I'm in my third week of Atkins and I went into ketosis fairly easily. But, upon re-examing the foods I have in my fridge, I realized that they all have some form of sugar. I have been unsuccessful in finding a store to carry the nitrate free products, or any other store that carries organic meats.

Since I haven't had any problems so far with the sugar in the foods, should I even be concerned? I seemed to have stalled on my weight loss since last Thursday also.

Yep, they'll add sugar to just about anything A gram here or there of sugar probably isn't going to ruin things for you. It's the "55 gallon trash-can size big gulp" that'll do you in.

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.

Hi,

no, I would not eat those foods if I were you. Carbs add up pretty quickly.
I also have good news for you - there is no such thing as 'stalled since last Thursday' A real stall is about 6 weeks with no inches or weight lost.
Your body will take natural breaks in losing weight - please respect it. You will not lose every day or every week.....

So congrats - you are doing just fine....

Good luck

Alina

Yes almost all foods have sugar. The key is finding some with very little sugar. Read the nutritional facts and make sure the sugar grams are low. Then read the list of ingredients and see how many times sugar is listed, as well as how far down the list it occures.

Even most nitrite free organic lunch meats are packed with "organic dehydrated cane solids" or other forms of "organic sugar" I am lucky in that I found some that are sugar free, but they cost alot and since there are no preservatves they don't last as long. Try to stick more to fresh meats instead of convience ones. At delis ask to read the nutritional information on the package, they will usually hand it out to you with no problem. Many will print out lables listing ingredients for thier premade salads.

Even fresh meats can have sugar added. I was very disapoitned this Thanksgiving when I went to buy a turkey. Almost all had sugar and preservatives injected. I finaly found some free range chmical free at Safeway. Of course it was a ton more expencive

Read bacon lables carefully. Almost all are sugar cured. I can't find sugar free bacon here except for Jennio-O extra lean turkey bacon. I have heard others name SF brands though.

Read the lables on salad dressings and just try to find one that has sugar very low on the list. Goddess (not green goddess) dressing actually has no sweetners added. Also read mayo jars to make sure sugar is low on the list, or if you are more adventurous, make your own. It's very easy, but homade mayo doesn't last as long and requires constant refridgeration (no tuna salad in lonch boxes).

Thanks everyone! Great advice and information. I love these forums.