I don’t know what it is about humans, but we always like to count and measure things, many times unnecessarily to our own demise.
“.. but I only put about x g of sugar in my coffee. Is that okay?” Before you think I’m referring to you, most likely not. I’ve been hearing this from many people. :)
Most of us have taken the < 25 g of carbohydrates too literally. It’s there as a fudge factor, not a limit. Because hidden carbohydrates are everywhere. Slips happen. I couldn’t help but reach over and have a couple fries when I went out to dinner the other day. But that’s okay, because the buffer is there.
The buffer loses meaning though, when we intentionally plan to get to 25 g of carbs a day. Being surrounded by processed foods and junk food everywhere we go, the better strategy would be to maintain the buffer, instead of planning to hit 25 g daily. Chances are, we’ll have no problems reaching 25 g when we aim for 0 g. If we aim for 25 g, we’d likely end up a lot higher.
I’d suggest instead, to keep it simple.
Instead of counting carbohydrates, choose which foods you will eat and will not eat (e.g. the list on the initial handout) It’s like having someone order for you at a restaurant. It takes the thinking out.
Because if you go through the day counting carbohydrates, everytime you pass by a cookie you’re deciding whether or not you're going to eat it. And that gets tiring. No one has that much discipline.
So don’t put yourself in a situation of making hundreds of micro-decisions daily. Just make one decision once. Trust the system.
This approach is very true in my own personal case. It's much easier to simply have certain things you don't eat and certain things you try to seek out to eat (nutrient dense recipes/foods).