Sugar Alcohols
 

Just came back from Target. While I was there, I swung through the candy aisle, looking for some sugar-free candies for treats. Hey, if I buy treats for my dog, I should be able to buy treats for me, right? :lol:

I was AMAZED at the number of sugar-free candies there are. There's Nestle Crunch bars! And Peanut Butter cups! And Gummi Bears! And Peppermint Patties! All of them seem to use sugar alcohols for sweetener.

So what's the skinny on sugar alcohols? I wasn't sure, so I bought a package of sugar-free hard candies, which I know are on the plan, and thought I'd check on these other things.

Here's la ink to an example:

http://www.hersheys.com/products/det...p?id=3000-1667

I have been on phase 1 totally commited for 10 days now...no cheats. My husband has these awful cravings for sweets. When we went to Walmart I closely looked at the ingredients and found some sugar free Hershey bars and other things that looked ok. Well, Monday I ate 3 of those little bars and they really made me SICK. Very painful cramping and awful awful "bathroom problems". I think it had something to do with the sugar alcohols. Or so I've read on some other sites. Maybe some people can tolerate it, but I cant. They tasted good, but I wont eat them again.

Sugar alcohols can cause major intestinal problems if you eat too many. Furthermore they are often used in "frankenfoods"...those products whose ingredients you can't pronounce. If you're not sure what most of the ingredients are, you probably don't want to be eating it! :yikes:

You are allowed 75 calories each day from non-nutritive sweets. All sugar free candy falls into this category. The main reason we are limited is to keep us from going through what you did, rebel! If you keep to 75 cals, you won't have those side effects. On the other hand, some of us have found that we still suffer when we eat sugar alcohols, so you may want to try a small piece of something and make sure that it doesn't bother you before eating 75 cals worth.

In addition, part of the reason for doing SBD is to make a change in your eating habits...to eat more healthy food and less processed food. If we keep eating the same things we always ate, but in SF versions, we aren't likely to make as many healthy decisions. So try to keep these in moderation. Once you get to Phase II, you'll be able to have real chocolate once a week. Why not wait for that rather than eating the SF stuff? :chin:

I"m gonna sound weird here..I actually like the SF candies. LOL

I do miss my Godiva chocolate though.. So, in P2, we can have the real deal?? I can't wait!