Carbs, net carbs, dietary fiber... What's your take?

So I've noticed now that I can fit more calories that I sometimes fall into the carb trap and my carb numbers go up... However, I am noticing that my dietary fiber numbers go up as well so my *net carbs* are still pretty good.  I guess I'm just curious what everyone on here thinks, how they manage, what do they look for, etc.

I do meet with my nutritionist in a little over a month for my 6 month follow up and will talk to her then about this but I know this site can be a great resource as well!

Thanks in advance!

You will get a lot of different answers on this one.  I think everyone kind of needs to figure out what works for them.

I personally do not worry about veggie or berry carbs too much.  I stay away from white carbs in general (sugar, bread, pasta, white potato, rice, crackers etc.) What I get from veggies, berried and dairy ends up being

You will definitely get a variety of advice on this question.  Some severely limit carbs others not so much.  You definitely need to stay away from the white, processed carbs forever.  I personally slowly added fruits first and then whole grains back in.  Some cannot tolerate carbs without severe cravings.  During weight loss take advantage of your small capacity and decreased hunger to keep your diet protein forward but  to be honest, until I got a decent amount of fiber back in my diet constipation was a real issue! that is the main reason I decided not to go super low on carbs during weight loss.

Anne

^THIS^  

Thanks guys! I figured I'd get varied responses. I've been doing well with weight loss and muscle gain, always focusing on protein first... I had a brief stall last month but have broken through that finally.  

Because of the constipation issue, I have a shake everyday with Miralax and that has helped a lot. When I briefly ran out of Miralax, it was a pretty rough couple of days!  

I stay away from white/processed carbs (rice,flour, white bread, etc.) I did find great low-carb, high fiber tortillas from Trader Joe's that are incredible and tend to have one of those small tortilla every other day or so. That more than satisfies my cravings.  Also, things like cauliflower mashed faux-tatoes and the like.

I am definitely getting in more fruit and I think that's my worry - the sugar and carbs from that.  So I'll keep my eye on it and see how it does.

Thanks for the responses! I just like to see what other peoples' experiences are.

I think the whole "net carbs" thing is maybe too good to be true.  It just doesn't add up, in my opinion.  But I also don't count carbs, I just work on keeping my processed/refined carb intake as low as possible.  I eat a few bites of veggies and a bite of fruit here and there, and that seems to be working well.  

Here's how to think about net carbs. Fiber is classified by the FDA as a carb. However, it doesn't act like any of the other carbohydrates we worry about, like glucose, sucrose, lactose, etc. Fiber, by definition, isn't absorbed by your body. It just passes through.

When you look at a nutrition label, the total carbs includes fiber. Since fiber is nothing to be concerned about, net carbs represents the carbs that are available for absorbtion.

Take an apple:

Total Carbohydrates: 34g

Total Fiber: 5g

Total carbohydrates actually available to your body: 29g

It's not a trick, or too good to be true. It's really a quirk of labeling. I wish they excluded it from carbohydrate counts because it just confuses people. 

Good explanation. Don't be surprised, however, if some don't hear what you're saying, or that some just don't feel fiber works that way for them (and I respect people and their instincts about what works and how for them). Just letting you know that beating an dead horse still only gets you a dead horse :)

Of course, opinions vary greatly about carbs - even among the "experts" in the medical and nutritional fields. Here's my take:

You have to know or learn what works for you. I am not triggered by natural unprocessed carbs. I can eat a piece of fruit or eat steel cut oatmeal or a bit of quinoa and have no issues. The more processed a carbohydrate is, the more difficulty I have with it. When I eat a highly refined carb (say a gooey chocolate chip cookie) I start craving the next bite or piece while the first bite is still in my mouth.

It's really individual in the end. During WL I stuck to a pretty strict low carb plan. I have since loosened up on the carbs three years out. I am once again (story of my life) back in WL mode. I am eating only natural, unprocessed carbs and by dietary standards I still eat low carb, but by some WLS plans I'm not even close to low carb. This is working for me for now because my sugar demon is being held at bay.

I give no credence to "net carbs".   I don't believe for an instant any cell in my body compensates for higher carbs just because I got more fiber from that particular food.   

While I was in weight loss mode I kept my total carbs for the day to 40 or less (with the occasional spike up to 50).  Now that I'm in maintenance I try to keep it reined in to 80-100.  It's higher now because I do the occasional fruit, more veggies and have some Wasa crackers here and there.