Having trouble with net carbs


(Bill Pratt) #1

Really appreciate everyone’s help on my last question. Looking for help on another one. My wife and I have been struggling with determining net carbs. Trying very hard to keep it under 20. But we seem to get bamboozled quite a bit buy things like MyFitnessPal or searching Google. Seems like if we can’t scan something, we have to pick from a list. The information seems to be different every time. My wife and I will reviewer our carbs at the end of the day and we have different amounts of carbs for the same items. Has anyone found an application or a website that they Trust? For example, I have like five different sites that give me five different answers for how many net carbs in an avocado. There have been some heartbreaking days when we think we did great with our net carbs and find out we’re actually over for the day. Thanks again in advance.


#2

You have to verify the information from the scan matches the one on the package. And you can determine the net carbs yourself by subtracting the fiber (and/or sugar alcohols) from the total carbs*

*With products inside the United States, if it’s from outside chances are the total carbs are the net carbs.


(Laurie) #3

I don’t use apps. I consult lists or the Internet when necessary, and have memorized some of the information.

Mostly I avoid plant-based foods except as incidentals–tomato sauce or onions used in recipes, lettuce garnish with restaurant burger patty, etc.–so I feel confident that I’m keeping my net carbs below 20 g daily. Sure, maybe some sources say an item has 0 net carbs and others say 2 net carbs, but if I have hardly any carby food it doesn’t add up to much anyway.

As you say, consulting different sources is causing you too much stress. I suggest that you choose one app or information source and stick to it. Good luck!


(Door Girl) #4

I either reference the USDA database I downloaded, or use this website as it queries from the USDA information. https://nutritiondata.self.com

My Fitness Pal really annoyed me with bad information from user-input values. As I got more comfortable with a prior way of eating, I started saving my go-to foods in MFP so I wouldn’t accidentally use bad data.


(Running from stupidity) #5

MFP is a steaming pile.

I use and recommend this one. One of the main reasons is that it has a tightly-controlled food database that will only be altered by the staff at the app dev company, not just any nuffie with a phone.

It’s also easy to add your own foods/recipes to, and if you subscribe, has awesome reporting functions.


(Bill Pratt) #6

Thank you sir. I just downloaded and signed up. Appreciate it.


(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #7

All the above is good advice.

I’d also try to remember that the best label or data base is an estimate at best. Don’t let the ambiguity be an excuse for loosening your standards, but also don’t let it make you crazy. You can see a perfect 20 on your tracker but that in no way means you consumed exactly 20 net carbs. And that’s fine. Tracking keeps you in the right neighborhood.


(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #8

Also, if you want to be a super nerd like me you can make a notebook with all the foods you regularly eat and give yourself time to study before you give yourself a test and memorize a bunch of them. Having this information on board helps me grocery shop and meal plan without as much fuss.


(Door Girl) #9

Hi Bill,

My keto flu fog has lifted and clarity is now here. I missed the main point of your message when I responded earlier, and for that I’m sorry.

What kinds of foods are you trying to find? Are you looking for things like chicken thighs, with or without the bones and skin, in various cooked states and raw? Are you looking for things like an In N Out 3x3 protein style? Salad bar creation? And how are you calculating size, both for your consumption and your tracking?

The more basic your ingredients, the better measured, and the more that you will take the time for things like including the 1/4 cup onions (holy carbs batman! 1 cup of chopped onions has 12.3g of net carbs!!!) and garlic (1g net carbs per clove!) the more precise the data. Especially if you find sources that link to the USDA database. The biggest issue with MFP and other user input sites is that the precision will only be there for things the person who puts the data in cares about. I’ve seen plenty of entries that only track one or two macros, etc.

The bigger question is, how much “hidden carbs” is in the diet you eat and how precise do you need to be? How close are you and your wife in data? Do you really eat such a varied diet that you can’t have a verified cheat sheet for the bigger components of your diet? We can obsess over all the parts of a gram that don’t need to be included on a label, but unless you are on the cusp of your personal carb tolerance that level of detail may or may not be noise. Depending of course in large part on how many x.4g items you have. And the more basic the food choices, the less likely you’ll find that to be a serious issue.


(Bill Pratt) #10

My wife and I both started keto on the same day. Today is day 14. But those first few days were so frustrating because we were each entering our data into MyFitnessPal. We were eating the exact same things. At the end of one day, she was really upset because she had 27 net carbs. I had 13. It didn’t make any sense. We had entered the same items but from different places on my fitness pal. Some of the things had a huge carb and fiber difference. We have been very strict about getting our weights and measurements as close as possible. And were using the app that was suggested above. Seems to be working for us and we are both keeping our net carbs somewhere around 10 right now. I like the app that was mentioned above it’s just a little tricky to get used to for me because I was so used to MyFitnessPal. Thank you everyone. This is a great Community. We have really been enjoying this forum


(Running from stupidity) #11

Yeah, I think that’s its main design aim :slight_smile: