Hi, I'm a newby; "Impact" carb question

[jjj2114]

Hello:
I've been simultaneously reading Protein Power and Fat Flush, and doing the PP diet for 2 weeks or so. My cravings are finally subsiding sort of.

A question: there are some products which advertise as low "impact carbs", such as Genison Protein bars. They are so yummy. Can we go by their listing of "impact carbs", which excludes some sort of "sugar alchohol" which supposedly isn't processed like a carb; or is this a scam? Anyone have knowledge or experience of this?

I look forward to learning from all y'alls experience as I try to hold tight to this diet!!:o
J

[Bajabnd]

Welcome to PP Triple J!

I don't know the answer to your question because I'm a newby too. But I did want to say welcome and good luck. The people here are very supportive. I'm looking forward to chatting here and there!

[Doctari]

It's been my experience that whether or not the carbs (specificially suger alcholos, or artificial sweeteners (splenda and the like)) actually affect you varies from person to person.

For example. Splenda will almost always cause an insulin reaction in me knocking me out of ketosis. If you find that you are still loosing weight while eating the bars then it is unlikely that they are affecting you in that way. However if you hit a hiccup in the weight reduction department then you might have to look at dumping the bars.

I personally don't eat low carb bars and the like because to me.. well to be honest it feels like cheating. It just reminds me of what I'd really like to be eating and as a result does more harm to me then good.

But the one unique thing about this diet is a very "whatever works for you" vibe. So if eating them doesn't knock you out of, or keep you from going into, ketosis I say eat away.

P.S. welcome to the board.

[Mitra]

The rule of thumb recommendation for sugar alcohols (from the Drs Eades) is to count the carbs as about 1/3 the number of grams - but, as Doctari said, individual responses vary. And there are different kinds of sugar alcohol that don't all behave the same.

[Gaelen]

Hi, triple-J. :)
A couple of things...
First, Protein Power doesn't depend on, or even care about ketosis--Atkins does. Ketosis is a very poor indicator of what is actually happening in your system. It's not only affected by what you eat, but by sodium intake, fluid intake, and body temperature. Overall, it's about as accurate a predictor of potential/actual weight loss or a healthy, fat-burning body condition, as the local TV weather person is at predicting how the day is going to turn out. I can't speak for your local TV weather people, but in my town, well...I'm not sure they could tell me about the weather when they're standing out in it. Some people like ketostix; turning them purple is like a security blanket for them. However, your ability to turn a ketostick strip purple (or not) can be a derailing for many people as scale fluctuations. As a chemical indicator of what's actually happening in your body, they're uneven at best. So bottom line, even more than a scale they are NOT the best indicator of whether you're doing okay on plan--and you CAN be effectively reshaping your body, eating low carb that works for your body, without ever being able to get that indication from ketostix. So use them if you like...but I'd rather spend the money on good food. ;)

Second, sugar alcohols are very much a your-mileage-may-vary thing. Impact carbs are a marketing gimmick. Everything you put in your body has an impact...either in calories consumed; junk food consumed when you could be eating healthier, less processed things; gastrointestinal issues--everything has an impact. It may not be the same intake as a teaspoon of sugar (5g of carbs and a sweet hit), but it's an impact nevertheless.

YMMV with a lot of the stuff, including ketostix and things listing 'impact' carbs, that are marketed specifically to draw in people trying to follow a low carb diet. They may work for you; they may not. But if you stick with good healthy natural foods, minimally processed or as close to their growing sources as you can get them, you'll never go wrong.

Welcome in. ;)

[Doctari]

So while protein power may not preach ketosis it's going to be one of the side effects if you follow the diet strictly, particularly in the early stages.

Dr. Eades had a good blog on the subject a couple of weeks ago.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=713

and

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/?p=719

[jjj2114]

Hi all:
I just first want to thank you all for your kind welcome and help.
I am already off the diet!! I got so frustrated about re-gaining my few lost pounds (and lost inches) I have been off for 3 days, but are back on today. I tried to "expand" (excuse the pun) my diet a bit by including items that are low carb but high fat (cream! half-n-half, and not a little bit!) and clearly that doesn't work. I hate to whine, but does the suragy dessert craving EVER really subside?
Thank you all, you are inspiring!
JJJ

[msgq]

JJJ -

Hello! And, Welcome. And, to answer your question about the sugar cravings --- YES! It does take time.

It is hard to give it time, but stick with it. Find some lo-carb things that are easy to much on to keep handy. When I get a sugar craving I sometimes have a square of Lindt 70% chocolate -- it's not the normal chocolate, but it helps. And soon, sweet things will be ... well too sweet.

Hope this helps some. Stick around here. You'll be encouraged. OH, why don't you check out the June challenge on the challenge boards. That is a great way to get started. gitfiddle is heading it up this month and she is a wonderful encourager!!

Hope to see you around!

Ms. Gq, aka Kathy

[Gaelen]

So while protein power may not preach ketosis it's going to be one of the side effects if you follow the diet strictly, particularly in the early stages.

As I mentioned in my post--the issue with ketosis is being able to 'see' that you're in ketosis using rough physical methods like ketostix, which are notoriously inaccurate. I followed Protein Power, the original basic plan, to the letter for the first 30 days...in other words, eating 30g ECC and 'drinking 'til I floated.' I never turned a ketostick purple.

Was I in ketosis? Maybe, even probably...but I didn't have keto-breath, or any unusual body odor/perspiration, and I didn't have ketostick evidence, so I would have had to have bloodwork to prove it. Not really worth the effort, IMO, since I lost 15 lbs. that first month, and that was what I *really* cared about.

Protein Power not only doesn't 'preach' attempting to stay in ketosis as Atkins does--it completely disregards the need to even try to figure out if you're IN ketosis, since that's such a difficult thing to measure grossly, and most people aren't going to go get a blood test to 'prove' that they're in ketosis.

Don't even get me started on how inaccurate breathalyzers are. ;)

From Dr. Mike's blogs, which you linked:

A VLCD diet (very-low-calorie diet, a protein-sparing modified fast) contains mainly protein along with a small amount of carbohydrate and very few calories, usually fewer than 1000 per day. Just about anyone going on one of these diets will soon be in producing ketone bodies at a pretty high rate. But the same goes for a more traditional low-carb diet as well. If carbs are kept at a low level, ketosis will occur.

The issue, as the original poster asked, is whether things advertised as 'impact carbs' and/or sugar alcohols are really the freebies they are advertised to be, and your answer was "But the one unique thing about this diet is a very "whatever works for you" vibe. So if eating them doesn't knock you out of, or keep you from going into, ketosis I say eat away." Since it's often very difficult for the average person to accurately gauge whether s/he's "in ketosis," using ketosis as the measure of whether the packaged impact carb stuff truly has an impact on an individual is probably not the best meter.

YMMV.