[sharpyure]

Hey guys..

As you know, those atkins bars can be quite expensive for what you get, and I was looking at alternatives..

In terms of low carb alternatives from everyday manufacturers, there isn't much out there. However looking at sports supplement companies (who do protein shakes, creatine etc...) there actually seems to be a couple of options..

Such as: Myoplex Carbsense

phd-fitnessDOTcoDOTuk/store/p/118/1/EAS-Myoplex-Carb-Sense-Bars----12-Bars

(sorry, you'll have cut and paste the links into your address bar, and add the necessary bits as I haven't posted enough here yet to put in direct links that you can click..)

My point is, these bars are 80g each as opposed to the miserly 37g of an Atkins Day Break et al.. but apparently are still 3g net carbs.

Working it out cost wise, even though it is still quite expensive, you do get a bit more for your money (in terms of weight of product/£).

And there seem to be a number of them here:

sncdirectDOTcom/nutrition-bars/high-protein-bars.html?gclid=COOf18SYx5YCFQXO1AodZkYmxQ

Does anyone have a favourite bar, experience or any other recommendations?

I know these probably aren't the best things to eat, but sometimes when I'm stuck, its good to fall back on..

thanks for reading

[juliannamed]

jay... I was curious, so I look these up. http://www.phd-fitness.co.uk/store/p...arb-Sense-Bars (clickable link) They won't work for me because they're full of soy (anyone with thyroid issues should avoid soy). They also have maltitol (it's a sugar alcohol). I've had one bad experience with this stuff... and anyone who has, understands perfectly when I say, "Never again."

Here is the nutrition info regarding carbs, too:

Total Carbohydrates 23g -Dietary Fiber 2g -Sugars 1g -Other Carbs 20g

The "other carbs" are the sugar alcohols. There's no agreement yet on whether or not human actually use those carbs. Manufacturers will say we don't (so they can subtract the carbs from the total on the packaging), dieters and diabetics say they do us some of it. Most die-hard low carbers will count at least 1/3 of them in their daily total. If you did that, these bars would be 7 to 8 carbs (1/3 of the SA and 1g sugar).

These might work when the alternative is something much worse. Me, I'd go without. I won't starve to death if I miss one meal or snack (or both). I hardly ever leave the house without something... a couple cubes of cheese, a bottle of water, nuts (now that I'm in OWL), etc.

Your healthiest, safest and most helpful meal/snack is always going to be real food. Relying on packaged bars is expensive and (no matter what the manufacturer says) not as nutritious or filling.

Here's a list of the ingredients:

Protein Blend (calcium casseinate. hydrolyzed gelatin. whey protein isolate. soy protein isolate. milk protein isolate and whey protein concentrate). glycerine. water. casein. oligofructose. maltitol. palm and palm kernel oils. canola oil. nAtural flavors. skim milk powder. milk mineral concentrate. soy bean oil. yogurt solids. malic acid. monoglycerides. citric acid. licorice root extract. lecithim. salt. tumeric oleorosin color. vitamin and mineral blend (ascorbic acid. magnesium oxide. copper gluconate. ferric orthophosphate. dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. biotin. niacinamide. zinc oxide. beta-carotene. calcium pantothenate. Vitamin A palmitate. phytonadione. pyridoxine hydrochloride. manganese sulfate. riboflavin. thiamin mononitrate. cholecalciferol. potassium iodide. mixed tocopherols. cyanoccobalamin. chromium chloride. folic acid. sodium molybdate and sodium selenite). maltodextrins and sucralose. May contain traces of peanuts. various nuts and seeds

Just sayin...

Tril

[sharpyure]

thanks for that Tril..

I always try and use an alternative like you say, cheese snack, etc... but I was just looking at it purely from a once in a while treat.

I also do find it difficult with regards to the somewhat lack of variety within the diet, and things like this keep me sane.

In terms of "fast" snacks that I have to keep me going (when I haven't had time to prepare, or not in a position to get something "100% perfectly atkins" when I'm on the road), I usually go for the following:

Babybel
Some kind of processed meat (such as chorizo / peperami)
Atkins nutrition bar
Tinned kippers
Alpro Soy light milk and Dr Vogels Ultrabran

I guess I was just looking to find something a bit more substantial as I am always hungry..

I'm not sure whether this is because of the compositional value of what I'm eating, or more to do with the fact that in one week, this is my exercise schedule:

Monday: 45mins spinning (high impact cycling class)
Tuesday: 45mins spinning
Weds: Boxing / ab workout (1hr) 5-aside football (1hr)
Thurs: rest
Fri: 45min spinning, 5 a side football (1hr)
Sat: 70mins field hockey
Sun: Boxing / ab workout (1hr)

After all gym work, I do 18 lengths in the pool

I ate a whole chicken the other day and was still hungry

[juliannamed]

Jay... how long have you been on Atkins? The hunger should go away pretty fast (once you're in ketosis) if you're eating enough fat and protein. Are you cutting back on fat for any reason? Are you getting enough veggies? Are you drinking enough water?

Your workout routine doesn't sound excessive to me.

Boiled eggs make a great snack, too.

Tril

[sharpyure]

Hi Tril,

I have been on Atkins just over 2 months

Here's an example of what I may eat during one day:

Breakfast:

3X boiled eggs
Kippers (200g)
Maybe as a treat Dr Vogel's Ultrabran (net 4g) and Alpro soy milk (net 0.5g)
Maybe as a treat bacon

Lunch:

Salad comprising of,
2X chicken breast (or smoked salmon, or cured meat such as chorizo)
1 egg
Feta
2x baby tomatoes
baby leaf spinach
cucumber
pesto
oil
grilled artichoke heart
half an avocado

Dinner:

Thai green curry comprising of:
5 or so slices of courgette
couple of pieces of asparagus
half a tin of bamboo shoots
2/3rds of a portobello mushroom
1 small Chilli
packet of king prawns
baby leaf spinach
100ml coconut milk
teaspoon of curry paste (containing no sugar)
extra virgin olive oil

My main (dinner) meal is the one that changes the most, another meal I have is chicken grilled with similar veg, extra virgin olive oils and goats cheese, maybe some parma ham.

Occasionally I will have a lowcarb (net 3g) mamalupe wrap with the chicken, if I do this, I will leave out something else that has a high carb count.

I feel that my salt intake is a bit high at the moment with all the fish

Around all of this, to keep myself going I'm likely to eat what I put on the 'occasional' list (babybel, processed meat, atkins nutrition bar etc).

I don't drink caffeine or anything with aspartame.

I have decaff coffee, and maybe some lemonade (sucralose) that has trace carbs.

I drink about 7-8 glasses of water a day.

I'm not saying that I'm starving all the time, however, I feel like I could eat all the time if it didn't make a difference.

You have to understand that I have a voracious apetite! (I take after my dad, I don't think this will ever leave me - I just love eating).

However, its certainly not as bad as induction, and it gets easier these days to ignore the delicious pizza my inconsiderate housemates eat infront of me on a regular basis (I think thats down to routine and discipline on my part more than anything though)

Cheers

[sharpyure]

yo Tril, what do you think? Stay with me!

To be honest, I do think my hunger its partly down to a natural insatiable appetite, combined with a love of food and lack of control (that I imagine only a qualified hypnotist could cure), but it would be interesting to know what you thought of my example day of eating..

cheers