vegetables and net carbs

nzmegs

I usually count total carbs - live in the UK where labels show fibre separately. This is fine where foods are not high in fibre but what should I do for vegetables?
I count a few spears of broccoli as 5 carbs - but as I count totals I don't take off the fibre. Should I?

Maybe I could give myself a higher carb limit for the day to take into account the additional fibre carbs that i count.

I feel like I reach my carb total so quickly just from a small amount of veg. I can easily eat 10 grams of carbs in veg in one meal.

if you count total carbs - what limit do you have? ditto those who count carbs minus fibre.

I just find it confusing.

BalmyD

What works for me is that I subtract fiber from my carb total but I do not subtract sugar alcohols. This encourages me to use veggies as my main source of carbs. I know there will be others who will be able to share different perspectives on this topic.

ETA: I usually average 35-50 net carbs per day and this is working fine for weight loss.

beelzebabb

I have a limit of 20g total, I don't count net on anything, more of a matter of discipline than anything else. I don't have any secret way around this; I literally just don't eat that much veg. Maybe half a small bag of sprouts or runner beans with one meal a day. Sorry if that's too restrictive for you! If you're worried about getting more green-coloured things in your diet, my suggestion would be leaves like rocket, spinach, watercress, etc. I have a big salad for lunch most days, usually a big bowl of rocket with bits of chicken and some seeds and whatever dressing I have to hand on top. It's a nice way of getting some veg in without adding too many carbs.

LowCarbInScotland

Hi @nzmegs my recommendation is to assess your health reasons for going low carb and do some experimentation to determine how different carbs affect you and make your decision from there. I don't have a hard line goal with carbs, I go with a range and I look at the total carb package - including fiber and sugar, when I'm planning my meals. If I go over 20 carbs for the day because I had 5 extra grams of fiber, it's not the end of the world to me, but if I went over because I had 5 extra grams of sugar (even if it came from natural sources), that's a totally different story - but I'm a diabetic and my #1 goal over everything else is keeping my blood sugar down with minimal medication. So my objectives may differ from yours.

LowCarbInScotland

beelzebabb wrote: »

I have a limit of 20g total, I don't count net on anything, more of a matter of discipline than anything else. I don't have any secret way around this; I literally just don't eat that much veg. Maybe half a small bag of sprouts or runner beans with one meal a day. Sorry if that's too restrictive for you! If you're worried about getting more green-coloured things in your diet, my suggestion would be leaves like rocket, spinach, watercress, etc. I have a big salad for lunch most days, usually a big bowl of rocket with bits of chicken and some seeds and whatever dressing I have to hand on top. It's a nice way of getting some veg in without adding too many carbs.

Hi @beelzebabb sounds like you're from the UK too if you're eating sprouts, runner beans and rocket. If you're counting total carbs, are you adding the fiber back in on MFP? Don't forget the bagged veggies (and all other foods) here list net carbs, so to get total, you would actually add the fiber count to the carb count to get that total carb number.

beelzebabb

Fortunately (or unfortunately!) yes, fibre counts too. Thankfully rocket in particular tends to be lower in both carbs and fibre, so it's pretty safe for very low limits

Sarahb29

For foods in the UK that you plug in, continue to count your carbs as normal. If you're logging veggies that have fiber counted in them, look for broccoli entries that say "net carbs", that way you're not counting fiber in with it.

ettaterrell

I mostly count total but as someone else said if I go over alittle on a fiber veggy I don't stress but by no means do I go over from something not green or unhealthy.

Sunny_Bunny_

I don't mind allowing a few more carbs to accommodate some vegetables. My typical limit is 20 and I don't even hit that most of the time. So if I want seconds on broccoli, and that might cause me to go up to 25 or 30, it doesn't bother me. I still count total because it's just simpler. It's ok to be flexible with your goal to allow low carb vegetables as long as you aren't having blood sugar issues because of them.

LowCarbInScotland

And the nice thing about broccoli @Sunny_Bunny_ is that it's the perfect vehicle for fat! You can saute broccoli in a pretty big dose of fat without it becoming unpleasantly greasy. Yum!

Sunny_Bunny_

PaleoInScotland wrote: »

And the nice thing about broccoli @Sunny_Bunny_ is that it's the perfect vehicle for fat! You can saute broccoli in a pretty big dose of fat without it becoming unpleasantly greasy. Yum!

Absolutely! You can get a lot of butter to hang onto all that texture!

Christine_72

I'm in Australia and we have the same thing as the UK on our food packaging. I just use USDA data entries. If i have asparagus, I enter "Asparagus USDA".
I don't eat frozen/bagged veggies though, so don't know if they have the same macros as fresh ones.

lithezebra

Right now, I'm not restricting non-starchy vegetables at all, even if I go over on my carbs. If it starts giving me problems, like craving sweets, or having more joint pain, I will cut back.

klkateri

I subtract fiber as I have a low goal (around 20) so not much wiggle room but some things are so high in fiber but the net is very low (i.e., this weekend I made banana "bread" with coconut and almond flour... almost 17 or something carbs but net was only 4 so not too bad... and very filling!! Breakfast all weekend!!). However, I'd rather go over for a veggie than for a cookie!!