I bought some "low-carb" bars because I'm extremely busy during the day and don't have to eat--period. Since I get really hungry during they day, I used to take some granola bars, but since those are like, pure carb, i bought these low- carb bars.

They are nasty as all get out. But, they seem to make you very un-hungry (they're so dense... like star matter or something) I can tolerate it.

My question is: on the front of the package it says "4g of Impact carbs", but on the nutrional label it says 18 total. Okay, so here's the WHOLE nutrional label:

Fat: 7g
Sodium: 230mg
Potassium: 170mg
Total Carb: 18g
Dietary Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 1g
Other Carbs: 15g
Protein: 25g

How are they deriving the "4g of impact carbs"? Am I wasting my time and money(and carbs??) on these nasty little abominations of food?

They don't count the carbs from glycerin or sugar alcohols as these are thought to have a negligible impact on blood sugar. However....some people DO react to them as though they were real sugar.
How about taking some nuts or low carb veggies with a cup of dip or some deli meat spread with cream cheese and rolled up or some boiled eggs. Pepperoni sticks or chunks of cheese might be an option although both tend to be fairly high in salt.

Sugar Alcohols: maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysate

Artificial Sweeteners -- Sucralose, Acesulfame-K, Acesulfame Potassium, Calcium Saccharin, Sodium Saccahrin, Saccharin, or Aspartame.

Sugars -- Sugar, brown sugar, fruit juice concentrate, honey, lactose, maltose, galactose, dextrose, florida crystals, molasses, glucose, fructose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maltodextrin, or anything ending in -ose (other than sucralose or cellulose).

Starches -- Flour (all varieties), Wheat, Oat, Potato, Rice, Corn Starch, Barley, and anything with a name similar to any of the above.

If the ingridients consist of one or more artificial sweeteners (other than Aspartame), one or more sugar alcohols, and NO starches except at the very end of the list...it should be fine (in moderation). NOTE: Absorbic acid (sometimes listed on labels) is Vitamin C.