No, basically you salad is going to be 1 to 2 cups of green leafy veggies. Then you are also allowed a cup of the other veggies. To measure a "cup" of salad greens I tear mine into bite size pieces - which is something I would do anyway - and just drop them into my measuring cup - not smushed.

I get more mileage out of my salads by adding some other things to it: black olives (5 medium = 1 carb), a couple of strips of bacon (use the low sodium kind) - chopped hard boiled egg - some shredded cheese. Sometimes I'll use a cup of greens then add veggies from the other list - up to one cup of those - like little pieces of cauliflower of broccoli - sometimes I even add one or two very small cherry tomatoes (tomatoes are loaded with carbs). As long as you're keeping track of the carbs in the different veggies you're using so you know your total net carb count for your salad - I don't see why you can't mix them up a little.

I also make sure I measure what I'm using so I have veggies available to eat with my evening meal. I prefer a 2-cup salad with cheese, bacon, olives and chopped egg, then to have a cup of the other veggies for the evening.

I also avoid iceberg lettuce simply because I don't like it - but I do love the other, more flavorful lettuces and fresh spinach - besides, they give you a lot more flavor and nutrients per cup of veggies.

Also, be sure to use a full fat dressing or olive oil (lots of other great oils too like sesame or grape seed).

I hope this gives you a better idea of what a "cup" of salad is.

Also, watch your labels - they are not all that accurate. The best carb counters I've found are Dr. Atkins little pocket size carb counting book, the carb counter on this site, and fitday.com.

As far as carbs go, cheese has carbs, your salad dressing will have some carbs (unless you use oil), eggs have carbs, bacon has carbs if you eat very much of it. The veggies from the other list all have more carbs that the leafy green veggies on the salad list.

Good luck to you.