Depends on who you talk to. But Dr Westman and the other doctors I follow say count total carbs. For weight loss keep the count under 20 total for the day.

Avoid snacking if at all possible but in the beginning that could be hard. But after a person starts eating better those cravings and hunger usually subside, making it easier.

Eating many times a day of foods that raise insulin levels eventually causes insulin resistance. Eating carbs raises insulin. Insulin resistance means the pancreas has to put out more insulin to do the same job of controlling blood sugar compared to a person that is insulin sensitive (metabolically healthy). Insulin is a fat storage hormone. Try to keep eating to meal time only. As hunger becomes controlled you may be able to go to two meals a day rather than three. Another thing that will naturally happen over time is you may eat total less energy (calories) because of the satiety effect of your new eating habits. But in the beginning success of transitioning is more important so eat basically all you want of the allowed foods while managing the amount of food portion size of anything that has many carbs and eliminating completely any high carb foods.

A proper ketogenic diet only involves cutting the carbs to a level the body naturally goes into nutritional ketosis. Anything in the store that says "keto" or "keto friendly" best to avoid at least in the beginning. In time a person might be able to use them as treats or something but they generally are not all that friendly to a ketogenic diet. Eat whole foods that generally don't have a bar code or are manufactured in a factory is a good rule for success.

If a person reaches their goal, whatever that may be, then they can reevaluate what they are eating and decide if they want to include some more variety or increase the carb count. But in the beginning keep it simple.

I will list some links to doctors and messages I think are good.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dr+ken+berry+keto+101

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dr+eric+westman+keto+made+simple
Some place with Dr Westman you will find his page 4 food list or do a search for it. He calls it a "prescription strength" food list. In his clinic he instructs people if it is not on the list do not eat it. 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dr+david+unwin+spoons+full+of+sugar

I have shared in the past a food list that I made up about four years ago for a lady that ask me for help. It is pretty basic. It will be at the bottom of the page as a link for anyone interested in it. Same information in both, one is a PDF and the other is a spreadsheet file. Hope at least some of this helps. Different people have different success rates with a ketogenic diet. Nearly all people feel better. Most lose weight although some do not. Some going to a more or totally carnivorous diet seem to lose weight better, eating more meats and less or no plant food.

Keto Food list.xls (13KB - 226 downloads)

Keto low carb foods.pdf (187KB - 194 downloads)