A couple of questions for carb counters

[teachermom2834]

If you lose weight by counting carbs, what is your magic number? I know Atkins induction phase is 20 carbs/ day. Someone else mentioned anything less than 72 carbs/ day being good. I seldom see an actual number put on allowed carbs and I would like to have one in mind.

 

What about low carb products like the atkins advantage bars? I realize that is crazy "fake food" and not ideal but there are times when I'm on the run all day that use of those products seems like it would help alot convenience wise. Somehow I am skeptical about those, though. For some reason I feel like there may really be more carbs in those than the "net carb" claim and I am worried they may derail my diet. I don't tolerate sugar alcohols well but some of the products do not have those.

 

I've read a lot of the low carb diet books. I think I know what I am doing I just would like to know what other people are doing long term with this to stay on track.

 

I lost about 7 lbs in the first 2 weeks doing this but have lost nothing in the next 2 weeks. I am keeping my calories between 1200- 1500 (by sparkpeople). It sure seems like that calorie count and low carb should be getting me somewhere. I'm going to just be patient and keep at it because I know I can't keep my calories that low if I am eating carbs.

 

Thanks,

Marie

[Ellie]

I don't count carbs or calories (and there's no reason to count calories when you're doing Atkins). I just know I'm not going to eat any starches--bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, sugar, honey, corn, etc.--or other high-carb food; I focus on protein and fat, and dark green veggies like broccoli. Yum. :-)

[i.love.lucy]

I like to try to keep my carb count pretty low...under 40 usually...for weight loss. But I also have to watch my calories. I couldn't loose weight on Atkins, just too many calories for me. Maybe I was doing something else wrong, I dunno, but I when I restrict my cals pretty good - like under 1200, and keep my carbs under 40 I will lose.

[PollyOR]

There are a couple of weeks out of the month that I don't lose. Just a thought.

 

Jorge Cruise has an idea that I'm trying. He encourages no more than 15 grams of sugar a day. If you are doing low carb that probably won't be a problem but it is worth checking the labels.

 

He also recommends six servings of carbs per day (20g or less per serving). That is significantly more than I ate the last time I did low carb. Nothing seems to be working, so I'm going to give it a try.

[Amy in TX]

To lose weight, I need to stay in the Atkins induction range. To maintain, I can go considerably higher. But I don't count carbs; I just count servings.

 

It seems to me that everyone has their own tolerance, and you should probably experiment to find the highest level at which you can still lose.

 

Amy

:)