Hello, again, valkyrie9,

For whatever it's worth and, as mrschmelz mentioned, a LOT of us are eating more veggies than indicated in Atkins' first book. In my case, and after an extended induction period, I was on what seemed to be a permanent plateau. I felt great, was eating extremely well, and exercising--- but the darned scale just wouldn't budge more than 1/2 pound or so.

To make a long story short, I started following others' examples and increased the GREEN veggies considerably; at the same time, I also increased my use of olive oil substantially (olive oil is my own pet food, like your pepperoni!). At lunch, I typically have a salad with 4 cups of baby spinach/lettuce/greens, sliced tomato, with 3 ounces of either roast beef or ham or chicken, maybe some grated cheese, and 3 Tbs of olive oil. For dinner, my latest kick has been starters of 4 cups or so of broccoli and/or cauliflower flowerettes (on many evenings, when I haven't had time for my lunch salad, I up it to maybe 6 cups); I usually season this with salt and 3 Tbs of olive oil. Sometimes I use some grated cheddar. What I'm getting to is that I find the green veggies and olive oil so satisfying, that I often unable to continue with a second course (right away, that is!).

Regarding your "fist full = a cup", I do the same. Moreover, I have actually measured a fist full of baby spinach leaves, and it does come to about a cup. So I guess two great minds really do move in the same direction!

Anyway, that's is my two cents' worth. Still, you really are doing a great job, as you can see by the replies you have received. I'll look forward to seeing your progress.

Whammy