To count or not to count
 

Hi everyone,

I am starting Atkins this week and have a question. I know that I can only eat 20 grams of carbs a day for the first two weeks. When I was journalling this morning I wondered if I have to count the carbs in my deli meat for my salad at lunch? When I look up my chicken that I am having for dinner the carbs are zero but when I look up ham and turkey it has (minimal) carbs. Do I count that or do I count only the carbs that come from veggies?

Hi Jane,

count the minimal carbs, because they will add up during your day. Sometimes the minimal carbs will send you over your 20 alloted without you even knowing it.

Good Luck to you :)

Some deli meats have more carbs than others. Be careful with deli ham as some of it has sugar added. Most delis have information sheets available or are willing to check on one of the unopened packages for the serving size and carb count. You might also be able to go to the brand of deli meat on the web for nutritional information.

Yes, I agree w/what has already been said. Count EVERYTHING!
Your splenda, sweetn low, gum, and deli meats.

There is one brand of deli meats that I've found to have low or no carbs and thats Boars Head. If you go to their website or any deli that serves it, they have the nutritional list of all their products, find the ones that say -0- carbs, also their cheeses.

Don't forget most cheeses have carbs too, so does heavy cream, even though it says 0 be careful.

By the way, I've been on atkins for over 2 months now and I LOVE IT... I know you will too, especially after the 2 week induction when you've lost alot of weight.

It gets so much better after that, cause you can add in different veggies and foods to your list.

Enjoy !!!! and Good Luck !!!!

Hugs

Definitely count all carbs and be aware that things that say zero carbs may have .9 carbs. Manufacturers don't need to list cabs if les than zero! :( So 10 servings of a .9 item could be 9 carbs! This is something to remember about cream, butter and cheese.

I count all carbs, but my friend refuses to count eggs, cheese, or cream. I had such a slow start with Atkins that I'm afraid to leave anything to chance. This is the easiest plan I have ever been on, so I don't have any trouble sticking to it. Good luck.

Karla

So far as I know, heavy cream would only have a trace, if any of carbs. Cheeses vary, Swiss has just a trace. I speak of real cheese, not processed. With a 'trace' you would not count a small amount, but big piece of ,say, cheese would count 1 or 2.

I don't think cream has trace, nor does cheese - you really need to read labels and check different brands. I have had havarti cheese ranging from 0.3 per ounce to 1.1 carbs per ounce (you can guess the brand I usually buy! lol).

As for cream, most creams have at least 1 carb per tablespoon or so - also depends on whether you use half and half (10%) or table cream (18%). One ounce of half and half has 1.3 carbs according to Fitday....so if you have a couple of those in your coffee, and add splenda packets as well you may be drinking about 5 carbs alone (a cup of coffee also has one carb).

So be warned, counting all the carbs will only help you in staying within your limit (20 grams for induction).

Good luck!

Froufy

P.S. You may want to get an account on www.fitday.com if you don't already have one, and track your fat, protein, calories, carbs and don't forget to track and subtract fibre to get your net carbs.

I can tell you that Heavy Cream has 1 carb per tablespoon. I have checked out several brands in the stores and they all read about the same!