skyhills

1. i am a newby so i am trying to learn and do right - in a low carb diet you calculate net carbs - this is calculated by carbs minus fiber minus sugar/alcohol - from what i can see fitday calculates total carbs only and does not calculate net carbs
in setting my goal of 25 net carbs per day - i need to adjust the carb count in fitday to represent net carbs

2. i thought all vegs were low carb - but was surprised to see how high yellow bell peppers are - is there really 15 g carb in one yellow pepper

3, if anyone has tips as to how to make net carb diet the most effective i would appreciate the tips
thanks!

dread77706

That's Sugar alcohols (maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, and xylitol), not sugar slash alcohol.

Sugar alcohols are a class of carbohydrates called "polyols". Part of their chemical structure resembles sugar, and part of it resembles alcohol -- hence the name.
Sugar alcohols (SA) are like sugar in some ways, but they are not completely absorbed by the body, which is why they're deducted from Total Carbs.

But SAs make up such a small proportion of your diet (unless you eat a pack of 'sugar-free' gum at a sitting), you can safely ignore it.

True sugars are part of total carbohydrates and are counted. There's a separate category for true alcohols, so that's counted as well.


Hrrm, I only see 11.8g, -- but anyhow, Welcome to Nutrition 101

volleyballgranny

Read one of the Atkins books. They are easy to find--Kindle or hard copy--and not expensive. The books explain the science behind how carbs are figured AND give a list of carb counts.

Net carbs (nC) are the number of total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols. If you are following a diabetic diet, the nC would be the total carbs minus fiber and 1/2 of the sugar alcohols.

Tips? Eat clean--the more processed a food is, the more likely it is to have hidden sugar and grain. Eat baked or broiled chicken, not breaded chicken. Eat lots of leafy green veggies--lettuce and spinach can fill you up, but are very low in carbs. Cabbage is another good one--regular green cabbage is about 2nC/cup, Napa cabbage is 0 nC per cup.

Fat makes you feel full. You're keeping your cheese intake to 4oz or less/per day and your cream intake to about 1/4 cup a day--so you can 'afford' the full fat version. Butter has 0 carbs, but that doesn't mean you can eat a stick of it. Be reasonable. Coconut oil can be used for frying, sauteeing, and flavor.

Don't take portion sizes for granted--measure everything at least the first week, then at least one day each week following. If you don't, your servings are going to grow just a little bit each day. It's human nature.

Good luck with it...you'll feel much healthier if you do it right.

skyhills

hi there - thank you for all your info - i did read the atkins book thank you and it was a wealth of info - i am pretty sure i have it right on the net carbs - and to ensure i keep things in check i run both cals and carbs - to meet a daily intake sufficient for my goals
i will get the coconut oil have read lots good on that - great tip and yes eating clean the safest - i am now looking for an app you can put in your own recipes and it will determine the full nutritional breakdown - there are a few out there - but not really user friendly - anyone have suggestions for a user friendly site or app for this - thx m

RunbikeSki

Hi skyhills,
Welcome to FitDay. There are some things the program does very well, some things, not so well. Net Carbs is one of the things it doesn't do. Nor is there a place for "sugar". However, for your purposes all you need to do is substract the fiber number from the total carb number and you will get the net carbs. Sugar alcohols have very little digestable calories so you really don't need to worry about those.

Secondly, veggies and fruits are mostly carbs - good carbs, but carbs never the less. Most low carb diets allow many veggies, but things like potatoes, peas, and corn are usually off the list because of high starch content (readily available sugars). Fruits are sugar (in the purest form). Some have higher glycemic indexes than others, meaning that they have more readily available surgars than others. Bananas are an example of that as is watermelon. Others like citrus, apples, and peachs are lower in readily available sugars, but often limited for the low carbers.

Hope that helps a little.

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you might have - there is a ton of expertise on these forums.