What percentages do I need to follow daily

[MrsDRock]

I know I need to strive to eat 20 net carbs daily.

1. At every meal, what percentage should I eat (protein:fat:carbs)?

2. Most times, I either eat a salad topped with lunchmeat (dressing: olive oil and vinegar), or chicken salad with pork rinds... should I add a fat in there?

3. During Induction (on a daily basis), since I'm allotted 2 cups of lettuce and 1 cup of veggie (usually mashed cauliflower), and 3-4 oz. of cheese, I count all of this as 7 carbs/day. How can I increase my carb intake without going over my allotted veggie and cheese amounts?

[Chef Kevin]

65% fat/ 35% protein/ 5% carbs

those veggies do count in your carbs, that should be your main source of carbs.
20g a day total, that is all inclusive. That means the carbs in veg, carbs in meat, carbs in cheese, salad dressing, everything. When you add them all up, 20g is easy to reach. Artificial sweeteners count as 1 per serving also, so if you have any, be sure to count them.

Lunchmeats tend to be high in fat, just be aware of the nitrates and nitrites in them, and many have added sugars.

If you log your food into fitday.com you can see your percentages. And it is FREE!!!

[Greeneggs&ham]

The 65/30/5 ratio is a good place to start although I found that getting in net 20 grams of carbs was hard during Induction. I stuck to the required amounts (or limits) on the various food groups and let the grams fall where they might. I never exceeded 20 grams during Induction.

The other concept to keep in mind is to make sure to include fat and protein at each meal. Many people eat a great Atkins menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but then try to get their veggies in by eating raw veggies alone for an afternoon snack. We need to remember to include fat and protein (maybe via a sour cream-based dip, or with added cheese, etc) at every feeding time which helps keep the (legal) carbs from triggering an insulin response.

This is also why it is a good idea to move on from Induction to OWL at some point after the initial 2 week period. By adding additional food items to your menu plan, it will become easier to gross 20 carbs (or more depending on your personal limit for losing).

Keep up the good work!

[carbless_in_seattle]

Originally Posted by Chef Kevin

65% fat/ 35% protein/ 5% carbs

those veggies do count in your carbs, that should be your main source of carbs.
20g a day total, that is all inclusive. That means the carbs in veg, carbs in meat, carbs in cheese, salad dressing, everything. When you add them all up, 20g is easy to reach. Artificial sweeteners count as 1 per serving also, so if you have any, be sure to count them.

Lunchmeats tend to be high in fat, just be aware of the nitrates and nitrites in them, and many have added sugars.

If you log your food into fitday.com you can see your percentages. And it is FREE!!!

65%, 30%, 5%-- otherwise it's 105%

Also, I wanted to add that most things have SOME carbs, I could them all, even if it's .3-- cause if i have 5 things that are .3, well that's 1.5 carbs.

Also, you don't need to follow the percentages for every meal, it's meant to be a daily guide. If you want to add fat to your salads, EVOO is a good way to do it.

[Elizellen]

Originally Posted by MrsDRock

During Induction (on a daily basis), since I'm allotted 2 cups of lettuce and 1 cup of veggie (usually mashed cauliflower), and 3-4 oz. of cheese, I count all of this as 7 carbs/day. How can I increase my carb intake without going over my allotted veggie and cheese amounts?

You can increase your carbs from your veggies by choosing different ones with more carbs in them. 'Salad vagetables' does not mean just lettuce!

According to FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal
From the 'salad veg list' of which you can have 2-3 cups
1 cup of chopped mushrooms has 2 net carbs
1 cup of sweet red peppers has 7 net carbs
1 cup of jicama has 5 net carbs
So you would be having 14 net carbs if you chose a cup of each of those instead of lettuce and cauliflower.

From the 'other veg' list of which you can have one cup if you have only 2 from the salad list
1 cup of raw chopped onions has 9 net carbs
1 cup of pumpkin has 7 net carbs
1 cup of brussels sprouts has 5 net carbs

So you can easily get more net carbs from the veg by changing your veggies. You can cook most of the veg from either list or eat them raw if you prefer.

Remember, Dr Atkins told us we should be getting 'most' of our net carbs on induction from our vegetables.