Protein bars and net carbs

Help!  I have been wanting to try protein bars but I am a bit overwhelmed.   I look at the box see the carbs on the label and think way to many... Then the from of the box has net carbs that are less than what is on the nutrition label   What the heck are net carbs? When did you start on protein bars? What protein bars do you eat?

From what I understand, net carbs are the amount of carbs after you subtract the carbs that come from fiber and sugar alcohols.  So if an item has 10 grams of carbs, of which 5 are from fiber and 2 are from sugar alcohols then the net carbs would be 3.  Personally I don't trust those numbers and I just assume if it says it has 10 grams of carbs then it has 10 grams of carbs.

As far as protein bars, my favorites are Atkin's Mudslide, Quest bars and Think thin bars.  I don't have them a lot, I just keep them handy in case I need a quick snack on the run.

I have tried and enjoy Quest bars. In talking to my nutritionist, she said this is a good choice. I buy them at GNC. I hope this helped you out a little. Good luck

My body reacts to some of the carbs that some manufactures try to tell us that they should not affect us. 

I don't trust the "net carbs".  

Google " dreamfield pasta settlement ".. 

I feel ill after eating some protein bars.Not from the sugar alcohols.I felt horrible.

I eat Quest Bars, but only a few flavors. You need to look at each flavor for total calories, some are over 200 per bar, and added sugar alcohols. I eat the Choc Brownie, no added sugar alcohols, but I also eat the Choc PB and Double Choc Chip, both have added sugar alcohols, which does make me nauseas, but nothing I can't live with for 30-60 minutes. Carbs appear high in all of them - but when I label shop, I look primarily for protein, fat and sugar. I likely eat too many carbs cuz I eat 1-3 of these Quest bars a day, but I am now in maintenance and this seems to be working for me.

The original Quest Bars like Chocolate Brownie are the only ones I eat.  I do buy into the net carbs claim, but may get proven wrong someday.  For me, they taste good, do not make me dump, and a good substitution for a meal.  I do count carbs and calories, but allow myself about 150 carbs a day. 

For me 200 calories counts as a meal.  I eat five or six meals a day and keep them at 200 - 300 calories each with total calories per day at 1400 to maintain 136 pounds.

I've probably tried them all. Quest bars are my favorite. Best protein count, supposedly lower carb. My #1 fav is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough at 190 cals per bar. BUT... even 4+ years out, I do dump a bit on these sometimes. I also question the concept of net carbs/net cals, because I recently used these bars as meal replacements on a road trip. Eating 4-5 a day (bars only - nothing else.) This should have kept me well under 1000 cals a day, but I gained 3 pounds in 4 days! I feel the bars provide way more calories than stated. Maybe it's just my super-recovered absorbption, but I'd say be careful with these.

My nut told us not to do the net carb thing that a carb is a carb. I personally don't do the bars. I just do shakes IF I'm low on my protein.  Dee

The total carbs minus the fiber gives you the net carbs. I started on protein bars when solid foods were introduced. I introduced various bars from Walmart then I learned about better more nutritious bars like Quest. You can request samples from them on www.questbar.com. I am almost five years out and still eat them daily for supplements. I enjoy them that much. I actually crave them. LOL!