Keto - Carbs vs Net Carbs and daily %

I think I did 20 net. Even still was ~35g total.

<50g total and <20g Net is what I do daily.

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50g total and <20g Net is what I do daily.

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Give me a days meals to match these numbers for an idea. I try to stay around 20 net but I just keep it in my head as a guess.

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So how do you count net carbs? Is it just total carbs minus fiber?

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Yes minus fiber and some sugar alcohols such as erythritol.

I usually only eat around 7g net a day so well under the 20g. Today I ate:

Lunch
9 oz chunk light tuna in water
4TBSP Dukes Mayonnaise
1tbsp yellow mustard
4 XL hard boiled eggs

Dinner
1/2 lb smoked chuck steak
1x Jalapeño egg cup
- 1 XL egg
- 1 piece of Smithfield Butcher cut bacon
- 0.4 oz Daisy sour cream
- 0.4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- 0.2 medium sized jalapeños
2x Keto chocolate truffles
- 0.15 cups of heavy cream
- 0.66 oz unsweetened bakers choclolate 100% cacao
- 0.04 cup swerve
- 1.6 drops stevia
- 0.04 cup powdered cacao

Macros:

8g Net Carbs (1.6%)
20g Total Carbs
156g Fat (68.9%)
150g Protein (29.5%)
2078 Calories

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For example, Quest/Costco has some protein bars that are very popular. They net down from 28g to 4g (supposedly). However, I've seen discussions on message boards where people measured the glycemic load right after ingestion and they said it was much closer to what 28g would imply than 4g.

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Yes anything that has malitol which is very popular in those bars or even xylitol should not be completely subtracted. Only Erythritol, stevia, and monk fruit IMO.

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For example, Quest/Costco has some protein bars that are very popular. They net down from 28g to 4g (supposedly). However, I've seen discussions on message boards where people measured the glycemic load right after ingestion and they said it was much closer to what 28g would imply than 4g.

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Makes sense. I think I’ll just keep avoid subtracting sugars for now. My main goal was really just to make sure I could eat some veggies on this diet, it’s starting to make more sense.

I am in ketosis a large % of the time and when I leave it (before/during/after high intensity exercise (note: this is complicated and for another topic), or after the occasional casual refeed--usually just an f-it Mexican meal and/or beers), I immediately get back into .5 nmol/L + range after a 16-hour fast, with no readapting period, "keto-flu" etc.).

I count nothing. Ever. No calories, no carbs, no net carbs, no sugar alcohols, no fiber, no other macros, no weighing, etc. I find that process incredibly tedious and inimical to my entire eating ritual.

So, I'm probably not the best person to ask. Haha.

My advice, fwiw, would be to figure out what works for you: what keeps you in/out of nutritional ketosis, how often and long you want to be in ketosis and for what reasons, and then just buy the foods (LEARN WHAT'S IN THEM) and create the habits to meet those goals.

Also, if you can start time-restricted feeding (aka "intermittent fasting"), then it makes the whole ketosis process a lot easier. Same goes for upping your aerobic (slow, fat-burning) exercise and experimenting with MCT and exogenous ketones.

Unlike some carnivore freaks, I still believe in getting nutrients from many sources, and using carbs as performance and optimization tools.

I guess starting out, a lot of people need some hard figures and need/like to count things--I'll let others speak to that process. My start was more like a year of trial and error and now constant research and refinement.

more .02:
If you enjoy veggies, then just eat them. The idea of eliminating vegetables for keto seems totally absurd to me, especially if you're eating good ones and not a ton of starch, and if you like them the way I do.

Onions, peppers, ginger, and the like are carby, but it's not like most people gorge on these. Another example: spaghetti squash "noodles" and cauliflower "rice" are so much lower carb than their grain-based counterparts that, who cares? especially if it's not something you eat every day.

If you make your diet so monochromatic that you don't really enjoy it, then I believe you're more likely to give up on it.

Make good fats your staples and then adjust carb and protein to your needs, and use "substitutes" sparingly (e.g.s, almond flour, and the mentioned pasta/rice subs).


get a blood ketone meter and a 30-pack of strips (ketone and glucose if you want to really monitor) on Amazon and see what protein and carb levels kick you out and for how long.

summary: there are really no magic numbers here, and it's more than just macro %. it depends on activity level, feeding frequency and quantity, and it varies person-to-person genetically etc.

But I do think most people starting out have no idea how carby the stuff they're used to eating really is. Learn about your food, it'll save you time and frustration in the long run.

I like your menu. My only major change would be a better mayo, but I've become a freak about avoiding soybean oil and excess O6 generally. I figure I'm getting too much of that crap when I eat out, so I try to stay clean at home.

Costco has big jar of avocado mayo now for really cheap. I used to make it at home, but that's a game-changer.

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seems to eliminate a lot of veggies.

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It does. Green veggies are mostly still alive, and others would be in moderation.