Are low carb bagels really ok?
 

I've been eating low carb for 3 months and I have lost 20 pounds and hunger and cravings seem to be under control.

I purchased low carb bagels from Netrition and they are in my freezer now, but I'm afraid to let myself eat them. I'm making good progress now and I really don't want to mess things up.

The bagels are from the Great Low Carb Bread Company and they have 14 carbs per bagel, but 12 g fiber and 0 g sugar, so effective carbs should be 2 carbs for a bagel or 1 carb for half a bagel. My plan was to half half a bagel once a week or so as a treat. Or perhaps to only allow myself half a bagel each time I lose 5 pounds.

Does anyone allow themselves these types of treats and does it throw them off? Are these bagels truly just 1 carb per half bagel--that sounds too good to be true.

Probably the latter, TGTBT. Every time anyone has been selling "low carb" bread or pasta it usually turns out to be pretty bogus. When someone actually scrutinizes or tests the product it turns out to be much higher in carbs than they claim.

Let me put it to you this way, if it tastes good and doesn't have a weird texture, it probably isn't low carb.

Have you tried making Oopsie rolls?

In the first few months I experimented with using the Mission low carb wraps. The stats on those are pretty much like your bagels... something like 24g of carbs, 19g fiber - 5 net carbs. I must say that I did enjoy them. I made wrap burgers instead of bunless. They were a lot less messy, tasted good, and didn't appear to set off any cravings. However; it became apparent rather quickly that every time I had one I'd put on several pounds of water weight. That weight would stick around for days. I suspected that the "net carb" thing was not working as advertised. I think they had a lot more digestible carbs. I didn't like the scale grief, so I stopped having them.

At some point I realized that my diet was pretty much wheat free. I experienced numerous health improvements in the first 6 months of this WOE. I'd heard about leaky gut, joint problems, and other issues that people have with wheat. So, to be on the safe side, I chose to stay away from it for good. I don't really know if I have a problem with wheat or not. But I no longer miss it, I don't need it, and I just don't eat it.