Need help on carbs!

Genie posted this the other day, but got no response.  I'm in the same boat as her.  I've been doing low carb as a way of life since vsg in aug, but need to know the consensus on counting carbs, net carbs, sugar alcohols.  Thanks for your input!

Hi Mimi --

Unfortunately there is no concensus on the counting carbs/net carbs/sugar alcohols thing.  Add to this confusion about glycerine (do we count carbs that don't elevate blood sugar?) and it just gets murkier and murkier.

A good place to start, in my point of view, is tracking TOTAL carbs, and then deducting both soluble and  insoluble fiber -- This gives you an idea of how much total carbohydrate is available for your body to utilize (whether it impacts insulin levels or not), and also lets you know whether you are getting enough fiber.

From my point of view, sugar alcohols are horrible -- lots of gassy bloating and diarrhea -- And glyverine is just a sneaky way of adding sugar into foods while making us beieve it doesn't "count" in some way.

But in the e nd, your kileage may differ!  You'll have to see how your body reacts!

Thanks for the reply. I don't eat a lot of sugar alcohols, but I'm traveling a lot lately, so the Atkins protein bars are very appealing. At least I know I'm not alone in my search for carb counts!

This is one area where I think personal exprience with your reactions will come into play.  Start with the rules of the lc plan you perfer then adjust your method as your body responds or fails to respond.  Lets face it, if the anals of popular metabolic knowledge were accurate then calories in vs calories out would work for every one even on a diet of tater tots.  Even a consensus woul not hold for everyone.   

I count all carbs for my percentage of total calories.  Total carbs minus fiber, minus sugar alcohols, minus other non digestibles (like in dreamfields pasts) for my net carb calculation.   The debate goes on but why do I care as long as my method works for me?  I've monitored my diet for decades so I know my way is fine through trial and error. 

Sugar alcohols get deducted because they make no difference to me physically.  I do not have indications of spikes in blood sugar no matter how much I eat.  I add one carb for each packet of 0 carb granular splenda I use.  The carbs as fillers in this and equal matter for me physically.  Same with sf drink mixes. 

Track your foods and weight loss and see how you respond to various types of carbs.  Over time you will know what you can get away with excluding from your net carbs. 

I personally like the Atkins 1972 plan where a carb is a carb is a carb.  My brain can get very tricky and try to figure out how to get more etc so for me it's best to just read the package and count the total carbs.  That said, if you find that eating bars doesn't affect you, it really doesn't matter if you count total or net.  Do whatever works for you.

My bdoy doe snot use fiber. I can't use SA. So net carbs is carbs-fiber. Rest -0 I know my body gets in somehow.