I am really confused about counting these creatures. I see "total" carbs..."net" carbs...fiber and some kind of formula for calculating these things.

The Atkins catalog says that sugar alcohol carbs have minimal impact on blood sugar levels...are they not to be counted ???? I thought a carb was a carb was a carb and so on ad infinitum ???

Can some of you enlighten me. Now, please bear in mind that I do not have a mathematical mind

Hello Merry,

Hope i can help a little.. When counting carb you are allowed to minus the fiber from the total amount of carbs.. so if you had green beans and it says they have 6 grams of carbs a cup and 2 grams of fiber you would minus the 2 grams of fiber from the 6 grams of carbs for a total of 4 carbs for the cup of green beans.. As for the sugar acholols I truely dont know.. I always count my carbs in my sugar free jello cups.. and they come from sugar acholol... Hope some one else has more insite on this part.. Also in the back of your atkins book should be a carb counter that has the carbs listed and the effective carbs listed... The effective carb counts are the carbs left after the fiber is taken away from them like i did above with the green beans.. Hope this helps some with counting you carbs.. also you can go to fitday.com and put your foods in there and it will keep track of your carbs and fiber count along with calories, fat and proteins counts... Just besure to subtract the fiber from your total carb count and thats what counts..


Hope I didnt confuse you to much ... I think I may of confused myself

All carbs are not created equal

While fiber is a carb it is non digestible by the human body, and therefore has no impact on insulin levels. Fiber can be deducted from the carb count giving you an "Effective Carb Count" or ECC.

Sugar alcohols are another matter. They are neither protein nor fat - that leaves only carbs. Everyone is different. My body may decide that Sugar alcohols are carbs and treat them accordingly, your may not see them as carbs. Trial and error will determine this for you. If you are stalled or your fat loss has slowed and you have been consumig them, then they would be the first thing you should eliminate. There's a great article under "Low Carb Tips" by Doreen called "Sugar Alcohols" you should have a read through. Many diabetics, upon consuming SA's, find that they have the same insulin reaction as when consuming sugar.

Summing up, you can subtract fiber grams from a total carb count (always check first to see if the manufacturer has done this for you - if you get a negative carb total when subtracting your fiber this means that it has already been subtracted). Whether you can subtract sugar alcohols will vary from person to person.

HTH
Nat