[Raelynn]

Hi! I started Atkins 10 days ago, and I track all of my foods in Fitday and on paper. only on 1 day did I actually hit 20g of carbs. Most days I seem to be between 12-16g, but I don't count in that I drink 2 cups of black coffee per day and sometimes have 1 or 2 pieces of sugarfree gum, that says 1g carb on the package. Is there anything that says that I NEED to hit 20g of carbs per day, or is it okay that I am below? I'm noticing immediate results since I started and I feel great - it is so good to not be craving sugar anymore.

[Amyjo01]

I personally do not usually get up to 20 myself. I have a tendency to keep around 10 or 15, for good measure. I really think that you just have to do what your comfortable with, but everyone has there opinion.

[StarPrincess]

No, you don't have to get up to 20 every day. The guidelines for induction are to stay at 20 or below.

That being said, according to the research, anything lower than 20 grams doesn't effect the rate of your weight loss. So, if you're keeping it super low because you want to lose weight faster, that won't work.

[Raelynn]

Thanks for replying. That is good to know Star, because one would think that you would lose more, the less carbs you consume. I do try to eat as many carbs as I am allowed, I am just too full after eating at most meals though.

[lady_adnerb]

For some reason when I first started I was around like 7 grams of carbs a day. I'm not sure exactly what my carb count is now--I don't keep track. I know I should but....well, there's no good reason for it. I just don't. So as long as you're happy w/your carb count and it's below the 20 (induction wise) then that should be good.