How many gross carbs a day when not on a set low carb diet - advice please?

[1978Emma]

Hi everyone, I am not following a particular low carb diet but doing my own low carb diet as I didn't want to do any of the VLCD ones and the Atkins etc seems to be harder to do as a veggie so I'm basically trying to greatly reduce my carbs whilst sticking to a normal amount of calories like 1500.

Ok so I am getting confused over gross carbs and net carbs, I have looked online and the info differs greatly from 150g of carb a day down to 20g carb a day all being classed as low carb so as a newbie I am a bit confused , also is that total carbs or net carbs? and how do you know if they are the total carbs or net carbs? Emma

 

[Kat1e]

From what i've read, most people stay in ketosis below about 50g of carbs so that is a "low" carb diet. Everyone different though - that's why many programmes start you out at 20g to get you in ketosis and break any cravings. If you take a look at the atkins pyramid for phase 2 it's all about adding stuff back so quite useful to help you create your own programme.

 

[Kat1e]

Ps - apparently latest version of atkins is far more veggie friendly and lots of useful recipes online - hth!

 

[1978Emma]

thanks, I'll check it out for sure, I feel like a bit of an idiot asking its just the internet is full of so much info and each bit seems to contradict the other bit so I wanted to check on here for what people know works, I know diets like Exante are like 60g carb or thereabouts so had given myself a slightly larger allowance originally of 70-80g, will be sure to try and lower it perhaps down to 60 to match that of the VLCD like Exante etc. Emma

 

[Kat1e]

Just to be clear i am talking net carbs ie without fibre. That means UK labels you use the total carbs figure as already taken out but need to be careful if using apps that have both US and UK info (like MFP). Also exante and other VLCDs use different way of getting you in ketosis - either keep the carbs down (and cals up) or take cals right down (most food replacement).

 

[1978Emma]

sorry I had been confused over total / gross carbs and net carbs, its finally sinking in at my end! ha ha

 

[moonlights]

Are you in the uk? If you are you're doing it right. The figure on a label for total carbs -is- what Americans call net carbs. We do not deduct anything here.

 

[Phoenyx]

I'm a fan of mark sissons approach to carbs

Roughly:

0-50g a day - accelerated fat loss & ketosis
50-100g a day - weight loss zone, some will be in ketosis
100-150g a day - maintenance zone
150-300g a day - insidious weight gain
300g + danger zone!

Link to article
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz1yP7X2ARw

 

[1978Emma]

I found this on the internet, really helps to explain things! I was so confused before reading this. Emma

When starting out on the low carb way of life there is a lot of confusion about carbohyrdrate levels and how to measure them. I hope that the following information will help clarify the issues for those living in the UK.

Carbohydrates in Labelled Food

Food regulations in the UK mean that all manufactured foods are labelled with their contents, calories and the breakdown of these into protein, carbohydrate, and fat, usually per 100g.

Some labels give the amount of carbohydrate that comes from sugar whilst others break the fat down into saturated, mono-saturated and polysaturated. Labels may also contain a value for fibre and sodium.

A typical label looks like this:
Nutrition Information
Typical Values per 100g
Energy - kcal
Protein -
Carbohydrate -
.......of which sugars
Fat -
.......... of which saturates
.................monosaturates
.................polyunsaturates
Fibre -
Sodium -

The amount of carbohydrate given on the label is the effective carbohydrate content (ECC) of the food per 100g. The fibre value on the label is not connected to the carbohydrate value and therefore, unlike in the US, should not be deducted from the carbohydrate value.What you see on the label for carbohydrate is what you get.

Carbohydrates in Fresh Produce

Many fresh vegetables and fruit are not labelled and so information on their carbohydrate content is not readily available. I have found that the best source of this information is the supermarket online shopping websites. You do need to register, but you can find the information without having to order food. Links are given for:
Sainsbury's
Tesco

Again, the carbohydrate value given is the ECC, so do not deduct the fibre value.