I dont have time to make a good breakfast, so after the 14 day induction on akins I purchased some bars to eat for breakfast most mornings. Then I found this website and read about hidden carbs. Well sure enough the breakfast bars and adavantage bars contain glycerine. So I went to the Low carb tools link and these were my findings. While all the bars claim only 2 g. of carbs they actually contain 9-10.5 grams. I still plan on eating these as they are quick and better than a bagle and cream cheese, but I would certainly like the actual carb count on all the labels. Especially the akins products, since I like to count every carb for my day.

Indeed, Mama03, you've found out what many of us have been disappointed to find out about labels on bars and many other "lowcarb" products, too.

Just so you know, recently the FDA sent a warning out to the manufacturers of lowcarb products about their labelling practices, and the Atkins Nutritionals company is going to be making some changes on their new product labels ("soon"). I believe there is a big announcement and a letter from Dr. Atkins at their website, you might want to read it, here's the link to the website: www.atkinscenter.com.

While you're there, you might want to say how disappointed you are in the labelling, right to them. There will be a place to email or contact them at their site.

Don't get me wrong, there is lots of good stuff there, too (check the recipes!) but the only way to get things changed is to let the makers know what you think, one of their valued customers!

Thanks for posting your opinion here, Mama03, and welcome to our site, by the way (I see this is your first actual post )

Say if your carb allowance for the day is 30 grams, one of those bars takes up 1/3 of it.

Depending on what you eat, and all the "free foods" that have carbs - dairy, eggs, coffee, etc. - this could work against you. Especially since LC bars and artificial sweeteners are notorious stallers and notorious for setting up cravings.

Lots of LC food can be prepared in advance and eating on the run. Check the readers recipes for breakfast ideas. There's lots of tasty things to try.

Karen

This is great news Island girl, I went to the site, but I don't see no letter, do you know what it's under?

Thanks

It's here:

http://206.67.99.180/news_story.asp?newsID=41


Karen

Ok, so I went to the site at www.atkinscenter.com and then I clicked on the FAQ button on the lower right (or on the menu bar). Then I put the word "label " in the keyword search field and hit GO. The resulting page gives a lot of questions & answers but page down and you get to this one (about 8th or 9th question):

and this answer:

... which wasn't exactly what I remember reading! but there's more:

Hmmmmmmph. They go on some more but the really important bit is here:

Quote:

Atkins will therefore update all its labels to comply with this directive. This process is underway and can be seen on Atkins™ Ready-To-Drink Shakes, Atkins™ Shake Mixes, Atkins™ Quick & Easy Mixes and many other Atkins products. It is presently being accomplished on Atkins Advantage™ Bars, Atkins™ Breakfast Bars and Atkins Endulge™ Bars. Current product with existing labels will be sold through and then be replaced by product with the FDA-mandated labels. Consumers should start seeing these new labels in early 2002.

Hope that helps!

at the Atkins Nutritionals site!

A good time to fill it out if you have concerns about Hidden Carbs or the taste of some of those Bars!

Go to www.atkinscenter.com and look for the Online Customer Satisfaction Survey !

Judi, look up!

Karen

Well, Karen, dueling posts!

At least we've got it covered... if this becomes old news to the Atkins folks and the link goes, the text I put in is still here!

Thank you for the site, all I can say, is that it's about time!

I refuse to buy any of these products because of their deceiving ways of making us people with weight problem buy their products!

I may be hungry, but I ain't money hungry!

I will be writing them a page or two tomorrow

I'm not sure about other brands, but the Atkins bar (as sited in posts above) does say right on the packaging that the carbohydrate figure is omitting the "carbs" that are associated with glycerin and polydextrose.

If you're concerned with the specific "nutritional facts", and not only those details that apply to the Atkins diet, then it's likely you know how to calculate the "hidden carbohydrates" regardless.

Call me crazy, but I'm glad they're labelled as such. When I started using these bars, if I had seen a "carb count" of 29g with a footnoted statement about the "Atkins carbs", I probably wouldn't have started using them. I would have been too concerned about the impact they would have on my diet. (Which would have been a mistake for me.)

Maybe I'm naive, but given the way they're labeled, and the purpose of the company producing them, I was open to making them a part of my dieting regime. [I did, of course, do a little research into the details of some of the contents of the bars to dispel some lingering concerns.]

Many people in these forums seem to have a militant stance against these bars. WE'RE DIETING FOLKS. We're trying to lose weight and maintain general health. Most of us aren't in a situation where trying these things are going to be detrimental to our health. If you were diabetic and considering the use of an Atkins bar I'd understand being hesitant. But if you're just trying to find foods that will help you achieve your goals of weight loss, than it's possible these bar could help. I know they've been helping me.

That's the reason for my post, really. No one seems to be taking a supporting stance in favor of these things. Since they have worked so well for me I feel obliged to do so. Two of my three meals a day are Atkins bars. One for the breakfast and one for lunch. (When I started I was originally just having the breakfast bars but adopted a bar for lunch after a couple of weeks). My weight loss experience has been phenomenal... I couldn't be happier with the results. Granted, I've only been using them for about a month, but so far so good.

That's it for now...

Happy dieting folks!



--Victor

This way of life is about omitting harmful carbs from our lifestyles. I have found that after being lc for six months, I was grateful to find the endulge line of chocolate bars. Having been without sugar for virtually that length of time, the bars taste just like I remember chocolate tasting. (My 14 yr old daughter says they aren't sweet enough!) It's not something I eat daily, however, I have enough in the house to have one every day for a month, so that if I am having a need for sweet, with no sugar free jello, or whipping cream available (not likely as I use heavy whipping cream in my coffee) I grab a bar. Also, with my job, had I not had the lc bars, Atvantage, Edge, etc. I would have been doomed to failure! I attend two to three functions a month which include fine dinning. I am expected to eat with my customers. Most times, there are cheeses, salads, as well as roasted meats or filets to pick from, however, specialty meals, such as Chinese New Years, Cinco DeMayo, etc, the bars save me. Then there are the Golf Tournaments, where the Club House provides sandwich lunches with chips, candy bar, fruit & soda.
These lc bars have been a God Send to me in so many ways.
I am embarrased to admit that the only excercise I get apart from some stairs at work, and bowling 3 times a week is to move my arm from my plate to my mouth. I may not have lost what I have in record time, however, in less than a year I got to 69% of my goal. Not being a Spring Chicken, I believe that result is no less than a miracle!
Seeing as how this WOL is just that, in order to eat better for my health, I will continue to use all the low carb products that will help me maintain my chosen way of eating.
When I found that most bacon was cured with sugar of one kind or another, I had already lost 25 lbs eating the bacon at work. So to be too paranoid about a few carbs which don't impact my sugar level seems a bit extreme.
So, I, along with Victor, am a supporter of what Atkins was trying to accomplish with their break down of carbs on thier products!

My two cents worth.
Murp

Those of us who here ARE affected by the "hidden carbs" in ANY LC products (from diagnosed diabetics through to "dieters only") tend to be angered or disturbed by what are actually (a) very general assumptions that are not true for everyone built into a Nutrition Facts label and (b) a marketing technique that does an end-run around labelling regulations meant to ensure a level playing field and non-deceptive practices.

Those of us who AREN'T affected (yet) or have found the LC products useful as tools tend to defend the bars based on their own personal experience.

I'm here to say that, after 3 years of living low carb and watching the market and the people change somewhat, that the products don't really require either anger or defending, nor do the people using or researching the products and sharing the information here.

Information and knowledge is of benefit to all of us, and this is why we share it here.

It's great that some of you are not affected by "hidden carbs", but it's (to me) more important that those who are or MIGHT be affected have the information available to them, starting HERE and ending with the manufacturers and advertisers, so that health and weight loss (there IS a relationship there, folks) can be promoted as is SUPPOSED to be the purpose of all these products.

My $0.25.

PS: over the last 3+ years of reading and experience, I have seen time and again that when a person initially not affected by these items gets close to goal, as often as not they ARE affected by hidden carbs and sugar alcohols at that time and stalls or plateaus. This information would then help that person, would it not?
PPS: don't make the assumption that "we" are here to diet only, have a look at the Technical and Health Support forums!

Point taken.
I am (was) selfishley seeing the coin from the current side that I am on.
It's terribly unfortunate that a lot of people (read Murp) are a little short sighted on this subject. I have gotten where I am by luck and belief in the system I chose, that it was just a healthier way to live. Had I encountered more problems on the way, I am sure Iwould have been exposed to the need to be aware of hidden carbs and sugar alcohol, etc.
I can see the need (now) for full disclosure of carb totals. It's much simpler for me to do the math, I can easily subtract for myself the carbs that aren't effecting me at any given time. Which would then leave the totals for anyone who needs to know.
Thanks for the eye opener!!!!
Murp

When I first started lc-ing, I tried several types of SUPPOSED lc bars, thinking I was only consuming 2 grams or so.

All I can tell you is that I kept falling out of ketosis, and began to elimate food item after food item unitl I discovered the culprit. Guess what it was? "LC" bars. So much for those hidden carbs that were shown to "not affect most people".

I was outraged that they could manipulate their labeling like this, and while I was in the midst of compiling a letter to the FDA, found out that they were already coming down on LC bar manufacturers for that very thing.

If they don't affect you, fine, use them if you feel you need to. But I've seen them affect more people than not. Beware....

Best-
Susan