Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - Ack! Everything has sugar in it!

I hear yah about sugar (and salt) in everything and even in things you never thought should or would contain sugar. In regards to the nitrates, I know Atkins suggest that we avoid all nitrates found as a curing agent in foods but I still had bacon and still had ham and such and I still lost weight. The odds of just living on organic meats sounds too cost prohibitive. By all means if you can afford it or can find it then wild game or organic meats of course rule!

In a perfect world that would be the absolute best set-up but I don't think it necessary to completely avoid nitrates. I do believe that it's more for a health concern (in high doses) than a weight loss one -- however watch salt/sodium intake in general as that plays a key role.

Getting back to sugar... well I posted a while back about sugars and such in foods and questioning if even a small amount would affect me... I mean if I were able to keep it under 20 grams even if some sugar was consumed. I got some good answers and the short of it is that at least during induction and even the better part of the program try to avoid ALL hidden sugars such as you would find in sauces, dressings, BBQ sauces... and most low fat articles. Even little things like artificial sweeteners that although have lower carbs may still not be zero. The goal is to retrain your "engine" in your body to burn fat... and certain things affect that process more than others - carbs or no carbs.

Check out the FAQ area on the Atkins WebPage about stalling and not losing weight fast enough. The suggestions are great and worked for me.. i.e... increase water or make sure you are drinking enough, increase fat and slightly reduce protein if need be... and obviously watch out for those hidden carbs.