Carb Counting Practice
Looking to get a little better at carb counting? Here you can find tons of practice examples ranging from very easy to very difficult, all with complete answers and explanations.
New to Carb Counting?
If you're new to carb counting, watch the video and read the article linked below for a full introduction into how to count carbs. Once you feel more comfortable, try out the problems here to see how you're doing.
Online Guide to Counting Carbs
You can also find a video full of carb counting practice problems and walkthroughs here.
Please note that the nutritional values found for the foods on this page are for practice purposes only and may not reflect the actual nutritional values of real foods.
Basic Carb Counting Review
We'll keep it simple to start. Below are three basic questions to test your knowledge about how to count carbohydrates. Some are multiple choice and some are fill in the blank. The answers are provided in the dropdown following the problems!
When counting carbohydrates, which number will you use when calculating how much insulin to give; total carbohydrates or net carbohydrates?
How do you count fiber when counting carbohydrates?
How do you count sugar alcohols when counting carbohydrates?
Which number do we start with first when counting carbohydrates?
Click to show answers
The number of net carbohydrates is the value that you will use when calculating how much insulin to give.
Fiber is subtracted from the total number of carbohydrates.
Half of the amount of sugar alcohols is subtracted from the total number of carbohydrates.
The first number that you should begin with is the amount of total carbohydrates (or serving size, depending on the specific order you choose).
Some Simple Counts
Now we can begin with some simple carb counts. To keep it easy, all of the nutritional information for four example foods is provided in the corresponding table. Use this information for the following problems.
Click here to view a high-resolution version of this image.
Part 1
How many net carbohydrates are in one apple?
If Sarah were to drink one, 16oz. bottle of soda, how many net carbohydrates would she be consuming?
If Joseph was planning to eat 80 grams of chips, how many carbohydrates would he be consuming?
Jacob plans to eat one, 10g piece of chicken and eat one apple (100 grams). How many carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Katherine plans to have two, 16oz. bottles of soda after her soccer game. How many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
Click to show answers for Part 1
20 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber = 15 grams net carbs
50 grams total carbs – 10 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 45 grams net carbs
(25 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber) = 20 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 40 grams net carbs
Chicken: 30 grams total carbs – 10 grams fiber = 20 grams net carbs
Apple: 20 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber = 15 grams net carbs
Total: 20 grams (from chicken) + 15 grams (from apple) = 35 grams net carbs
50 grams total carbs – 10 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 45 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 90 grams net carbs
Note: Please don't actually drink two bottles of soda. That's unhealthy wether you have diabetes or not.
Part 2
If Emily eats two apples (200 g), how many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
David drinks half of a 16 oz. bottle of soda. How many net carbohydrates does he consume?
If Alex eats 60 grams of chips, how many total carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Jessica plans to eat one apple (100 g) and drink one 16 oz. bottle of soda. How many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
Michael eats 20 grams of chicken and drinks two 16 oz. bottles of soda. How many total carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Click to show answers for Part 2
20 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber = 15 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 30 grams net carbs
50 grams total carbs – 10 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 45 grams net carbs x 1/2 serving = 22.5 grams net carbs
25 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber = 20 grams net carbs x 1.5 servings = 30 grams net carbs
Apple: 20 grams total carbs – 5 grams fiber = 15 grams net carbs
Soda: 50 grams total carbs – 10 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 45 grams net carbs
Total: 15 grams (from apple) + 45 grams (from soda) = 60 grams net carbs
Chicken: 30 grams total carbs – 10 grams fiber = 20 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 40 grams net carbs
Soda: 50 grams total carbs – 10 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 45 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 90 grams net carbs
Total: 40 grams (from apple) + 90 grams (from soda) = 130 grams net carbs
More Complex Counts
Give these problems a go once you're ready to try out some more complex carb counting. Just like before, all of the relevant information has already been provided to you in the corresponding table.
Unlike the previous examples, many of these carb counts may include decimals in the calculations, but you can still use the exact same formula that you've been using already!
Click here to view a high-resolution version of this image.
Part 1
If Oliver eats 100 grams of oatmeal and drinks 240 ml of almond milk, how many net carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Sophia plans to eat a sweet potato (130 g) and a protein bar (50 g) for lunch. How many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
If Ethan eats 200 grams of lentils, how many total carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Isabella eats 30 grams of dark chocolate and 150 grams of avocado. How many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
If Liam eats 150 grams of Greek yogurt and drinks 480 ml of almond milk (two servings), how many total carbohydrates will he be consuming?
Click to show answers for Part 1
Oatmeal: 54 grams total carbs – 8 grams fiber = 46 grams net carbs
Almond Milk: 2 grams total carbs – 1 gram fiber = 1 gram net carbs
Total: 46 grams (from oatmeal) + 1 gram (from almond milk) = 47 grams net carbs
Sweet Potato: 27 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber = 23 grams net carbs
Protein Bar: 20 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber – 6 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 17 grams net carbs
Total: 23 grams (from sweet potato) + 17 grams (from protein bar) = 40 grams net carbs
20 grams total carbs – 8 grams fiber = 12 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 24 grams net carbs
Dark Chocolate: 15 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber – 5 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 12.5 grams net carbs
Avocado: 12 grams total carbs – 10 grams fiber = 2 grams net carbs
Total: 12.5 grams (from dark chocolate) + 2 grams (from avocado) = 14.5 grams net carbs
Greek Yogurt: 12 grams total carbs (no fiber or sugar alcohol) = 12 grams net carbs
Almond Milk: 2 grams total carbs – 1 gram fiber = 1 gram net carbs x 2 servings = 2 grams net carbs
Total: 12 grams (from Greek yogurt) + 2 grams (from almond milk) = 14 grams total carbs
Part 2
If Ava eats 100 grams of lentils and 50 grams of dark chocolate, how many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
James plans to eat 130 grams of sweet potato and 150 grams of avocado. How many net carbohydrates will he be consuming?
If Mia drinks 480 ml of almond milk (two servings) and eats 150 grams of Greek yogurt, how many total carbohydrates will she be consuming?
William eats 200 grams of oatmeal. How many net carbohydrates will he be consuming?
If Charlotte eats 30 grams of dark chocolate and a protein bar (50 g), how many net carbohydrates will she be consuming?
Click to show answers for Part 2
Lentils: 20 grams total carbs – 8 grams fiber = 12 grams net carbs
Dark Chocolate: 15 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber – 5 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 12.5 grams net carbs
Total: 12 grams (from lentils) + 12.5 grams (from dark chocolate) = 24.5 grams net carbs
Sweet Potato: 27 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber = 23 grams net carbs
Avocado: 12 grams total carbs – 10 grams fiber = 2 grams net carbs
Total: 23 grams (from sweet potato) + 2 grams (from avocado) = 25 grams net carbs
Almond Milk: 2 grams total carbs – 1 gram fiber = 1 gram net carbs x 2 servings = 2 grams net carbs
Greek Yogurt: 12 grams total carbs (no fiber or sugar alcohol) = 12 grams net carbs
Total: 2 grams (from almond milk) + 12 grams (from Greek yogurt) = 14 grams total carbs
54 grams total carbs – 8 grams fiber = 46 grams net carbs x 2 servings = 92 grams net carbs
Dark Chocolate: 15 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber – 5 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 12.5 grams net carbs
Protein Bar: 20 grams total carbs – 4 grams fiber – 6 ÷ 2 grams sugar alcohol = 17 grams net carbs
Total: 12.5 grams (from dark chocolate) + 17 grams (from protein bar) = 29.5 grams net carbs
Fill In The Blanks
Ready for something more difficult? Once you're familiar with the formula used for carb counting you can try filling in the blank spaces on this table with the appropriate numbers. Although this isn't something you'll actually have to do when carb counting, it does help you get more familiar with the math behind it. The first problem has been solved as an example below.
Assume that the values in this table represent those in one serving of each food.
Click here to view a high-resolution version of this image. A printable version can also be found here.
Example Problem
For the first row in the table (the banana) row, we are missing the amount of fiber. However, we have all of the other important information that we can then use to solve for how much fiber there is. First, we'll use our standard carb counting formula:
Net Carbs = (Total Carbohydrates - Dietary Fiber - (Sugar Alcohol ÷ 2)) • Number of Servings
Now let's plug in the values that we do know.
15 grams = (20 grams - Dietary Fiber - (0 grams ÷ 2)) • 1 serving
And simplify...
15 grams = 20 grams - Dietary Fiber
Now we have a nice simple calculation that we can do. We know that there are 15 grams of net carbs and 20 grams of total carbs, and since net carbs equals total carbs minus dietary fiber, that means that there must be 5 grams of dietary fiber! If you're a fan of algebra, you can rearrange this equation to solve for dietary fiber.
20 grams - 15 grams = Dietary Fiber
Dietary Fiber = 5 grams
Please note, these calculations are not what you'll be doing for carb counting, but rather they are a way to help you memorize and become very familiar with the formula. Try filling in the rest of the empty squares on the table yourself.
Need More Practice?
This video contains tons of carb counting practice problems with full explanations of the answers. Give it a watch for another chance to test your skills!
Putting It All Together
Ready to go to the next step? Read this article on how to convert these final carb counts into units of insulin using insulin ratios. A full tutorial plus practice problems are available as well!
