I'm munching on a "Thnk Thin - Low Carb Diet" bar for lunch.

On its label it says:

NET CARB COUNT 2
Total carbs: 22
Non impact carbs: -20
Net carb count: 2
Note: For those watching their carbs, count only 2 grams, as all other carbs, including fiber, have a minimal impact on blood sugar.

The more I think about it, this sounds like a convenient marketing ploy to get their "candy bar" to list a lower carb count than the competition, even when the two products are essentially the same thing. The big "2" on the label is certainly why I bought the product over its competition.

Anyone know about this stuff and whether or not it's really true? Or is it just marketing BS?

Its basically not total BS. Like the label says the 'non impact' carbs are the ones that don't effect your blood-sugar levels, which is what brings you out of ketosis, and if you're on the Atkins diet you don't want that. The non-impact carbs that the bar has are probably things like maltitol and lactitol (sugar derivatives as known sugar-alcohols) which dont raise blood-sugar levels significantly.

And fiber, whose whole point is that it's undigestible.

(Anyone else notice that they always use the euphemism ``ketosis'' and not ``starvation''?)

Anyone else notice that they always use the euphemism ``ketosis'' and not ``starvation''?

I can see why. Even though "Starvation" might be an accurate term, it evokes a negative response in most of the general population. When in fact, a little bit of starvation (just "being hungry" some of the time) is healthy for you.

its not starvation at all. The fact that your body would rather use processed sugar for energy is not natural. Training your body to use something else for energy is not starving yourself.

ithoughti is correct. The point of the Atkins diet is to first get your body into ketosis and use the fat stores in your body for energy. Sure it's sort of like starvation, but that's what any weight loss method's basics are. You gotta cut down the energy intake enough to the point your body uses it's stores. On Atkins you add impact carbs back into your diet gradually in the phase they call ongoing weight loss. Once you get near your target weight you figure out your "critical carb level" the number of carbs you can take in to maintain your weight.
I've been on it since July and lost 28 pounds. I really miss a good hunk od bread right now, but otherwise it's a fun diet. BBQ lots of brisket and ribs, no sauce.

No, ithoughti is not correct. The fact that your body prefers to use processed sugars for energy is completely, 100% natural, and necessary. Glucose provides energy for brain cells, nerve cells, and production of red blood cells. This is stuff that fat cannot normally do. To compensate when a person is in ketosis, body proteins are torn apart, and turned into the glucose necessary to keep your brain functioning -- yep, your body eats itself. That's part of the reason low-carb diets require such a huge protein intake. Body fat cannot break down completely without carbs being present.

After a long enough period of time of glucose deprivation, the brain and nerves develop the ability to get about 2/3 their energy from ketone bodies (made from fat with no carbs present). But that, in itself, is insufficient to sustain life.

The low carb diet without protein offers large weight loss, but that's largely due to lost muscle tissue, water loss, and minerals. As soon as you add protein to the diet, it helps spare the muscle tissue, but the body uses that to get the glucose it needs, just like regular carbs (though it goes through a different breakdown process). As a result, you might as well just eat a low-calorie, balanced meal.

*IANAN (I am not a nutrionist), but I did take a nutrition course in university, and still have my really cool textbook.

I've been on it since July and lost 28 pounds

Excellent! I'm planning on going on the diet if I ever lose my obsession with milk. Until then, I wouldn't be able to live without it.

My dad has been on the diet for 3 years (and has used it to lose weight at certain points since the 70's), and when he went on if for good three years ago, he lost 80 lbs. Now he's leveled out and can eat some great stuff that no other diet would allow for.

Tony, I have to ask, are you following a general diet or are you just going with the "eat few carbs, eat more protein" method?

Tony, I have to ask, are you following a general diet or are you just going with the "eat few carbs, eat more protein" method?

Over the last few years, I've gone gradually from over 210 pounds down to my current weight, which fluctuates between 170 and 175.

I did not follow someone else's specific diet. I did it by doing these things, which evolved over time:

- Stopped drinking 12 packs of Pepsi at work during the day and switched to diet drinks. I keep having to change drinks because I get sick of a certain brand of drink if I drink it for too long.

- Stopped eating so much, and just got used to just "being hungry sometimes". I stopped going out to lunch every day in addition to having a big dinner. Most days, I either have a dinner or a lunch, but rarely both. Breakfast is a once-in-a-while treat. When I do go out to lunch, I never order the combo meal with the fries. Just the sandwich. Because fries are evil.

- When I eat, I do my best to choose high protein and low carb if possible. But I can't follow that closely because it's so difficult to find low-carb foods these days. Everything you buy everywhere is loaded with carbohydrates.

- Occasionally having a snack during the day instead of a lunch break. That's why I was looking for those low-carb snack bars. Just to keep the edge off of the hunger.

- Doing sit-ups in the morning.

That's about it.

if I ever lose my obsession with milk. Until then, I wouldn't be able to live without it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I still drink milk, I just don't have cookies with it every day like I used to. And I switched from the full-milk stuff to the lowfat stuff. When I get an urge for a treat, it's lowfat milk and a spoon of peanut butter instead of milk and oreos.

When people lose that much weight they always claim an increase in energy, did you notice that?
I'm at 205 and would like to be 180, but not so much to look better, just to feel better.

Well, sure. Try strapping on a 30 pound pack and then see how much more energetic you feel after you take it off.

Point taken, I just would like to take 30 lbs. off as fast as a "pack"

When people lose that much weight they always claim an increase in energy, did you notice that?

Yes, but it's not a magical "suddenly I feel like I could run a marathon" kind of thing.

It's more along the lines of just "feeling better" all around. I sleep better, my moods are better, I don't get depressed as easily, I'm less stressed, I'm calmer, that sort of thing. All of those add up to being more able to focus energy when and where I want to focus it.

Have you ever had one of those days where you'd gotten a really good night's sleep, and you woke up feeling refreshed and just "ready to tackle the day"? It's not like you've got any more energy reserves than you'd had the day before, it's just that it feels as though all the variables are in the right place to make that energy work for you more easily. Well, over the last couple of years, I've been having more and more of those kinds of days. Now it's the norm rather than the exception like it used to be.

I'm not saying the weight loss was the only reason for it. I've made some deliberate attitude changes in my life over the past couple of years which help account for a lot of it. But the weight loss was certainly a factor.

That's exactly what I'm looking for. I couldn't decide if it was the weight, getting old (now 42) or a combination of both. I have gradually added 25 lbs. in the last 5 years, and I just don't feel as sharp as I use to. My problem is I want the weight to go away instantly. I have tried the "no carb" programs, but as you mentioned, trying to find low carb or no carb foods in your daily travels is next to impossible, so after a week or so I fall back into bread, rice and potatoes. I am going to have to take a long term approach, dropping pepsi is a good place to start.

I used to be about 20 lbs overweight for my size, and over about a 3 year period, I gradually got the weight down through consistent exercise: Goin to the track, doing intervals, long-distance running, weightlifting. As a result, I began to feel a lot better not just because I was losing weight and getting in shape, but because I was also gaining self-confidence. I always feel a lot better when I'm on a workout schedule. And If I've missed a workout or two because of laziness or because I'm too busy, I feel down. I think it just has a lot to do with being proud of myself for working hard at something. Anyway, not sure where I'm going with this, but to say that for me it seems to be more of a self-confidence thing than a more energy thing.

- trs

That's my plan, too. Now if I could only get up off my butt long enough to actually go do some of it.

dropping pepsi is a good place to start.

I should note that I didn't stop drinking soft drinks altogether. I still have non-diet soft drinks when I go to a restaurant. Because the restaurants only serve diet pepsi or diet coke which both taste like panther piss. I just stopped keeping it at home and work so that I didn't "just drink it because it was all I had". Now I just drink a lot of flavored iced tea and various other diet drinks when I'm looking for something tasty to drink.

What diet drinks do you like? (BTW, I think Diet Sprite takes the cake for being the worst tasting diet drink. Or it at least used to.)

Nah. I nominate Diet Caffeine-Free Coke. It's like fizzy brown water.

What diet drinks do you like?

Right now I'm buying large quantities of Snapple, "Diet Peach Iced Tea" flavor. In the past, I've been OK with Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Dr. Pepper.

Mmmmm. Brominated vegetable oil and prune juice.

It's a warrior's drink.

A few years a go I weighed over 315 pounds. I decided that when going up a flight of stairs winded me, it was time to do something. I felt like shit, looked like the Comic Book Guy, and slept horribly, always waking up in a sweat and never getting a good night's sleep.
I went to a personal trainer, started working out 2, then later, 3 times a week and quit drinking Dr Pepper and eating Pop Tarts for breakfast lunch and dinner. I got down to 236 pounds, my goal was 225, then a project crunch at work hit, they bought us dinner, free sodas all day long and I got lazy, again.
Went back to 271 pounds when I started the Atkins diet. Now I'm down to 244, still shooting for 225. This time I will not go back to Dr Pepper and Pop Tarts for food sources! The tips Tony stated above are dead on. When I was losing the initial 90 pounds, I didn't stick to a diet, I worked out (lots of cardio) and ate healthy, (non-fat, no processed sugar.) I just made the classic mistake of not keeping it as my regular diet, I went back to the dark side... Mmm dark chocolate....
After losing all that weight, it's wasn't an amazing rush of energy, it's more of a realization like, "Hey I can see my feet again!" or "Damn! I just ran a mile for the first time since high school!" After losing ~25 pounds on Atkins, it's noticeable again, more energy and better sleep. I highly recommend losing any extra weight you may be carrying...

That's funny, we all have our preferences. I drink Diet Caffine Free Coke as my soda of choice. I actually like it. I too am trying to lose a little weight, 25 lbs. As I get older it gets harder to do. My knees are not what they use to be and I must find low impact type excercise. Running, jogging is out. Although it doesn't fit the criteria that I just listed I love racketball.

Not sure why but I just don't like the taste of it. If I've been drinking normal Coke and then switch to diet then it just tastes wrong for ages. After a while I get used to it but I still can tell it's diet. Worryingly I can tell the difference between Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Diet Coke, Coke, Diet Caffeine Free Coke and other

Have you tried swimming? That's quite good exercise and it's low impact.

Somehow over the years I have aquired a taste for mineral water. If I'm going to slow down on sugar, I'll have to stock up on "Perrier".

And now I'm sure I'll get crucified for drinking a French product.

Racketball is also an extremely aerobic sport. Very very good for the cardio system. It is, however, very hard on the knees. Especially when your partner keeps hitting them with his racket.

I must be one of the few guys that has a quite opposie problem, I simply cannot seem to gain weight. I am currently 5'10" and weigh 127 lbs dripping wet. When I graduated from high school I weighed in at a solid 115. In college, I figured out my caloric intake in biology class, and I was taking in 6-7000 calories a day. Keep in mind, that of course I didn't want to gain fat, I wanted muscle mass. I worked out 6 times a week (upper body then lower body, alternating days) swam, ran, biked, climbed, played racketball, tennis and soccer. Soccer is the only sport I played consistently. (19 years now)

It just kinda sucks that there are people that have no issue putting on weight, and would do anything to get rid of it, while there are those of us that feel they are too thin, and would give anything to "bulk up" but can't.

For those looking to use exercise as a weight loss program (the best one, IMO) be sure to get a buddy. It is far more difficult to blow off an afternoon at the gym when you know someone is waiting on you to spot them.

Hey, if you've got a system that works for you, go with it. I just know someone who constantly says she's "on the Atkins diet", but she's terrible at it. Eats the wrong things (bananas have loads of carbs), and for some reason sees no problem in following the diet one week, then eating how she wants the next. Oh well, her loss (...or gain...).

Anyway, I'm going to start eating better myself. I'm going to start with smaller portions (I cook too much food and always feel the need to clean my plate). Then maybe switch to diet drinks (Diet Dr Pepper is the best tasting diet, IMO).

Exercise has NEVER agreed with me. I simply cannot do it. I've tried, too, and everyone I know refuses to believe that not everyone is suited to exercising. I get a horrible feeling every time I do cardio, and not just now that I'm 250. I was in decent shape in high school, and I felt the same then. I was on the crew team for a semester (one of the toughest sports I can think of), and that required more running than I can fathom today. I felt like my lungs were iced and going to collapse every time I did it, and it still happens to me today, although at shorter distances.

So yeah, lets hear it for weight loss.

Because the restaurants only serve diet pepsi or diet coke which both taste like panther piss.

I never understood why Coke doesn't sell Coke Light like they do in Europe. To me, it tastes almost like regular Coke.