How is cheese a free food??

[tracysev]

I checked the nutritional information and it states that 1oz has 0.7g of carbs. That can add up. I rely on cheese for snack food & I just want to make sure that I am not blowing my Induction phase of the diet by eating too much cheese.

Do we still count these carbs?? I'm so confused.......

[Atriana]

I think that the Atkins Center advises no more than 4 ounces of cheese on induction. In DANDR (page 96 paperback) he says "All cheeses have some carbohydrate content, and quantities are governed by that"
Hope that helps you some.

[r.mines]

Eggs also have about .6 carbs each. I suspect Atkins doesn't want people to worry too much about these small amounts of carbs at first, because just getting off rice, potatoes, etc. and onto protein/fat is enough to worry about without sweating the details too much. If you're worried about it, I'd suggest limiting cheese to less than four ounces per day, and eggs to maybe 2-3.

Rachel

[tracysev]

Thank you both for your messages...it helps. I wll definitly have to cut my cheese down a bit (I'll just have to find another snack).

I also had no idea about the eggs. I usually just have them for breakfast...so I should be ok.

I am so far successful staying within the 20g carbs (most of the time under) so it's been pretty easy. Plus, I got the Atkins cook book & I'm off to the grocery store tonight to pick up some supplies!!!

:wave:

[Crowis]

Carbs are in most items excepting pure meat. But keep in mind that even on induction you should eat some carbohydrates.

Even if you ate twenty slices of american cheese a day which is nearly 2200 calories, you'd only be getting about 16 carbs (which is well within the confines of the Atkins diet).

I agree that worrying about the carbs in cheese is a good Idea if your eating it by the brick. . .but an occasional snack isn't so bad, especially if your watching your other carbs.

:D
Mike

[Natrushka]

Originally posted by Crowis
Carbs are in most items excepting pure meat

.. and fats (oils).

Nat

[nsmith4366]

Thanks Mike, I love cheese. I can't have cream (lactose is too high or ricotta same reason), but very fatty and aged cheeses are very low in lactose (and I get calcium too)! As for the carbs, the very full fat cheeses/brie, havarti, emmenthal, edam, meunster, stilton etc are so high in fat they are VERY low in carbs. I eat cheese freely but never gorge myself/it's filling!
I'm not on induction - but my only other carbs come from about a cup of spinach or some eggs during the day. 1 oz of cheese WILL stop me from eating ANYTHING carby anytime. That's at the cost of less than 1 carb. Small price to pay.
Yeah, limit cheeses, if you eat them eat the fattiest ones that you can. Oh and I avoid salty cheeses for the same reason I avoid bacon 300mg salt per PIECE. Yike. Most fatty cheeses are between 80 - 190 mg salt per oz - so that adds up too. Lowerfat cheeses have more carbs, and aged cheeses have LOTs of salt.

Oh the power of CHEESE.
Pass the brie please!
Nsmith4366

[europoz]

 

[Natrushka]

Europoz, they aren't referring to the carb count of cheeses when they say "free" but rather to the fact that Atkin's calls cheese a "free food" on his plan, just like eggs.

Nat

[vitaka]

Originally posted by nsmith4366
very fatty and aged cheeses are very low in lactose (and I get calcium too)! As for the carbs, the very full fat cheeses/brie, havarti, emmenthal, edam, meunster, stilton etc are so high in fat they are VERY low in carbs.I find that hard cheeses can stall me but not the soft ones. Is everyone like that too?