Can someone explain this to me please??

[momof3]

We're told that most of our carbs should come from the veggies we're allowed to eat, right? Why is it then that we can only have 3 cups per day? If you have 3 cups of romaine lettuce per day it is less than 5 carbs. That doesn't make any sense to me.

[Enchantedraisin]

Re: Can someone explain this to me please??

Yeah 1 cup of shredded lettuce is about 0.4 carbs. An dyou're right, you're supposed to have 2 cups of salad (acceptable) veggies and 1 cup of other acceptable higher carb veggies.. or 3 cups of salad veggies.

I know all that doesn't all add up to 20 carbs a day or really close at all.. but you may be having some cheese... or a couple packets of sweetener... heavy whipping cream. It all adds up, eggs too.

I don't really go ober 15 net carbs a day on Induction ... actually in the last week it's been around 13 on the dot. Just remember it's important that when you move to OWL you move up 5 carbs from where you were... so since my average a day is about 13... I would move to 18 carbs a day. and I would be able to have more veggies in the 1st rung, not just 3 cups a day as long as I get to around 18.

Sorry for rambling and I probably didn't even answer your question.. haha. But a lot of us don't hit the 20 carb a day mark anyway. It's possible though. like hot dogs have carbs and sometimes I'll have like 2

[not2late]

Re: Can someone explain this to me please??

We're told that most of our carbs should come from the veggies we're allowed to eat, right? Why is it then that we can only have 3 cups per day? If you have 3 cups of romaine lettuce per day it is less than 5 carbs. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Because there's more than just lettuce on those two veggie lists. This is a fact that Atkins Nutritional Inc fails to acknowledge too. In their recent publications they say it's okay to have 4 cups of "salad" daily and then they refer the reader to the "salad" list in DANDR 2002. Well, here's the problem with that. A couple of veggies on that "salad" list have 5 or nearly 5 net carbs per cup. So if you follow Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. recommendation and decide to eat 4 cups of jicama, you'll log in at 20 net carbs for the veggies alone! Moreover, they also put tomatoes on the "salad" list in one of their publications. Again, same problem with tomatoes, you eat 4 cups or even 2 cups of tomatoes, you'll have 10 to 20 net carbs from the tomatoes alone.

You also have to remember that the purpose of Induction is to "kick start" your body into the fat burning mode (via the low carb route). So veggies are kept within the USDA's 5 a day serving guidelines. Yes, the 3 cups of veggies fulfill the USDA's 5 a day guidelines. 1 serving is defined as 1 cup raw veggies or 1/2 cup cooked veggies. So if you divide your 3 cup veggie allotment in the 2 cups "salad list" and 1 cup "other veggie" list style you satisfy the daily veggie requirement for the mainstream nutritionists and health gurus.

Portion size is VERY important. Many of us don't know what "1 serving" looks like or really is because we're used to the very large restaurant portions. A typical restaurant salad is 4-6 cups of salad greens. Even the side salad at Burger King is 2 cups of veggies.

Also, Induction is only 14 days. If you are a veggie lover, at the end of the 14 days, you can move onto the On-Going Weight Loss phase, where the first thing you add is an additional 5 net carbs of veggies to your current Induction menu.

The last thing is the most important thing. You need to learn to eat the veggies that give your the most "bang for the buck". In other words, veggies that have essentially no nutrients like the lettuces, are okay, but there are veggies with a better nutrient and fiber profile. Since our weight loss journey is also a health gain quest, it helps our health out in the long run to eat the most nutrient-dense foods we can while we are losing weight.

[pluorvee]

Re: Can someone explain this to me please??

saying that is just another way of saying that you should have a higher veggie count the meat count. Dr. A just wants to make sure things are balanced the right way. Once you get going in this way of life you will find out all kinds for fun things to do with veggies, including mac and cheese yummy.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Can someone explain this to me please??

yep eat a variety of veggies and those 20 net carbs is your max not your minimum amount and when you add up all the egg,cheese,herb ,dressing, sweetner packets etc to your veggies you will find you are going to be a lot closer then you think to that 20. In Owl if you add lettuce as your 5 net carbs you will be sucking salad all day long so learn to enjoy the other veggies. Dr Atkins said in his last Lary King interview he was eating 6-8 cups of veggies a day as part of his maintenance carbs. Two weks of a 3 cup limit isn't going to break us.

Happy low carbing