Hi there -

I just started Atkins yesterday, and I'm confused by the statement that we can have up to 20 grams of carbs during induction, but only 3 cups of veggies. According to carb-counting guides I'm using, 3 cups of mache has ~4 grams of carbs in it. That's 100% of your 3-cup veggie limit, but only 4 carbs. The book states "you should get the majority of your 20 daily carbs" from salad veggies, but if you can only have 3 cups, I don't see how to even get to 10 carbs, much less 20. What am I misinterpreting?

Good question! People will be eating a variety of veggies, some will want only salad veggies, some will want broccoli and cauliflower, or green beans, some will want their 4 ounces of cheese per day, some will have to have cream in their coffee, if you eat eggs, you count about 1 carb per egg, and you'll likely have a bit of carbs in your salad dressing, so adding up all those bits & bobs of carbs, you could quite easily get to your 20 grams per day. And induction doesn't mean you HAVE to eat 20 grams, you just try to keep it below 20 grams.

Many people dread induction because they feel it is so restrictive, but you really have quite a variety of foods to eat. Take advantage of that variety, plan your menu around all the allowed foods.

I hope this helps you! And I wish you much success with your low carb journey.

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Nita

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to be absolutely as strict as can be during induction (was shocked at the recommended inducation menus - on the Atkins site, no less - that include rye crackers and other things the books says are absolutely verboten), so don't mind if I get far below 20 carbs/day, but my fear was that I wasn't counting carbs correctly. One frustration is that the salad dressing I'm using (Ken's Steakhouse Caesar dressing) says it has zero carbs/serving, but it must have a fraction of a carb, because it does have a bit of sugar in it (they all do, as far as I can tell). What do you do in those situations? Just call every serving 1/2 - 1 carb, and try to estimate? There doesn't appear to be any way to truly count carbs accurately, given that fractional measures aren't included in labels.

If a product has sugar in it, even a tiny bit, then you are probably wise to count at least 1 carb. They can call it zero carbs if it's below a half carb, (how do they get it down to the fraction of a carb? I sure don't know!) but those half carbs can add up when you are trying to keep the total below 20.

I wouldn't go by the Atkins site, go by the book. Your best bets for induction are meats, poultry, eggs, adding your favorite veggies and cheese, if you like. Remember that you need to limit tomatoes and onions, because of their natural sugar content. They are more for flavoring than for using as your veggie count. But don't avoid them! They're good for you.

And great going on reading those labels! It's a great habit to get into. Don't ever assume that because something says sugar free, that it really is, or that it is low carb. For example, I foolishly bought a container of "sugar free" Coffeemate, but the ingredients list corn syrup. Well, if that isn't sugar, I don't know what is! But right on the label, they justify it by saying that it's such a small amount that it really doesn't count. Sorry, people, sugar is sugar, even if it's only a pinch, the product isn't sugar free.

Just a bit of advice, check out the recipe forum, and the cooking section for some great menu ideas. Some of my favorite dishes came right from this site.

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Nita

You are right about labels. Manufacturers can list something as 0 carbs if it is less than 0.5 grams. As a rule of thumb, I count anything with a label of 0 carbs as 1/2 gram, if the ingredients include anything with carbs in them. Also, what I do is use the USDA Nutrient Data base figures to calculate the carb counts on items, rather than simply relying on their label. I have seen too many instances where the label was wrong, or at least questionable. Here is a link to the USDA site http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

The main thing you can do is be consistent in how you count your carbs and the source you use everything else will then take care of itself.

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Henry

My husband and I started following Atkins this past Monday. I read the Diet Revolution book and believed I understood the program before we started. Then today I checked out the Diet Revolution cookbook out at the library and found a suggestion in it for the number of carbs at each meal during induction. It was something like 4 for breakfast, 5 at lunch, 8 at dinner, with 3 left for a snack. This is where I became confused!

I wasn't counting carbs because I thought that was done for me in induction by sticking to the guidelines. So I went back and figured out the carbs I had eaten today and I was at 17 after lunch because I had ate a 1/2 an avocado. Do I need to keep track of every carb I eat if I'm following the induction rules from the foods that are allowed to add interest (avocado, olives, sour cream, etc)? The program says eat liberally of protiens but eggs have 1 carb each and I have had eggs for breakfast every day and had 2 eggs deviled as a snack a couple of times this week. Now I'm wondering how many carbs I really ate and if this has impacted ketosis.

Terri

Welcome Terri, yes, you must keep track of the carb count of each thing you eat. I use the USDA nutrient database to figure the carb count on food. Here is a link to that site
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
If you look up the carb count for an egg, you will find that 1 large egg, hard boiled has 0.56 carbs. Most people will count that as 1 carb, if they only have 1to avoid undercounting. However, I would count 2 hard boiled eggs as only 1 carb. However, the bottom line is that you should pick your foods for induction from the allowed list but must count all carbs in them.

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Henry

Henry, Thanks! I feel kinda embarrassed that I even had to ask about counting carbs during induction. It seems so obvious now! I don't know why it's not spelled out in DANDR.

I was looking through the Atkins Quick & Easy cookbook this morning and in the back it gives the induction food lists. There it states that you have to count the carbs from the cheese list and the special foods. I guess I just wanted to use the easy button!

Terri

Terri, it is a learning process. I also find it helpful to reread the book periodically as I always find things I either missed or had forgotten. There is no reason to feel embarrassed when you are trying something new. Please feel free to ask any question, that is how we learn.

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Henry

Henry's right, Terri. Re-learning how to eat for one's particular metabolism is a continuous learning process, since metabolism is a "moving target"

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Welcome, Terri. We've all had that "duh, I sure read that wrong!" moments. The frustrating thing is that some people could eat all that stuff and still lose, some of us have to count every fraction of a carb to lose a few ounces. C'est la vie! Wish I were one of those former people!

Following your plan to the letter is great, and it's nice when you discover what additions you can add without stalling. It's part of the learning process, finding out what works for us as an individual, and what are our problem foods.

Enjoy the journey. (And I wish I had an easy button, I'd have it worn out from pushing it so much!)

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Nita

i wouldn't sweat it, terri. even if your totals were above official induction levels, it's still probably a HUGE improvement over how you were eating before and i've no doubt you're still seeing plenty of benefits. and while 20 net carbs per day is the atkins induction standard, i don't think even 25 or 30 or whatever is going to be a big deal. and since this is a lifetime process, an extra few days to lose the next pound, if that's what you end up with, ain't gonna matter a bit.

this is a process, after all, and you'll learn as you go along. the most important thing is that you're changing how you eat and learning what works for you along the way.

glad to have you with us.

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