Hello. Brand new to Keto and just downloaded an app. Should I be looking at net or total carbs? And what is the best range?
Net carbs or total carbs
Berengal
(Sjur Gjøstein Karevoll)
#2
You should look at net carbs, don’t include fiber. Staying below 20g per day is the best general recommendation.
Cheryl4696
#3
Were you able to get to that right away or did it take a few days. I think my skepticism comes from eating low fat most of my life.
lfod14
#4
Many people have better results counting actual, when I do count net, I do the old school net equation which is subtract the fiber and HALF the sugar alcohols.
CandyLindTX
(Candy Lind)
#6
Staying low on carbs was pretty easy for me right off because I love salad. I lost my cravings in about 3 days, even though I’m a terrible sugar addict. The hard part was getting on the fat train. Think of your first three weeks as a Carnival Cruise where calories magically don’t count (after all, they DON’T), and pile on the fat! If you have any cravings, eat fat. Your brain will get the message sooner or later. It is such a RELIEF to realize you are free off the chains called carbs. It’s WORTH IT.
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#7
I started this way of eating because it finally got through to me that (a) I was a sugar addict and (b) I didn’t want to develop diabetes or heart disease as so many others in my family have done. So I started by eliminating sugar and sweets from my diet, and I immediately started feeling so much better, that I shortly found myself cutting out most of the other carbohydrate from my diet. The thing that makes this way of eating so workable for me is the lack of hunger, the result of eating fat to satiety. I still get sugar cravings, of course, but I am learning to deal with them and to avoid eating just for the sake of putting something in my mouth. The sensation of simply not being hungry is an amazing one—I used to fill my belly to bursting (literally, not figuratively) and still want to eat more. Now I actually have to stop eating even when there’s still food on my plate and I’m nowhere near full. Go figure! 
widebody
(Gargantuan B. Widebody)
#8
I count actual carbs. I understand the theory of net carbs and deducting fiber, but in my personal experience if I eat say 27 carbs with 7 grams of fiber and claim that equals 20 carbs I do not have the same success as I do when I only consume a total of 20 actual carbs. YMMV.
hedleylo
(Lonnie Hedley)
#9
I did net. Now that I’m experimenting with ZC/carnivore, it’s hard to get over 15g so I now count total. I guess I could still count net, but since I don’t eat any fiber, total now equals net.
Cheryl4696
#10
Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate it all. I am definitely giving this my best shot for 30 days to start so hopefully it pans out. It’s day 4 and I am thinking I want chocolate but I am not giving in.