Hello,
Is it about net carbs, or just counting total carbs. Up until this point I’ve always just been counting total carbs. If it says 5 total carbs on the package, that is what I write down. But recently I’ve been hearing about “net carbs” where you subtract the dietary fiber from the total. So if something has 5 total, but 3 dietary fiber, I’d only write down 2 carbs on my spreadsheet.
Thank you for the responses!
I think it depends on how sensitive you are to carbs. I started using net carbs. Now I count total carbs.
I do net, but my total is still on average well below 20, today was 6 total 5 net. Yesterday was 18 total 16 net. There is a few people that believe you should get your total below 20g. The big thing is to try and keep them as low as possible, some people have a higher threshold, mine is on the order of 50g but I don’t ever try and push it. The only time net really seems to make a difference is certain veggies, I don’t fret about veggies terribly much anymore. I also did a spreadsheet for the first few months and it worked out great for me.
I did total for the first several months and just recently started doing net (mostly). I’m pretty fat adapted now so I have some good flexibility and it doesn’t seem to bother me. If you’re wanting to do net, try it and if you’re not seeing the results you want them go back to total. That’s the beauty of this WOE! Good luck!
I count total, mostly because I can’t be bothered to do math, a little because if you’re under on total you’re even more under on net.
I don’t understand where the reasoning for counting total is coming from if the body doesn’t digest fiber… Is that not true for everyone? Are people saying that some people have insulinogenic response to fiber?
At first, at lest for me, I wanted to be certain I was staying low enough so by counting total and keeping that low, you’re good. My understanding is yes, fiber is not absorbed and therefore doesn’t technically need to be counted but some people are just more sensitive. I’m sure others will have a much better explanation but that’s my perspective.
apparently some gut bacteria can actually brake up and use fiber, if this causes an insulin response I don’t know 
. I count net anyway…
It is coming from the same place that 20g of carbs come from, the ether. Since nobody can put a hard number on the reaction because we are all different someone picked a really safe number and it seems to work. It would seem the same process was picked for the food pyramid as well…
I use absolute carbs when I need to lose.
Net carbs on maintenance only.
The ‘net’ way of thinking never produced any meaningful losses for me, but total carbs helped me drop over a 100 pounds. Each body is different, so you could evaluate how it goes for you each way and then make a choice.
Good luck to you. I am excited for you that you have chosen this way of life. It has many benefits.
I do total. I just can’t be bothered to do math.
And I like how Dr. Westman describes it; Net carbs is the over the counter version and total carbs is the prescription strength.
No, it’s just to make absolutely sure that one’s carbohydrate intake is definitely low enough to allow fat-burning to take place. Think of it as a suspenders (braces outside the U.S.) and belt strategy.
I’ve been experimenting with upper carb limits over the past few weeks. So far the highest total I’ve gotten to was 57 (21 net). I’ve eaten A LOT of veggies lately & it hasn’t impacted my glucose or ketones. Granted I’ve been weight stable for over a year now, I may not have gotten away with this in the beginning.