When Going by Labels?

  • Do you count Net Carbs or the whole carbs...

    Cause my store i work at sells these Low Carb Atkins bar and thye say 2 G Net Carbs, then I look at the back on the label. it has like 18g of Total carbs.. about the same as a chocolate bar, but 2 times the price...

    I have been going by Total carbs, and I am just curious which one is more correct
  • Hi, Kalikat!

    We don't count carbs on SBD. Did you read the book? It's really helpful. Anyways, having things like the low carb or SF chocolate bars has a lot of bad side effects for some people. They can cause cravings and the sugar alcohols can cause intestinal distress (we're talking the run to the bathroom kind). Some people on here have done fine with them. Just keep in mind that you can only have 75 cals of non-nutritious sweets and count the bar accordingly.
  • SBD is not a low carb diet. It is a healthy carb diet. There is a lot of good information in the books but also a lot of great information in the frequently asked question area. Read through the sticky notes and you'll find lots of good stuff. You want to make sure that the food you are reading the label on does not contain any of the items on the avoid list for whatever phase you are on. With SBD you are really trying to get away from processed foods.

    I searched for the ingredients of one of the bars on the internet and came up with the items below. I don't have my book here but I know that ghee, cocoa butter and coconut oil are considered unhealthy sources of oil/fat that we avoid on SDB since they are too high in transfats or saturated fats. Some low carb products are okay but you really have to look at the ingredients.

    Dr. Atkins Almond Brownie Advantage Bar
    Lowest carbohydrate complete meal replacement or snack bar. Only 2.6 carbs per bar. Sweetened with Sucralose. Ingredients: Isolated soy protein, glycerine, whey protein isolate, lecithin, water, almonds, cocoa, ghee (clarified butter), cocoa butter, natural coconut oil, natural flavors, potassium citrate, potassium chloride, citric acid, sucralose, potassium sorbate, vitamins and minerals
  • Ugh! That sounds disgusting. You are better off with a small handful of nuts or a slice of low fat cheese.
  • yep I'll stick with whole foods thanks very much! Those sugar alcohols are **** on the digestive track, I can attest to that!! I can't wait til the FDA finally regulates the whole NET carb trend, the only ones I don't count are fiber, the sugar alcohols I count most definately!

    MIchelle
  • lol.. i guess i better read the whole book, not just parts of it, eh... Thanks for the help
  • Here is my 2 cents - when on Phase 1 forget about labels and "low carb" and stick with the program. But once you're out of Phase 1, I think it changes a bit and does sometimes turn into a "low carb" diet. Because lets face it, we're going to go off plan sometimes, whether it's cause we need some chocolate (yes, sometimes we NEED it!), or maybe cause we want some form of bread or pasta, or because we're in a situation where we're starving and the only thing around is a 7-11. These are the times when the labels are important, and when counting calories, carbs, and fats are also important so we can make the best choice possible even though we might be off plan.

    For me, when I look at a label I check for net carbs (I am diabetic and have found that sugar alcohols do not cause much of a blood sugar rise, nor do they cause bad cravings for me, but everyone is different in this respect), I also check for saturated/trans fat content (this is where Atkins products fail imho), as well as calories. Then I have to make a decision based on what I've read. But I'll tell you that I don't always go for the one with the lowest carbs. If a product has, say, 2 net carbs and 10 grams sat. fat, and another has 3 net carbs but only 4 grams sat. fat then I'll go with the second one, cause that sat. fat will pack on the pounds (for me anyhow) as quickly, or quicker, than the carbs will. And I also take the overall calories into consideration.

    Anyhow, that's what's working for me and I thought I'd share my opinions about it.
  • Quote: Here is my 2 cents - when on Phase 1 forget about labels and "low carb" and stick with the program. But once you're out of Phase 1, I think it changes a bit and does sometimes turn into a "low carb" diet.
    Wendy -- your 2 cents are tremendously helpful! I've been thinking quite a bit about what my diet will look like on Phase 2, and I'm nervous. Nervous to add carbs & fruit... not sure really how to tell if I've added too much (I know, check the scale, but even still, how do I know, since we shouldn't weigh every day?)

    On one hand, I can't wait because I NEED some more variety. I'm about to go crazy here, I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at an egg after this. Yet, I'm so scared I'll stop losing! It's a bad Catch 22.
  • Yeah, I was terrified of Phase 2 at first and it took me a while to really allow myself to have the Phase 2 stuff. And I'm on my 3rd month of SB and I still don't do alot of the Phase 2 foods. I do have some type of fruit each day, in my case I love berries so that's what I always have. And I will have some "low carb" bread now and then, but not often (maybe 2 - 4 slices a week). I've avoided pasta cause I know me - I will eat a ton of it if I get started. And I have cereal maybe once a month.

    i think alot of how you "do" Phase 2 also depends on how quickly you want to lose. I'm very happy right now losing only a pound a week cause I honestly can't afford to replace my clothes every other month. Right now I'm on week 10 and I'm down about 18 pounds with no exercise at all (recovering from surgery) and I'm very happy with those results. I eat enough to feel satisfied most of the time, although I probably eat more than someone else who wants to lose faster. But again, I'm OK with that cause it's working for ME, and I have to do it the way it works for ME or I won't stick with it. And you'll have to do the same and find your own comfort zone and your own way of sticking with the plan yet being happy and satisfied.
  • As for me, I was scared about phase 2 as well. My DH's grandfather passed away and we traveled a couple hundred miles to WI to go to his funeral on the day that Phase 2 started. I didn't do the best because I had a poor number of choices, but I brought a lot of food with me and did the best I could. When I got back, I was at three fruits a day and two starches. I found that I did not lose anymore weight on this, so I immediately took away a starch and a fruit. I then took away another fruit and started losing again, so I am at one starch and one fruit. If you don't panic about the pounds you might gain in the process, you can really find out what works for you.

    As for carbs, having never been diabetic or on Atkins, I never count them or pay much attention to them. I do look at low carb products if they jive with SBD, like the low carb catsup (which is also low sugar) and some bread products. But I will choose a high carb bread that is whole wheat over an "enriched wheat flour" bread with low carbs. I'm very conscious of what they are putting in to lower the carbs and whether those replacements are SBD friendly.

    As for chocolate, we are allowed semi sweet or dark chocolate. Ruth thinks 1/2 oz of chocolate makes a good serving. I, who used to have to have chocolate every day or I would eat the house, find myself pretty much free of such real cravings. But we have the chocolate in the house, and twice I have indulged, both times with strawberries in hopes that the fiber in the berries will help reduce the amount of sugar in my blood. I have had very few, if any, cravings as a result and no change in the amount of weight lost. I eat WW pasta (have no idea how many carbs it has) and WW bread, couscous, brown rice, and other whole grains. They are awesome and satisfy me without the need to go off plan. I do miss potatoes, but that craving is fading.

    I hope that others can have the same kind of satisfaction that I am finding eating this way. It really helps me so much! I must say that the couple times I had ice cream sandwiches made with sugar alcohols (Slender Pies), I had huge reactions in terms of blood sugar. I felt woozy and about to faint, terribly weak in the knees and horrible afterwards. I stopped eating them right away and threw the rest of the package in the trash (much to DH's dismay). I'm definitely not fond of them. But not everyone reacts that way.

    Anyways, that's my $0.02! :
  • One of the ricotta cream recipes in the book calls for mini semi sweet choco chips, so I bought a bag on my first SB day. And beleive it or not half the bag is still there (I thought it would be long gone by now). I have been known to grab a handful now and then if I feel the urge, though, lol. But still, having only eaten half a bag (with the help of DH, I might add) in 10 weeks is pretty good.

    Beachgal, I also look for high fiber in bread. I can't remember the brand I have right now but it has high fiber and relatively low carbs (alot of bread is made with sugar and this one isn't) so it's nearly perfect for me. I think that all the carbs come from the fiber.
  • Just want to ask as question about the fibre in bread...there is a store in my area that sells hign fibre, low fat bread. The ingredients are not on the bag, but I was wondering how that stacks up against bread that is on SBD. Thanks.
  • Quote: Just want to ask as question about the fibre in bread...there is a store in my area that sells hign fibre, low fat bread. The ingredients are not on the bag, but I was wondering how that stacks up against bread that is on SBD. Thanks.
    I noticed that you said you're from Canada -- is the bread you're talking about from Sobey's?

    I can tell by just looking at it, that bread is made with white flour in it.

    I would suggest looking for Sprouted Grain bread, which has no white flour in it at all. Healthy Way brand is good, as is Olafson's, if you can find the Sprouted Grain.
  • Yes. It is from Sobey's. I knew that it was rather light in color, but was hoping that it was OK for SBD.

    Thanks for your help.