To count veggie carbs or not?

(Carl Keller) #1

I recently watched a Dr. Eric Berg DC video on youtube where he says that I shouldn’t count veggie carbs since they don’t affect insulin levels like typical carbs. This totally changes how I’ve been counting carbs since he says I can eat as many veggie carbs as I want. Of course he’s not saying veggies like below ground veggies and corn. He’s talking about broccoli, spinach, lettuce etc. Currently veg carbs are probably 75% of the carbs I eat and count toward my daily limit. Does anyone here not count them? and do you truly eat as many veg carbs as you want without being kicked out of ketosis?

(bulkbiker) #2

Sorry but Dr Berg is just plain wrong on that one… a carb is a carb whether spinach or a doughnut (although obviously outright amounts vary). You should include the carbs from veg in your total especially when starting out.
For full disclosure I am not a Berg fan.

(Carl Keller) #3

Thank you Mark. Dr Berg has taught me a lot of informative stuff but I’m not sure what it is about him that I don’t like. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have a sense of humor.

(MelissaH) #4

I include salad or veg with my evening meal. Dr. Berg recommends 7-10 cups of salad a day
Could you eat that volume and then say a protein after that?? That’s a lot. I don’t weigh my food anymore, just eat a decent portion. He calls his version “healthy keto” I think it depends what your goals are.

(Joanna Parszyk ) #5

I second that. Few years ago l did strict Keto, then transferred to paleo AKA more carbs (still “healthy” but in the end more carbs coming from all vegetables and fruits). Long story short all the healt benefits that l acheived with Keto went away (inflammation, depression and anxiety came back also l noticed huge loss of strength, stamina and difficulty with focus, last bit not least l put on a bit of weight).

(Carl Keller) #6

Oh God yes MelissaH. The amount of salad Dr. Berg recommends is insane. 7-10 cups is like one of those big salad mix bags I buy at Costco.

(Carl Keller) #7

Chipmunk Just out of curiosity did you return to Keto or are you still doing Paleo?

#8

Not a big fan of Dr. Berg either. His earlier videos completely contradict his more recent ones :exploding_head:

(Carl Keller) #9

TY Dimples. Love your name BTW.

#10

Right back at ya CarlKeller!

(I Am The Egg Man ku-ku-kachoo) #11

I love veg, but DO count the net carbs…and also keep an eye on total carbs. As I test my blood glucose all the time, I’ve been watching how I respond to all foods. Too many total carbs (even with net carbs <20 per day) still equals a BG spike for me.

(John) #12

I don’t count but I have a pretty good idea of what I am eating based on visual portion size and type of food I eat. Most days I am probably getting fewer carb grams than I would like to get.

Today I am about at 4g so far and that is from almond milk this morning. I will probably have a pretty big salad tonight unless I feel like steaming up some of the cauliflower I just bought.

(bulkbiker) #13

There has always been something of the snake oil sales man about him even though a lot of what he says I agree with… its either his delivery or his general demeanour but I just don’t like him one jot.

(Janelle) #14

It is. I was looking at his site earlier. He shows BAGS of salad. I am a much bigger fan of Dr. Westman - who has a much more relevant medical degree. He says count the carbs - all carbs - have 2 cups a day of leafy greens and one cup of low carb veggies. Much more reasonable.

(Carl Keller) #15

Godwin and John, thank yous also for the response. I’m totally going to count veg carbs and not listen to Dr. Berg this time.

Mark, yeah I think I will unsubscribe from Dr. Berg’s channel and stick with Thomas Delauer.

(Joanna Parszyk ) #16

Carl Keller: l’m Happily Ketoing for the last 3 months and couldn’t be more happy about it!!!
Already all the Keto benefits came back plus more since this time l also introduced IF. Normally l’m eating in a 16/8 window and also did few 44-48h fasts for the health benefits (trying to fix neurological issue and chronic pain problems). I’m also interested in the benefits of skin tightening, anti-aging and improving my weight lifting.

This time and the previous time as well l’m counting carbs, not overdoing it with protein and logging my food diary.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #17

Dr. Berg has the perfect funeral director personality. I find him impossible to watch or listen to. On the other hand, I love Dr. Berry.

(Karen) #18

I think they mean just to subtract the Fiber so that you’re just counting net carbs. Although I think for the new Atkins they use total carbs. And if you’re struggling with carbs at all you should probably count total carbs

#19

Well, you said you added fruit. That would certainly kick you out of keto, along w/ the benefits. I guess it would depend on the quantity of fruit (a moderate amount of berries might be ok to keep you in keto). I have personally been eating about 8 cups of salad a day (mostly spinach), which adds up to a total of 3.2 net carbs. So even if I count it towards my total, I’m nowhere near my limit of between 20g and 50g net carbs. What I have found is that people are over-exaggerating the amount of carbs in leafy greens. Come on, people, get your greens on! You need that potassium to survive on this lifestyle!!! :slight_smile:

#20

At first, I thought it was insane too. But then I tried it. I have a baby spinach salad (4 ounces) at each meal (2 meals a day).To that I add 1/4 cup pecans, half an avocado and about 2 tablespoons dressing of my choice. With a tasty dressing on that salad you would be surprised at how fast you can take it down!

Also, at the meal, I start with the salad and then the rest of my meal… I was surprised to find that I actually was still hungry and did not feel any problems whatsoever putting down the rest of my meal. I don’t know how to explain it. Some say that they aren’t hungry after salad because it makes them bloat, but I have heard that this could be related with certain greens and that you should try other types of greens and see which are best suited to your digestive system, using trial and error. I strongly encourage you to eat lots of greens! They honestly do NOT add much to the net carb count. People are over-estimating the amount of carbs in these foods! :smile:

Good luck!