I decided to try some of the recipes listed in this forum. To make sure I don't go over 20 carbs/day I'm referring to the Hidden Carb Calculator and it has me wondering how it works exactly. I inputted in the stats for philly cream cheese (original). It has 100 calories - 90 of which are from fat. It lists 28g total weight, 9g of fat, 1g carb and 2g proteins. The hidden carb calculator says it actually has 3.12 g of carbs. Now I know fat is 90 calories leaving 10 calories left for the protein and carbs. I thought a good rule of thumb was 4 cals per gram of protein and carbs...hence I don't understand the math of the hidden calc. Can someone please shed some more light on the subject? Also I went to GNC and the atkins breakfast bars, which have been dissed so much, have a disclaimer about the hidden carbs in it. The box states that polydextrose & glycerine are indeed calories but have a "negligible" effect on blood sugar/insulin. I have read many posts about the breakfast bars but I haven't seen one that addresses this aspect. Being new to LC I'm having a hard time accepting everything I hear about the details involved. I know many formerly fat people that lost alot of weight fast on atkins so I have total faith that the concept works. I would just like to know the “why” behind the hidden carbs and breakfast bars more.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read/answer my post

BJ