Carb Counter Resource

Counting carbs is an important part of being successful on a ketogenic diet, so I highly recommend learning how to do it. At home, or in the office, you can keep a copy of your favorite carb gram counter book.

Over time, you'll get very good at estimating the amount of carbohydrates in foods, but having a list to which you can refer is always handy.

Depending on the chart, it may include the food description, a calorie count, net carbs (carbs minus fiber) and the amount of protein in that food serving.

• Protein chart: This protein chart lists the most popular types of protein rich foods along with their carb and protein grams.
• Vegetables: Most green leafy vegetables have very little carb. Some of the more starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, peas) have as much or more carbs than fruit, so you'll want to track those closely or avoid them all together.
• Fruit: The carbs in fruit are much higher than vegetables, so it's a good idea to track these closely.
• Fats: Fats don't have any carbs in them, so they all count as 0 carbs. This would include butter, vegetable oils, lard, tallow, coconut oil, palm oil and bacon fat.
• Dairy Products: Diary products are generally lower carb, as long as you stick to the full fat varieties. Milk has the most carbs; yogurt and cottage cheese have less, and the firm and hard cheeses having the least carb.
• Nuts And Seeds: Some nuts are low in carb, while others are high. It's a good idea to track the amounts and types you eat, as they are also high in calories.
• Condiments: Generally, anything with a tomato or fruit base is higher in carb, so ketchup, chutneys and chili sauce are carby. Fat based condiments such as tartar sauce and mayonnaise are less carby.

I also recommend picking up a carb counting book that you can carry with you:

• Dana Carpender's NEW Carb and Calorie Counter-Expanded, Revised, and Updated 4th Edition: Your Complete Guide to Total Carbs, Net Carbs, Calories, and More
• The Ultimate Guide to Accurate Carb Counting: Featuring the Tools and Techniques Used by the Experts by Gary Scheiner, MS CDE.
• Dr. Atkins Carbohydrate Gram Counter

A note on food labels:

• Yes, you can get the carb count of a food from the food label, but be aware food manufacturers have a habit of fudging the amount of carbs in their products.

  And you have to remember to check serving sizes as well. If you are looking at a large container of yogurt, and it says 16 carbs per serving, make sure you check to see if there is more than on serving in the container. If there are two servings, than the total carb count for that container is 32, not 16.

Done with Carb Counter, back to Home