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Carb counting-is this right?

ladybird64

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,731
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
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Dishonesty, selfishness and lack of empathy.
I just need somebody to check that I have finally figured out how to count carbs properly.

And yes, I know it's taken some time but that's me. Now then, for an example. One of my favourite crisps, Space Raiders.

Nutritional info re carbs is this.

Carbs per 100gms is 59.3

I divide that hence 59.3 divided by 100=0.593

I multiply the 0.593 by 13 gms (the size of the packet) which gives me a total of 7.7 grams.

Tell me I have got it at last-perleeze!!

PS. If it is right, how do I measure the carb content of veggies and fruits, do they have to be weighed or is it guesswork?
 
Complicated way of doing that! Think of it this way

If 100g = 59.3

then 13g must be 13 divided by 100 times 59.3

= 7.7 total carbs (same answer as you)

So its [actual-weight-i'm-eating] divided by 100 times [amount-of-carbs-per-100].

You can then apply the same rule even if you don't know for 100g. So the packet says for say 25 grams rather than 100 it would be

[actual-weight-i'm-eating] divided by 25 times [amount-of-carbs-per-25].

Make sense?
 
That's the way I calculate the carb content ladybird :thumbup:
 
That's spot on according to Wikipeadia - though why on earth they would have a page on Space Raider's is anyone's guess. I'm assuming your favourite is the pickled onion flavour ones (by those numbers) :crazy:
 
When I go shopping I tend to look for food that has the carb content listed per item in the pack if I can.

In time more food producers will be forced to list the carb content per item rather than per 100g. Cooked rice, etc is easily calculated using a tbsp - 2tbsp of cooked rice is 10g carb (according to DUK). 2 tbsp of baked beans is also 10g carb. Using a tablespoon or teaspoon makes things so much easier although saying that no two foods will be exactly the same carb content so everything is usually a 'rough guide'.
 
Swimmer-the reason they have the page is that they are incredibly yummy and I am obviously not the only one that thinks so!! :lol:

My favourite WAS the pickled onion flavour, note the use of the past tense..I am on the wagon. (Polishes halo)

Zizzy-ok, I know you're not Zizzy but I can never remember where the x's,y's and z's go and I can't be ars..bothered to scroll back to check. Ta very much for your suggestion, let's face it, I need as many as I can get. Will practice both and yes, your way makes sense too.

Nigel-it's just a relief I have got it at last!
 
Your calculations are quite correct, thats exactly how I do it, xyzzy's way is the same just has the order reversed I guess it depends how you were taught maths. Most/many packets will have the carbs per 100g and the carbs per bag/tin or even as with soups half a tin, so its worth checking.

With calculating carbs in veg and other whole foods as a T2 who doesnt need to know the exact amount of carbs I just use my meter to tell me the portion size that way I dont have to weigh everything, but if you want to weigh all your foods then you need to weigh the food you eat so if whole raw and peeled carrots for example are 6.4g per 100g and you are eating 50g then you do the same calculation as you did with the crisps and you find that 50g of carrots will be 3.2g of carbs (source calls, carbs and fat bible 2009- so I dont have a newer version )

I find it easier to eat to my meter and use whatever I find is a 'safe' portion than to constantly weigh everything and eat a certain number of carbs a day but each to their own, I just couldnt be that constricted in my food choice.

Once you have either weighed or tested foods a few times you will get to guestimate the carb value of many foods obviously T1's need to be more scientific in their carb counting
 
I have found, perhaps depressingly, that a lot of the things I eat are the same as I've had before. So once I've done the calculation once I just refer back to my food diary rather than calculating each item again.

My food diary is just a diary in a fetching shade of mucus green (so I don't lose it) that I keep in the kitchen.
 
ladybird64 said:
Zizzy-ok, I know you're not Zizzy but I can never remember where the x's,y's and z's go and I can't be ars..bothered to scroll back to check.
Click to expand...

Actually XYZZY comes from here (off wikipedia)


I've used it as a moniker since the early 1980's as Colossal Cave Adventure was one of the first computer games I played whenever the boss wasn't looking.

On the maths carb counting thing.

Do the way that you can remember easiest. Looks like my brain works differently to everyone else's. Not surprised...

Like swimmer2 I have a food diary (well an Excel spreadsheet) with everything listed out (to 2 decimal places of course) including complete meals and what quantity of what things were in them so if you have the same thing again you don't have to redo all the maths.
 


And I thought you were just being lazy, hitting a few random keystrokes on your keyboard, you live and learn :lol:
My first games were played on an Atari 800XL, my first computer, it came fully loaded with 64k of memory :lol: :lol:
 
Sid Bonkers said:
My first games were played on an Atari 800XL, my first computer, it came fully loaded with 64k of memory :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

A classic in its day Sid.

My first was a Sinclair ZX81 with a massive 1K of memory. I got the whatever K expansion pack later but if you did so much as breathe on it it would crash because of the dodgy connectors.
 
For vegetables and stuff have you seen the carbs and cals book, if not head over to amazon and have a look.

Each page has pictures of several different portion sizes with the carbs listed for each one. IME not quite as accurate as weighing everything out, especially since the actual carb count can vary quite a lot between brands. However it at least give you an "educated guess" when eating out and so on.
 
xyzzy said:
My first was a Sinclair ZX81
Click to expand...

Wasn't that the development model? Mine was the original Sinclair Spectrum Plus, no attached cassette for the essential tape loading - you had to buy one seperately. 8K of ram! (the later models, up to the +3, had up to 128k of ram - imagine that!) Still got it, together with about 50 games on cassette!
 
I have still got a Sinclair ZX81 in the attic. Didn't get on very well with it (the "keyboard") but I did learn some Basic :crazy:
 
Not only do I still have Sinclair in the loft, there's also an old Commodore gathering dust. Even worse I can still remember the very first computer "bat and ball" game Oh dear!
 
Not only do I still have Sinclair in the loft, there's also an old Commodore gathering dust. Even worse I can still remember the very first computer "bat and ball" game Oh dear!
 

Oh Stephen, the memories that last post brings back.......... :lol: :lol:
 
chocoholicnomore said:
Oh Stephen, the memories that last post brings back.......... :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

It was fun though wasn't it? You can take all your XBOXs and PS3s, nothing was as much fun as my 48k ZX Spectrum (with tapes full of pirated games). I can still do a passable impression of the Spectrum loading sounds....
 
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