I'm confused about how to total up carbs...
 

I have the Atkins book and have read it.....Here's my question:

Do I count every single thing I eat inot the carb count? He says count 1 packet of sweetner as 1 carb.....what about in a diet soda or crystal lite? They have artifical sweetner....so do I count those carbs?

He says eat liberally of meats, eggs, cheese, etc. Does that mean eat those things and count those carbs? Or Does it mean that you can eat that stuff and it doesn't go into your carb count?

On Fruit...He says no fruit on induction. Can I have a little fruit like raspberries, strawberries as long as my carbs stay under 20/day? (I really need something to satisfy my sweet craving - and i love fruit -find it hard to completely give up). I know it may cause craving, but will it stop me from getting into ketosis?

Olives, avacado.....Do you count those into the carb count?

Veggies......I know he says 2 cups salad and 1 cup other veggies......but, can I have more veggies if i don't go over 20 carbs/day?

Thanks.

no fruit during induction. every carb counts.

Definately count all carbs--even in veggies and cheese! If you don't keep track correctly--you will be over your 20 grams and probably "confused" as to why you didn't lose any weight! Learn to do it correctly and it will save alot of dissapointment later!

As for the artificial sweetners; I don't use them. My drink of choice is good old H2O! Also, try some sugar free jello with reddi-whip for those cravings!

Hope this helps!

Jen

try fitday.com - you can find all your foods there - it is a great help on the WOE! Just a bit of advice - at fitday make sure you enter the correct amount (as in serving size- some foods show up as a cup etc)...plug in your correct total serving and then refresh! Hope this helps! You will be surprised what counts!

Yes count all the carbs including those in eggs, coffee, shrimp, cream and so on.

You don't have to completely give up fruit for life, just for induction.

One of the main reasons for induction is to break those sweet cravings and reset your tastebuds to appriciate other tastes. After induction when you move to OWL, you can add back in low GI fruits.

I agree get an account at www.fitday.com It's a pain, but after using it for a few days you get a feel for what you are eating better.

As for the Crystal lite, that is liquid splenda. Where the carbs come form in sweetner packets is the filler used. If you read the ingredients like Molidextrin (sp) or other filler is used to bulk up the sulacrose (splenda). The granular is much worse then the packets because it has more filler.

You might try stopping the crystal lite and other sweet drinks if you continue to have sweet cravings. I know it's hard, but getting rid of the cravings make everything much easier.

For why to give up fruits for a bit, even when staying under 20g carbs read
The importance of the glycemic index part 1
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-182703.html

Part 2
http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/15-589297.html