I recently returned to work at a place where I had been four years ago. Four years ago was before I started my keto journey not knowing what 20 grams of carbs looked like. I weighed about 230 pounds then – maybe a little more. I didn’t weigh myself during that time because I was disgusted with how I looked and how I felt. So, you can imagine people’s surprise when I waltzed back in about 65 pounds lighter. Of course, everyone wanted to know how I did it. I told them keto.
I explained that keto means you burn fat instead of glucose. How do I do that? I eat 20 grams of net carbs or less a day. Most people nodded and went on their way. They understood that meant giving up their comfort foods and many are not motivated to do that, nor do they necessarily need to. I’m the first one to say that keto is not easy and needs to be a choice you make every day. But, one coworker asked me, “So, what does 20 grams of carbs look like?” Hmmm. I didn’t have a quick answer for her. I had to come home and do some research.
The carbs I take in tend to be non-starchy vegetables. They are low in carbs and offer good nutritional vitamins and minerals. These are things like broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. 20 net carbs of cauliflower would be 10 cups. Good luck overeating cauliflower! 20 grams of carbs would be 5 cups of either broccoli or asparagus. These are carbs that are filled with nutrients and you can eat a lot of them before hitting your limit for ketosis.
20 Grams of Carbs – Items
If you are allowed 20 grams of carbs on keto, why do we say you can’t eat things like bread, pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables? Well, technically you could, but you are going to use up your carb allotment for the day quickly and you aren’t going to get much bang for your buck. 20 grams of net carbs would be:
- 1.5 slices of bread, thinly sliced
- ¾ of a small potato
- ⅓ cup of rice
- ⅓ cup pasta
- 4 hard pretzels
- ¾ cup of oatmeal
- ¼ cup of plain chips.
On top of the fact that you wouldn’t get much of them, they also don’t give you the vitamins and minerals you need for a healthy diet. Also, you would have them in one sitting and have absolutely no carbs left for the rest of your day. It’s much easier to give these up, and just focus on getting what you need from the non-starchy vegetables you can eat almost to your heart’s content.
So what about the truly forbidden foods? The sugary ones that we crave? There are 20 grams of net carbs in ½ a can of Pepsi. You could eat ½ a slice of cake (about ¾ of an inch thick) that’s unfrosted and be at about 20 net carbs. There would be about 20 net carbs in ½ a slice of apple pie. There’s also about 20 net carbs in half of my previously favourite chocolate bar; the Mars bar. I guess you could have a couple of sips of Pepsi and a bite of Mars bar and that would be your allotment of carbs for the day.
Low Carb Foods
What about foods that are low in carbs? Well, for 20 carbs a day, according to Heck A Good Foods, you could eat:
- 3 pounds of cheese;
- 30 eggs;
- 44 pounds of butter.
Obviously, this is not recommended, but it shows you how we on the keto lifestyle fill our diet without carbs and keep feeling full.
Personally, for me, it’s about the quality rather than the quantity of food that includes carbs. Technically I could have those things listed above and still likely remain in ketosis and continue on my way. But I would not be able to have any carbs other than those listed for the rest of the day. I would have to take supplements because I wouldn’t be getting the nutrients I need from my food, which I think all nutrition experts agree is not ideal. Most importantly, I would still be craving those foods. The more of those sugary or starchy foods you have, the more you crave. I would feel like I was depriving myself of something. So, I stick with the cauliflower and broccoli and asparagus. They help me feel good about what I’m eating and give me the energy I need to continue with my day.
Wendy
