Forgive me, I did SBD many years ago but I am trying to figure this one thing out.

How do you judge whether or not a product is okay for Phase 2 or not? I am talking about processed things like maybe protein shakes, or protein bars for occasional use as snacks. Is there a calorie/carb or other nutritional guideline to follow for these?

Hi Lynn-
It's all about the ingredients not the carb/protein/fat numbers. Look for things like added sugars, starches, etc. South Beach also emphasizes whole foods so the more unpronounceable ingredients the further it is from the intent of the program. If it helps you can look up the ingredients online and post them and I'm sure you will get feedback. IMO one of the best things about South Beach is becoming a smart label reader, though it can be a pain in the butt (I'm always walking around the grocery store with my reading glasses perched on my head. talk about feeling old )

I remember when I did SBD, that eating whole foods was very much emphasized! I agree that is absolutely best. It kind of bothers me that in recent years SBD as a brand has jumped on the processed foods bandwagon. I was surprized when I first saw things like South Beach bars and South Beach frozen meals in the grocery stores. Not sure how I feel about that!

So... just now I went and looked up the SB snack bars to get an idea what they are selling. They do say "no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or sugar alcohols". Looking at the chocolate almond bar:
100 cal, 6g protein, 6g fiber, 3.5g fat, 14g carbs, 7g sugars

Ingredients: Protein blend (calcium caseinate, soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate, partially hydrolyzed milk protein isolate, egg white, enzyme modified soy protein), oligofructose (added for fiber), sugar, water, fractionated palm kernel oil, almonds, brown rice syrup, fructose, soluble corn fiber, cocoa (processed with alkali), whey, nonfat milk, natural flavor, pectin, salt, soy lecithin, citric acid, carrageenan.

Thoughts on this? Would you/do you eat SBD products? If another brand of bar fit these guidelines would you eat it?

I am not real thrilled with the ingredient list myself! I am sure it is much better to have some yogurt or an apple or some nuts. But... occasional use? What do you guys think?

You will get mixed feedback, we've talked about these before. A lot of us feel Dr. A sold out with the branded products. They don't meet the spirit or even the guidelines of the program. I do know at least one long-term Beacher who does eat them once in awhile, hope she will chime in too

Personally I don't eat them at all. I usually carry 100 calorie bags of nuts, fruit, and a small cooler bag with string cheese, veggie sticks, portion sized containers of hummus, or individual plain Greek yogurts. For quick meals I usually rely on leftovers from weekend cooking. For awhile I was grabbing an occasional larabar but I developed issues with those and often found myself eating them when I wanted something sweet and not because I needed something.

What are you thinking you need them for? Maybe we can come up with some other ideas.

Well, I am on Medifast right now, and will be doing their Transition program in March to get back to whole foods. But I am not done losing weight. So I am planning to do Transition and Maintenance using the Phase 2 foods plus exercise, and lose the rest of the weight on Phase 2.

So I have several boxes of Medifast bars and shakes left, and would like to incorporate them somehow... probably as snacks... until I run out. I just wasn't sure if/how they would fit in. They're pretty similar in stats and ingredients to the SBD bars, except they do have sugar alcohols in them.

I don't think protein bars are great, but I will admit to eating a Think Thin or MetRx bar when in a jam (I can grab them next door to work or at CVS, but not whole fruit or veggies - which is crazy, right???).

Why are you only going to do Phase 2? Or were you thinking ahead to post-Ph1?

Any brand of bars might trigger cravings for me so I tend to steer clear of them. Except I do find them handy when I travel. And I look for the best combination of high protein and fiber and low sugar and calories. Since they are too easy for me to eat like a candy bar, I actually try to choose flavors I like less, for example - NO chocolate ones for me!

My personal opinion is that "whole" foods are best but that processed foods are fine for convenience if need be. BTW - there are recipes online to make your own bars. I've never tried them.

I love peanut butter Clif bars...they are filling, more like a meal and made of ground whole foods, not like a candy bar at all. They are sweetened with brown rice syrup but, unfortunately, it's the first ingredient. There's some can sweetener thrown in for good measure.

Off topic--it bugs me that the Clif bar marketed to women, the Luna bar, is like a junky little chocolate covered candy bar. The Luna bar is like the little pink dumbbell of protein bars.

I made some protein bars once and they basically tasted like whey with a little peanut butter mixed in. If there's a way to make a lower sugar Clif bar, I'm there.