Hi, guys - I have a question for someone experienced with alternatives. I am on maintenance, but still using shakes and bars pretty regularly as snacks for the convenience. Recently, I purchased some pure protein bars and shakes and my skin is breaking out something awful. Up until a couple of weeks go, I stuck with IP products and had no problem.

I am 50-ish and do get very minor breakouts, usually associated with TOM. (Not really monthly anymore, but you get the point.) This is something all together different!

Has anyone else had this problem? Could it be the whey protein, and if so, is soy protein less likely to cause a problem?

I have tried to think of other things that have changed that could have caused this, but nothing is obvious. Thought is was a new fabric softener, but washed my pillowcases, towels, and washcloths without any softener and no improvement. No changes is skin care routine, either - I'm very careful with that because I do have sensitive skin.

Advice, anyone?

Do you have a recipe for your pizza sauce?

thanks,
Chloe

As far as I remember when someone else asked they said that the oatmeal from nashua with less carbs was unrestricted because the carbs are less then 8. I have used many alternatives with some sugar in them and I do believe some of the ideal protein food has grams of sugar in it. I am attaching a photo of the peach mango IP drink and it list 3grams sugar so your fine

I do believe the proti-diet pizza comes with its own sauce. I just ordered some and it states on the info from nashua how to make the sauce. Hope this helps

Here's some info on sugar alcohols: (it is long and this has been compiled from various posts on 3fatChicks, so thanks to all who contributed). The last link is from Evepet, a great source of info.

IP Artificial Sweeteners
http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/19059967.php

There hasn't been much research on the effects of stevia, and being a plant extract, it has to be proven unsafe before it can be taken off the market (as ephedra was). And while it has a long track record of apparent safety in it's natural form, even that has never been used in the amounts or concentrations that people are now using them. The little research that has been done (that I could find) found a link to reproductive system birth defects in rodents born of mother rodents eating stevia during pregnancy.

I'm not going to be bearing children, so I'm not overly concerned with moderate use of stevia, but I'm not going to be replacing other sweeteners until I know more (probably checking the German research, because Germany does far more research of herbal products than the USA.

I've done a lot of research of the various sweeteners, and some do have some risks, though not more than other foods artificial and natural. It just reinforces in my mind, that variety and moderation are key, no matter what you do. Eating tons of soy is also not very good for you, but moderate soy intake is fine unless you have some very specific hormonal products.

Aspartame is associated with some problems such as benign (noncancerous) pituitary tumors, and neural tube {spinal} birth defects to the fetus, however it's not really the aspartame - it's the folate deficiency. Aspartame (like many natural foods) depletes folates {I'm not sure by which mechanism, just that it does}. So if you're not eating enough folates in your diet, aspartame can cause or worsen a folate deficiency. Folate deficiency is a cause of most (if not all) of the problems associated with aspartame.

There's a very easy fix - if you're going to be using aspartame regularly, make sure you're eating 5 or more servings of veggies. And if you're not going to eat a lot of veggies, at least take a folic acid supplement.

As for the insulin response, there's been a lot of research and the vast majority of it has found that the artificial sweeteners endorsed by the ADA (American Diabetes Association) do NOT cause an insulin reaction. The few that found insulin response in non-caloric sweeteners was not with aspartame and Splenda it has been with the "natural" sugar alcohols. Some of these seem to cause greater and lesser insulin responses in individuals (meaning some people have an insulin response and some do not).

Personally, I'm happy with using artificial and natural low-calorie sweeteners, but I use less than I used to, and I use a wide variety (including stevia) because I believe that the problems associated with all and any of the sweeteners occur because of overuse.

Though I definite suggest taking a folic acid and spreading out one's sweetener use to include as much variety as possible.

Also there does seem to be some truth to the argument that all sweeteners can exacerbate a sweet tooth, and the more you use, and can increase one's threshold for tasting sweets (the more sweet you eat, natural or not, the less sweet foods in general start to taste, so you may find yourself using more and more.

Personally, I find that sugar does so far more than artificial sweeteners, and I've also found (since switching from mostly aspartame to a wide variety of sweeteners) that using a variety of sweeteners also seem to have less of an effect than using just one.

And I've found that gradually reducing sweetener use and sweet fruits, has made my taste buds more sensitive to all food. And by doing it gradually, I didn't even feel any deprivation (for example, I started mixing in more water or unsweetened tea into my Crystal Light).

a post on my blog about sugar alcohols, including a chart which shows where each falls on the glycemic index scale, which is quite informative I think. You may find it interesting and helpful. Here's the link:
http://diettalktoday.com/what-the-he...hols/#comments
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Monica, you are right. The pizza comes with two packets for each serving. The sauce and then the dough. The sauce is good. When I do the pizza I add some veggie shreds cheese, some mushrooms and onions and peppers and I found some pepperoni that are about the size of a dime and add a few of those. I don't have it that often as that's adding fat and things I probably should not, but it's such a treat occasionally. Like has been mentioned in the past, roll it out between sheets of parchment paper to get it real thin and make a larger crust size. That way there is room for lots of veggies.

Enjoy
Molly

Anything 8g NET Carbs or less is unrestricted, including the Proti Diet oatmeals I use the Cinnamon Spice and Maple Brown Sugar ones all the time!

RE: Sugar in the smoothies, I am not surprised there is some sugar in there, there is sugar even in some IP products - what matters is the carb count. The Phase 1 diet is balanced with consideration for the fact that there are sugars (and some wheat products) in the packets, we just aren't supposed to ADD to what is already there.

The pizza sauce comes with the Proti Diet pizza mix, but if you were looking to make something from scratch, LizRR's Fun With Veggie Purees thread has her recipe for a red pepper puree that I have used often in place of marinara sauce.

HI Liz,

I have very sensitive skin too and the cold weather is irritating my skin. I use pure protein bars and have had no trouble. I also use whey protein and not soy because I take Synthroid.

Happy New Year to you and your family. Congrats on your accomplishments

Hi everyone! Hope Christmas and the holidays have been filled with family, friends, and blessings!
I am re-booting after 3 wild carefree, eat everything sweet in sight days! Prior to my "binge, I've been using some IP alternatives for my P1 days and also my "regular" diet days.
Does anyone use Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold Standard Whey Protein? My son uses it and I've tried it and it's not too bad, and only 3 carbs. And it's a fraction of the cost of IP! I can get 70 servings for less than the price of 2 boxes of IP packets!
Plus, I'm using Atkins bars with 2-4 net carbs instead of IP. Does anyone else use them? Do they work for you? What I could read about them online seemed to indicate that they would do fine, but the light meal/snack bars only have 10G of protein and 160 calories. The meal bars are 240 cals and 20 grams of protein. But again, they're around a dollar a bar at Sam's instead of $4.00 a bar for IP bars, and they're non-restricted since only 2-4 net carbs.
Thanks!
Ken

Atkins bars are not the best choice due to fat! I fine oh yeah bars in small size from walmart perfect, also simply bars from costco both cost around 1.50 a bar. If you find simply bars the coconut lemon are amazing!

Also Ken i have not used the powder you have (im in canada) however the chocolate peanut butter ISO flex powder is amazing! I buy it at GNC or any health/ body building store costs me 98$ for 6lbs= 200 servings. I too need to get back on track after a few days of holiday eating. Every few months i give myself a few days to cheat otherwise i would go mental!

Hi everyone! Hope everyone's Christmas Season is going well.

Interesting to read the comments/recommendations re Syntrax protein powders. I'm just finishing P3, but know that I'll want to keep a couple of flavors of good protein powder on hand, and am just about needing to restock. The Choc Truffle definitely sounds good and is on my list.

In the past I've enjoyed having a cappuccino protein shake blended with my morning decaf coffee, and can see myself still wanting to do this on occasion even in maintenance. I'm wondering if anybody has used the Syntrax cappuccino blend? http://www.thelowcarbgrocery.com/cat...th=132_222_579

I looked up the stats on the Optimum Nutrition mix, it looks good! I just started using some Syntrax Nectar drink mixes myself, a $40 jug works out to about $1.50 per serving and the flavors are GOOD!

RE: Atkins bars - be VERY careful. Atkins is NOT low fat, and most (if not all) of the Atkins products are more than 30% total calories from fat, which is NOT in line with IP products. There are LOTS of other, equally inexpensive bars out there that are a lot closer to what IP makes.

Ken, I've used the Optimum Nutrition 100% Gold my entire time. Some flavors are gross though. I use the Double Chocolate as my mocha drink, and then the French Vanilla too. I add Capella flavoring drops a lot to change flavors for the drinks. I have a strawberry here that is just so sweet and awful tasting. I can't doctor that up to make it any good, and yet, I haven't tossed it yet. I buy the powder from Amazon.

I've read other posts where others use it also -- no too many, but others have definitely used it.

Good luck with the reboot!

Ooh, glad it has your seal of approval, Scorbett! I'll have to look into the Syntrax also.