After reading several posts here about all the lo carb products out there available now and especially the number of Adkins products available I got to wondering. I just started LC'ing the first of December so I never really paid much attention to what products were available to purchase. Maybe is was due to my bliss in snickers, potato chips etc, but were there so many "Adkins" brand products out there before he died, or is the "adkins" company now cashing in on his "good thing" to make a buck?

Take for instance the bake mix. I have a can of it and was shocked at the carb count. It tastes like crap and I would rather roll my chicken in almond flour or ground pork rinds or nothing and season with various herbs and broil or grill.

Some people seem to rely on the shakes and bars and candy (like it was a slim-fast diet) even on induction. I really don't remember any mention of his "products" in his book.

Yes I'm guilty of buying shakes, bars, candy. But have drastically laid off them after seeing no weight loss. I used the excuse I didn't have time to cook, hard to eat while doing homecare in a car all day etc etc. Once I started looking at this now I just use them when I can't shake a crave at all and it still beats eating snickers, chips etc. But I limit myself to maybe 1 a week as a crave killer not as an entire diet plan.

I personally feel that the low carb products can be helpful.

1. To get rid of a craving.
2. To add variety.
3. To replace favorite foods in your diet.
4. To make this WOL livable especially once the weight has been lost

But, you still need to look at the whole picture. Anyone who uses all their carbs on LC carb replacements will skimp on the veggies which are needed.

Regarding taste and carb count. I have found substitutes with very few or zero carbs that taste great. I frequently find that mixing 2 or 3 products improves the taste. I use Carbsense zero carb bake mix; not Atkins. I also have a product called Wheat Protein Isolate which is flour with the carbs removed so it is all protein and fiber with 1 carb per cup. The 2 mixed together make a great breading for fried foods and everyone loves it including all the not LC people I serve it to including my children and grandchildren.

This 1/2 and 1/2 mixture makes great pancakes and for cakes I use 1/2 nut flour and 1/4 of each of the above. Works great and tastes great.

My bottom line is that whole foods are best but I know I am going to eat other things and better LC than high. I cook and bake a lot and have had my failures but now have a lot of really good things to replace all my old high carb favorites.

The result is that I really can live on this WOE forever; and intend to.

If it's a product, it's processed. Many people will have reactions or intolerances to the chemicals used to process this "food", and will be absolutely clueless as to WHY their weightloss comes to a standstill.

Substituting LC junk for HC junk merely reinforces bad habits.

Corporate. Cash. Cow.

'Nuff said.

You won't find me eating any of that crap.

I agree that we're going a little overboard with the products. Wasn't the whole point of this diet to get us UNADDICTED to sweets like ice cream, cheesecake, and chocolate? Now we have low-carb substitutes for all this stuff. Do I indulge? Certainly. Do I make it a major part of my daily carb count? Only if I want to see the scale stand still.

Some things I think are good — like the Latortillas and whole-grain breads. They're full of fiber and mostly healthy stuff. I even enjoy low-carb pizza crust mix and batter mix (makes great chicken fingers). The sweet stuff is what worries me — especially the shakes and bars. Smells like Slim-Fast to me!

I see this turning to what happened with the low fat substiutes, some people will eat way too much because it's "low carb" and wonder why they're not losing and blame the "diet".

Well, my husband has switched to the Arnold's low carb bread. It's got more protein and nutrients than regular bread, and this way he can still have sandwiches.
Perhaps it's not ideal...but what is?

If you feel you eat the bars etc.. to get rid of a craving then isn't it making the problem continue? Just a thought.. It caused me to keep up cravings.. Once I switched to cheese sticks and raw veges my sweet cravings dissapeared..

asalvato,
What you are doing sounds great, I think it's more the rip open and eat products that most refer to as Phoney replacement foods.Yep, they are over priced over rated and not necessary
Hope you share some of your successes in the recipe section here.

Cheers Kathy

I think if anything he's spinning over being called "Adkins" and not "Atkins"

Well put, Seto.

Two girls at work were doing Atkins and were having an Atkins bar every morning instead of breakfast. Not a good way to start the day, IMO. Too much like SlimFast.

I want to break my addiction to sweets. How can I do that by eating something sweet all the time? I react to art. sweeteners like real sugar and end up with more cravings after satisfying the initial craving. Bad cycle for me, anyway.

To me, all the mixes, bars, shakes, lc substitutes is defeating. I don't want to eat bread, ice cream, etc. I want to 'keep it clean' with REAL food.

Nicole