Total Carbs vs. Net Carbs

I'm wondering what everybody thinks of the "Net Carb" measurements on food labels.  I ask because I found some sugar free candies (http://edasugarfree.com/index.htm) at a store this weekend and bought some of them.  That was a weak moment when my sweet tooth reached into my wallet to pay for them.  Anyway, I see that they have sorbitol in them.  Upon doing a little research, I found this is all part of the net carb and sugar alcohols craze that I keep hearing about.  Foods contain carbs but some are carbs that either do not change blood sugar levels (great for diabetics) or the carbs can't be absorbed and pass through you.  So, I'm curious if all you high protein/low carb folks out there count total carbs or net carbs when choosing foods? --Eric

Now that is a tough one.  I think it depends how you do with sorbital and molital things of that nature.  Sometime I can do it but two weeks ago I got sick to my tummy from Rita's Italian SUGARFREE ice.  There is only one way of knowing and you have to be the one to try it out.  Carbs are different in alcohol sugars.  Good Luck

Hugs Kristen

It is all in the way your body tolerates the sugar alcohols. I know when I low carbed, my body did very well with sugar alcohol. It didn't raise my blood sugar, or cause my  body to go out of ketosis, which was the key to weight loss with low carb diets.  But, even with their stomach untouched some people cannot tolerate sugar alcohol (sorbitol and malietol are among the most common) without getting the runs. So, if I were you, I would try a few licks and see what happens, if you haven't had any experience with it. That will be my plan of action post surgery. For those who can tolerate sugar alcohol, Trader Joes has an amazing chocolate! Hope this helps.

Hi Eric.  I don't count carbs.  I do keep it low but I don't usually count them.  I keep track of my food intake on calorie-count.com and try to keep the carbs at less than 40% of my day.  I do not know how many carbs that amounts to.   I seem to remember that with South Beach it was the net carbs that mattered.  Before them with Atkins, I think it was total carbs.    The sugar alcohols tend to upset my stomach so I don't eat too many of them.  Although at this point, being 19 months out, I can eat regular sugar in limited amounts, unlike in the first 12 months.  

I haven't had any problems with the sugar alcohols (Knock on wood) and have my billy-goat-like stomach to thank for that! I think it is very interesting that you don't count carbs.  I do but I knowingly get tons of them.  Not so much in food but I drink a lot of skim milk.  Milk has about 1 gram of protein per ounce so I use it as a major source of protein.  I'm guessing if I quit drinking milk and switched to a water-based protein shake to make up for it, I would lose weight even faster than I am now.  I may do that some day but I can't really argue with the results I'm seeing.  To me, it's one of those if it isn't broke don't fix it things. I'm am curious, however, to know what you mean by "...try to keep the carbs at less than 40% of my day."  Am I reading this wrong or did you accidentally omit a word?  It seems important so I'm asking.

Hi Eric.   You are lucky you can drink milk.  I am very "milk" intolerant to include most icecream.  I say milk because I can tolerate other dairy products such as cheese & cottage cheese and yogurt.  I don't do well with dairy creamers or whippped cream but I still have a squirt of that from time to time.     Anyway, I don't count carbs but I do limit my carb intake.  I don't eat potatoes, white bread, rice, pasta and I limit my sweets - most of the time.  When I do eat bread or tortillias, I use the high fiber/low carb variety so I am keeping the carbs low.  I watch the sweet stuff and limit myself to things that have about 15 grams of sugar or less per serving.  I eat protein first then veggies/fruit and then other stuff if I feel like it.  Of course I have had a bite or two of potatoes, rice, & pasta (although rice & I do NOT get along either) but I try to never have more than 3 bites when I do splurge.  About my 40% thing, I meant that I limit carbs to 40% or less (and I need to be doing more of the less part these days ) of my total daily calorie intake.  At least that's what calorie-count.com tells me I am doing.  They have this pie chart that shows the percent of your calorie intake by protein, fat, carbs, sodium & other.  I like to see the pie say that I am consuming more than 50% of my calories with protein and the rest between fat & carbs.  I hope this helps.  I don'****ch my salt intake so I don't pay attention to that part of the pie.    You are doing a great job with your weight loss.  I think you have lost an amazing amount of weight is a short time.  You must be doing something right.  So I say keep up the great work!!!  Have a fab day!  It's so gorgeous outside.  I love days like this.   Robin

I get lots of bloating and other GI symptoms when eating sugar alcohols- I can tolerate 6-10 grams of sugar better than the same of sugar alcohols.  I don't count carbs or calories.  I am perhaps atypical- - I have IBS- D- which means more malabsorption than average.     Breads, bagels, potatoes are staple foods for me.  I cannot tolerate most raw or cooked green vegetables.  I eat most fresh fruits (not canned).  I am trying not to lose more weight and maintain 140 pounds.  So I graze most of the day- pretzels in betweeen meals.   My diet pattern goes against the traditional recommendations of the RDLD but the doctor is not too concerned since I am not gaining weight and labs are OK.   If the IBS-D ever goes away- which I would be soooo grateful if it does- - I will most likely have to make many changes in my diet. I like the Snickers Marathon nutrition  bars.  They ave several flavors but a few are lower in sugar- gotta read the labels.  The ones I like have about 10 grams of sugar and 11 of protein.  Dark Choc Crunch is my fav flavor- 80 cents each at Walmart.  They taste like a real candy bar to me- like a Crunch bar with some peanuts and caramel too.  They'd be better with more nuts in my opinion.    Snickers  also has another protein bar- with 28 grams of protein and about 11 grams of sugar.  They are pretty good but taste more healthy/nutritious- so they don't really satisfy my candy bar craving like the other Marathon bar does.   I don't have any guilt about what I eat.   I do have regrets at times- but that might be from a piece of birthday cake and icecream loaded with sugar and I dump horribly soon after eating it so I regret because of the GI side effects- not the calories .