i'm so confused... i'm on my first week of this diet, and i thought i was doing good counting my carbs... i'm visiting my grandmother whom is a true believer of the adkins plan, and has lost a ton of weight on it. while trying one of her adkins bars, i noticed that the total carb count on the nutrition facts label is 18 grams, but the front of the package says it has 3... she tried to explain something about the carbs, total carbs, and fiber, but i couldn't understand... if anyone has any clue what she might be talking about, can you word it better for me? she told me i might need to ask someone else to be able to understand... this is what i got from it;
if the label says "carbohydrates", to get the total carbs, you subtract the fiber amount from the carbohydrate amount, but if it i just says totaly carbs, than thats the true amount, but that doesn't seem to stand true when it comes to figuring the carb count for the adkins bars... any and all help is greatly appreciated!

ryanne mcdonald
jch_rbm12402~yahoo.com

Hi there Ryanne,

You're right, it is confusing.

First of all, the total carbs are just that - the total carbs. To get the effective or net carb count, you subtract the fibre. But that only works for whole foods, such as fruit and veg.

The bars contain another substance called sugar alcohols - aka "hidden carbs." Confused yet?
According to Dr Atkins, the sugar alcohols do not affect insulin levels and therefore don't "count."

However..... for many folk, sugar alcohols indeed can cause stalls, so be wary. You'll find more info on sugar alcohols (and lots of other things) in "Low Carb Tips" which you'll find on the orange bar at the top of the screen.

I hope that helps!

Rosebud

Hi Ryanne,

Here's a link from "Hot Links" (in the Newbies section of the forum) about carbs and fiber.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...bels#post179390

I do know that Atkins Bars have a tendancy to slow weight loss for a lot of people. And I don't think they're even allowed on Induction.

Hope this helps a little.

judy