net carbs and other changes to the diet



C

cyncyn

Guest
Hi, Im new to the group and have some questions.
I was on Atkins about 4.5 years ago. I went from a size 22 to a tight
14 in about 3 months. I could not believe it. I started in
October..so by Easter, I had had it and started with the easter candy
and just balooned back up again, (back to a size 20 now) I tried to go
back on the diet so many times but just couldnt do it. I was on heavy
meds and under extreme stress, I think this may have something to do
with my inability to stick to it. Anyway, What strikes me the most
about Atkins, which Ive now been back on for about 4 weeks, is that I
am never hungry. Yesterday I had bacon and a cheese omelet around 8:30
a.m. by 2:45, I still was not hungry.
There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not. Im hoping it
is. I have the low carb Ice cream, wraps and Pita bread. I make
pizzas and sandwiches etc., you can be very creative with those wraps
and pita loaves. I also Love the low carb chocolate milk. Can someone
give me there experience with Net Carbs. I also would like to attend a
few Atkins chats.
 
"cyncyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, Im new to the group and have some questions.
> I was on Atkins about 4.5 years ago. I went from a size 22 to a tight
> 14 in about 3 months. I could not believe it. I started in
> October..so by Easter, I had had it and started with the easter candy
> and just balooned back up again, (back to a size 20 now) I tried to go
> back on the diet so many times but just couldnt do it. I was on heavy
> meds and under extreme stress, I think this may have something to do
> with my inability to stick to it. Anyway, What strikes me the most
> about Atkins, which Ive now been back on for about 4 weeks, is that I
> am never hungry. Yesterday I had bacon and a cheese omelet around 8:30
> a.m. by 2:45, I still was not hungry.
> There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
> of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not. Im hoping it
> is. I have the low carb Ice cream, wraps and Pita bread. I make
> pizzas and sandwiches etc., you can be very creative with those wraps
> and pita loaves. I also Love the low carb chocolate milk. Can someone
> give me there experience with Net Carbs. I also would like to attend a
> few Atkins chats.
>

i am like you- I did Atkins years ago with success (off the WOE when I had
kids - now back and have lost 40lbs so far) Now that I am back and there is
this net carbs things I have trouble accepting it. Things I NEVER would've
eaten are supposed to be ok now - I just don't know. I guess if you go by
net carbs and lose than it's valid. I just bought black soy beans. It says
they are 8 carb grams for 1/2 cup & 7 of those are fiber - so (i think) that
means the net carb count is 1 gram per 1/2 cup.
 
Ice cream made you fat in the first place.

Pita bread is not low carb.

Net carbs is a scam.

HTH

--
Most people are dumb as bricks; some people are dumber than that. -- MFW


"cyncyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, Im new to the group and have some questions.
> I was on Atkins about 4.5 years ago. I went from a size 22 to a tight
> 14 in about 3 months. I could not believe it. I started in
> October..so by Easter, I had had it and started with the easter candy
> and just balooned back up again, (back to a size 20 now) I tried to go
> back on the diet so many times but just couldnt do it. I was on heavy
> meds and under extreme stress, I think this may have something to do
> with my inability to stick to it. Anyway, What strikes me the most
> about Atkins, which Ive now been back on for about 4 weeks, is that I
> am never hungry. Yesterday I had bacon and a cheese omelet around 8:30
> a.m. by 2:45, I still was not hungry.
> There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
> of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not. Im hoping it
> is. I have the low carb Ice cream, wraps and Pita bread. I make
> pizzas and sandwiches etc., you can be very creative with those wraps
> and pita loaves. I also Love the low carb chocolate milk. Can someone
> give me there experience with Net Carbs. I also would like to attend a
> few Atkins chats.
>
 
"cyncyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> Anyway, What strikes me the most
> about Atkins, which Ive now been back on for about 4 weeks, is that I
> am never hungry. Yesterday I had bacon and a cheese omelet around 8:30
> a.m. by 2:45, I still was not hungry.
It might be a good idea to eat a little something for lunch anyway. A small
salad or something...

> There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing
I have Atkins' book from the 70s, and even it talks about net carbs. You
can subtract the fiber (in the US) on the label from the carbs and use the
remaining number as your carb count.
However, there are a lot of products out there now that contain sugar
alcohols, and those packages are saying to subtract that from the carb count
as well, but for some people, sugar alcohols cause stalls. If you find that
you aren't making much progress, you might want to go back to doing it the
way you did years ago - with real foods instead of packaged processed stuff.

If you'd like to chat, you could try www.lowcarbfriends.com - they have a
pretty active java chat on their website.


--
Spring
LC since 1/1/04
260/200/170

"Before" & "current" pics at link below:
http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sprgsnow/album?.tok=phX4sVBBuvxvs4Hs&.dir=/55b8&.src=ph
 
"cyncyn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
> of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not.
>
A net carb is effectively the total carb count minus any carbs that the
manufacturer has deemed to not have a large effect on blood sugars. These
are typically the fiber and sugar alcohols counts. In the U.S. fiber is
included as part of the carb count, but in Europe the fiber is listed
separately. One caveat with sugar alcohols is that some people react to
them as if they were sugar. It may be lowered calorie, but in some cases it
will either cause cravings or, at worst, knock you out of ketosis.
Personally, my stomach can't handle them and I get a very upset stomach
depending upon the type. The only sugar alcohol I've had any luck with is
Erythritol. I believe it's Nestle that makes a small chocolate bar with it.
In the end, though, it's best to just avoid these types of foods until
you're sure what you can tolerate. I don't know of any controversy with
fiber, but I'm far from an expert. I just know what works for me.
Good luck!
Mark
 
And of course it all depends on how you approach most of these
products. For example, if you want have some occasional ice cream that
contains sugar alcohols as a treat, it should be fine. But if you
expect to eat a bowl of it every day, you're likely headed for
problems. I think subtracting out the fiber is perfectly valid, still
I'd use a little caution on products like the black soybeans referred
to above, where there are like 8g of carb, 7 of them fiber. Ones
where the ratio seems to good to be true I'd approach with a little
more caution. If you use them for chili for example, and don't overdo
it, it should still be fine.

I'd approach sugar alcohols with even more caution. If you want to use
products with them occasionally and you're losing weight ok or are at
maintenance, they should be fine. Subject to the usual disclaimers of
how they affect you as far as any possible gastric issues.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> Hi, Im new to the group and have some questions.

Hi Cyncyn, welcome to the group!

> There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
> of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not. Im hoping it
> is. I have the low carb Ice cream, wraps and Pita bread. I make
> pizzas and sandwiches etc., you can be very creative with those wraps
> and pita loaves. I also Love the low carb chocolate milk. Can someone
> give me there experience with Net Carbs. I also would like to attend a
> few Atkins chats.

You'll get varying answers on this, but the general consensus is to
stick mostly to the basics. Be very wary of sugar alcohols. Most
people seem to have good results with erythritol, but the other ones
vary in their absorption rate and ability to cause digestive problems.
Other than for erythritol, I only subtract fiber from the total carb
count. You might have a low-carb bar with maltitol, for example, that
CLAIMS to only have 3 net effective carbs, while the TOTAL carb count is
actually 25. Some people may absorb the maltitol carbs MUCH more
readily than other people, making their carb count quite a bit higher.
Deducting, say, 6 carbs for fiber, they could be taking in as many as 19
carbs, NOT 3, so it's very much a buyer beware situation.

I would go easy on the low-carb bread, because even low-carb, 2 pieces
are usually about 10-12 carbs. Don't get me wrong -- I have toast
sometimes, but I don't make MEALS out of them other than a rare open-
faced grilled cheese. During the summer I eat Carb Smart ice cream, but
it's high in calories and it's very easy to overeat it.

Maybe I've just never been big on homemade sandwiches (I WAS big on Togo
sandwiches), but I would try to get out of the mindset of feeling like
you HAVE to have bread -- after all, the GOOD stuff is what's BETWEEN
the pieces of bread. Pick up a fork.

As you have seen, going back to the way you ate before going low-carb
will pack the weight right back on. That's not just a low-carb thing --
that goes for ALL diets, assuming the way you ate before is how you got
fat in the first place. It really DOES require a lifetime commitment to
changing the way you eat.

--
Saffire
205/144/125 - 5'1.5"
Atkins since 6/14/03
Progress photo: http://photos.yahoo.com/saffire333
 
Saffire wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>
>>Hi, Im new to the group and have some questions.
>
>
> Hi Cyncyn, welcome to the group!
>
>
>>There seem to be some changes though. This whole "net carb" thing sort
>>of confuses me in that I dont know if it's valid or not. Im hoping it
>>is. I have the low carb Ice cream, wraps and Pita bread. I make
>>pizzas and sandwiches etc., you can be very creative with those wraps
>>and pita loaves. I also Love the low carb chocolate milk. Can someone
>>give me there experience with Net Carbs. I also would like to attend a
>>few Atkins chats.
>
>
> You'll get varying answers on this, but the general consensus is to
> stick mostly to the basics. Be very wary of sugar alcohols. Most
> people seem to have good results with erythritol, but the other ones
> vary in their absorption rate and ability to cause digestive problems.
> Other than for erythritol, I only subtract fiber from the total carb
> count. You might have a low-carb bar with maltitol, for example, that
> CLAIMS to only have 3 net effective carbs, while the TOTAL carb count is
> actually 25. Some people may absorb the maltitol carbs MUCH more
> readily than other people, making their carb count quite a bit higher.
> Deducting, say, 6 carbs for fiber, they could be taking in as many as 19
> carbs, NOT 3, so it's very much a buyer beware situation.
>
> I would go easy on the low-carb bread, because even low-carb, 2 pieces
> are usually about 10-12 carbs. Don't get me wrong -- I have toast
> sometimes, but I don't make MEALS out of them other than a rare open-
> faced grilled cheese. During the summer I eat Carb Smart ice cream, but
> it's high in calories and it's very easy to overeat it.
>
> Maybe I've just never been big on homemade sandwiches (I WAS big on Togo
> sandwiches), but I would try to get out of the mindset of feeling like
> you HAVE to have bread -- after all, the GOOD stuff is what's BETWEEN
> the pieces of bread. Pick up a fork.
>
> As you have seen, going back to the way you ate before going low-carb
> will pack the weight right back on. That's not just a low-carb thing --
> that goes for ALL diets, assuming the way you ate before is how you got
> fat in the first place. It really DOES require a lifetime commitment to
> changing the way you eat.
>
Hi

A Very nice job/explanation/position. I would add the use of
ketostix--at least for a while as they can measure change--usually. I
also agree on the sugar alcohol, but it seems like almost 'everything'
has them.

I also found a brand of tortilla wraps by Joseph that have a 5 gram
count and work/taste very good/well. I have backed away from the reduced
carb variety of breads as of late.

Anyway, not to belabor a point, but Thanks for hte reasonable approach.
Joe
 
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