do you have to count non-starchy vegetables in your daily 800 intake? such as tomatoes, lettuce, string beans, etc.? i’m sure beans, and corn and such must be counted right? please let me know, as i am new and want to do this right. thank you! 🙂

Hi robb

count EVERYTHING. So that includes all allowable carbs.

You might like to get an app such as MyFitnessPal to check the nutrients, calories and carbs etc, in your food. Some veg (such as cabbage etc) are surprisingly high in carbs.

Good luck! 🙂

tomatoes are really sneaky with carbs!
yes, count it all – as igor says, there are lots of really useful free online databases that are useful – my favourite, although I hate the name, is FatSecret. there is a UK version, and lots less pop up ads than some of the others.

I found the following pictorial guides useful in helping me learn carby and less carby veg – I have colour prints of them on the kitchen wall https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/vegetables
– but they are just to get an overview in your brain – useful for when you’re eating out or in the supermarket

hi there Igorausual and Frog! thank you for answering me! I didn’t realize this is a counting carbs type of diet. i thought it was just counting calories. Do we have to count carbs?

Hi there

No – you don’t have to count carbs.

Calories at 800 per day automatically reduced the carbs you eat, and you also give up the refined carbs of course.

However many people here experience effective weight loss and good blood sugar reduction if they keep to 50g of carbs or under per day. Not compulsory though.

I can tell you that for me personally restricting calories to the recommended 800 and carbs to less than 50g was very effective for my 8 weeks (I lost more than 15% of starting body weight) and OH was able to be redisgnosed as Type 2 in remission at the end of his BSD.

But many people are also successful just focusing on the 800 calories.

thank you Igorasusual! So here’s another question. I had just made a huge batch of vegetable soup with black beans in it. all that’s in it is diced tomatoes, tomato paste, 8 oz tomato sauce, string beans, water chestnuts, 2 green squash with about 2 cans of black beans. it is a huge pot of soup. i made this before i saw this diet. can i eat this? how would I count it? i know i’ve asked this already, but do you have to count these non-starchy low carb veggies? inotherwords, like on weight watchers these veggies are free foods. are these kinds of veggies unlimited or do i have to count every single thing….like even lettuce? i don’t have the book….i’m just going by what i read in the magazine and what you nice people are telling me here. thanks again. i really want to do this right. 🙂

Hi Robb,
you don’t have to count carbs but some people, especially those who are trying to get their blood glucose under control may benefit from doing so. If you just stick to the principles you will get results- Less refined/starchy carbs=less sugar in blood= less insulin released = more weight loss/improved health. Try to eat carbs with benefits ie non starchy veg and fruit plus nuts, to get micronutrients ie vitamins, minerals, polyphenols (antioxidants) and of course fiber for good digestive function.

800 refers to total daily calories from all food eaten including lettuce! You can eat your soup but if you are doing fast 800 you will need to work out its calorie content from the individual ingredients and then portion it out. If you are having some normal days ie med style diet or 5:2 you could have some then without counting. (see info in Get Started-above)

You do need to count every calorie including lettuce. There are no “free” calories in the BSD, everything is counted.

May I suggest MyFitnessPal or equivalent app like Fat Secret. If you weigh your ingredients and enter them (you can scan barcodes) then these will tot up the calories and other nutrients in your soup. You can then decide how many servings you have in your big pot given that you only have 800 calories per day to play with

All the things in your soup are fine – allowed on the BSD – but you need to find out the total calories in it as I describe above.

I really suggest reading the book – it will make things a lot clearer for you and you will also understand the science behind it as well as seeing example meals. Available on kindle and a really good and inspiring read.

Hope that helps 🙂