Lettuce?

spvlat

hello! I've been trying keto for a few days and I've noticed that butterhead lettuce on MFP contains only 2grams of Carbs per cup and all of that is fiber! So in my mind, since I'm counting net carbs=total carbs- fiber I could eat as much of it as I want. Is that the correct way of looking at it or not? I've been enjoying making and eating salads all my life and I'm used to eating at least 3 cups of it everyday. Help!

__Roxy__

Yep, you got it!! I don't limit my greens, especially when the net carbs are low or zero. Enjoy!

spvlat

That's a relief!! Thank you!!! Does this apply to all leafy greens? What about cabbage?

__Roxy__

Yep! The concept of net carbs was developed specifically with veggies in mind. For example, you can't bake a cake and add a ton of fiber to the batter to cancel carbs. But when fiber occurs naturally such as with veggies and fruit, net carbs apply. When logging, you can search "cabbage net carbs" or any veg "net carbs" and you can log it as such if you like!

spvlat

that's intresting! So I shouldn't feel guilty when my total carb count is over 30 grams but my net carb count is still under 30?

KnitOrMiss

I try not to have that much of a difference between net ant total carbs unless it is ALL from veggies...but otherwise, yes...

I tended to aim for 35 net carbs, 50 total carbs...

tmoneyag99

Just my two cents... Since Keto is rally about making every bite count I would go for greens that offer more micros per bite.

Example: Fresh Spinach is a great source of iron and fol ate. Romaine is high is Vitamin C (As are tomatoes) Point being because this diet is so restrictive (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) we want to make sure we choose veggies with more bang for their buck. My personal goal (and it's not easy) is to find foods that help me do both keep carbs low and meet my key micro needs.

Ice Burg is kind of the Walmart version of leafy greens. Unless you're going in strictly for fiber then I say chomp away!

spvlat

Thanks for your responses. I've been trying keto for two weeks now and at first it felt like every vegetable was a "no". Then I slowly started incorporating small quantities of veggies and tracking my macros but I'm still scared that something I eat is going to kick me out of keto. I'm mainly doing this to lose fat and it's starting to feel easier to eat low carb-high fat and maybe that's why I'm freaking out.For so long I thought that the only way to lose weight was to starve!