What do you count as carbs?

llamalland

Google "glycemic index". You will find a printable list (several, probably), with the glycemic value of zillions of foods. It's easy to choose your foods if you want to stay within certain carb limits.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

I would eat half of a bannana and orang and less corn. You must count all carbs. The diabetic people shoot for 45grams a meal. I lost 10 pounds in one month that way.

No, a lot of Diabetics DO NOT shoot for 45 grams of carbs per meal. Sometimes that is more carbs than I eat in a whole day.

Most diabetics these days are not listening to the ADA and using low carb lifestyles to live medication free and not some slave to the pharmaceutical companies.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Thank you so much for your feedback everyone. I have not done much research on Keto diets or GI, so I will be checking into all of the resources you have provided me with.

*** I completely understand that carbs are carbs no matter where they are coming from, but I have heard some discussions about not counting fruits and veggies because they are "healthier" I have been practicing by counting everything minus fiber. I don't know how to count sugar alcohols, so I haven't subtracted those***

There are some that are "free" foods - mostly veggies. Look up information on a diabetic diet and it will give you more information on what ones are included on that list, since obviously most diabetics have to monitor their carbs pretty closely.

Nothing is a "free" food. Everything needs to be counted, especially if you are tracking food to see how your blood sugars react and such. Some vegetables can cause spikes also due to the sugar content.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

To the OP:

Everything that is not a fat or protein is a carb and should be counted as such. There are no free foods and I have found that the whole subtracting fiber thing is a way to fit more food in for the day.

I don't count "net" carbs. I count whole carbs.

Sharonks

I count whole carbs but review what I eat to determine how good or bad that is. The other day I had sugar free syrup and total carbs are high. My goal with low carbs is to control my blood sugar since I'm diabetic. I take oral meds which don't control me that well but due to the fact that I actually can have nearly normal reading at times they won't put me on anything stronger otherwise I'll go hypo too much.

If I follow the ADA diet, I have horrible BS readings. I eat about 60 total carbs a day. If I look at net carbs I'm usually around 40. I primarily get them from non starchy veggies, 1/2 to 1 piece of fruit per day, milk about 2 times a week, 1 piece of bread per day and the random bit that is in some cheese and meat and in nuts.

If I were just dieting low carb I think I would consider most non starchy veggies as free. To me, the big goal with reducing carbs for a normal person would be to eliminate almost all refined carbs and sugars. Reduce even whole grain breads, noodles, and starchy veggies. Obviously pretty much eliminate all refined sugar. I also think that being aware of the glycemic index is a good idea. For example, if you eat cereal for breakfast then eat oatmeal because it is a slow releaser of its sugar.

For those who aren't in a medical position to have to be super stringent with carbs, I think moderation is the most realistic life changes you can make. 15 years ago, I took off 20 lbs and kept it off until I became very ill and bedridden. I did it by being aware of how much food I ate at one time, reducing carbs, and exercising a little more.

Isolt

That is correct, carbs are carbs.Why go so low carb? It's probably not for the best to cut fruit and vegetables out of your diet.

Ummm you don't cut vegetables out of a low-carb diet - in fact quite the opposite, you eat tons of them...they just happen to be green vegetables rather than starchy root vegetables.

Isolt

Most diabetics these days are not listening to the ADA and using low carb lifestyles to live medication free and not some slave to the pharmaceutical companies.

Also worth looking at who funds the ADA and then asking yourselves whether the biggest drugs companies and manufacturers of 'junk' processed foods have a massive interest in Type II diabetics managing their condition with nothing more than raw food ingredients.

ElPumaMex

PS carbs are not bad (within the guidelines, of course...) carbs are in fact, brain food...

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. While I'll admit I have some bias as I've been doing keto for 6 weeks and have seen AMAZING results, from every bit of research I've looked at, there is literally NO reason that we HAVE to have carbs, and a myriad of reasons why we should avoid them. Yes, technically the brain requires some glucose, but that's only certain portions of the brain. The rest of the brain actually prefers fat as a fuel source.

For the part of the brain that does require glucose, you can get that from protein. There's literally no need for carbs. In the wild, our bodies didn't need them. They were harder to come by (as they were only available in fruits and some veggies), so our body learned to do with very little of them.

I respect the different approaches everyone has for reducing weight, but to claim carbs are plain bad for you, including the carbs from fruits, etc. is just plain extreme.

Please send me an email, with the studies where you have seen that there are a "myriad of reasons" to avoid carbs.

Sharonks

Most diabetics these days are not listening to the ADA and using low carb lifestyles to live medication free and not some slave to the pharmaceutical companies.

Also worth looking at who funds the ADA and then asking yourselves whether the biggest drugs companies and manufacturers of 'junk' processed foods have a massive interest in Type II diabetics managing their condition with nothing more than raw food ingredients.

I was gestational 23 years ago, which started my having to look at the ADA. Over the years I have found their advice pretty suspect. ACE (American College of Endocrinologist) has lower target blood glucose levels than ADA. Yet most drs. use the ADA levels. So my dr. thinks a 6.4 A1C is great but it's actually just barely under the 6.5 that ACE wants. I believe that the closer to non-diabetic BG I am the healthier I am.

If I ate ADA I would have to be on insulin since their per meal carbs for me are about what I eat in a whole day. That being said, I think the ADA diet would be great for someone who isn't diabetic and wants to eat healthier. It is very balanced, encourages lots of non starchy veggies, helps you watch fruit portions without eliminating them and limits starches to reasonable portions.

funkycamper

PS carbs are not bad (within the guidelines, of course...) carbs are in fact, brain food...

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. While I'll admit I have some bias as I've been doing keto for 6 weeks and have seen AMAZING results, from every bit of research I've looked at, there is literally NO reason that we HAVE to have carbs, and a myriad of reasons why we should avoid them. Yes, technically the brain requires some glucose, but that's only certain portions of the brain. The rest of the brain actually prefers fat as a fuel source.

For the part of the brain that does require glucose, you can get that from protein. There's literally no need for carbs. In the wild, our bodies didn't need them. They were harder to come by (as they were only available in fruits and some veggies), so our body learned to do with very little of them.

I respect the different approaches everyone has for reducing weight, but to claim carbs are plain bad for you, including the carbs from fruits, etc. is just plain extreme.

Please send me an email, with the studies where you have seen that there are a "myriad of reasons" to avoid carbs.

Oh, please. While I'm who you responded to, I can tell you that a too high of carb level is bad for people who are diabetic, insulin resistant, or have some other metabolic disorder that makes them sensitive to carbs. I currently average 80-100 grams/carb daily and am able to control my diabetes through diet and exercise alone. If I eat more on a regular basis, I have to go on oral medications to control my blood sugars.

To be honest, the more weight I'm losing, and the more intensely I'm exercising, and the more frequently I'm exercising intensely, the more carbs I can eat without having a negative impact on my blood sugar readings. And that's a good thing, imho, because I like the taste of carbs. I can also have occasional days eating much higher carb than my normal 80-100 without much impact. However, if I start stringing a bunch of higher carb days together in a row, my blood sugar levels start going way up.

People who are insulin resistant may not see their blood sugars go up because their pancreas is still capable of pumping out enough insulin to keep their blood sugars lower but this usually doesn't go on indefinitely and these people will most likely become diabetics if they don't get their weight, fitness level, and carb intake under control.

I function just fine on lower carbs. And I even functioned just fine back when I used to do 20-30 grams/day of carbs. All my lipids and other levels screened via blood tests are great and couldn't be better.

If people can eat more carbs without negative effects, they can. Nobody is saying this is the best eating plan for everybody (at least I haven't read that in this particular discussion). But there is no reason you need a lot of carbs either.

I just got home from an intense workout of 5min elliptical warm-up, then 15 minutes of circuit-training rotating through jump-squats, burpees, deadlifts, push-ups, reverse crunches and planks, then through it again, then a 10-minute "break" doing HIIT on the exercise bike, then 15 more minutes of that same circuit, then ending with 10 more minutes doing HIIT on the exercise bike, then a cool down and a stretch. The lack of a lot of carbs in my diet did not prevent me from being one of the fastest at getting through the circuits in my small-group class with a trainer, and I'm the oldest one in the group to boot.

I think you should explain why you think differently. But don't do it via email. Information should be shared with everybody on the boards so everybody can learn from it, imho.

rainasfree

Carbs are carbs, it really doesn't make a difference if you "choose" to "count" them or not. Your body processes them regardless.

I know this was written quite a while ago but when looking up this question I can appreciate your answer the most! Got a good laugh too! : )
Thanks!