I have been so good at staying at or under 20 carbs since I started, but the new books (as apposed to the old book) and a lot of people on here kept talking about their avocados. So the other day at Sam's I splurged and got a bag, I do love them, but I have no idea how to keep one fresh after cutting it other that making guac or some dip, so in a hurry for breakfast I ate the whole thing then punched it into my carb counting thingy and found that I just wiped out a whole day's worth of carbs. My intention was to do the old Atkins (no mention of net carbs) for two weeks then slowly switch to the newer net carb thing, that way I would feel like I was getting to switch menus. Anyway I feel defeated.

Storing avocado:


Why do Avocados Turn Brown When Cut?


When you cut into an avocado, you're breaking the cellular walls which causes oxidation to occur. This oxidation process can be prevented by adding an acidic agent and limiting the surface area exposed to the air.

Recommended Acidic Agents: (Just wipe whatever you choose around the cut part of the Avocado.)
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Orange juice
Vinegar
Tomatoes

Limit surface area exposed by:
Covering tightly with clear plastic wrap
Placing in an air-tight container
Leaving in the avocado seed or pit can also help limit the surface area exposed to air but we recommend using clear plastic wrap or an air-tight container for best results.

I'd suggest a different way to switch menus. There are more creative ways to do the same thing, and the "net carb" thing really is an important point.

Fiber carbs not only do not impact blood sugar, they're completely undigestible, meaning we don't even absorb any calories from them (a human would starve to death on hay, because we can't access those fiber calories).

If we can't absorb them, it makes no sense to count them, especially when they're doing such great things for our bodies. Fiber acts as a "broom" cleaning out the digestive tract (which also can result in greater weight loss, because there's less "gunk" {poo} cluttering up our digestive tract).

Net carbs encourages us to eat more fiber (and because fiber has no calories for humans, and does so much good, the more fiber we eat, the better.... within limits of course. Overkill can result in unpleasant digestive symptoms).

Fiber does have calories, but not to humans. Which is why I absolutely hate that nutrition labels (at least in the USA) usually are still counting the fiber calories on the label (so high-fiber foods are often much lower in calorie than the label indicates). That makes me so mad, because we're not feeding this food to our horses and cows (who can digest the fiber because of their more complicated digestive tract) we're feeding it to ourselves, so if we can't access those calories, why are they still on the label?

It drives me bonkers, because some people are going to assume that the 50 calorie oreo are calorically equal to 50 calories of frozen veggies (when the veggie label may still include the inaccessible fiber calories).

Just last night I "checked the math" of some canned veggies, and in addition to including the fiber calories, the calories were also rounded up to the nearest ten (so 36 calories became 40). Unfortunately when you subtracted the fiber calories, it came to 24 useable calories.

So the label says 40 calories, but the human body is only able to use 24 of them.

And I eat a lot of veggies, up to 10 servings, so that's potentially a difference of 160 calories.

I know Atkins doesnt count calories, but the calories still count and it doesn't make sense to limit the food-category that has zero calories (the fiber carbs).

Those fiber carbs also help satisfy hunger, so limiting them makes even less sense.

There are dozens of other and better ways to change up your food plan to keep it fresh and exciting.

Try the "Fat Secret" app. That's the one I use and I love it. You can set it up to show net carbs. I read about it here or some other low carb board, can't remember. It is very user friendly, has lots of recipes.

That said, you still have to be leery when some products give you "net carbs". Such as the Atkins bars. I trust the net carb thing when it comes to whole foods, when it comes to processed foods, I don't trust the manufacturer. lol I mean, how can a bar have 25 carbs but only 2 net carbs? sounds fishy.

Thanks for all the advice, I just want to note that even the old Atkins diet doesn't advocate no veggies or fiber, and I have been eating a lot of lettuce, peppers, and celery, (it has been limited due to finance), but I was unprepared for the number of carbs in a avocado. Even if I counted it as net carbs it was still 7 carbs in a very tiny meal, 10 when I include the hot sauce, TrueLemon, and sour cream. I only have four days to go following the old way and then I will see where and when I can add more vegetables to my diet in counting net carbs.

I will definitely check out that "fat secret" app., part of the reason I have been using My Fitness Pal (set to give me carbs, fiber, fat, sugars, and protein), is because it works on both my Mac and my Android, as well as my stupid Windows laptop for school, so I can access it anywhere. It has been a long horrible day, I witnessed a neighbor beating a puppy, then had to run a couple errand before school, I just got home and need comfort so I am about to eat a couple pickles. Nite nite.

Oh yeah, I always use lemon, lime or tomatoes with avocados and I knew that this kept them from turning brown, but I had no idea that it would work for a whole day. Thank you

I have a foodsaver vacuum sealer and I always leave the pit in the half I'm not eating and make a bag and suck the air out and it stays good for days --

love avocados

Awesome, I have a foodsaver, I never thought of it, Thanks.

I love my foodsaver