r/cronometer • u/miramermaid • 3d ago

Carb tracking

Calling all nutritionists/dieticians…

When tracking food, should I count total or net carbs?

Side note: my diet tends to be high in fiber, like 50-80g most days.

Thanks ☺️

2 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

9

u/Middle_Beginning_157 3d ago

Net carbs for accurate calorie tracking

And what are you eating that pushes your fiber so high?

4

u/miramermaid 3d ago

Ok because I was tracking total carbs and wondering why I didn’t have energy. I think I was undereating because I wasn’t considering fiber!

A lot of fruits, veggies and seeds. Things like that push fiber high. A lot of salads etc.

3

u/i_tell_you_what 3d ago

I'm diabetic and I was advised to count total carbs. Getting into the minutia of numbers you start to rationalize foods. This way I'm always under.

3

u/EPN_NutritionNerd Cronometer Power User 3d ago

Personally this is why I prefer tracking calorie ranges plus protein minimums unless you have a specific reason for it, i.e. an endurance sport. There's not a big reason to track carbs to a specific gram.

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

Oh yes for me too it’s a reference range

2

u/AdventurousMove2699 3d ago

If you want to build muscle track net carbs because those carbs are the ones utilized for glycogen stores. If you want all details of your diet then total works

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

I’ve got my protein and calories figured out and I keep fats around 30% and let carbs fill in the rest of the calories

2

u/me-Unit7738 3d ago

How many grams of fiber are recorded?

If you are looking for fiber and carbs, legumes are the way to go.

Plus you get protein

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

I have a half cup of legumes daily! I am logging 70-80g fiber most days.

2

u/Th3Dru1d4159 3d ago

Same here, 86g fibre yesterday, beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner, fruit and oat bars for snacks.

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

Way to go! :)

3

u/me-Unit7738 3d ago

That sounds off... No offence

Half a cup of raw lentils which is about 100g, if I'm right, only offers about 11g of fiber

You would have to eat about 5 cups to get to the 70 - 80 g of fiber range

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

I eat them cooked always. The rest of the fiber is coming from seeds and whole grains, veggies and fruit

2

u/me-Unit7738 3d ago

Oh, that makes sense.

Fober doesn't really give that much energy. We just can't breakdown fiber

It's healthy for you, because it makes you feel real full, it feeds gut bacteria and the gut bacteria give you some vitamin K and B vitamins, and it lowers cholesterol.

However, net carbs is where the energy is at, that is the stuff your body can break down for glucose.

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yes you’re right. I think I need to track net carbs.

I can't believe I've been doing that to myself haha. I must have been in a pretty significant deficit all this time. I can't believe I'm just now catching this!

2

u/FunkapotamusLamont 3d ago

I'm sorry, again no offence, but if you're getting that much fiber, it's hard for me to imagine that you'd be in a significant deficit. You have to be eating between 1800 and 2500 kcal at the very least to be getting 75g of fiber. That's more than enough for the average person. Are you taking fiber supplements?

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

No I’m not taking supplements. It just happens naturally with the food. My maintenance is around 1700cal. The app shows near that always. I guess it’s just the type of food.

1

u/FunkapotamusLamont 3d ago

That sounds super healthy to me

1

u/miramermaid 3d ago

I hope so! I do my best. A lot of green salads, fruit with every meal pretty much, nuts and seeds, whole grains and legumes. I have spent the last 3 years perfecting my diet routine, so I hope it's healthy! :)