I just went to Walmart and they had the Carbolite choc bars for 20 cents each and I bought a whole bunch. Do you think I can get away with eating say, one per day or so, as long as I'm still under (way under) 20 carbs? I just finished my first two weeks and I was planning on staying at 20 carbs for awhile. Are there hidden dangers here that I should know about?

Thanks!

Heather

PS - Yes, I eat my veggies, btw.

With bars, your mileage may vary (YMMV). Some people can tolerate them without affect. Other people find the bars slow them right down. There's no way of knowing unless you try them.

I've read that the bars actually have more carbs than the label says. People use the hidden carbs inspector from the quick links to the right of the screen to check out commercially prepared foods for more accurate carb counts. I'm afraid I'm not much help here because I don't use the bars.

Something else about those bars too. They are sweetened with Maltitol and many people report a fair amount of gastrointestinal distress (gas, cramps, bloating) if they consume more than a few squares at a time. Maltitol has a laxative effect that seems to affect some people more than others so until you know how they affect you, I'd advise that you start with a small portion and go from there.

Carbolite bars Love those suckers! Favorite is the milk chocolate then the chocolate caramel crisp, don't like the toffee one to much. I have ate more than one a day three I think in one day. I don't keep them around much because they cost alot and I would eat them all at once if I got in the mood. Malitol doesn't bother my tum tum at all. Too bad...that would be a deterent. only 22 cents...wow...I better stay away from Wal-mart!

Also Pur delight dark belgium chocolate is real good too. Has 1.1 carbs (they don't count sugar alcohol carbs either).

Read that label carefully. I believe 2 small squares (not the whole bar) of that whole carolite chocolate bar = 1 serving or 2 carbs. Yes? Tricky tricky.

As others have said, they can stall some people and not others. You will have to find out what they do to you! Me for one, I eat them a few times a week - never more than 1/2 of the 1.75 ounces bars at a time though - that malitol has a tendancy to keep things moving a good bit.

They may slow my weight loss a bit, I'll admit to that, but since this is a way of life and not a diet, I'll sacrifice a bit of weight loss speed.

NSmith...

It depends on what size bar you have. Carbolite bars come in two sizes. The smaller size is one serving per bar. The Larger size is 4 servings, I believe. It always pays to read the labels. As you pointed out, those manufacturers can be tricky with how they label things.

Hey, I just noticed the smaller size of the bars in the store today.
I find that the chocolate bars seem to have alot more malitol (sugar alcohols) than the "protein bars"??? I mean I don't eat these things on any kind of a normal basis, but I've found in a "food emergency" that if I eat a chocolate low carb bar, you know like a hershey-type bar, I get bathroom trouble, but if I eat a "high protein bar" like an atkins bar - no problem....kind of curious.

Anyone know why?

Generally I stick to real foods/I don't like risking tummy troubles.
N

NSmith...

Probably because Maltitol is used for two purposes. The primary one is to sweeten and it would take more Maltitol to sweeten unsweetened chocolate than it would a protein bar which also often has glycerin in it as well. I'm sure you've noticed that the protein bars are not as sweet generally as a low carb chocolate bar. The other purpose for Maltitol is to give the product that creamy "mouth feel" that everyone associates with chocolate.

Oh, thanks - clears that up. I'm not so concerned about that "mouth-feel"...or even all that sweetness either. So I generally don't gravitate toward theses products.

But in an emergency - when surrounded by nothing but
gooey sugar coated stickybuns and donuts - one of these
items is "okay" in my book.

I'm still waiting for that magical yet still uncreated product:

0 carb (none hidden), no sugar alcohols, no hydrogenated oils and no "oses" on that label...well, I can dream. Add some fiber, lower that FAT content a bit (just for me, not for anyone else) and maybe even add some potassium, vitamins/minerals,high in protein too (whey protein!)...now that would be a great treat!

Dreaming.

Also bear in mind 'protein bars' are actually 'meal replacement bars', not a dessert or candy bar. They're like low-carb 'Slim-Fast'. The Carbolite, Endulge, etc are CANDY!!!! (Yeah!!) Try the Russell Stover sugar free truffles some time.....