Net carbs smet carbs . . . HELP!

Okay Atkins says that I am supposed to stick to 20 carbs per day in Induction and does not allow for any carbs at all.  BUT I found these lovely 3 net carb tortilla wraps.  Can I have them or not?  Are those 20 carbs allowed grams or net carbs?  Help all you low carbers.   I am doing low carb to get ready for my trip in two weeks and decided to be very strict and do Atkins instead of South Beach for now.  

It depends.
(Hows that for an answer?)

You're certainly not doing yourself any harm by eating them, but it depends on your... um... philosophy?

Some people find it easier to go super crazy hard core no carbs for the 1st 2 weeks (induction) as a sort of "cleaning house". Some people, after trying low carb for a long time with minimal results find that this more drastic approach is the only way they can lose weight because they've built up *such* an insulin resistance over the years. That's a small, small portion of people though, and even then it's not *no* carbs, as they do the *net* carbs as you're speaking of. Net carbs = Total Carbs - Fiber.

(Note: because of English packaging laws, this does NOT count for England, fibre is automatically subtracted from the total carb count on packaging so what you see is exactly what you get for carbs. Not so in America.)

I for one have never done Atkins per se, I always stuck with the program outlined din "Protein Power", which has a less drastic "induction" phase, and I found it easier to follow and adapt to my lifestyle.

Short answer: eat 'em. Also eat low-fat yogurt. YUM. (There's a lot of articles out there why yogurt is ok on low-carb, has something to do with the yogurt-bugs digesting the natural sugars themselves, leaving you with all the good stuff and not the refined sugar)... These are 2 things I always ate, and still lost weight. Some people can't though, so if you find you are struggling or not losing at all, then you know what to cut out.  

BUT... if you have a really strong short term goal and definitely want to see results... stick to the boring ultra-low carb basics for the beginning.

(Are you as confused as I hope you're not?)

Love,
Geeky Me


BTW: if the tortillas are from La Tortilla Factory, I thought they were nas-tee. If they aren't from there, let me know. Lots of new stuff in the US since I moved away...

Great  :-/ they are from LaTortilla a garlic one and a whole wheat..well I will let you know if I share your disgust.  Also bought baking mix and some pancake mix (which tastes okay though it's a bit like corn cakes since that's what they add in to it to boost fiber content.)  I am going to make a chocolate torte thingy tonight as well as bake some bread which will be turned into bread crumbs mostly for crab cakes.  Tomorrow I am having eggs benedict on Spinach.  V yummy not so fattening stuff out there.  I am going very strict as I gained 4 of my 20lb loss during my illness (due to not excersizing) and I will be damned if I show up in the UK fatter than when I left or go to Spain for that matter fatter.  No no no.... :-)  Should have started a month ago but what can I say?  

After induction will probably do WW again then Induction then WW.  Seems to work.  Keeps my body guessing what the hell is going on.  Guess its like people planning cheats.  

Okay so are you guys going to post some more low carb recipes that you like or do I have to beat them out of you?  

This is my mid-morning snack:

Protein Bars
2 scoops protein isolate [I use soy as I don't mind the flavor - chocolate or plain]
1 dash vanilla
2 tsp splenda
4 Tbsp Peanut butter
4 tbsp cream

mash all this together then press into the bottom of a small dish - mine is maybe 3.5 x 7 inches

on top pour this mixture:

1 oz unsweetened chocolate melted
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla
8 packets Splenda [to taste]
1 oz crushed nuts [optional]

chill and then cut into small bars.

It is really easy to change flavors by using different flavors of isolate, or extracts. It mixes up quickly and lasts me all week for a work snack.

Vnice... I always struggled to lose weight when I ate a lot of "specialty" products, and found it much easier (and I felt better) when it was just real food. It's harder, but for some people (like me) it was the only way it would work, and I could only use specialty things every once in a while...

Well that and I find they taste like poo..did manage to salvage the Atkins bread via making bread crumbs.....I just had to add that I tried to give my dog (the dog that eats EVERYTHING) a little piece of the Atkins bread made from a mix. . . . he carried it into the other room and refused to eat it.   He does like the bread crumbs I made from them...Can you even call them bread crumbs?  Maybe soy isolate mini coating crumbs... hmmmm....

I agree with the speciality things...so many of them have even more chemicals than the products they are trying to replace. :-/

Atkins recommends that you stick to 20 carbs for your induction period.  While you *can* use products (tho some may cause you to stall) it's recommended that you do the induction as stated in the book.  After your induction (and when moving on to the next stages like OWL) is when you generally add products in.

Good luck!
wench

Well I have lost 3 lbs so far...probably water weight.

Don't weigh yourself too often!

Vnice,

Are you in Ketosis yet?  The key to the success on the diet is getting those wonderful little sticks that you pee on to be as purple as possible - that means you are in a "maximium fat-burning" zone.

Some people can do the whole 20g of carbs and get into ketosis - others have to get as close to possible to zero AND throw in some cardio in order for it to kick it.

I agree w/ wench - the best way to stick to the lowest carbs possible is to avoid any of those pre-packaged low carb foods.  They are great for the maintenance phase, but sometimes the fake sugars (sugar alcohols, Maltodextrin especially) can trick your body into thinking you are eating carbs and limit you Ketosis.

The thing that people don't understand about this diet is that the first two weeks of eating, with all of the saturated fat and such, is NOT the way you eat on this diet once you've reached your goals.  The simple fact is that these bad fats will get you into ketosis faster and force your body to lose the weight whether it wants to or not. That's why so many people like this diet - be it good or bad for you ti does work for almost everyone.  But, you can't be in high ketosis forever, so when you reach your goal, you can go to eating much more lean meat and poultry and stick to healthy oils - and don't forget lots and lots of veggies!

purple pee sticks? I see dieting has come a long way!

yeah I have those sticks and am dark dark in color. :-)  Now you know more about my pee than you need to! lol ---though I have to add that I have switched into South Beach again...Atkins is a bit too strict for this foodie. :-)  I am still in ketosis though so I guess I am doing okay. I needed my beans and yogurt!

Just a quick note about the "pee sticks"... when I first started low carb I bought a load of sticks and used them every day... I *never* registered as purple or anything close, but still lost 50 pounds, so just keep in mind that just because you "aren't purple" doesn't mean you're not doing well. Though it sounds like you're a purple lady, vnice.

lol - it's that or my new purple sun glasses my DH bought me for my birthday.  

Are you in Ketosis yet?  The key to the success on the diet is getting those wonderful little sticks that you pee on to be as purple as possible - that means you are in a "maximium fat-burning" zone.

Getting them "as purple as possible" is not the goal.  Getting them to turn purple is an indication that you're in ketosis (although as Marlespo has pointed out, you can lose weight without them changing colour), but having them turn a really dark purple usually means that while you *are* in ketosis, you *aren't* drinking enough water.


wench