Carb Counts

[renee]

I have both the FTS Cookbook and the FTS Bakery Book.  I  would like to work out the carb counts
on the recipes so I can plan my meals at a glance.  Is there an easy way for me to do this?

Also, I changed my lifesyle to FTS on August 9th, but have only lost 6lbs to date. I have noticed
that many members are losing much more......apart from my body NOT wanting to give up it's
precious fat cells, am I possibly doing something wrong???

Does everyone count the carbs of every meal?  I do and have never gone over
20.  As a matter of fact I usually only have about 16 per day.

[Doug Varrieur]

The bakery book has the carb counts listed per recipe. We decided to do this simply because of all the interesting ingredients per recipe. The cookbook however forces the reader to become one with their food ingredients. It is soooo important to be able to spot the hidden sugar in all the common foods. As you continue to eat FTS the ingredients with carbs become a small list to remember and the counts become second nature. If you're calculating your carbs now per meal your training yourself to be anywhere at any time without your books and be able to make smart choices There's no sugar in your protein and fat choices so that simply leaves your veggies, desserts, beverages and condiments.

losing 6 pounds in 3 weeks is a bit light. I'd like you to give us an accurate list of everything that's going into your mouth over the next week including measurements, let see if we can spot the problem 

[StephB313]

Hidden carbs are what I'm trying most to learn about, and yesterday I learned the hard way to not just assume.  My girls and I were out doing some last minute back to school shopping and stopped at a Rubio's to eat a late lunch/early dinner.  I didn't see a nutritional guide posted, so asked for one.  The employees there said they didn't know where they were (I thought they had to be posted).

Anyway, to be "safe", I ordered the Balsamic Chicken and Veggies salad.  Dressing on the side.  It just had lettuce and spinach leaves, grilled chicken, peppers, onions, a little bit of roasted corn--that I didn't eat (no avocado on the one I got)--anyway, I got home and checked the Rubio's website.  It ended up being 22 carbs!  Where were those carbs hidden??  I'm still confused.

Luckily I had only eaten 3 carbs up until then, so I only went over 5.  But still, I'd been staying between 12 and 15, so was a bit shocked by how deceiving that salad is.  I didn't eat the whole thing and I ate around the corn, so I probably/maybe didn't get the full 22--but still!

Any ideas where the carbs came from?

[joagain]

Maybe that was the carb count with the corn & dressing and before taking off the fiber  Probably wasnt that bad 

[StephB313]

Maybe that was the carb count with the corn & dressing and before taking off the fiber  Probably wasnt that bad 

Do you ever look at Calorie King?  http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-fast-food-chains-restaurants_c-Y2lkPTIx.html?bid=861&sid=-1I just found it and it seems pretty helpful. 

It seems I had between 15-22 carbs.  I had some dressing (on the side) and picked around the corn.  Would there be that many carbs in a little bit of corn?  There's really nothing I can see in the salad that would have that many carbs.

[mouseissue]

Hi Steph!

As you know, corn is high in net carbs.

Typically, restaurant sauces and dressings are VERY high in carbs due to added sugar, corn syrup, etc..
I imagine it's the dressing that's hiding the majority of those carbs.

When I order salads, I usually ask them to hold the dressing and bring me a side of vinegar (sometimes balsamic) and a side of whole mayonnaise.
Or sometimes I'll just ask for a vinegar and olive oil vinaigrette.

[Doug Varrieur]

The carbs were in the corn, onions and Balsamic.....Jo made a good point, they would'nt have subtracted the fiber from the total. I looked it up and your salad had 29 carbs, 7 fiber so the net carbs were 22........ 14 of those carbs came from SUGAR. I searched further and found their ingredient list for the dressing....

Check this out     Dressing, Light Balsamic Vinaigrette : Water, Balsamic Vinegar, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Oleoresin Rosemary

I find that straight oil and vinegar (not balsamic) or ranch are my safest choices when eating out

[renee]

Thanks Doug,

I'll start my list today, and post it after I eat my supper.....I really appreciate the help, as I know this
is the lifestyle I want to live by....

[umpa]

Renee its usually stupid things that mess people up Like splenda.Each little yellow packet is one carb.Over a days time it adds up.Or products that aren't correctly marked on nutritional value.We will help you

[StephB313]

The carbs were in the corn, onions and Balsamic.....Jo made a good point, they would'nt have subtracted the fiber from the total. I looked it up and your salad had 29 carbs, 7 fiber so the net carbs were 22........ 14 of those carbs came from SUGAR. I searched further and found their ingredient list for the dressing....

Check this out     Dressing, Light Balsamic Vinaigrette : Water, Balsamic Vinegar, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Soybean Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Xanthan Gum, Oleoresin Rosemary

I find that straight oil and vinegar (not balsamic) or ranch are my safest choices when eating out

Thanks for clarifying!  The salad looked soooo innocent!  I'm just glad that up until that point in the day, I'd only had 3 carbs.  So, I went over, but not by too much.  When I think about it, it makes me crazy realizing how much sugar I was eating all day/every day, and not even realizing it!  Week 1 and I've learned A LOT!!!  And feel great in the process.  YAY!

[mouseissue]

Doug makes a good point about balsamic vinegar.
Depending on the brand, it will have 2-3 grams per TBSP.
So care must be taken with it... A little goes a long way anyhow!

Restaurant recipe vinaigrettes often involve added sugar.
That's why I never ask for a restaurant's vinaigrette. But will ask for vinegar (sometimes plain balsamic) and a side of whole mayonnaise.

[renee]

Monday Sept.5

B-   Coffee with Half n Half   (2)   Unfortunately I can't drink black coffee ...YUCK.
      2 Egg Omelet with         (2)
      1/2 oz. Cheese             (0)
      3 slices Turkey Bacon    (0)

L-   1 cup Shredded Cabbage  (3)
      2 Boiled Eggs mixed with Mayo  (2)
      1/2 oz. Cheddar Cheese         (0)

S-   Grilled Pork Loin Chop   (0)
      1/2 cup Peppers & onions   (3)
      1/2 cup Green Beans      (3)
      S/F Jello with Whipped topping  (2)

      For a total for the day of 17 carbs.

      You will see a lot of repetition in my daily menus for the time being, but that will change
      as I go through the cookbook, and also some of the great recipes on the forum.

[SherriPie]

      You will see a lot of repetition in my daily menus for the time being, but that will change
      as I go through the cookbook, and also some of the great recipes on the forum.

Also the longer you do FTS the more you'll get used to where the carbs (especially the hidden ones) are. You will be able to go into any restaurant and recognize what is FTS friendly and what isn't. Your menu for today looked really good.

[renee]

Thanks Sherripie,

I usually have the same thing for breakfast as it's easy for me to
take to work. But I  will be exploring the members own recipes to
try, I have seen several that really look good, and the makings
are on my list for my next shopping trip.

Although I am wondering, I usually by frozen veggies, as I live
on my own and in the past when I have bought fresh veggies I
found that some were thrown away because I didn't get around
to eating them fast enough.  I see with frozen veggies they
all seem to have sugar shown on the label.....should I be taking
that into account when I add up my daily totals??

[umpa]

Always read labels  and ingredient lists on frozen fruits and veggies I bought frozen strawberries that had 12 carbs per serving and there were 6 servings in the bag! I didn't figure it out until my tummy got upset and I checked the bag to see the expiration date! Even the pros miss stuff!