Sugar free candy, hmmmm, what do you think?

[wiskband]

So now that I have kicked the habit (smoking), I rely on candy! and of course sunflower seeds. I have been lucky enough to find planters sunflower seeds, not as much salt as davids and I only eat them now while in front of comp. Its the "sugar free candy" I am concerned with.
I did post a thread a week or so ago questioning the subtraction of sugar alcohol. These candies all advertise 0g sugar carbs on the front. On my last thread I mentioend that I had never heard of the atkins way subtracted sugar alcohol but only fiber however, I noticed on an offical atkins brand of candy, they did subtract the sugar alcohol. So I am assuming that officially atkins subtracts bothe t he sugar alcohol and the dietary fiber.Am I correct?
Really though I have been trying not to eat too many of these candys but quitting is har and I knwo you may say concenrtate on that first then the weight. I CANT! I have gained too much too fast and need to do something about it. I am doing soooooooooooooo good food wise these days I justhope te cany eating isnt ruining my good food intake.

so what do you think?


renee

 

[Baileymouse]

Be careful! Many sugar free candies have malitol or other sugar substitutes that cause digestive problems. By that I mean really bad gas, bloating and diarrhea. Use sparingly!!!!

I did get a box of sugar free Nips in caramel flavor, and for the occasional snack they were pretty good.

Look at it this way, if you ever want a good cleansing, eat a bag of sugar free gummy bears

 

[wiskband]

lol!
WOW! I never knew that! and NIPS are exactly what a bought along with sugar free life savers and cream savers.
ANyway, I am looking at the ingredients as I write, maltitol is the very first ingredient on the nips and on the life savers, sobitol is! Gald I posted!



so other than the bathroom thing...............as far as carbs and weight loss is concerned, am I alright with these candies? I am say..........hmmmmmmm if I limit myself to 4 a day? My biggest concern right now is losing weight. just dont want the advertisements to mislead me. I wont over do it bt 4 a day?
waht do you think?

renee

 

[DoeWDW]

There are varying opinions about the sugar alcohols. By the way, I think they all end in -ol, like malitol, sorbitol, polyol, xylitol, etc.

Many people do experience the gas, bloating and diarrhea. In fact, if I even LOOK at malitol, I feel bad. However, if you are very observant, you'll notice that you react more severely to some of the sugar alcohols than others. If one bothers you, you may be able to eat a different one without as much of a problem.

Why aren't they counted as carbs? MOST people (notice the capital letters) can eat sugar alcohols and not have their blood sugar rise. Low carb eating is all about keeping your blood sugar down so your body won't release insulin. If you are one of the lucky people, then sugar alcohols will not affect your blood sugar and they are okay to eat. However, there are some people who do experience a blood sugar rise from sugar alcohols and should not use them.

How do you know if you're one of the lucky ones? Well, you need to know your body and its reaction to carbs. If you eat something with sugar alcohols and then feel hungry or sleepy 1/2 hour to an hour later, you've probably had a blood sugar spike. If you're trying to lose weight and the scale isn't budging, drop the sugar alcohols and see if it helps.

Wish I could give you a more black and white answer, Renee, but the truth is that you'll just have to pay attention to how your body reacts. If the candy helps you stick to your nonsmoking committment, then use it sparingly. I don't think 4 per day will hurt you, especially if you space them out over hours.

Best wishes!

 

[ZerasPride]

Renee,

You have been given some great advice. I especially agree with Doe. You have to know your body. I am giving up the sugar free candies (I love the chocolate covered almonds and Atkins endulge bars) for the 100 day cheat free challenge and I was hoping I'd see the scale cooperate a bit more but nope! I still lose the same, about 1/2 a pound a week. I'm a bit disappointed but at least I know I can eat the sugar free candy and it's not the cause of my weight loss slow down.

If you start to see the scale not cooperating like it used to, you know for sure, you might need to give the candy up.