Table Of ContentYour
C mplet u to
DANA
CARPENDER'S
NEWCARB
& CALORIE
COUNTER
EXPANDED
REVISED
UPDATED
FOURTH EDITION
Text © 2010 Dana Carpender
First published in the USA in 2010 by
Fair Winds Press, a member of
Quayside Publishing Group
100 Cummings Center
Suite 406-L
Beverly, MA 01915-6101
www.fairwindspress.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized, in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in
writing from the publisher.
14 13 12 11 10 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN-13: 978-1-59233-429-2
ISBN-10: 1-59233-429-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
Edited by Erika Bruce
Cover design by BradhamDesign.com
Original book design by Leslie Haimes and tabula rasa
Book Design by Vee Design
Printed and bound in Canada
The information in this book is for educational purposes only. It is not
intended to replace the advice of a physician or medical practitioner. Please
see your health care provider before beginning any new health program.
Note: The data is accurate at the time of publication. However, food
manufacturers may change their ingredients at any time without notice.
Your
Complete Guide to
and More
DANA CARPENDER
Author of the best-selling 500 Low-Carb Recipes
Mill• ••
, ....
tlUILY, .UUOI '" ITU
Contents
I ntrod uction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 29
Beverages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32
Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 48
Fast Food Restaurants ............... 155
6 I DANA CARPENDER'S NEW CARB & CALORIE COUNTER
In trod uction
Hello, low-carb dieter! Whether you're new to the low-carb lifestyle,
or have been doing this for a while, I hope you'll find this book a
useful tool to achieving weight loss, abundant energy, and robust
good health.
I've written a lot of words about the low-carbohydrate lifestyle in
the past few years, and I won't try to repeat them all here. But I
would like to offer the condensed version, as it were-what I feel are
the most vital tips for low-carb success.
Know The Basics
• First, and perhaps most important, get clear on this: Whatever
you do to lose weight is what you must do for the rest of your
life to keep it off. And if carbs are a problem for you now, they
will continue to be a health problem for you until the day you
die. Always remind yourself that there is no finish line .
• Because you're in this for life, don't focus on losing your weight
as quickly as possible. Instead, work on making low-carbing the
enjoyable lifestyle it can be, while still achieving your goals. In
particular, do not decide that if low-carb is good, then no carb
must be better, and cut out everything but eggs, meat, and
cheese. You can't eat that way forever, and you know it. You need
to incorporate the widest variety of low-carb foods you can, to add
flavor and interest, not to mention vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• It's important to know about what are called "impact carbs,"
"useable carbs," "net carbs," or "effective carbs." These terms
I 7
all refer to the grams of carbohydrate that you can actually
digest and absorb. What carbohydrates can't you digest or
absorb? Fiber! The carbohydrate chains that make up dietary
fibers are just too big for the human gut to digest and absorb,
which is why we can't live on grass like cows do. Accordingly, you
can subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohy-
drate to get the number of grams of carbohydrate you actually
need to worry about. In this book, we call this number "net carbs."
This approach dramatically increases the amount of vegetables,
fruits, nuts, seeds, and other plant foods you can eat.
• It is my experience that a low-carbohydrate diet is a superb
way to overcome genuine obesity and the health problems that
come with it-but it's not particularly useful for achieving that
fashionably malnourished look. If you're a size 4 trying to become
a size 0, I probably can't help you, and furthermore, I don't want
to! It's about health, not about making yourself vanish!
• If you're new to low-carbing, be aware that the first week can be
rough. If, like most people, you've been giving your body a little
carbohydrate every few hours, your body is used to running on
sugar, and probably hasn't been making much of the enzymes you
need to burn fat for fuel. If you burn through your body's stores
of sugar before your fat-burning enzyme levels increase, you may
"bonk"-feel terribly tired and wrung-out for a day or two. Not
everyone goes through this (I didn't) but if it happens to you, know
that for most people it lasts no more than few days. When it's over,
you'll be burning fat for fuel, and have more energy than you ever
imagined, because you're carrying your supply with you!
8 I DANA CARPENDER'S NEW CARB & CALORIE COUNTER
• If along with feeling tired, you feel kind of achy, weak, or crampy,
then potassium loss-called "hypokalemia"-is likely to be your
problem. And if this happens to you, get more potassium right
away. Your heart needs potassium to run properly! Don't mess
around. The best low-carb source of potassium is avocados; one
California avocado (the black-skinned ones) has 2.5 grams of net
carbs and 660 milligrams of potassium. Green leafy vegetables
are also a good low-carb source of potassium, as is fresh pork,
fresh fish, cantaloupe, and almonds. Indeed, it's best to include
these things in your diet from day one.
You can also take potassium tablets, if you like, but be aware
that the doses tend to be low, at just 99 milligrams per tablet,
when you need 2000 to 3000 milligrams of potassium per day.
Another way to supplement is to use Morton's Lite Salt, which
combines the usual sodium-based salt with potassium-based
salt. (CAUTION: If you are on blood pressure medication of any
kind, check with your pharmacist or doctor before taking potas-
sium supplements. Some blood pressure medications work by
making your body hang on to potassium, and that makes it pos-
sible to get too much, which is as dangerous as too little.)
Note that potassium imbalance is a temporary problem,
caused by your body's shifting over from a high-carb diet, which
makes you throw off potassium and retain water, to a low-carb
diet, which makes you dump all that excess water before your
body stops throwing off the potassium. Just eat your good potas-
sium sources, and your body will sort it all out in a week or two.
INTRODUCTION I 9
Tips for Finding YOUR Low-Carb Lifestyle
• There are many approaches to controlling carbohydrates In
your diet. If all you've heard about is Atkins and/or The South
Beach Diet, and you've been unhappy or uncomfortable on
these diets, don't give up-do some research, and find the
approach that works for your body and your life. In my book
How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds, I outline
more than a half a dozen different approaches to controlling
your carbohydrate intake, and therefore your insulin levels. No
need for a one-size-fits-all diet.
• Pay attention to your body to learn your "critical carbohydrate
level"-the number of grams per day of carbohydrate you must
stay below in order to lose weight. For most people this will be
between 15 and 60 grams per day. Only time and attention will
tell you your critical carbohydrate level.
• You can get an idea of where your critical carbohydrate level is
likely to be by checking how many of the signs of carbohydrate
intolerance you have. Here's a list of indicators, things that have
been linked to carb intolerance. How many apply to you?
I have had a weight problem since I was young.
I have bad energy slumps, especially in the late
afternoon.
I get tired and/or shaky when I get hungry.
10 I DANA CARPENDER'S NEW CARS & CALORIE COUNTER
I'm depressed and irritable for no reason.
I binge badly or frequently on carbohydrate foods.
I carry most of my weight on my abdomen.
I have high blood pressure.
I have high triglycerides.
I have high cholesterol.
I have adult onset diabetes.
I have heart disease.
I have had a female cancer (breast, cervical, ovarian,
uterine).
I have had a stroke.
I am an alcoholic.
I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, or the symptoms
of it.
Obesity runs in my family.
High blood pressure runs in my family.
High triglycerides run in my family.
High cholesterol runs in my family.
Adult onset diabetes runs in my family.
Heart disease runs in my family.
Female cancers run in my family (breast, cervical,
ovarian, uterine).
Stroke runs in my family.
Alcoholism runs in my family.
Polycystic ovarian syndrome runs in my family.
