Atkins Advantage Bars & Shakes

[frankenspine]

I'm thinking about using the Advantage Bars/Shakes to deal with my sweet tooth while on induction. I haven't really ever had a quote unquote sweet tooth before; could always easily resist candy, cakes, etc. However, while on induction I find myself dealing with intense 'sugar' cravings.

Has anyone else used the Advantage Bars? Successfully? I've entered the beginning stages of ketosis (dark pink on the ketostix! Yeah) and don't want to knock myself off. I lost two days to Sugar Free Rockstars before I figured out that I'm highly caffeine sensitive

[IrishMom82]

Well the general opinion on this board is to avoid the bars/shakes, etc. They are NOT legal on Induction despite what the website says. This board is based on the 2002 edition of Dr. Atkins' book. The website and company have changed the plan from what Dr. A originally gave us in order to sell products, they care about profit not your health. If you look at the ingredients of those products you will find that there are a lot of things that are in the bars/shakes that aren't allowed on Induction (for ex: nuts, soy, etc...those are for later rungs in OWL)

The general experience of many members here have found that the bars/shakes stall them. Some people don't experience this. In my opinion you should avoid them. It's your decision though.

[liv]

Frankenspine around here those bars are sometimes known as frankenfood.

[Laurenfra]

One of the keys to being successful on Atkins is shaking our addiction to sweets. Indulging in bars and shakes will not help you do that. If you have a craving you just cant shake you can try a large glass of water, brushing your teeth or eating something high in fat.
Good luck you can do it

[DesertRain]

I actually did have a huge sweet tooth, to the point where I could have probably lived off chocolate, cookies, milkshakes and soda for the rest of my life. I was able to shake those addictions by following the plan exactly. The shakes sound delicious, but it's probably not worth jeopardizing the potential that induction can harvest. Like Lauren mentioned, eating fat is a great way to crush the cravings. What I would do is save my cheese counts for when I was having a sugar craving, if I didn't have a sugar craving then I didn't have to eat the cheese lol. Or I would snack on some pork rinds--actually this really helped as well. A couple times (and literally it was only 2 times) I really wanted something sweet, and I know this sounds gross but I tricked my taste buds and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on my pork rinds...it wasn't delicious...or even great, or good even, lol, but it sure was legal, and did the trick
Hope that helps ya a bit!

[frankenspine]

Wow! This is an ACTIVE board. I didn't expect so many responses so quickly. Thanks guys!! You're awesome. I am beginning to see that nearly all food in the grocery store isles are 'franken-food'. Absolutely everything except fresh produce and water has dextrose or high fructose corn-syrup in it! No wonder this country is in a health crisis.

Someone I work with swears by the Advantage bars and claims they are induction legal. But I'm trying to run a lean/clean induction. The ingredient labeling verses ingredient list contradictions make total sense; just like 0 transfat Oreo cookies.

Oh, and thanks for the tip about consuming fat to kick a sugar craving. It totally worked! In fact, I went to the grocery store to get some spicy pork rinds and was amazed to see four different kinds of sugar (Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Corn syrup, and High Fructose Corn Syrup). It's ridiculous!! I mean C'mon! So I bought some that listed the ingredients as Fried Pork Skin and salt. Then I came home, poured them in a bowl, sprinkled them with tabasco, and CRUNCH! Spicy and satisfying. Really kicked my sugar jones.

Thanks again EVERYONE

[BonnieRose16]

I made nachos with my pork rinds. That was really good! I saved up my cheese for the day and had it on the rinds with sour cream salsa and avocado slices... it was pretty good!

[DesertRain]

Frankenspine, just a heads up because I see you're in Vegas, and so am I, 2 really good places to shop are Sunflower Market and Trader Joes, only along the perimeter though. Both have pretty natural selections of meats and cheeses that don't contain any sugar. My favorite brand is Applegate Farms, they have a pretty good selection that aren't sugar cured, Sunflower Market has a pretty good selection of Applegate Farm stuff. And as far as those bars, there's a certain select group of "Atkineers" who don't follow the same guidelines most of us here do, and that's why they believe the bars and shakes are legal. However, if they read the book that Dr. Atkins himself wrote, they will see that the ingredients found in those products are not allowed during induction. It's really sad that after Dr. Atkins died, companies took advantage of the name and marketed the products without a full understanding of the concept of Atkins....or perhaps they did know...who knows. Point is, some people report that they have had success with the bars and shakes etc....and some report that they are huge stallers. My thing is, why rock the boat on calm waters? If you can do a clean induction without them, do it and you'll feel 100% better that you did.
Way to go on deciding to be here....keep up the good work, and welcome aboard!

and WOW, pork rind nachos sounds yum!

[mseamons]

My hubby has a major sweet tooth and I have made a couple of the recipes from Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home this site and they have far exceeded our expectations of what they would taste like. All of the induction OK recipes are marked with * Good luck, and just stick with it!

[frankenspine]

Thanks for all the advice and support. The pork rinds did the trick