Counting Carbs vs. Dietary Fiber???

[kawalker007]

I am just getting started here. When counting carbs are you supposed to subtract the dietary fiber out?

[rpmcduff]

Fiber is a portion of the carbohydrates. The total for carbs includes the fiber. Fiber is a good thing as it slows down the metabolism of the carb calories (think of it as sustained time release energy). Simple carbs like white bread and sugar have little to no fiber and so metabolize quickly (a quick hit of energy).

[xo_liana]

If you want to get really picky, you could subtract the grams of fibre from the total grams of carbohydrates. The reason a lot of carb-counters do this is because fibre isn't technically digested by the body, and thus renders adding them to the total net carbs quite useless.

[Kohsamui]

Originally Posted by kawalker007

I am just getting started here. When counting carbs are you supposed to subtract the dietary fiber out?

Curious as to how you have been handling fiber/carbs. Do you do the subtraction?

[vabeachgirlNYC]

I do low carb but I don't subtract the fiber when I log my food.

What range are you shooting for with your carb intake ?

[Kohsamui]

210. So, if the label says 43 carbs and 13 fibs, are you entering 30 & 13?

[bevgo]

Originally Posted by kawalker007

I am just getting started here. When counting carbs are you supposed to subtract the dietary fiber out?

Yes, subtract the fiber to get the "net" carbs--those are the only ones you have to count when you're doing Atkins, as an example.

[LisaAnnie]

When I log my food here on Fitday, I enter the total carbs and total fiber. If I am not tracking it here, and I want net carbs, then I subtract fiber.

[Kohsamui]

Originally Posted by LisaAnnie

When I log my food here on Fitday, I enter the total carbs and total fiber. If I am not tracking it here, and I want net carbs, then I subtract fiber.

I think what I'll do is enter total carbs and fiber, since, when I enter a food I've looked up on the database, it comes up that way, and I don't want to have to customize everything I eat. At the end of the day, I scroll down to the pie chart, do the math and enter the net in my journal. This helps me keep an eye on my carb intake goal and saves me from all the extra customization...