carbs and cutting - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

juicylicious · 07-31-2005, 11:52 PM

hi. i realise this should probably go in diet and nutrition section, but i thought i was more likely to find an answer here.

does anyone have any tips for some low-carb, low-fat sweet treats i can make at home? i am trying to really watch my carbs and i have a bit of a sweet tooth. i have searched the atkins site, but want something preferably these would be things relatively low in calories too, not just some 'low-carb' chocolate brownie bar... dont like too many chemicals... thanks!

Naxis · 08-01-2005, 05:47 PM

Sugar free jello is a good one. Fat free, sugar free pudding isn't too bad either (can use water instead of milk, just use about 25% less). I used to have a small cup of sugar-free cocoa once in a while - 50 calories and it really satiated the sweet tooth. Health food stores have sugarfree gummies and treats, but eating too much of that can have a laxative effect. Trying to get over the sugar cravings is best though. The few snacks that fit the criteria will get old pretty quickly.

rita · 08-01-2005, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juicylicious

hi. i realise this should probably go in diet and nutrition section, but i thought i was more likely to find an answer here.

does anyone have any tips for some low-carb, low-fat sweet treats i can make at home? i am trying to really watch my carbs and i have a bit of a sweet tooth. i have searched the atkins site, but want something preferably these would be things relatively low in calories too, not just some 'low-carb' chocolate brownie bar... dont like too many chemicals... thanks!

Most sugar-free foods in stores are loaded with preservatives and also contain aspertame---not the greatest in my book. I much prefer Splenda to Aspertame. In most cases, however, when products are sugar free, they compensate by adding more fat and other junk to make it tase good. When things are fat-free, they get loaded with sugar for the very same reason. Kind of like choosing between "bad" and "worse".
I also have a sweet tooth so I can understand how you feel. What I do is try to get the "sweet" which is also good for you (yes, there is such a thing). My favorite is vanilla yogurt. Now, I don't just buy regular or even diet vanilla yogurt. I make my own and it's sooooo much better. I get a big container (quart) of organic non-fat PLAIN yogurt (Straus is the best, in my opinion, available at many health food stores such as Whole Foods). I take one cup of it, put two packets of Splenda in it, add vanilla paste or vanilla extract to taste and voila! Great tasting yogurt with very few calories and good for you too. I eat that as dessert (I sometimes even add organic blueberries, raspberries or strawberries (fresh or frozen)) and it's great! You could probably freeze it to make into a frozen yogurt treat. By the way, If you REALLY need to have a chocolate to feel satisfied, then by all means have one! But just a small piece (one or two squares) and make it the darkest chocolate you can get your hands on. Not the dietetic or low carb junk, please! Real dark chocolate is not only good but now there are many studies that claim that dark chocolate is actually good for you (in moderation, of course). Don't feel guilty about eating it, if that's the only way you "cheat" on your diet, I promise that it will not compromise your efforts one bit.

bluehen94 · 08-01-2005, 07:17 PM

In my supermarkets over here have sugar free flavor ice pops. They are made with splenda and have about 2.5 calories a pop. They taste pretty good and you can't beat 2.5 calories, plus they are cheap, $1.00/box.

juicylicious · 08-02-2005, 02:04 AM

thanks everyone for your replies.

i have tried having yorgurt sweetened with splenda. the problem is, i have trouble finding a brand of plain yorgurt that doesnt have alot of carbs- i live in canada, and there really isnt a great selection. also, i avoid anything made with aspartame, it does something very strange to my body. splenda less so. i am assuming that most of you are writing from the states. everytime i head down south i am absolutely amazed by the selection of sugar-free, low-carb products. makes canada look like a communist country! you can only get sugar-free jello sweetened with aspartame here, and i have yet to see sugar-free pudding. we do have sugar-free maple syrup!

this brings up another question: it seems like most of the time things either have fewer calories but alot of carbs/ or alot of calories but low carb. personally i find it difficult to keep weight off if i am eating things that are overtly carbacious: fruit, bread, pasta, etc. (i have been on a lower carb diet and then gone off it and gained weight.) but its confusing: for example, deciding whether to chose a yogurt that has only 50 kcal per 125 ml serving but 15 grams of carbs or eating something like fresh cheese (quark or even cream cheese) which may have only about 3 carbs per serving but tons of calories (maybe 200 kcal) and tons of fat. if you were looking at it from a low-carb perspective, the 12 g discrepancy is huge; if you are looking at it from a weight loss perspective the calorie is huge. apparently it all comes down to calories but from a personal experience, if i eat fewer calories but dont limit carbs i never lose weight; but if i eat a somewhat restricted number of low carb calories i lose weight- meaning i am sticking to the low-carb.

any insight?