Net carbs

fitter_happier94

I've just found these protein bars called Quest bars on Amazon. I've heard of them before but never been interested in that kind of thing (of course, until now, because I noticed they're about 3g net carbs per bar). I'm considering getting a pack of twelve once a month or so. I've checked which sugar alcohols are in them and they use isomalt which is pretty low GI so I'm not concerned about that, and I'm planning on only having one every few days or so in any case.

I hadn't been deducting fiber from my carbs (because I, frankly, couldn't be bothered to read into it and thought that while I was ignorant about it I should just count fiber carbs for the time being) but am now considering doing this. My only concern is that these things contain 17g of fiber per bar. Is that over-doing it on a ketogenic diet? Should I just leave them out?

In short, I suppose I'm asking someone to explain why fiber isn't a threat to ketosis so that I can put my mind at ease and have something junky and gross for the first time in 5 days.

DittoDan

We should poll the group. This discussion group is low carb in general. Although Keto is lo carb, not all lo carb is Keto. If I had to guess, I would say that if you're serious and want to go Keto: do not subtract the fiber, count the total carbs. I would guess most hard core keto'ers do that (like me). But, if you are just Low carb (50g to 150g carbs @ day) you can subtract all you like, because your goal is not being keto-adapted.

Additionally, there is a Keto discussion group here on MFP:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/discussions/1143-keto

I included that because I have met many lo-carber's that didn't know what "Keto" is.

I hope this helps,

Dan the Man from Michigan
It's Ketogenic or Bariatric! How I Found the Ketogenic Diet
Blog #10 Keto: Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used on the LCD & Keto Discussion Groups
Blog #13 DittoDan's Milestone's, First's And Good Changes Since Starting the Ketogenic Diet
DittoDan's Keto Blogs
How I got Off of Diabetic Prescriptions Drugs Since I Started Keto

wabmester

I bought a pack of 12 in the early days of my LC diet. I still have 11 left. I didn't like them. And I didn't need them.

They may or may not affect ketosis -- try them if you want to. But there are plenty of Real Food snack alternatives like nuts, jerky, pork rinds, even a bit of dark chocolate. Personally, I like nuts and chocolate.

Fat4Fuel2

Every once in a while... like once every 3 months in an emergency situation, I have one. Dietary fiber is usually considered to be indigestible, and that's why some people choose to count NET carbs. My personal preference is to only do that if the fiber is coming from a natural source, however, that is my opinion. My main concern with them is the protein to fat ratio. The are really high in protein! Maybe pair them with a fatty tea or something. Also, everyone is different! If you can handle them without the insulin response, you're good to go! If not, maybe keep them to a minimum.

fitter_happier94

@wabmester I don't like nuts pretty unfortunate given my dietary choice here haha. I have found an almond butter by Meridian that's organic and 6.5g of carbs per 100g so I'll probably take to that with a spoon while I sit and make my mind up about these all-that-glitters bars. Honestly I think that at my size it wouldn't take much to throw me out of ketosis and so I won't risk trying them until later on. 17g of fiber seems like an awful lot of anything to have in one sitting for such a small amount of food.

@Fat4Fuel2 That natural source thing sounds like a really good rule of thumb actually, thanks for that! And I've just found a recipe to make that "bulletproof coffee" everyone seems to rave about, so I could always have a bar with some BPC to offset the poor macro ratio of the bars. I think if I have one, it'll be not long after waking up and I'll do a little high intensity cardio to try to burn some of the carbs off, then hopefully later on in the day my body'll fall back into ketosis (is this flawed logic?)

Fat4Fuel2

It's actually another form of keto known as TKD or a Targeted Ketogenic Diet. Basically taking in a few carbs before a work out if it's intense won't throw you out of Keto the rest of the day, only while working out.

fitter_happier94

@DittoDan thanks for that link, I've joined :-) I'm just starting out but for now I'm trying to stay below 20g carbs a day. Thanks for your advice! Also, a poll would be interesting. It's quite an active group so I imagine there'd be a pretty decent turnout

fitter_happier94

@Fat4Fuel2 Wow really? Gonna have to look into that, sounds interesting (also mega useful). Thanks again

wabmester

Fasting and/or exercise will quickly get you back into ketosis if you ever go too high with carbs. (Even after that delicious rösti I had at a Swiss restaurant last weekend. )

fitter_happier94

@wabmester Hahaha treat yo'self. That's good to know though, it's nice to have a bit of wriggle room with such a low carb goal

KarlaYP

Some people like them. I wasted money on them too. One thing I did like, when I was lc, was the Atkins candy (like m&ms,). Don't recall the macros, but they fit in the lc range.

azcowgirrlup

I don't eat the bars and I don't deduct fiber from my carbs. I treat all carbs as equal....a carb is a carb is a carb for me.

Kitnthecat

You couldn't pay me to eat them. They don't taste good to me, aren't worth the money and my body does not recognize them as food. I don't like the added weird fibre, and don't believe that hype about subtracting the fibre, so would advise caution if eating too many. There are so many yummy foods to eat that will fit with LCHF macros without resorting to pre packaged stuff like this.