Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients along with fat and protein. They are used for immediate energy or they are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for energy at a later time. Some people cut carbs and try to get their body into a state of ketosis, which means you are burning stored fat for energy. Other people try to increase their carbs to gain weight. In either situation, if you want to count the carbs on labels, there are several steps you need to follow.
Step 1
Find out the serving size. Serving sizes in foods vary if they are single items or bulk items. For example, the serving size in a bulk item like cereal will be measured out in cup increments such as 3/4 cup or 1 cup. A serving size in a cookie will be in ounces or grams.
Step 2
Find out how many servings you are eating. When you look at a prepackaged item, it will give all the nutrient content in one serving. Look to see how many servings there are for the whole item. For example, a cookie can have 2 to 3 servings.
Step 3
Look for the total carbs. On the ingredient label, you will see "total carbohydrate." Take this number and multiple it by the amount of servings in the package or that you are going to eat. For example, if a cookie has 27 g of carbs per serving and there are 2 servings for the whole cookie, then it actually has 54 g of carbs. If a 1/2 cup serving of cereal has 30 g of carbs and you eat 1 cup, then youhave consumed 60 g carbs.
Step 4
Look for the fiber content. Fiber is a non-digestible substance that comes from carbohydrate foods, but it is considered a "non-impact" carb. This means the body cannot break it down and it does not affect blood sugar levels. When you read a food label, the amount of fiber each serving contains will be next to the words "dietary fiber." Track this amount.
Step 5
Find out the net carbs. After you have figured out your serving size, the amount of servings you are going to eat and the total carbs, you can now figure out the "net" carbs which are the ones that are usable to your body. As an example, if a product with 30 g of carbs has 3 servings and 3 g or fiber per serving, it would have a total of 90 g of carbs and 9 g of fiber. If you ate all 3 servings, you would subtract 9 g of fiber from 90 g of carbs. Your total carb count would then be 81 grams.
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