb count, will be when and if you start making / eating some low carb breads, reason being, these often include oat fiber, which is fairly high on carbs, but they are completely indigestible, so they contribute nothing to your net carb count.
We freaking love low carb bread ! :slightly_smiling_face:

(charlie3) #9

I started out with 20 net carbs and was able to keep to it. Over time there was some diet fatigue. These days I’m at less than 50 net carbs, no snacks, real food only. Nearly all my carbs are in a large non starchy vegetable salad I eat daily. I’d like to believe that my higher carbs is equilivent to the much lower number because of activity level. My best estimate of resting metabolic rate is 1,600 calories. My average daily calories burned from activity is 800. My 2+ hours of brisk daily walking plus lifting burns 4 times the 200 calories in 50 grams of carbs. My theory is I’ve earned it.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

Dr. Eric Westman strongly advises the patients at his obesity clinic to stay strictly below 20 grams of total carbohydrate a day. His reasoning is that it’s far simpler than calculating net carb intake, and patients are far less likely to exceed their tolerance that way.

Furthermore, it is beginning to appear that fibre actually may not be as indigestible as we have thought up till now, so it’s beginning to seem like a good idea to include it in our count.

The matter of how much carbohydrate to eat is literally a matter of taste, since the body has absolutely no need for us to eat it, being capable of manufacturing the small quantity of glucose it needs out of protein and fat. There are also people who find that various chemicals in plants have other ill effects on them. So all in all, it makes sense to keep our carb intake as low as we can.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #11

Ehhh… I’m pretty good at math, not to mention, whenever I do a Google search for nutritional values of a food item, the “net carbs” are already figured out for me. I might look at the difference in total carbs just out of curiosity, but it’s not really important to me.

Like I said earlier, now that we are making more keto bread, with oat fiber, their is quite a difference in out total carb and net carb intake.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #12

Chris, you seem to be missing an important point Paul made in his post just prior to yours:

There’s a big difference between so-called ‘soluble’ and ‘insoluble’ fiber. So maybe further need to be cautious. Personally, I use net carbs, but then I eat very little carbs overall. I go by the rule: eat minimal and incidental carbs. That means not using fiber to offset, using math, real digestible and easily converted to glucose carbs. You may be eating the fiber, but you’re still eating the real digestible and easily converted to glucose carbs along with it. The math doesn’t change that.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #13

Okay. Fair enough. But not only are we really enjoying our yeast risen keto bread lately, but talk about great, stomach emptying :poop: :poop::poop:!

Anybody doing keto who is having this problem, really should try this !

I swear I just lost 5 lbs, and now I’m ready to roto till the yard for hours ! :grinning: Whoo hoo ! Plus only in the mid 80’s today ! I feel freaking great ! :grin:

(Donna) #14

Makes sense. I’m usually in the range of 15-20 carbs max, fiber included. I probably would be around 10-15, if I took the fiber count out, so I guess I have been doing good on that subject since starting a month ago. I can’t believe how high of carbs I was consuming before starting Keto. It actually boggles my mind. It amazes me, how much I have dropped HIGH carb foods and haven’t craved in a month.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

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