Hi fellow ketonians… Hope everyone had a blessed day…I just went through my macros for the day after dinner and I use the my fitness pal app which I love so far. It has a plethora of data when searching for types of food to plug into my day. My total carbs were 31 grams but I went thru and added all the fiber up and it’s total was like 20 grams My question is… Is it legit for me to subtract the fiber from my total which would give me only 11 carbs and make me very happy🤔 On the other hand I’ve also heard that some people divide their protein in half and then take number and add it to carbs! That totally doesn’t make sense to me because my healthy range for protein is between 60 and 100 grams which would totally make me over on carbs right out of the gates! God bless you! Your my tribe✌️
How to approach fiber when figuring macros
if you’re counting net carbs and not total…super legit to subtract fiber 
i’ve never ever heard that protein in half thing (not that i’ve heard everything) but that sounds whonky to me too but can almost make it make sense in a super twisted way…
like that excess protein can be insulinogenic (like carbs) but it makes WAY more sense to keep carbs low and eat appropriate protein LOL
I’m guessing the 0.5 * protein + carbs is a simplified version of the ketogenic formula in Phinney and Volek’s book which had a coefficient for protein at 0.56 I think. Combining carbs and protein in that way would only make sense if using a combined target, say if your targets were 20 g carbs and 70 g protein a combined target would be 20 + 70 * 0.5 = 55. Then you might consider eating 110 g protein on a zero carb day or on a low protein day you might have 20 g protein and 45 g carbs.
It would give some dietary flexibility but it might be prudent to track ketones to see if your body responds in a fashion similar to that formula.
The only ketopians I’ve ever seen count their fiber in their carb total are those who are having a difficult time raising ketones or losing weight (bodyfat).
I count net, but I also shoot for 5, because I feel best there.
N = 1
Thank you for that in depth description. My total carbs last night for the entire day was in the 30 range and when I checked my keytone levels I was 1.7 mml so I was happy about that. I think it’s a combination of the individual and the reaction they have to the specific carb related food as well. I try to experiment too. Like for dessert I had a piece of low carb coconut cheese cake I made with Truvia as the sweetner. Even though coconut has a high glycemic index I was totally fine. I really want to get more glucose strips to be testing my blood sugar along with my ketones just to see at what point I get close to being kicked out of ketosis. Which is what exactly? I’m thinking it’s like below .4 but I’ve been there and just do an extended fast for 24 to 48 hrs and I’m right back in the 1 to 2 range. Thanks again.
I’ve gone the cheap breathalyzer route for testing. Blood testing seems to show changes sooner but the strips are too expensive for me to use frequently. I can do a breath test before every meal and use the result to guide food choices. If I’m low I may skip the meal or eat pure fat. If I’m on target I’ll eat normally and if I’m high I may have some dessert. I’ve mostly gotten out of the habit of tracking or counting as I find this lazy approach so easy. I enjoy the flexibility and it’s allowed me to experiment with reintroducing a number of foods I was afraid to touch since going keto. And it motivates me to incorporate more fasting because that gets my level up quick to allow indulgences and brings it back up quick when I over indulge.
Yesterday I blew high and after dinner I poured heavy whipping cream over a cup of tiny frozen blueberries plus a little salt. First time I’ve tried it and it was amazing. Nearly instant ice cream. Stirred vigorously for a couple minutes, let it sit for several more until the blueberries were mostly thawed, stirred again and then it was gone. I need to make amends by skipping breakfast today but it was worth it. I looked it up after the fact, roughly 15 g of sugars in my dessert.
There are 2 schools of thought.
Net Carbs: you DO substract fiber from total carbs count to figure out your Net carbs
Total Carbs: you Don’t.
My n=1, If I completely Ignore Fibers in my count, I tend to get lower Ketone readings. So I kinda go for Total Carbs most of the time, but will occasionally go over 20 Total to allow for some extra fiber. (eating something high in almond/coconut flour or psyllium husk and the like)
Awesome info! Thank you again fellow ketonian! Hey if you don’t mind me asking what brand is your breath analyzer and what scale do you go by. I’d love to know how to do this as my budget doesn’t allow me to check keytones very often so I’m pretty strict all the time to stay in ketosis. I’d love to have a little more freedom if it’s possible tracking the acetone/ keytone body. 
The breathalyzers are inexpensive. I’ve got three and my cheapest was well under $5 with shipping.
Here’s my post about mine in a thread discussing breathalyzers.
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/test-breath-ketones-without-a-ketonix-using-a-cheap-breathalyzer/9450/163
There is an add in for browsers that show the net carb count on your food diary page.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10348436/enhancing-mfp-displays-for-low-carb#latest
You have to be using the website. Alternative is to arrange your display with the carbs and fiber side by side so you can easily to the math.
If you haven’t already you might want to check out the LowCarber Daily Forum group. It is a private group so you have to ask to join, there’s a button for that on the web page.