online carb counters

[CalicoPrairie]

Basically, my question is, what makes the fitday (and other) carb counters better than the Atkins carb counter and nutritional facts on the packages of food we are eating?

(some of my original questions were lost, but thankfully quoted in Atkinsgal's post below, which is what you will be reading in her post. Thx Atkinsgal....now your post isn't floating around in the space/time continuum. )

[atkinsgal08]

re: online carb counters

Fitday uses the USDA database. That's what makes it "reliable".

>>how do we know that the Atkins site, the very diet everyone here is supposed to be following, is wrong on the counts?>>

For me, it's because I've been doing Atkins for over 6 years and have looked up enough carb counts in both places to recognize when one is "wrong".

>>wouldn't the carb counts for veggies and induction foods be the same as they've always been?>>

Well, some of the carb counts on the Atkins site have been wrong since 2004. Green beans have been missing from the list of Induction foods since 2008.

On the list of Acceptable Foods there now, cheddar cheese, for example, is given as 0 carbs ... and it does indeed have carbs.

Eggs have carbs, too ... unless you're using the 0 carb eggs on Atkins.com.

Spices have carbs, too (see https://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard....ts-spices.html) unless you're looking on the Induction food list (Atkins Diet Program - Phase 1 - Induction - What You Can Eat in This Phase)

It's "experience" that lets me know some of their information is inaccurate.

If you were to sit and compare, you would find the same errors.

[atkinsgal08]

re: online carb counters

Somebody else may have the same question ... and now my answer if floating in an odd time/space continuum!

[CalicoPrairie]

re: online carb counters

Oh! You know what, I'll just go back and re-ask it then since you took the time to answer it.

[CalicoPrairie]

re: online carb counters

Ok great--thank you Atkinsgal. I'm sure you are right that I would notice them too if I did the comparisons, I guess I just trusted what was on the labels...which is why I was a little perturbed about this whole thing. Thanks for explaining and for being patient with all of my questions.

Man, I guess I thought I knew my stuff! Learn something new every day.

[Georgiana]

Re: online carb counters

Kristi, I changed the thread title back and left it here. As J. wrote, others might have the same question.

[Elizellen]

Re: online carb counters

Basically, my question is, what makes the fitday (and other) carb counters better than the Atkins carb counter and nutritional facts on the packages of food we are eating?

For anyone outside the USA (and maybe Canada) you CAN trust the label nutrition information even over the USDA and fitday information, which on the whole are for a generic version and for processed foods like mayonnaise might have different ingredients or proportions of ingredients than the one you are buying.

This is because our labels state the counts per 100 grams or 100 mls, so are less likely to contain all those 'zero carb' counts that USA labels do.

Manufacturers in USA are allowed to claim zero if the actual number is less than 0.5 per serving, and they are also allowed to set their serving size to an amount like one tablespoon to allow them to claim zero carbs.

So where the label on my Hellman's mayonnaise states there is 1.5 carbs per 100 grams I can work out that every ounce of it (about 2 flat tablespoons) has 0.43 carbs and use that number to be more accurate in my counting.

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: online carb counters

Kristi, I changed the thread title back and left it here. As J. wrote, others might have the same question.

Thanks Georgiana.

For anyone outside the USA (and maybe Canada) you CAN trust the label nutrition information even over the USDA and fitday information, which on the whole are for a generic version and for processed foods like mayonnaise might have different ingredients or proportions of ingredients than the one you are buying.

This is because our labels state the counts per 100 grams or 100 mls, so are less likely to contain all those 'zero carb' counts that USA labels do.

Manufacturers in USA are allowed to claim zero if the actual number is less than 0.5 per serving, and they are also allowed to set their serving size to an amount like one tablespoon to allow them to claim zero carbs.

So where the label on my Hellman's mayonnaise states there is 1.5 carbs per 100 grams I can work out that every ounce of it (about 2 flat tablespoons) has 0.43 carbs and use that number to be more accurate in my counting.

Ahh ok---so outside the USA, labels are more accurate then. Inside, not. Thank you Elizellen.

[brandywine1241]

Re: online carb counters

Also, beware of any carb counter that lists values in whole numbers. Those fractions are important when 20 is your limit and you are eating multiple servings of a particular food like eggs.

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: online carb counters

Also, beware of any carb counter that lists values in whole numbers. Those fractions are important when 20 is your limit and you are eating multiple servings of a particular food like eggs.

Right---I've always counted my eggs in fractions, but it never occurred to me until today (when counting using the USDA counter) that fractions would be so important.