Atkins bars also have polydextrose in them that they allege is a long chain starch that you can't break down. Like dereamfields pasta I say stay away from that laboratory crap, especially when starting out. If you are losing and are stable and find that you can still lose while eating some of those then ok for you. Many folks get sabotaged because they latch on to some too good to be true fake food, consume a ton of it and then are perplexed that the scale does not cooperate. Food Labels are allowed to lie.

Just wondering about the Atkins Bars and Shakes. I have been using the bars and the say only 2 g of net carbs but even if you subtract the fiber and the sugar alcohols there are still more carbs left over than two.

What is the serving size? Sounds crazy but those bars and shakes might be more than one serving per bar/shake.

I am going to mirror what others have been posting here:

Pre-processed food is basically the very thing Dr Atkins himself was trying to tell his patients "avoid them".. .he was not a fan of the shakes and bars to begin with. Ill have to dig up some reading material later as its fascinating reading.

Pre-processed means preservatives. And preservatives also includes alternative sugars - things our bodies were never meant to have to begin with.

There are those who have successfully done the newer Atkins approach who would have shakes or bars scattered through their weekly intake, but even Atkins' program has rules as far as how often you should be having them. The point of a low carb intake is to learn more about the fresh/real foods that are healthier options. The shakes and bars are meant to be used sparingly - right up there with extreme moderation. Dont rely on them for your "sweet tooth" if that is the case.

Try to steer away from them if you can while in the induction phase - its good to give your body a good clean slate!

hmmm most that i've seen will say have 24 carbs, 20 sugar alcohols and 2 fiber - for 2 net. not sure how you're calculating.

agree with the others that these are 'sometimes' foods - although I admit that i'm down 53 lbs and still eating induction (although i have added nuts - just not berries) and I've had several shakes a week (I drink one after I work out if it will be more than 2 hours til my next meal) and 1-2 of the tiny endulge bars over the course of a week in the evenings after dinner. Hasn't stalled my weight loss in the least. Of course I don't eat exercise calories (gasp horror) and the bars are usually only consumed as my way to steer clear of the really bad stuff if I'm around someone having a tempting non-carb-friendly dessert - so it really is maybe 1-2 a week at most. I'm just as happy with some sugar free jello and a squirt of whipping cream (but again - that's processed, so pick your battles). That said, I also have the occasional diet soft drink, drink crystal light and other aspartame-based drink sweeteners, drink vitamin water zeros (the ones with only 2 carbs per bottle) on days when I play sand volleyball, and drink coffee on days when i don't have the diet dr pepper. I guess what I'm saying is this:

Read up, make an educated decision, try it and monitor yourself for awhile, and figure out what works for you.

you can add me. I am also following a low-carb, low-fat diet (Dukan).
Cheers!