Carbolite bars everyday?
 

Hi there ! I've been l-carbing for 6 months and have lost a lot of weight already. In the past couple of months I've really missed having something sweet after lunch and dinner and I usually end up having a Carbolite chocolate bar. At aroung 1 g net effective carbs it's hard to beat and it tastes delicious too. It doesn't seem to be stalling my weight loss and I have no unpleasant digestive side ffects, even though I'm having 1-2 bars almost everyday. My question is: Does anyone know if having that many low-carb candy bars can be harmful to one's health? As I see it, this seems too good to be true, I get to have my chocolate and eat it too??? There must be some hidden trap I'm missing...

Aside from the fact that they're full of unpronounceable chemicals? I don't think a lot of anything that's that processed is good for you.

If you're happy with your weight loss, go for it.

Most of us avoid sugar alcohols as they either stall us, or cause gastric distress. If you have neither effect, enjoy.

More information on sugar alcohols is available by clicking "The truth about low carb sweeteners" to your right.

HogarthNH/Kristine, That's very helpful, thanks !

Yep: the hidden trap is the 15 g of sugar alcohols. No one is 100% certain whether or not the body absorbs them, but in the US, the FDA went ahead and told companies it was okay to label them as "1 net carb", assuming that none of it gets absorbed. A pretty bold assumption, IMHO. In Canada, the diabetes association recommends counting half of the sugar alcohol grams as carbs. :exclm: Many prudent LCers count the whole thing, because they can feel the blood sugar and/or more cravings.

Check the "truth about low carb sweeteners info" link over to the right, under "quick links", for more info.

(edit) heh - we all posted at the same time.

Read the ingredients, folks. If it's got hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated (the newest ingredient buzzword is "fractionated") anything in it, it is VERY detrimental to your health, and should not be consumed.

Hummm... I didn't find anything 'hydrogenated' or 'fractionated' in the Carbolite list of ingredients. There's maltitol, which I'm assuming is the sugar alcohol and a bunch of other ingredients that you usually find in processed food. There's also Sodium Caseinate and I really don't know what that is.
I know processed food is not good for you and all, but I was wondering if this kind of low-carb processed food poses more of a risk than say, a can of diet soda (which, again, does not stall me at all, despite the caffeine).
I wish I could live on unprocessed food only, as I wish I had never fed a jar of processed baby food to any of my babies, as I wish I had more time to play with my kids and to go surfing, but let's face it, life is more complicated than that...

If you really, really wanted to live on whole, unprocessed foods, then you would.

Well I have to admit, I eat more Chocolate now then before LC, But it still is a pretty small amount.( I've never eaten one bar at one go, it last me 3-4 days, just a chunk here and there.) but I'd hate to go without it :>)

I buy Ross's No sugar bars
Ross' Chocolates Manufactured in Canada( Chase b.c.) with Smooth BElguim Chocolate.
Here is what is in them:
Malitol, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass ? lecithin, vanilla.

Some also have almonds peanuts, coconuts, plain dark, and can have mint, orange, raspberry, cherry flavor.

I think the old saying "Moderation is the key" applies to these as well.

My impression is that those who eat 2 aday of these have not broken the sugar/sweet habit, just replaced it, therefore it can be a bit of a danger zone in the long run?? Just my 2 cents :>)

Cheers Kathy

OHGal1415,
Since you don't know me or my life I don't see how you can make an assumption like that and anyway, that's straying from the subject...

Kathy54, I really agree with you about not breaking the sweet habit. The thing is I went for 5 months without anything sweet at all. Now would be the time to re-introduce some, like berries. Unfortunately, we don't have berries where I live all the time, only during a few months and only strawberries... I believe in making this WOE liveable for the rest of my life and I could not live for the rest of my life without anything sweet at all. I guess I should consider switching to sugar-free Jell-O, but again, would that be all that better ? And again, it's not the weight-loss side of it that botters me. I'm losing fine, even with the occasional 2 Carbolite bars a day...

They can lable them as 1g effective or net carb, but they have to list the full amount of carbs. Some one sued the Atkins company for mislabling because they only put 1-2 carbs on thier bars.

If your happy with your weight loss, then I wouldn't worry on that end. Do I think having chocolate everyday is bad for health weather it is LC or not? Yes. It also inforces poor eating habits.

If it is not making you run for the bathroom and is not stalling you, I say "enjoy". As far as long term health affects, EVERYTHING causes cancer, etc. these days, :)who's to say they won't decide drinking too much water won't in a few years. Enjoy!

Kim, your're right ! Depending on the pollution, even breathing too much can cause cancer !

Just wanted to say the lowcarb candy bars never did cause me any real problem. I probably eat one about every other day. It takes care of my sweet tooth and probably keeps me from eating lord knows what. I do believe eating them in moderation probably is the best.

I have been eating bars in moderation since I finished Induction. I try to limit them by not keeping them in the house and only buying one if I absolutely crave something sweet, so then I have to go out of my way to get it. If I have them I eat them and I find I am no better off as far as binging and craving than I was before this WOE. But that is me personally - others react much more moderately. As far as physical dangers I have no idea!

By the way, congratulations on your weight loss so far. Way to go!!!!!!!

Thanks AJ ! You deserve congratulations too ! I really agree with what you said about binging if you keep sweets at home. The same happens to me, only I HAVE to buy those things by the truckload because they are not sold in Brazil and I have my brother who lives in the UK send them to me. It takes ages and costs a fortune in shipping charges, so I have to buy a whole box at a time, and the whole thing just sits there tempting me. Believe me, when I say I have one, at the most two a day, that takes a huge amount of self-control and will-power!

I eat them once in a while. I don't seem to stall on them, either, but I like to limit the amount of them, and not be habitual. Besides the effects others describe here, the things are expensive, a buck or more each, and that can really add up if you have a 2+ bar a day habit. :)

I totally agree with AJ! That's just what I do. I don't keep any in the house or I just keep going back to it, eating a piece at a time, until it's all gone. They can trigger cravings for me, too, like it's real sugar. Not good.

What if you tried keeping them in your freezer or keeping them in your car, at a friends house, at work...somewhere they're not easily accessible??

I am trying to change my eating habits so I'm not comfortable with the idea of eating them every day. I used to eat a choc. bar (at least 1) everyday. But, that's me...

Congrats on your amazing losses! You're doing wonderful!

Gee that is too bad that you can not get a variety of berries there, cause it is such a treat once you get to that stage, what sort of fruit do you get? Maybe check them out on the low Gly. list perhaps there is some you can introduce now? Just a thought.

Cheers kathy

We get every imaginable tropical fuit and lots of them, especially mangoes, pineapple and papaya, but they all have such high glycemic counts.... I could get frozen berries but at this time of the year (summer here) they'd be imported and obscenely expensive. I'll look into passion fruit, maybe that's a viable option, even if an incredibly tart one ...

my store has grapes. . .they aren't awful. . .10 grapes is single digit I think. . .redawn:)

Hummm... just checked it out. 10 grapes = 8.5 carbs. Interesting option...

I eat LC SF candy occasionally but what I really love and eat almost daily is chocolate candy I make myself. It only takes a few minutes to make and it is wonderful. I found the recipe somewhere on the web and modified it to my tastes. The only drawback is that it melts quickly outside the frig so I leave it in there and cut a piece and eat it immediately.

4 ounces butter melted (remove from heat)
add 3 Tablespoons cocoa and a few grains of salt (mix well)
add sweetner to taste (I use a combination of 2 and use the equivalent of about 1/2 cup sugar) and mix well
add 3 Tablespoons heavy whippiing cream and mix well

At this point it is usually creamy and slightly thick

Add 1/2 cups nuts (I use pecans but almonds are also good)
Mix well and spread out on a non-stick surface (I use plastic wrap)

Cool in refrigerator until firm

Enjoy

No wierd chemicals; no sugar alcohols; no bad fats.

And yummy

That sounds really yummy ! I'll try it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing !

check out the recipe forum for the chocolate peanut butter cups. I've stopped making them because I couldn't stop eating them, so I don't have the exact recipe, but there's only a few ingredients...

sugar free peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa, splenda, butter and heavy cream.

WAY better than Reece's! They're less than 2 carbs each if you make 12.

N.

I have to agree on this one - "moderation is key" sure people can say you are not conquering your cravings for sweet things etc.. but I also understand that not EVERYBODY WANTS to give up sweets entirely and I think if you are eating a low carb choco bar in place of a doughnut you have come a long way in changing your eating habits!! If it works for you, IMO - go for it! This WOE has to be livable or its not any better than a 'diet'

I think the big question is how does your body react? I have bars several times a week, as emergency lunches or breakfasts, because they are always in my desk and there's so little available "on the road."
They don't seem to cause any problems for me, so as long as they aren't upsetting my stomach, causing weight gain, etc. I don't think I will worry.