Thread: Net carbs

I just wanted to ask everyone opinion on something I heard last night. I was talking to a lady who has lost 169 pounds doing Atkins. She is in her 40's, and says she did not stall even once until after 130 was gone. I asked her what she did in her plan and how. She said she followed Atkins "Old School" version. The one before it was revised. She said in that book, Dr. Atkins said to counts all carbs, and did not say to subtract fiber or anything else. She said she followed her plan that way and had great success. Could this be true? Could the be the key to not stalling? ( Or at least fewer stalls.) I know fiber is not supposed to have an impact on blood sugar. That's why we don't count it. But if you think about it, sugar alcohols are not supposed to have an impact either, and yet most of us stall when eating things that contain them. Could it go the same with fiber? I have no medical background, and I'm in no way second guessing Dr. Atkins. I just wonder if maybe counting fiber should be a case by case basis. If so, we would be all eating alot fewer carbs, and surely mostly all unprocessed foods. That would be the only way to still equal only 20 carbs, or 25, or whatever number we eat in our plan. What is all of your opinions on this? I know we do need fiber in our diets. But what I'm asking is should we be counting it?

Atkins since June 20, 2004
278/250/120?

Hmmm, I still have the old book from the 70's. I just checked the index for "fiber" and it isn't even listed!!!

Of course, when this book came out, there were NO processed low carb foods. You only ate natural foods.

You were only allowed 2 cups of salad on induction, and no real vegetables, except salad material like celery, cukes, peppers, radishes, etc. So eating only 2 cups of salad presented very few fiber grams.

I checked my DietPower for the last few days. Since I switched to all natural foods, I finally have started losing. My carb count ~including fiber~ has been: 30.8, 27, 24.5, 24.7. If I substract fiber, the range is 19.44 to 18.8 carbs a day. Since I am in the 6th week, according to Atkins, I should be at 25 to 30 carbs a day. And that figure matches my carb counts WITH fiber.

Maybe you have found a glitch in the "new Atkins!"

Try to separate out the fiber and sugar alcohol questions. The switch to deducting fiber was made in the 90's when the scientific evidence was clear that fiber does NOT impact blood sugar or insulin levels. In those editions of DANDR, sugar alcohols were labeled NOT acceptable sweeteners, right along with sugar and corn syrup.

The switch to deducting sugar alcohols was made on scant (and faulty) studies at exactly the time that Atkins Nutritionals started selling foods full of the stuff. IMHO, it was a business decision and a poor one, since the very products sold by the Nutritionals end of the business will doom most people to failure and lead them to conclude that "Atkins" doesn't work (and the demand for the infernal products will go away).

Anyway, I don't see any advantage in counting fiber toward one's carb count. It just decreases the amount of good nutrition available from veggies and increases the need for supplements - none of which are as "good" for you as the real thing.

I say, avoid sugar alcohols like the plague, eat your veggies and deduct the fiber, and you should have no problems at all. JMHO

ahhhhhhh, thank you Maggie for clearing that up!

Mystical, I've had good luck finding out-of-print books at http://www.half.com (now owned by eBay), http://alibris.com, and http://www.bookfinder.com/ .

My feeling on the fiber thing is that the body doesn't digest it..............period. That's why it's classified as fiber. Fiber is actually the cellulose of plant cell walls. We don't have the proper "guts" to digest it, the way cows and other ruminants do. So if it doesn't get digested, it doesn't break down into smaller molecules that the body can burn for energy. It just passes through our digestive systems, mostly unchanged. There's also 2 types of fibers: soluble and insoluble. Solubles are much like psyllium and others that get "gel-like" when mixed with liquids. Insolubles are rough, really fiberous particles that don't absorb liquid and come out much the same way they went in. I find that I am ALWAYS looking at fiber content on packaging and subtracting and figuring net carbs. And the fact that it does NOT impact blood sugar in any way gives me comfort knowing that I can eat more good stuff that contains fiber. PLUS, fiber is one of the best ways to lower cholesterol levels and some fibers also help expedite fat through the digestive system, thus keeping it from getting digested too!!!! (psyllium is great for that!!!!)

I am stalled right now and have been for a long time, but I attribute it to my fat intake not my carb intake. I know I have to lower my fat intake, but am just not ready to do that. I am enjoying my foods way too much. It's an issue I have to deal with.

As for the sugar alchols, try to avoid them at all costs. Nuf said 'bout that!!!