IF starting out on the low carb diet, can you drink sugar free drinks?

Question

I don't really drink soda, but wondering about sugar free coffemate in my coffee. . .I know the first 2 weeks are the induction phase but I dont have my book with me and forgot if that is allowed. ALso what about meal replacement bars (high protein bars), are they OK on the low carb diet too?

Answer 1

not everything that is sugar free is carb free. for example sugar free jello has 2 grams of carbs...who would have guessed?

From what i recall i don't think you are even supposed to have reg. coffee on stage one - only decaf.

The bars aren't allowed in the first stage of of South Beach, I would imagine that Atkins is the same way.

these structured low carb diets can be very frustrating to follow. I stick to a low carb diet and have been for months now (30-35 net carbs. per day) but I choose my own foods and plan my own meals each day being sure to also watch my fat and calorie intake too. It is easier and much less discouraging as any of the "name brand" diets.

there is a great food tracker on line at Sparkpeople.com it is free. you can enter what you plan on eating that day (always plan a day in advance) and it will tell you your carb / protien/ fat/fiber and any other nutrients you want to track (like i also track calcium)

here is an example of what a day looks like for me:

B - 3 pieces of turkey bacon & a carb-freedom yougurt

L - tuna salad (tuna in water w/ lite mayo, celery & onions) & one piece of whole weat or multi grain bread.

D - 4 ozs of grilled shark steak & one cup of steamed broccoli (you don't have to have shark...any lean meat or fish will due)

Snacks throughout the day:
- sugar free jello
- a South Beach diet bar (they are quite tasty actually)
-3 stalks of celery w/ 1 T. of all natural peanut butter

This menu is exactly 30g. of net carbs.
In my opinion, skip "stages" and commercial diets. Just create your own & then you can watch all your nutrients.

On days that I work out I add .25 c of all natural high protien granola and 1T. of dried blueberries. before i go to the gym. this increases the carbs...but also the fiber.

sorry so lengthy, i just know what didn't work for me and what does work for me. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I also don't drink soda, but if I did, I would not drink any sugar free ones. I do drink coffee and put French Vanilla coffeemate in my coffee, but I use the regular and not the fat-free or sugar free ones. They don't taste the same and sugar-free means they put in a substitute sweetener in it and that is bad for you. I can't have anything with subsitute sweeteners because I get sick from it. I just found out last week that these sweeteners were originally RAT POISON and someone then decided that it is harmless to people and started making sugar substitutes for human consumption. Pretty gross, huh? Good luck on your diet!

Answer 3

I'm not a fan of any specific diet process (low carb, low fat, etc....), I prefer simple clean eating and balancing the nutrients I need to obtain the goals I want.

Yes, switching to sugar free drinks is ok. It's a place to start, but try to ween yourself off of them and try to use less of the artificial sweetners.

Protein bars are real hit and miss these days. So many companies are on the high protein band wagon its tough to tell what's good and what isn't. Before you buy, read the ingredients, if they contain corn syrup, high fructose syrup or sucrose put it back on the shelf.

Answer 4

I don't know about meal replacement. I do know a lot of people who went through induction drinking both diet sodas and the coffeemate that is low carb. No problem at all and they are successful with their weight.

Answer 5

You can drink sugar free drinks on a low carb diest the problem is that when it says no sugar it usally has something worse than sugar in it....

Answer 6

I would look at the nutritional label and see if it has any carbs in it.
If it does just count it against your daily allowance.

Answer 7

Get the lowdown here.