Are Atkins Meal Bars 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 Meal bars.

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 Meal bars, 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 Meal Bars Keto Friendly Grades:

Overall factors: The fiber in these bars come from a combination of soluble corn fiber, polydextrose, and dextrin which I estimate 10% of as net carbs. To keep things relatively simple I'm going to add 1g of net carbs for each product that has close to 10g of fiber. Some of these bars also contain 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%. These bars are also low nutritional density and easy to overeat.

• Peanut Fudge Granola: C
  3g Net carbs per 210 calorie 48g bar
  1.4g Net carbs per 100 calories (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Almond Caramel: C-
  3g Net carbs per 190 calorie 48g bar
  1.6g Net carbs per 100 calories (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Peanut Butter: C-
  4g Net carbs per 250 calorie 60g bar
  1.6g Net carbs per 100 calories (Yellow)
  2g Sugar
  

• Cinnamon Bun: D-
  5g Net carbs per 200 calorie 48g bar
  2.5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Cookies & Creme: F-
  9.5g Net carbs per 200 calorie 50g bar
  4.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar

• Vanilla Pecan Crisp: D+
  4g Net carbs per 200 calorie 48g bar
  2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Raspberry Chia: D+
  4g Net carbs per 180 calorie 48g bar
  2.2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Blueberry Greek Yogurt: D-
  5g Net carbs per 200 calorie 48g bar
  2.5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  3g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: F-
  11.5g Net carbs per 210 calorie 48g bar
  5.2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Peanut Butter Granola: D
  5g Net carbs per 220 calorie 48g bar
  2.3g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  1g Sugar

• Mocha Almond: D+
  4g Net carbs per 200 calorie 48g bar
  2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Almond Coconut: D+
  4g Net carbs per 200 calorie 48g bar
  2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Chip Granola: D-
  5g Net carbs per 210 calorie 48g bar
  2.4g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel: F-
  9g Net carbs per 210 calorie 48g bar
  4.3g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar

Atkins Meal Bars Keto Friendly Conclusion:

The Atkins Meal bars that don't include Maltitol are significantly more keto friendly than their Endulge treats but they're still well above what I'm comfortable eating myself or recommending to anyone. Atkins seems to insist on sneaking in fiber and sugar alcohols that raise blood sugar, especially when there are so many zero glycemic sweeteners and fibers available there really is no excuse.

Let's compare Atkins Meal bars to some of the most keto friendly sweet treats available:

Atkins Meal Bars vs ChocoPerfection and Keto Bars

As you can see, when comparing Atkins Meal bars to the best keto-friendly treats out there by net carbs per 100 calories, which is the most consistent indicator of keto friendliness, they're much higher. 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...