What the heck are Net Effective Carbs?: A new theory that could change your life

So I've been hearing a lot lately about net effective carbs or effective carb count. This is the number of carbs you're left with after subtracting fiber. Some people subtract other things like sugar alcohols and such, but that could get pretty complicated. One other interesting note is that hydrogenated starch (the stuff that's in Jello Pudding) is actually able to be subtracted according to this theory since it does not raise blood sugar.

In short, one part of this theory is about fiber. A carbohydrate is only "effective" if it can be utilized by the body for energy. Since fiber is a carb that passes through the body undigested, it can be subtracted from the total carb count. An example would be a bowl of veggies, which has 8 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fiber. So this theory says that the veggies actually have 4 grams of effective carbs.

Another part of this theory deals with foods that raise blood sugar (or glucose) levels. Since the goal of a low carb diet is to eat in a way that doesn't raise blood sugar levels, this theory says that you can subtract certain sugar alcohols and other products that don't result in effecting blood glucose levels. This is where you get into subtracting counts for sugar alcohols and all that mess.

For sanity's sake, I think I'll stick with the fiber subtraction method. Might as well get on board since I've noticed that Net Effective Carbs are actually being put on food labels of products that I buy in Walmart!

For now until it's definitely decided upon that it's real, I think I'll just stick to my number of carbs I want. And feel good about being possibly lower. I think this could easily just become an excuse for me to eat more carbs. But it is interesting.

:)

Skinny Jeans

So I've got a question....does the trail of skinny jeans ever end??

Recently, after doing a 20-day eating challenge, I lost 6 pounds :)))

There are a ton of clothes under my bed that I wore back in 2003-2004. These clothes were always my ultimate goal. I always felt like "when I fit back into these clothes, I'll know I've done something."

Well that glorious moment happened this past weekend. In need of jeans for the upcoming fall since my pair that I wear quite often is too big now, I decided to rummage through the tubs under the bed where all my "goal clothes" are to see if by chance I fit into any of the multiple pairs of jeans in there. To my surprise, I fit back into about 85 percent of those clothes. Some were even a little roomy! And wow, my old shorts fit wonderfully! I haven't liked myself in shorts in YEARS! It was a crazy moment. I'd finally reached this goal and fit back into my skinny jeans. But now what?? I still had stuff to do and more to improve! These skinny jeans were not a stopping point for me. So I put all the goal clothes away in the closet for next spring/summer, put on a pair of jeans for the fall day I was about to embark on, and then pondered what to do next.

And then I knew. Go on to the next size down. I looked at my size 8 clothes I had recently inherited from a friend who had lost weight. I had not been a size 8 since the 9th/10th grade. So I picked out a pair of size 8 jeans and thought alright, these are my new skinny jeans. When I fit into these, I will know I've done something huge. To my surprise, I could get them up and buttoned but they were a little too tight to wear in public. Just enough of a goal to motivate myself and perhaps get some new clothes in the future. I'm sure on the day I fit into these skinny jeans though, I will pick up a new smaller pair and decide on those as my new goal.

Forget men -- Behind every good woman is a trail of skinny jeans!

Good luck to you all and remember, change is a process - one pair of skinny jeans at a time :)