Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

[valkyrieh]

Or is the important thing just to keep it under 20?

If what matters is keeping it under 20, why are veggies limited to 2 c salad and 1 cup other every day? I just had my 2 cups mixed greens and it's only 3.5 grams of carbs. I could eat 3 more cups and still be under 20 grams of carbs today since the other stuff I'm eating isn't high carb either.

Why are veggies so limited?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?>>
It's been my experience in helping people that those that get as close to 20 NET carbs per day do better.

>>why are veggies limited to 2 c salad and 1 cup other every day? >>

It was a visualization of Dr. Atkins ... for those that didn't want to "count".

You could actually count your carbs ... as is suggested by the first part of Rule #3.

You can also chose higher carb Induction vegetables than just lettuce.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?>>
It's been my experience in helping people that those that get as close to 20 NET carbs per day do better.

>>why are veggies limited to 2 c salad and 1 cup other every day? >>

It was a visualization of Dr. Atkins ... for those that didn't want to "count".

You could actually count your carbs ... as is suggested by the first part of Rule #3.

You can also chose higher carb Induction vegetables than just lettuce.

Well, in the book it says you can have only ONE cup of other veggies and only as long as your salad greens didn't exceed 2 cups. So yeah, I can choose veggies higher in carbs, but it's still only going to be one cup.

But you are saying what is really important is counting the carbs? So I can up my veggies if I want to as long as I stay under 20 g of carbs?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>But you are saying what is really important is counting the carbs? So I can up my veggies if I want to as long as I stay under 20 g of carbs?>>

In the Induction chapter, 11, Rule # 3 states, "Eat no more than 20 [net] grams of carbohydrates, most of which must come in the form of salad greens and other vegetables."

The "key" word here is "most"... and it's something that a lot of people over looked because they focused on the NEXT sentence, which is the "3 cups"...

The result of limiting yourself to "cups" is that one is quite likely to not be eating "most" of your net carbs from vegetables.

In my experience, counting the carbs is more important.

There are other people who believe that limiting yourself to 3 cups is what's important.

[not2late]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

Or is the important thing just to keep it under 20?

It's no more than 20 net carbs daily. That means you don't exceed 20 net carbs.

If what matters is keeping it under 20, why are veggies limited to 2 c salad and 1 cup other every day?
I just had my 2 cups mixed greens and it's only 3.5 grams of carbs. I could eat 3 more cups and still be under 20 grams of carbs today since the other stuff I'm eating isn't high carb either.

LEttuce is only 1 of about 20 vegetables on the "salad" list. It is also the lowest carb and possibly the least nutritious of those veggies. Peppers, cucumbers, celery, etc. are on the "salad" list and have more carbs than lettuce.

It's quite possible to eat about 10-14 net carbs veggies using the 3 cups method----provided you choose the right veg. Just eating lettuce, ain't gonna do it for you.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>But you are saying what is really important is counting the carbs? So I can up my veggies if I want to as long as I stay under 20 g of carbs?>>

In the Induction chapter, 11, Rule # 3 states, "Eat no more than 20 [net] grams of carbohydrates, most of which must come in the form of salad greens and other vegetables."

The "key" word here is "most"... and it's something that a lot of people over looked because they focused on the NEXT sentence, which is the "3 cups"...

The result of limiting yourself to "cups" is that one is quite likely to not be eating "most" of your net carbs from vegetables.

In my experience, counting the carbs is more important.

There are other people who believe that limiting yourself to 3 cups is what's important.

Yes. The way I read the book and also more than one thread here is that the total veggies are limited to 3 cups a day, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It makes sense to count carbs, but I can't imagine any benefit in limiting veggie intake. I love vegetables and if I can eat more of them, all the better.

I like your answer.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

It's no more than 20 net carbs daily. That means you don't exceed 20 net carbs.



LEttuce is only 1 of about 20 vegetables on the "salad" list. It is also the lowest carb and possibly the least nutritious of those veggies. Peppers, cucumbers, celery, etc. are on the "salad" list and have more carbs than lettuce.

It's quite possible to eat about 10-14 net carbs veggies using the 3 cups method----provided you choose the right veg. Just eating lettuce, ain't gonna do it for you.

I eat a whole lot more than just lettuce. And the lettuce I eat is highly nutritious--it's mixed greens which includes several different varieties of highly nutritious greens. I am accustomed to eating a mixed green salad every day *in addition to* other vegetables.

What I am really asking is why should we limit our total veggie intake to only 3 cups if we are not exceeding 20 g of carbs?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>why should we limit our total veggie intake to only 3 cups if we are not exceeding 20 g of carbs?>>

It's my opinion that we don't have to.

Others will disagree.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>>why should we limit our total veggie intake to only 3 cups if we are not exceeding 20 g of carbs?>>

It's my opinion that we don't have to.

Others will disagree.

I'm sure they will.

I am interested in the reasoning behind limiting vegetables. I'm genuinely curious.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

Well, 12-15 net carbs isn't really all that limited! It can be quite a lot.

I view Induction as taking your eating down to the "bare minimum" ... and 12-15 net carbs from vegetables is enough to get you into ketosis (burning fat) and still be nutritionally sound.

Then, as you move to OWL, you begin to add more vegetables ... and other foods.

The 20 net carbs from the "right sources" won't allow you to deprive your body of proper nutrition ... or slow down your metabolism.

It you're only getting 3.5 net carbs from your 3 cups of vegetables, that could happen.

[Shrew2u]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

I'm sure they will.

I am interested in the reasoning behind limiting vegetables. I'm genuinely curious.

I imagine this was a holdover from a prior version of the plan ('72? can anyone confirm), that probably should have been removed from the 2002 version to focus on the important point...getting most of our net carbs during Induction from vegetables.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

Well, 12-15 net carbs isn't really all that limited! It can be quite a lot.

I view Induction as taking your eating down to the "bare minimum" ... and 12-15 net carbs from vegetables is enough to get you into ketosis (burning fat) and still be nutritionally sound.

Then, as you move to OWL, you begin to add more vegetables ... and other foods.

The 20 net carbs from the "right sources" won't allow you to deprive your body of proper nutrition ... or slow down your metabolism.

It you're only getting 3.5 net carbs from your 3 cups of vegetables, that could happen.

Yeah, I meant "limited" if you follow the 3 cups a day rule. I usually eat much more than that quantity of vegetables every day. Vegetables are nom nom!

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>> usually eat much more than that quantity of vegetables every day.>>

How many net carbs are you getting from Induction vegetables?

[Georgiana]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

What I am really asking is why should we limit our total veggie intake to only 3 cups if we are not exceeding 20 g of carbs?

I've emailed Jackie Eberstein about this, and what she told me is that the cups were used by Dr. Atkins because he thought it's easier for people to just throw stuff in a cup instead of weighing. He wanted to make things easy for us when we start. If one eats 3 cups of vegetables, it's highly unlikely one will go over 20 net carbs. However, as J. wrote, it's possible to be undereating net carbs from vegetables when eating 3 cups.

As long as one doesn't go over 20 net carbs, eating more than 3 cups of vegetables is fine.

[valkyrieh]

Re: Is it *necessary* to eat 20 g of carbs a day?

>> usually eat much more than that quantity of vegetables every day.>>

How many net carbs are you getting from Induction vegetables?

I don't know yet. This is my first day.