At day's end, carbs are a bit low...

[WindCriesMary]

At day's end, carbs are low but my percentages aren't too far off and my calories are good:

Cal:1525 Fat:71% pro:26% carb:3%

I've had 118g fat, 99g pro, but only 13 g carb. Is it worth going after those 7g of carb? I'm not hungry but I don't want the ol' bod thinking rash starvation thoughts...This situation will probably happen again some time. Any advice?

[hubbys_girl]

Hey WCM, what is your basal metabolic rate? I have a hard time eating enough as well, but aim to eat enough to meet my bodies minimum requirements. I am starting to eat small high calorie snacks to compensate for this. it is normal though to not eat the full 20 grams of carbohydrates durring induction. Dr. Atkins just didn't want people to go over that amount, also if you are eating your three cups of veggies a day, your body is getting the right amount of nutrients and fibre for now. When you go up the rungs of the OWL ladder, adding other veggies, seeds & nuts, berries.....etc you will see your carbs go up. Keep an eye on them that they don't get out of control and above you CCL, but while on induction don't worry about too few if you are atleast eating your 3 cups of veg. If you aren't getting all of your veg, then yes go for the other 7 carbs. No need to overstuff yourself tho'. This WOE is a real appetite supressant!

[Scooterjam]

Hi Mary,

Glad to hear your appetites subsided, maybe post what your eating and we'll have a better way of answering that. Don't worry about getting all 20, but just like 'Hubby's Girl' said (Thank You!) as long as your at least taking in your 3 cups veggie minimum you should be fine. Most people take in between 12 - 20 carbs on induction. Myself, I wanted all 20! Haha. Hubbysgirl is also correct about the later rungs, you add 5 carbs, and they go really quick when you have some almonds, or berries, etc.

Anyway, it sounds like your doing great! By the way, are you drinking your water? Just a reminder!

[WindCriesMary]

Thanks both of you for advice. Looking back at fitday, I see that I didn't get all three cups of veggie yesterday. I'd been focusing on grams and getting the %ages to jibe. I think I've been doing this the hard way! Today I started with ONE CUP! of cauliflower. I shall later have ONE CUP of greens, and then ONE CUP of ...something else, I haven't thought that far ahead.

[ValidRouge]

Mary, during induction just worry about getting your 3 cups of veggies in and staying under 20 net. I generally got 13-15 net carbs during induction. Just make sure that your veggies are the most nutritious for the number of carbs. Lettuce is little better than water, there aren't many carbs, but there isn't much of anything else either. Whereas another veggie on the salad list such as sweet peppers (green, yellow, red) or Jicama have lots of fiber and vitamins and minerals...and yes, higher carb count, but at 3 cups per day it is not significant and not enough to get you over 20 net in a day.

Did you know there is more vitamin C in a serving of sweet pepper than there is in a serving of orange?

Or did you know there is more potassium in a serving of avacado than is in a serving of banana?

Research your veggies, they are wonderful little buggers.

[sallyseachange]

No need to stress about the percentages too much (particularly in induction) if you're following the plan as it was meant to be followed, i.e.: In induction eat under 20 g carbs; eat three cups of legal veggies every day, spread out; eat only what's induction legal, and last but not least: eat to satisfy your hunger only.

The rest, will take care of itself.