What Are Carbs?
Carbs, or total carbohydrates, are a form of macronutrients that your body uses for energy. On a nutrition facts label, you can find carbs broken down into some combination of these components: Jump to the net carb calculator here!
Sugars, such as glucose or fructose. There is also a separate line for added sugars, meaning those not naturally occurring in the food. Fiber, which your body cannot digest (but may help feed “good” gut bacteria). Sugar alcohols, which are explained further below. Starches, which convert to glucose when you digest them.
On a nutrition label, starches are not listed separately, but they are the remaining carbs that are not any of the other above types. You’ll always see sugars and dietary fiber broken down separately as this is legally required by the FDA [*], but sugar alcohols sometimes don’t get listed separately. Fortunately, most keto products have been listing them separately lately. You may also see allulose listed separately, which we’ll discuss below.
What Are Net Carbs?
These carbs only count the carbohydrates that directly contribute to your body’s energy production. Some carbs, due to their molecular structure, are either not digested or not metabolized in your body and have no energy value or blood sugar impact — so these are not included in net carbs. When comparing total carbs vs net carbs, pay attention to this key difference. Net carbs do not take fiber or (some) sugar alcohols into account, because your body does not fully digest them and they do not impact your blood sugar.
Examples: How To Calculate Net Carbs From Nutrition Labels
It’s easy to learn how to calculate net carbs on keto, because you can find all this information on your food labels. Here are a couple of examples of how to calculate net carbs from labels:
NET CARBS = TOTAL CARBS – FIBER – SUGAR ALCOHOLS & ALLULOSE
For example, a keto pancake with 13 grams of total carbohydrates, 9 grams of fiber, 2 grams of erythritol, and 1 gram of allulose would have 1 gram of net carbohydrates. (The math works out to 13g – 9g – 2g – 1g = 1g.)
Example 1 – With Allulose:
The nutrition label below is for Besti Monk Fruit Sweetener. It contains 4g total carbs and 4g allulose. You subtract the allulose from the total carb count. Therefore, the net carbs per serving is 4g – 4g = 0g grams of net carbs per serving.
Example 2 – With Fiber:
The nutrition label below is for Wholesome Yum Almond Flour. It contains 3g total carbs and 1g fiber. You subtract the fiber from the total carbs. Therefore, the net carbs per serving is 3g – 1g = 2g grams of net carbs per serving. Want an easier way to calculate net carbs without doing the math? Just bookmark this page and use the net carb calculator below.
Net Carb Calculator
How Many Net Carbs On Keto?
Staying under 20-25 net carbs on keto is the optimal number to reach the fat-burning state of ketosis quickly and stay there. If you are not sure about the quanties of allulose, erythritol, or other sugar alcohols, enter 0. This net carb calculator counts the net carbs in sugar alcohols besides erythritol as 50% of their carb count, because some carbs are typically bioavailable from sugar alcohols such as maltitol, sorbitol, etc. However, it varies from person to person. Some people may be able to enjoy up to 50 grams of net carbohydrates and still enter a fat-burning state. People who are more active can usually get away with a higher daily carb limit, while people who are insulin resistant, using net carbs to manage diabetes, or have been eating a carb-heavy diet for a long time might need a lower threshold to start. You can get handy printable keto cheat sheets that include the most important info about net carbohydrates, foods to eat, keto swaps for carb-filled foods, and more. Use the free macro calculator here! Select keto or low carb depending on the diet you want to follow, as well as your goal of weight loss, gain, or maintenance. The calculator will tell you how many carbs to eat for keto (as well as calories).
Should I Count Net Carbs Or Total Carbs?
Many ketogenic diet followers consider net carbohydrates a more sustainable way to track macros. This method works well for most people. Counting net carbohydrates also encourages eating more whole foods and veggies (since they contain fiber), which we consider a good thing here at Wholesome Yum. However, some people prefer to count total carb intake to reach ketosis more quickly or to avoid a keto plateau. Ultimately, test different counting methods to decide what works best for you! Focus on results such as how your clothes fit, how you feel, and the scale if you need to, but if you want to test the impact on ketosis specifically, you can use a blood monitor or ketone test strips to check if you’re in ketosis.
Start with focusing on net carbs, and only switch to total carbs if you have to. This way, you can enjoy plenty of leafy greens, low carb vegetables, and even keto fruit, all of which are filled with fiber.
If you don’t get the results you want, start by reducing sugar alcohols and low carb treats before switching to total carbs. Some people choose to count the carbs in sugar alcohols and sweeteners, but still subtract the fiber from total carbs.
Keto Food List With Carb Counts
Sign up here to get a free list of keto foods with net carb counts, so you don’t have to calculate them:
What About Sugar Alcohols?
Not everyone agrees about the impact of sugar alcohols on your metabolism. That’s because some sugar alcohols behave differently than others, and they can affect people differently as well. Some of us absorb and metabolize sugar alcohols quite a bit, while others don’t, and the type of sugar alcohol makes a big difference, too. Sugar alcohols such as erythritol and xylitol have a negligible impact on blood sugar [][]. Allulose is classified as a “rare sugar” rather than a sugar alcohol, but also demonstrates minimal impact on blood glucose [*]. Some prepackaged or sugar-free foods claim to be keto, but may spike your blood sugar instead because many food manufacturers use sugar alcohols with a higher glycemic index. (Glycemic index is the measure of how much a certain food will affect your blood sugar. White table sugar or simple carbs, such as white bread, rice, or potatoes, have a high glycemic impact. Foods containing carbs that also contain fiber or protein have a moderate glycemic impact. Foods with very low or no net carbohydrates typically have zero glycemic impact.) In particular, tread with caution on foods that contain maltitol, sorbitol, or isomalt, all of which have a higher glycemic index. Always check ingredients on food labels to get a better understanding of how foods will impact your goals. For more information on sugar alcohols, see this guide on sugar substitutes — and try these sweeteners, which all taste like sugar and contain 0 net carbs! However, testing your blood sugar after consuming these sweeteners is the only true way to know their impact on you.
