Day one, please chime in :-)

[easytoforget]

Good evening all!
I originally posted this in the wrong section I'm winding down my first day of F2S living and I'm wondering, like I'm sure most newbies do, if I'm on the right track.  I'd greatly appreciate it if someone could take a look at what I ate today (listed below) and weigh in.  

Breakfast and Lunch

10 medium stalks of celery
4 dill pickles (0 carbs)
1 tablespoon of all natural, 0 sugar caesar dressing (2 carbs/2 tbsp)
1 cup of green tea, no sweetener (0 carbs)
1/4 cup canada dry raspberry seltzer water (0 carbs)

Dinner (everything was grilled except for drinks and cauliflower)

1 cup lite, sugar free arizona arnold palmer tea cut with water (0 carbs)
1/4 yellow, red, and green bell peppers
1 green onion
1/2 slice of white onion
3 brown mushrooms
1 thinly sliced pork loin marinated in kikoman teriyaki sauce, garlic, and soy sauce (1 carb/tbsp of teriyaki sauce, 1 carb/tsp on soy sauce)
3 thinly sliced pieces of london broil marinated in kikoman teriyaki sauce, garlic, and soy sauce (1 carb/tbsp of teriyaki sauce, 1 carb/tsp on soy sauce)
1/2 cup crumbled, steamed cauliflower with sea salt, butter, and black pepper

Dessert
Sugar free jello with whipped cream topping (2 carbs/quarter cup jello, 1 carb/2 tbsp wct)

[joagain]

Welcome easytoforget !!!  You have to count carbs for all the veggies you ate ,Celery, bell peppers,onions ,green onion, mushrooms & cauliflower . But what you was ok but you might have went over 20 carbs  by a little . !!!   Welcome to the forum again !

[Doug Varrieur]

Jo is correct easytoforget the veggie carbs add up quicker than you'd think, that's why bunny's get fat 

let's take a look-

1- celery- 10 stalks, best guess without measure- add 2.5 net carbs. Celery is almost 1 carb per 1/2 cup.
2- 4 dill pickles- 2 net carbs each, I'm not sure why you posted them as a zero?? please re-check the label and serving size. add 8 net carbs
3- bell pepper, you say 1/4 of each color pepper so I'm guessing 3/4 of a full size pepper?  Bell peppers are 3 net carbs raw per 1/2 cup. Add 3 net carbs
4- combined onion carbs. add 1 net carb
5- 1/2 cup cauliflower- add 1.5 grams net carbs
6- Teriyaki sauce?? garlic?? I checked on-line and found  kikoman teriyaki sauce with garlic was 5 grams per tablespoon. Please check your label and re-calculate. If you used fresh garlic then add 1 carb per clove. For this exercise I'll add 4 additional carbs.

So, the uncounted carbs in your meal plan totaled out to an additional 20 grams! putting your total for the day at 29 carbs, not bad for your first day.

To make counting carbs a breeze you may want to invest $4.00 for the FAT TO SKINNY Sugar and Carb Counter book available here- http://www.shop.FATtoSKINNY.com

Welcome to the family

[Doug Varrieur]

oops! missed the mushrooms.....add 2 grams per 1/2 cup 

[SherriPie]

OMG your dinner sounded so good!

I found during the first few weeks that it helped to keep a running tab of what I was eating on the fridge. I would post a sticky note on there and each time I grabbed for something write down the carb count. Once you get used to the lifestyle it becomes second nature, so you only have to do it for a little while.


Welcome to the new you 

[beth823]

Www.nal.USDA.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Here is a great site that mouseissue shared with me.  I use it all the time!  Good luck and welcome to FTS the people here are wonderful.  If you have any questions or concerns just post and someone is sure to help.

[easytoforget]

Thank you all for chiming in! I appreciate the advice and welcomes

I just wanted to clarify a few things. I'm typing this from my phone so I hope I cover everything.

The pickle jar says 0 all the way down.  Idk if the pickle jar is incorrect or if I'm missing something in how to calculate the carbs, but it really does say zero that's why I was pretty liberal with them.

2 tablespoons of teriyaki was used to season 2 lbs of meat (I made it all so that Id have left overs) and 1 tsp of soy sauce was used. A quarter tsp of chopped garlic was put on right before it went on the grill.

I didn't add values for the veggies because I wasn't sure what they were lol sorry

[owensmath]

Dessert
Sugar free jello with whipped cream topping (2 carbs/quarter cup jello, 1 carb/2 tbsp wct)

There is 0 carb sugar free jello. It's really good... or did you mean jello pudding?

[easytoforget]

It is strawberry and said sugar free on the front of the package, but I thought it said 2 carbs on the back Ill take another look after work today. Id much rather have the 0!

[Doug Varrieur]

No apologies required

[easytoforget]

Thanks Doug Is there a possibility that the pickle jar is incorrect? I called home to have someone check the jar and they confirmed 0.  I brought pickles with me for lunch again so I wanted to make sure I wasn't blowing my carb count out of the water

[mouseissue]

Welcome to the family, easytoforget!

When reading nutrition labels, be sure to ALWAYS read the ingredients list!
The FDA is strict about accurately listing ingredients in order of content.
They are NOT strict about carb counts!
If a product reports a low net carb number, check the ingredients to see if they are low carb.
If any of the top three ingredients has a high carb food, don't buy it!

Portion control is also very important!

If you've read Doug's little yellow book "FAT to Skinny, Fast & Easy", you know about the 3-day test to help you determine when your ACTUALLY hungry and how much food is NEEDED to alleviate hunger.
Use what you learn from what your body tells you, and it will go a long way in helping you succeed with FTS!

Drink lots of plain water EVERY day!
AT LEAST 64 oz. per day. More if your activities cause you to perspire.

And finally, write down what you eat, how much, number of net carbs, and when.
This too will help you become accustomed to this new lifestyle.

If you have any other questions, concerns, feedback, etc., please let us know!

[easytoforget]

Thank you mouseissue! I thought I was prepared. I bought and read all of Doug's books except the Spanish one, but a review is definitely in order.  This is beginning to look more difficult than I had anticipated thanks again for the advice!

[joagain]

easytoforget it is not difficult you just have to get use to everything ,if the jar says 0 it probably is ,but the veggies all have a little bit of carbs .  they can put 0 on the packages as long as it is under 1 carb . 

It will get easier everyday !!!

[Maddysmom]

Hi Easytoforget and welcome to the forum!!