Trying low carb and eventually Keto and have questions

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verybusybee
verybusybee Posts: 131 Member
I have been doing some reading on Keto (works best for me to research before jumping in) and I noticed if I am correct that you count the carbs minus the dietary fiber to get the net carbs. So today I had a protein shake with 6 carbs and 3 dietary fiber, which makes in 3 net carbs (if I am understanding correctly) so when I entered it in MFP it said 6 carbs. Is there a way to change that to reflect net carbs or do I need to figure it out in my head. Trying to stay between 20 and 25 when I start actual keto.

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  • Vladaar
    Vladaar Posts: 147 Member
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    I use the free version, so not sure about the paid version, but I just figure it out in my head. My wife and I have been doing keto diet now for 2 weeks, I love it, I think she tolerates it because she is seeing results. The best thing is that we are both doing it together, because it's hard on a family when one person is doing something special for eating and others are not. I am leaning towards not thinking of keto as a diet anymore rather a lifestyle, that even after I get the weight loss I want, I'll keep eating this way. Why? Because I have found that I can eat, or at least get the taste that I want of nearly anything out there eating keto. There are literally thousands of recipes out there on the world wide web and if not just get inventive with a deconstructed version of what you want to eat. I wasn't eating wheat before hand anyway, because I read 'Wheat Belly' book. My wife was, and loves pasta so it's a big struggle for her.
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
    edited October 2017
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    There are some entries that are adjusted for net carbs and they will usually say so in the title of the food item. You can either create your own entry for the food group at net carbs or included fiber as something you track side by side with carbs. If you look under the food tab under settings on the website you can add fiber as a nutrient tracked. I typically do this so I can see my carbs and fiber intake for the day to get my net carbs unless I find a food item already calculated for net carbs. This works well for me but others might have other ways of calculating net carbs.

    You can check your net carbs from a phone app by scrolling down to the bottom of your diary and clicking on the nutrition button (pie chart) and if you have fiber tracked it will show up there as well, if I recall that correctly.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
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    On the main page...there are Announcements. Stickies. Very valuable reading. Go to:
    "Announcements", Look for and click on "Start Here The Launch Pad", click on "FAQs", then "Which is it? Total or net". Scroll down and you will see a couple of scripts that can be installed.

    I've not installed them. I just used MFP "settings" and have my diary page set up Calories, Carbs, Fiber, Proteins, Fats and would mentally subtract fiber from carbs if I were a net carb counter. When on the app, the food diary page doesn't change to the categories I've personally chosen but the total day or week Carbs and Fiber can be viewed under Nutrition (as @xerogs1 stated above).

    Be wary of incorrect database entries. Thousands of them...but then hundreds of thousands of items in the database. :/



  • drnriordan
    drnriordan Posts: 12 Member
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    In all my keto research, I have always seen the recommendation to strictly count all carbs rather than doing the net carb equation.
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
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    I use the iPhone app. From the diary screen, I tap the "banner" at top that lists the calorie totals for the day. That takes you to another screen, with "nutrition" option in the middle. Tap on that. You can change the info for daily total or weekly average. Scroll down to total carbs, and fiber is the next line down. Easy to subtract and find your net total for the day (or weekly avg if you want)
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,572 Member
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    I use the script @kpk54 recommends. It gives me total carbs and net.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    You can go either way: net or total carbs. If you are like me, and go by total carbs, you could just put your carb total higher to account for your typical fiber intake. So if you wanted 30 net carbs, you could set your carbs at 40.... Or something like that.

    Welcome to the group. :)
  • BodyByButter
    BodyByButter Posts: 563 Member
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    I use this Firefox plug in. It shows net carbs when you use the web version.
    (Copied)
    Go to this link: https://github.com/Surye/mfp-keto-userscript
    Install the script. Note, because of the way Firefox and Chrome now work you’ll have to install greasemonkey (firefox) or tampermonkey (chrome) and then the script. This is described in the link above.
    Once the script is installed, and assuming you added the columns added above, you will have three additions to your MFP:
    Net Carbs Column
    Carb / Fat / Protein percentages for each meal / total
    Pie chart showing percentage of calories for Carb / Fat / Protein
  • verybusybee
    verybusybee Posts: 131 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice. I may just try counting all carbs and raising them up to about 30 instead of 20. Ill check the net though periodically and see if I need to adjust.
  • __Roxy__
    __Roxy__ Posts: 825 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Also, just note that the nutritionist who invented/coined the Net Carb concept was specifically referring to vegetables. So don't be afraid to eat lots of veggies, don't shy away from them because of their carb count. You can log them as net if it helps you feel better. For example, you can type "avocado net carbs" into the food search.

    It's when you start eating processed food (especially those marketed toward low carb diets) that it gets tricky, as companies add fiber to the product to lower the Net Carb count, but that's not how it works. For example, you can't just toss some Metamucil into your cake batter to lower the carbs!

    I personally log everything as total carbs except for veggies. Veggies I count as net so that I can fit more of them into my day. It's entirely psychological but it works for me.
  • diniba69
    diniba69 Posts: 16 Member
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    Also, just note that the nutritionist who invented/coined the Net Carb concept was specifically referring to vegetables. So don't be afraid to eat lots of veggies, don't shy away from them because of their carb count. You can log them as net if it helps you feel better. For example, you can type "avocado net carbs" into the food search.

    It's when you start eating processed food (especially those marketed toward low carb diets) that it gets tricky, as companies add fiber to the product to lower the Net Carb count, but that's not how it works. For example, you can't just toss some Metamucil into your cake batter to lower the carbs!

    I personally log everything as total carbs except for veggies. Veggies I count as net so that I can fit more of them into my day. It's entirely psychological but it works for me.

    I'll second this answer. Don't believe the package info. Veggies (non-root. .. Be careful with carrots, potatoes, etc) are the way to go for any carbs. I take psyllium husk and don't count the carbs from that but you never know how accurate a label is. Eat real food as much as possible ( meat, cheese heavy cream, broccoli, greens, cabbage, avacado, butter, oil).
  • verybusybee
    verybusybee Posts: 131 Member
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    Thanks for the tips guys. Where do you find things like Psyllium husk, yacon liquid ( some recipes call for it) and coconut or almond flour. I have bought the latter in the past and think I can get those at a regular grocery store but I have never heard of the first two.
  • diniba69
    diniba69 Posts: 16 Member
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    Amazon has all of these.
  • camtosh
    camtosh Posts: 898 Member
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    If you are in the US, you can order low carb products from Netrition.com
    https://www4.netrition.com/cgi/product_categories_display.cgi?categories=VLC#{product-grid|page=1}

    Shipping is high to Japan, sad to say. :(