"New" Atkins bars -- HOW many carbs??

[bluebonnet]

Hi, everybody! I'm a complete newbie, and one of the reasons I got on this forum was because of a question I have about the "New, Improved" Atkins Advantage "candy" bars. I've been eating the "old" ones for a couple of years, and when I tried one of the new ones the other day (the improved Mocha one -- total yum :yum: !!), I was so impressed with how absolutely sinful it tasted that I thought, "They must've upped the carbs a little to make it so good." I looked on the nutrition info section and nearly passed out when I saw 22 carbs listed there! :eek: Then I noticed it said I only had to "count" 3 of them. Ummm, they explained it, sorta, but I'm not convinced. How could something that technically has 22 carbs be counted only as 3? I'm not officially on the Atkins Diet, just trying to keep my carbs down to 60 or so a day (hypoglycemia and weight-loss), so how does this work for me? Am I knocking out a third of my daily carbs when I eat one of these babies, or what? :confused:

Thanks for any help!

bluebonnet

[rebecky]

Hi! I am a newbie at this too, and have only had one Atkins bar and must admit I only remember seeing something like 2 carbs on the back, but I am guessing that maybe if you subtract the fiber from the carbs, that you get your total net carbs of 3? Just a thought..sorry I couldnt be of more help.

Becky

[Lisa N]

The reason for the difference isn't in what's in the bars because that hasn't changed. They now include the total carb count from the maltitol, but reduce the "effective carb count" because maltitol has a negligable effect on blood sugar (for most, not all, people). Atkins only has you count the carbs that actually have an effect on your blood sugar which is why you can subtract the grams of fiber from anything that you are eating. Maltitol, however, (and other polyols like it) are a YMMV thing for most people. Some can eat them without a problem, some can't. The reason for the change in labeling is new federal labeling regulations that say that the total carb count needs to be shown, not hidden. If you've been eating them without a problem, go ahead and eat them, but be aware of the effect that they have on you and if you stall or stop losing, those are the first things to suspect and cut out.

[merrymutts]

I really like most of the Atkin's bars...especially the Lemon Cheesecake and the Creamy Cinnamon Bun Breakfast Bars. I am still quite confused over the "effective carbs" vs the "hidden carbs", though.

I started out using the bars as snacks during mid-morning and maybe mid-afternoon but have since cut way down. Since I walk most days at work during my lunch break, I find them handy to munch on along the way. That way I get my exercise and something nutrious as well.

I have not had a problem with the bars so far and hope that I continue this way.

I also like the Atkin's Shake Mix but ususally only do these at breakfast during the weekends. I mix them up different than what the container recommends and I find my concoction tastes a heckuva lot better than making them according to container directions. And it's about the same carb count, too.

Welcome to the LC group !!

[bluebonnet]

Thanks, y'all! That kinda helps (I say kinda because I'm still a little confused.) Since y'all are doing Atkins, you may not know this, but do you know how I should count it if I'm just doing the 60-75 carb thing? Mainly I'm doing this to feel better, but I need to lose some weight, too, so I don't want to blow it.

I think for now I'll cut back to one of these bars a day (I was doing two -- one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon), see if that helps.

If anybody else has any suggestions, let me know!

bluebonnet

[tofi]

Be sure to notice that there are "Atkins Advantage Bars" which are meal replacements. They used to claim only 2 or 3 grams of carbs but did not list the glycerine as carbs because it is not supposed to affect blood sugar. But lots of people stalled when using those bars and resumed losing when they cut them out. Breakfast Bars are newer but still have glycerine (I think). These are OK as meal replacements but are pretty high calorie as snacks.

Then there are the newer Atkins candy bars which are a low carb treat, not really a meal replacement. They show the Effective Carb Count. There is a side effect of maltitol - it is a very good laxative and makes things speed through the intestines. Some people may need to stay close to a bathroom. So don't overdo these or any other candy bars. And don't use them as meal replacements.

Count the Effective Carbs for each bar you eat in your daily total. But see what happens with yourself and judge from that whether you can tolerate the glycerine and maltitol.

You have only 7 pounds to your goal, so please get your mind around the fact that the more slowly you lose those, the less likely you are to regain them. Take the time to really learn the low carb way of eating and you'll be slim for life.

Good luck.



:wave:

[akelley]

Are the "candy" bars called Endulge? I thought the Advantage bars were the more substantial bars with quite a few carbs, and the Endulge bars were more like the candy bars.

I don't really understand how these Advantage bars could be considered a meal replacement - they don't provide nearly enough calories for a single meal. Maybe if I dipped them in butter, spread 'em with cream cheese, and layered with some bacon...then we might be talking meal replacement :)

[tofi]

Some more information and links about those bars:

lycerine/Glycerol Still a Staller!


Bottom line: Lowcarb bars are the cause of many weightloss stalls. Most of the so-called lowcarb bars are sweetened with glycerine/glycerol and the substance does not have to be counted as a carbohydrate on package labels. However, if you read the fine print most labels show a calorie count for glycerol.

1. When liver glycogen is full, glycerol is converted to fat.
2 .When liver glycogen is empty, glycerol is converted to glucose.
3. And sometimes glycerine just goes right through without doing anything.

"When your fat is used up metabolically, it breaks down into
GLYCEROL (emphasis added) and free fatty acids, which in turn break down into pairings of two-carbon compounds called "ketone bodies," [see DANDR revised hardback page 44]

"Fat is much more ketosis-inducing than protein. After all,
58% of protein will become glucogenic amino acids, ie. convertible
to glucose, but only 10% of fat will become its GLYCEROL
(emphasis added) portion, which is similarly convertible."
[see DANDR revised hardback page 82]

"In producing the additional glucose, the liver uses all the
usual forms of substrate. These include GLYCEROL (emphasis added) released from triglycerides during lipolysis in fat depots..."
[see Nutritional Biochemistry by Maria Linder, page 522]

"GLYCEROL is only 5% of triglyceride carbon and is the only
portion of fat that can be used for net production of glucose."
[Linder, page 66]

"The GLYCEROL is converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis in
the liver and kidney. The fatty acids are oxidized to ketones
and then to carbon dioxide and water." "Under normal conditions
the central nervous system uses 115g of glucose/day while erythrocytes, bone marrow, renal medulla and peripheral nerves use about 36g of glucose/day. Most of this glucose can be synthesized through gluconeogenesis from GLYCEROL, lactate, and selected amino acids..." [Advanced Nutrition, Carolyn Berdanier page 65]


Proc Nutr Soc 1999 Nov;58(4):973-8
Glycerol production and utilization measured using stable isotopes.
Landau BR Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106-4951, USA.
"Most glycerol taken up by liver is converted to glucose.
Glucose is probably the major source of glycerol-3-phosphate used in the esterification of fatty acids by adipose tissue."

Glycerol Metabolism

http://www-isu.indstate.edu/thcme/m...m.html#glycerol
"However, the more likely fate of glycerol is to enter the gluconeogenesis pathway in order for the liver to produce glucose for use by the rest of the body."

Fat metabolism
http://www.eng.rpi.edu/dept/chem-en...NT/fatmetab.htm

Glycerol behaves like a sugar during metabolism.
http://asci.uvm.edu/nusc43/LIPIDS1.htm

NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT BARS:
What Are You Really Getting?
http://www.naturalmuscle.net/nm0899/bars.htm
"Recent research has shown that glycerine does not significantly elevate blood insulin levels and only minimally elevates blood sugar levels."

[jenkinsqh]

I went on the LC diet January 01. I got very close to my goal weight, then got off the diet. Most of the weight eventually returned. I know I am a carbohydrate addict. I have been following this thread on the new carb count on the Adkins bars, as I just read the packaging on the bars since trying to get myself back on induction, and thought I had really screwed up! I lost weight easily eating the bars before, and would assume that would be the case this time as well. I am curious as to how I could apply this "new" counting to other packaged foods out there? Does the 2002 Adkins book shed any light? The previous verion does not have you doing any "effective" calculations, just seems to swear off foods such as apples, etc. Would the Kashi cereals with their high fiber content work on the OWL? The Kashi bars show some kind of effective carb count of 3.5, but not sure that they are doing the same math as Adkins.

And if we're counting "effective" carbs, then why are the Endulge bars not part of the induction phase, as they have only 4 "effective" carbs, I think?

I am finding that it is very hard to get back on the induction wagon after having fallen off, than it was the first time around.