What is considered to be low-carb?

[SusabellaSaspirella]

Can someone let me know what is considered to be low-carb?

I have been eating a low-carb diet for a few months without really knowing it (see my previous post, "Glad I've found you ..."). Apart from avoiding bread (I can eat a little Hovis Wheatgerm and nothing else), rice, pasta etc., I have always looked only at the sugar element of carbs in other foods and tried to only eat anything that has 5g or less per 100g. Is there a total carb figure in foods that is considered to make that food low-carb?

Thanks all.

 

[hanadr]

Less than 50g of carb per day is true low carb.
I reject foods hat are more than 10% carb usually. Portion size is important too. A spoon of sugar could be low carb if the spoon were small enough. 8)
You can leave the high carb bit.
We had quiche and salad for lunch and I gave my crust to the dogs( who loved it)

 

[Vikingepigen]

Less than 50 carbs/day might be considered "true" low carb, but I also think we need to remember that people that comes from eating perhaps 300 carbs/day or more - 100-150 carbs/day IS low carb for them too.

When I got diagnosed, I did a bit of calculating and found that I most likely had something like 400 carbs/day and often more - having a VERY sweet tooth and liking my take aways. So initially reducing my carb intake to below 100 carbs/day was scary and I thought it was VERY low carb. I learned differently very quickly and no longer consider myself a "true" low carber (on 50-70 carbs/day) but on a Cals/Carbs managed diet which suits ME and MY body.

I think it would VERY helpful if the "Low Carb" forum had a note on what is considered Low Carb in the sub forum title - hence there will be very little to mistake for newbies trying to find their feet here and hence avoided having their faces bitten off by other members (and sometimes moderators).

Surely the aim is to offer help and support to all, but especially newly diagnosed who are confused and scared - and assist them in finding the balance which they can deal with and go forward and learn. Inadvertly posting the "wrong" place and being told off is not very helpful at all - and it is happening regularly. So adding a subtitle to the forum title would guide newbies without having to read through a large document first.

Alice

 

[Spiral]

I'm a vegetarian and find it more difficult to avoid carbohydrates than people who eat meat.

I consider myself a low carber because I don't eat rice, potato, bread, pasta and flour products anymore. I have never really counted carbohydrates until fairly recently as I have tried to bring them down further.

What I have found is that some things that come up higher carb that a really low carber would find acceptable is often full of indigestible carbohydrate So things that look higher carb (for example chickpeas) actually actually don't make me spike unacceptably high.

I try to eat to my meter as far as possible and portion size is important.

 

[fergus]

I think it would VERY helpful if the "Low Carb" forum had a note on what is considered Low Carb in the sub forum title - hence there will be very little to mistake for newbies trying to find their feet here and hence avoided having their faces bitten off by other members (and sometimes moderators).

There is a guide in the newbies guide thread at the top of the page. I'm sure no-ones had their face bitten of for asking the question! Even low carbers have limits on eating humans, faces or any other part. :shock:

I think your 5g per 100g rule for carbohydrates is a really good one Susabella! Most vegetables qualify under that rule, and most ****** processed rubbish fails miserably.

All the best,

fergus

 

[Doczoc]

It is a bit difficult as it has a lot to do with perception. Two people both eating 100g a day could describe themselves as non low carber or low carber depending on their point of view. Most low carbers think 50g or less is a good starting point!

 

[Vikingepigen]

It is a bit difficult as it has a lot to do with perception. Two people both eating 100g a day could describe themselves as non low carber or low carber depending on their point of view. Most low carbers think 50g or less is a good starting point!

Exactly the point I ALSO made in my post, but obviosly it is more important to take a paragraph and post out of context for a cheap laugh. Odd. Charming!

Alice

 

[SusabellaSaspirella]

I think your 5g per 100g rule for carbohydrates is a really good one Susabella! Most vegetables qualify under that rule, and most ****** processed rubbish fails miserably.fergus

Thanks Fergus. My rule applies to the sugar content only. Are you saying that the foods that have more than 5g per 100g total carb value should be avoided?

 

[hanadr]

Susabella
the problem is in the labelling rules. They say "carbohydrates; of which sugars". this can confuse. :?
5g of table sugar yields 2.5g glucose, 5 g of starch yields 5g of glucose.
So starch has to be considered.
I usualy go on "less than 10% total carbs" then consider the portion size or reject the bit I shouldn't eat.
I set my rules for myself, but they might give people a starting point for their own thinking. They work pretty well for me.

 

[AliB]

There are carbs and there are carbs and there are carbs........

Personally, I feel that what is most important is how any particular carbs work in YOUR body.

As has been adequately pointed out, not all carbs are the same and not all of us spike with the same carbs. That is where testing becomes so important. If you can figure out which carbs really affect your blood sugar and which don't then you will have more idea of how your diet should be constructed.

You also have to bear in mind that what you eat a food with can also have a bearing on how it affects your blood sugar too. Eating some carbs with a good leafy salad will slow down the absorption rate.

Personally I am of the same mind as Fergus, that anything ****** and processed is way best avoided at all costs - even 'natural' processed foods. If it isn't whole then don't bother with it. Whole brown rice will not normally have the same effect as polished or easy-cook rice because the fibre will slow down the absorption rate preventing the extreme spike that processed carbs give, reducing the risk of hypos, and give your body the time to catch up.

This is as much about getting to know your body and what it needs - or doesn't, as anything. The more you know and understand it, the better you can look after it.

 

[the_anticarb]

Personally I go on a traffic light system

Green - - free foods. Meat, Fish, Green Leafy veg, cheese, soya products, nuts, seeds, berries - less than 5% carbs by weight

Amber - ok in limited quantities eg carrots, tomatoes, some other fruits - less than 10% carbs

Red - blacklisted foods, such as bread, pasta etc - more than 10% carbs.

Of course portion size also has to be taken into account eg if I have a chunk or two of dark choc, that is technically more than 10% carbs but the size is so small that I get away with it.

Works for me, but I am being super strict at the mo whilst still trying to lose weight - may experiment with moving some foods between categories once I have reached my target weight. Testing afterwards of course.

 

[SusabellaSaspirella]

Thanks all! Really informative.