Are Atkins Endulge Treats Keto Friendly?

At the time of writing this post I’ve been on the ketogenic diet for over five years and logged over 250 blood ketone tests in an effort to estimate the effects of food and ingredients on my ketosis, including those in Atkins Endulge sweet treats.

Atkins products are marketed to low carb and keto dieters, which makes sense giving the history of the Atkins diet, but do Atkins products live up to their namesake? In this post, I'll evaluate Atkins Endulge treats, give them keto friendly grades, and see how they stack up against other low carb treats!

Savage Fuel Keto Friendly Grades:

• A: Completely compatible, positive or no impact on ketosis.

• B: Highly compatible, but don't go too crazy.

• C: Moderately compatible, be mindful and limit intelligently.

• D: Barely compatible, detrimental to ketosis and not recommended.

• F: Not compatible, overdo it just a little and kiss your ketosis goodbye.

Keto Friendly Grading Factors:

• Net Carbs per Serving: How many carbs are in this thing?

• Net Carbs per 100 calories: Since serving sizes often vary significantly, a net carb per 100 calorie ratio is a more consistent measure of keto-friendliness than net carbs per serving. Lower ratios are also an indicator of higher fat content because fat has more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates.

• Sugar: Sugars have a higher glycemic index and larger negative impact on ketosis than other carbohydrates.

• Hidden Carbs: Hidden carbohydrates are based on the caloric values and glycemic indexes of ingredients sometimes classified as fibers or sugar alcohols.

• Easy to Overeat: Some foods are easy to over-eat and require extra willpower to limit overeating which is an important factor to consider.

• Nutritional Density: Foods that are relatively high in net carbs per 100 calories but are high in nutrition per calorie can still be worth eating like broccoli and cauliflower.

RULE of thumb for net carbs per 100 calorie ratio:
0-1 great, 1-2 ok, 2-3 caution, 3+ red alert

Atkins Endulge Treats Keto Friendly Grades:

Overall factors: Atkins Endulge treats use large amounts of Maltitol which is a sugar alcohol with a glycemic index of 36. (more than half the GI of table sugar) I'm counting 50% of the Maltitol in these treats as net carbs for simplicity, which is low-balling since it's closer to about 67%. Each of these treats has 4-15g of Maltitol which is reflected in the net carb counts below. They're also low in nutritional density and easy to overeat.

• Caramel Nut Chew Bar: F-
  6.5g Net carbs per 130 calorie 34g bar
  5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Coconut Bar: F
  6g Net carbs per 170 calorie 40g bar
  3.5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar
  

• Milk Chocolate Caramel Squares: F-
  9.5g Net carbs per 140 calorie 35g 3x squares
  6.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Peanut Butter Cups: F-
  8g Net carbs per 160 calorie 34g 2x pieces
  5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  0g Sugar

• Chocolate Candies: F-
  8g Net carbs per 110 calorie 28g pack
  7.3g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Covered Almonds: F-
  6.5g Net carbs per 140 calorie 28g pack
  4.6g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar
  

• Nutty Fudge Brownie: F-
  7g Net carbs per 170 calorie 40g bar
  4.1g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar
  

• Peanut Caramel Cluster Bar: F
  5g Net carbs per 140 calorie 34g pack
  3.6g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar

• Chocolate Caramel Mousse Bar: F-
  8g Net carbs per 120 calorie 34g pack
  6.7g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Peanut Candies: F-
  8.5g Net carbs per 150 calorie 34g pack
  5.7g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Pecan Caramel Clusters: F-
  4.5g Net carbs per 120 calorie 28g pack
  3.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar

Atkins Endulge Treats Keto Friendly Conclusion:

There was a time, when I first started the ketogenic diet, I read the book The New Atkins for a New You (which is a decent book) and saw these products from the same brand so I figured they would be good. Unfortunately the inclusion of Maltitol in nearly all Atkins products means I will never recommend them. Especially when there are so many great keto friendly sweeteners available like erythritol, inulin, monk fruit, stevia, and allulose there really is no excuse.

Even without the maltitol sweetener these Atkins Endulge treats are not super keto friendly, let's compare them to real keto friendly sweet treats to illustrate the point:

Atkins Endulge Treats vs ChocoPerfection and Keto Bars

As you can see, when comparing Atkins Endulge treats to the best keto-friendly treats out there by net carbs per 100 calories, which is the most consistent indicator of keto friendliness, it's not even close. If you’re looking for a meal-replacement or snack bar, I’d recommend Keto Bars. If you’re looking for an ultra-low carb sweet treat, I recommend ChocoPerfection chocolate.

Also check out our Keto Shop for more expert selected keto friendly products or my first YouTube video “5 Tips to Get Back Into Ketosis Fast” below!

Want to get into ketosis fast? These 5 tips I've learned from over seven years on the keto diet will help you get back into ketosis quick and easy! My Favori...