Atkins bars/shakes etc - advice needed

SallyJ1985

Hi

I am aiming for 30g or under of net carbs at the moment. I find i am eating up to 4 of these bars/shakes per day as i am on the go a lot and have a major sweet tooth.

Any advice on if this is too much? Or any suggestions on alternatives?

Thanks!

yarwell

the bars have a lot of polyols, you may be going over the limit. I prefer real food, nuts instead of an Atkins bar for example.

You would most likely get over the sweet tooth if you weren't pandering to it with sweet products like those.

kimimila86

I eat them sparingly when I run out of things to eat and I don't have time to prepare something in advance. I'm super wary and kinda concerned about the amount of synthetic sugar that's in it...

skinnyeascolady

You might want to rethink that. my weight loss stalled for two weeks on these things. I would cut them up small and eat only 1/5 of a bar a day if that.

sicchi

MAX is 2 per day as the book says. If you stall cut back to 1 or none. Try pure cream (2 tbls), 1 tbls of unsweetened cocoa powder and a sachet of splenda mixed together if you need a sweet fix, its delish and is made up of 'real' foods. Also I always have sugarfree jelly on hand, it saves me everytime!

mncardiojunkie

Dr. Atkins didn't even like those things. He said use them very sparingly.

They really stall my weight loss. Try making some of those low carb muffins for the go. That's what I do.

2gabbee

My go to snacks are sugar free pudding , sugar free jello, fiber 1- 90 calories Brownies, Nature Valley Protein Chewy Bar in Peanut, Almond & dark chocolate, Simply fruit roll ups, Jerky, Tyson pre cooked chicken strips, string cheese, colby or pepper jack sticks, Kind bar Almond coconut, apples with peanut butter, raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, or 1oz planters peanuts pre packaged, lettuce, turkey, tomato lettuce wrap or vegie lettuce wraps with match stick carrots, small dices or sticks of cucumber & tomato, spinach etc some call it naked vegie rolls so no rice paper eat like appetizer, berries like raspberries strawberries, EAS advantage carb control french vanilla shake. Slim a bear Klondike ice cream bar. Hope you can find one that fits in your healthy lifestyle.

mncardiojunkie

My go to snacks are sugar free pudding , sugar free jello, fiber 1- 90 calories Brownies, Nature Valley Protein Chewy Bar in Peanut, Almond & dark chocolate, Simply fruit roll ups, Jerky, Tyson pre cooked chicken strips, string cheese, colby or pepper jack sticks, Kind bar Almond coconut, apples with peanut butter, raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, or 1oz planters peanuts pre packaged, lettuce, turkey, tomato lettuce wrap or vegie lettuce wraps with match stick carrots, small dices or sticks of cucumber & tomato, spinach etc some call it naked vegie rolls so no rice paper eat like appetizer, berries like raspberries strawberries, EAS advantage carb control french vanilla shake. Slim a bear Klondike ice cream bar. Hope you can find one that fits in your healthy lifestyle.

Excellent answer....loads of choices. I agree with the EAS whey powder. I use both chocolate and vanilla and I use unsweetened almond milk; chocolate, vanilla and plain. AND IF NEED BE I put a shot of sugar free syrup in it.

SallyJ1985

Thanks for the info guys - its really helpful :-)

OhSuzzz

I made my first muffin yesterday - loved it. Will totally be making a few to bring to work with me and have instead of a bar!

Dr. Atkins didn't even like those things. He said use them very sparingly.

They really stall my weight loss. Try making some of those low carb muffins for the go. That's what I do.

OhSuzzz

Thanks for sharing that! I struggle with snacks and have been wondering what others were doing!

My go to snacks are sugar free pudding , sugar free jello, fiber 1- 90 calories Brownies, Nature Valley Protein Chewy Bar in Peanut, Almond & dark chocolate, Simply fruit roll ups, Jerky, Tyson pre cooked chicken strips, string cheese, colby or pepper jack sticks, Kind bar Almond coconut, apples with peanut butter, raw nuts like almonds, walnuts, or 1oz planters peanuts pre packaged, lettuce, turkey, tomato lettuce wrap or vegie lettuce wraps with match stick carrots, small dices or sticks of cucumber & tomato, spinach etc some call it naked vegie rolls so no rice paper eat like appetizer, berries like raspberries strawberries, EAS advantage carb control french vanilla shake. Slim a bear Klondike ice cream bar. Hope you can find one that fits in your healthy lifestyle.

ZipperJJ

Remember this - Atkins/low carb/paleo is not some sort of "get thin quick" scheme and I'm sure you know that. You do need to realize that it's about healthy, permanent lifestyle changes. Part of any template for healthy, permanent lifestyle changes is eating fresh whole foods, cooking for yourself and taking the time to eat well.

Forget whether or not you are losing weight - if you are relying on pre-packaged snacks 4 times a day you are doing something wrong. It's not a behavior that fits into the template of a healthy permanent lifestyle. If you are doing that, you are neglecting some other aspect of healthy permanent changes you should be making. Most likely meal planning and/or preparing your own foods.

"Eating the right things/avoiding the wrong things" is just one aspect of what we all should be going through to lose weight and/or get healthy. Look at the bigger picture and see why you are relying on these items 4 times a day and figure out how you need to change what you are doing from the top down in order to iron this bit out. It might make things harder for the short run but in the long run you will be establishing healthy habits for a lifetime!

In full disclosure I eat one bar a day, sometimes two (one as a dessert). But they are part of my whole plan, not a supplement for something else I should be eating or a way to avoid taking the time to prepare something. I don't think they're bad and they don't seem to stall me. But we both know 4 is excessive and can definitely stall you.

cramernh

Ive never been a fan of anything prepackaged to be honest. Even with replacement sugars, chemicals, etc - it can mess with your low-carb intake of fresh foods that you worked really hard to commit to...

Atkins' layout does state those products should be a minimal item to consume...

I do agree with ZipperJJ though... perhaps there is something in your dietary intake or perhaps a behavioral issue (stress, life, work, etc) that triggers your need for these prepackaged products?

Do you have any other foods (perhaps fresh foods) that you could turn to?

Consider reviewing the last eight weeks of your intake. Count out how many times you consumed vegetables, fruits, proteins, fats, etc. You might find the triggers that way due to an imbalance of your previous intake if its food-related. Otherwise, environmental can definitely be an instigator..

SmartWhatever

Bump