Me again!

Well bit less than a year and a half from surgery and I think I'm doing well. Lost a few pounds but really want to get to onderful land (and stay there, safely in). Had two vomity episodes and about ten where I wish I could have purged over the past fifteen months, never been really hungry for more than a few seconds, mostly hit my protein goals (min 70 g) and carb goals (max 40 g).

I am, though, in a bit of a quandary. I keep hearing about 'net carbs.' When I was in Australia I found some yummy mini low carb bars which were touted as having only 4g per bar. That was right on their labels, but according to the manufacturer, they were carbs "net of fibre." And then in the European Union carbohydrates and fibre are counted separately. But here I keep being told that the government (who is never wrong) has no definition of 'net carbs.' My question is - so what? Anyway. I just want the option of a sweet treat every now and then, other than sugar-free popsicles and jello. Not that there's anything wrong with SF popsicles or jello. Any thoughts would be gratefully received.

I also made some "protein bread" with soy protein powder, egg whites, baking powder and milled flax seed. Pre-surgery I used to be able to eat it by the slice. Now, one slice made me feel like I'd eaten a bowling ball. Really unpleasant. So no more of that!

Other than that the surgery is the best thing I ever did, in terms of my health and my mobility and I'm told my appearance.

Glad to hear things are going well! "Net carbs" is the term for total carbohydrate minus the fiber in the product. Honestly, I think it's a bunch of smoke-and-mirrors. A carb is a carb is a carb. Don't give me that "net carb" crap so I'll buy your goodies thinking they are good for me! Tell me how many total carbs are in the thing I want to eat.

My suggestion: If you are still in weight loss mode don't count "net carbs", count "total carbs" in order to stay under your 40 grams and to continue to lose. Those yummy mini "low-carb" bars may not be as attractive viewed in that light

Thanks! I will take your suggestion. They sure aren't. For 20 carbs they're awfully small.

You minus the fiber because it is just that... fiber. Your body can't absorb it.

Some people also say to take the number of sugar alcohols and divide it by 4 and use that but I personally would stay away from them all together.

Nice sweet treat: Dannon light and fit greek yogurt caramel apple pie. Slice up half of a fave apple and dip in!!! Sweetness with a crunch . . YES!!!!

jo

A lot of manufacturers play fast and loose with fiber. There are all kinds of things called "fiber" -- some of them, such as iso-malto-oligosaccharides, one of the most common in processed snacks -- will send people's blood sugar skyrocketing. It acts just like sugar, it has calories, and ought to be counted as a carb, not subtracted as fiber.

If you're eating celery, yeah, that's fiber. But packages of celery don't have labels that tout "net carbs." If it's a processed food that has a "net carb" label on it, don't fool yourself into counting just the net. Count the total carbs.

I feel you're right in your analysis. If only manufactures had to specify what kind of fiber. I've been counting total carbs up to know and the sky hasn't fallen so I think I'll continue.