Net Carb Question
 

Hi All,

I am new to Atkins and Low Carb eating in general. So I have been on Atkins almost 2 weeks and have lost about 10 lbs. However, I rarely get close to the 20 Net carbs. I am pretty consistently getting 10-14 net carbs. Does it matter that I am that low or should I really be getting 20? :help:

Thank all.

10 pounds in 2 weeks is a great start. It took me closer to a month to lose that much when I got started. Well done!

No, there's no need for you to be hitting 20g/day, it's more like a recommended maximum. If you can sustain what you're doing without getting to 20, then that's fine. Some of us here are even trying zero carb (ZC) at the moment, though I'm not one of them, hehe.

You're doing great; keep up the good work. :)

Consider 20 your upper limit. It is fine to eat fewer net carbs than what your plan calls for. In the last 4 years I've tweaked my diet several times trying different net carb limits from < 20 to < 45 as I neared my goal weight. In maintenance I let the net carbs slip a little higher and I started gaining weight. Everyone is different. Some people need to limit total carbs to less than 20 to lose weight. I seem to do 'net carbs' just fine. When I was obese and had blood sugar issues I needed to keep my net carbs really low. Once I became healthier, I was able to add back a few more carbs. But I just can't go too high on the net carbs or my weight starts going the other way. Currently I'm trying to lose a few pounds that I gained last year in my attempt at maintenance. I've dropped my net carb limit to 25 or less. But my preference is to keep them lower than that.

I wish you the best as you get started. Congratulations on that first 10 pounds. Keep at it and you will get to where you want to be.

Thank you for your responses! I have been killing myself to get the 20 net carbs! :lol: Hopefully it will be a little easier now that I know this! Thank you so much for the info. Good info on tweaking the net carbs :agree:

Are you using the Atkins20 on the website to get the 20g net carbs, 15 of which must come from foundation vegetables? That is a crazy amount of fiber depending on the vegetables you choose. :lol: Not to worry, Dr Atkins himself, and now Dr Westman, use 20g TOTAL carbs and only ask that you eat 3 cups of vegetables a day. I had the same problem when I started with the on-line rules, but many of us here use the 2002 plan http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=236482 or even the 1972 version.