I have been trying so hard to measure and be exact since it has produced great results. I had previously stalled for 4 months because I was not measuring and I was eyeballing and found out the hard way that I was eating way too many calories and approx 50+ carbs a day. Since I started measuring foods, counting carbs and counting calories I began loosing again at a steady pace.

But I am getting very tired of the inaccuracies on the carb counts and measurements. There are a lot of inconsistencies between DANDR and the pocket Atkins Carb Gram Counter.

For example: Portobello mushrooms. DANDR says 1/2 cup is 1.4 carbs, 1.0 net carbs. The pocket book says 4 oz has 4.1 net carbs. Just to find out the difference in amounts, I weighed 4 oz and transferred to a measuring cup and.... you guessed it! It was 1/2 cup. So is it 1.0 net carbs or 4.1 net carbs for just 1/2 of portobello mushrooms?

This morning I measured 2/3 cup of Morning Start cereal. The serving size is 2/3 cup or 30g. I put cereal in a 1/3 cup two times. The cup full, not overflowing, not heaping. I transferred that to the scale (digital, supposed to be accurate) and it was way over 46 g. I took off cereal until the scale read 30 g and transferred back to the serving cup. It came up to 1/2 of the 1/3 cup size two times.

I know I'm being too technical and should lighten up a little bit... a gram here or there is not going to make it to my thighs. I guess I'm just frustrated and wanted to vent.

Hi!! Latin Girl!!

I opened a fitday account and put my foods in there and I sure got a surprise. It was a lot different than what I was figuring before. You should check it out.

I do use Fitday. I started in January. That's how I discovered I was underestimating my daily intake. Still, Fitday sometimes has different values that Dr. Atkins. One of them is zucchini. Fitday underestimates calories and carbs. Go figure!

I have to agree. Whenever I'm in doubt I check fitday, DANDR and the Atkins website. They are always different. I must say I haven't run into actual items weighing more. That is quite a difference.
Alli

I also refer to the USDA Nutritional Analysis Website for measurements/totals. I rarely, if ever, use the Atkins site, or the Atkins Carb Counter Book.

Corrine Netzer makes a carb counter book (I have the older version which does not list fibre, but still makes for a good reference).

I use Nutrigenie s/w, appears fairly accurate, if I doubt something I will cross
ref with a pocket cal book cal counter.

http://nutrigenie.biz/index.html


u have to accept, whatever you use, there will always be at least 10% deviation of your figures....

I am a big fan of Corinne Netzer's Complete Book of Food Counts. Don't bother with her Carb Counts book as it does not tell you what net carbs are, only total carbs. The Complete Book lists calories, fat, protein, carbs & fiber. It's much more accurate, IMHO, than DANDR.

a little common sense will go a long way, too. if you are eating something that is low sugar and not starchy, mushrooms, for example, even thought you may get different carb counts from different sources, you can bet that mushrooms will be a safe bet. I see a big difference in counts for onions and tomatos, too. you just have to rely on your own judgement sometimes!

I think you're going to get inconsistencies all over the place.

Your best bet is to stick to one source of information and just trust that it is close.

I, myself, never measure anything and I don't count carbs (not since induction). I just estimate and will know by instinct whether I've eaten too many. Eating too many good carbs, IMHO, will not cause stalls unless you are going way overboard. Are you sure it's not something specific that you are eating that caused the plateau? Also, since you have very little to lose, it will come off very slowly. And, since you are at a healthy weight for your height, your body might not want to lose anymore lbs, no matter what you do. If anything, I would try exercising to tone your softer areas.

Thanks for all the replies!
I will check into Corinne Netzer's book of food counts.
StarOrchid, thanks for the suggestions. I'm not in a hurry to loose the rest of the weight. I have 7 more pounds to go and I'm hoping to loose them by the end of April. I started last May and even though I lost at the beginning, I stalled later for several months because I was just not counting. When I started counting, the plan worked. So I know I can't trust myself not to count. Maybe for maintenance, but for now I'd rather count.
It is kind of a downer, though, since what attracted me to this WOE was not having to count calories or points. But I guess if it works, I don't mind doing a little extra work.