I've been delighting in my first couple of weeks on a low-carb diet. I get to eat stuff I loved as a child but stopped eating as soon as I learned "fat is bad." Like devilled eggs, bacon and salami.

I've been eating dry italian salami in big chunks! But today I looked at the ingredients and saw sugar! Do they put sugar in EVERYTHING?! Ugh! I'm going to have to try to find sugarless salami now. Because I love it and don't want to stop eating it! Anyone know of any brands that make it? Or if the amount of sugar in salami is prohibitive at all?

thx
henbane

The gage I would use is if it puts you in a stall. You may still be OK with the amount of sugar in that brand of salami.

If you've been eating it all along and have lost weight, it is probably not a big amount.

That leads me to another question. How do you know if a certain food puts you in a stall? I just started so I have no idea whether salami effects me badly or not. And if I did stall, it would be several weeks before I noticed it on the scale, right? So how do I pinpoint it to one food? In two weeks time, I could name a hundred different things that I did or ate differently, because I'm not a person of routine.

How do people eat a food and know that it makes them stall?

henbane

If you suspect a food is causing you to stall, eliminate if from your diet for a week or two and see what happens. If you start losing again, great! If not, that probably wasn't it. It sometimes takes time to discover exactly what is causing your stall, but things to suspect are: any form of artificial sweetener or products that contain artificial sweetener, dairy products (from food intolerance), caffeine, alcohol. Stalls and plateaus are completely normal when losing weight and to be expected. Sometimes you can be doing everything right and the scale just doesn't want to move for a while. As for the salami...how high on the ingredients list is the sugar? Also..how many carbs per ounce does it contain? You do have to count all carbs that you eat on this plan, so don't forget to include those from the salami as well. Salami also contains nitrates, so watch out for those as well because they can slow or stall your weight loss. Dr. Atkins also cautions to avoid products that contain nitrates because they are known carcinogens. This doesn't mean that you should never have them, but that they should be consumed only occasionally and in small amounts if you chose to eat products with them in it at all.

Hello henbane. Congrats on starting your new WOL. I just wanted to comment on what you said.

I don't know how similar they are, I'm not a food expert, but I had decided not but 4 days ago to eat Hickory Farms summer sausage. And more than one portion I must say. I did notice that it had 2 grams of carbs per serving but I figured it wouldn't do harm. I'd just have it in moderation. Well I ate more than I wanted, but the moral to my story is the next day I experienced my first weight gain and I've been on this diet for 1.5 months with a steady loss. I gained 3 pounds the next day. So I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the sauage. So needless to say, that stuff won't find it's way in my house anytime soon. So like the others say, it depends on how your body is affected by the sugars and salts and such. If it doesn't seem to affect you and you're still in ketosis and steadily losing weight/inches I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep it in moderation.

Good luck!

Kirsten =

I guess that's how people tell what foods hit them wrong... they weigh every day?

I was told it was bad to weigh every day, but I guess that's the only way you can tell if a food makes you gain, right?

confused,
henbane

henbane...

nope. Body weight will fluctuate from one day to the next and from morning to night. If you weigh every day and try to figure out what cause that 1/2 lb gain from yesterday, you will drive yourself buggy! Women especially will have water retention for any number of reasons, not all of them relating to what they did or didn't eat. Keep a chart if you need to and plot your weight loss for one week to the next. If it remains in a straight line (or relatively straight line) for several weeks, then you can consider yourself to be stalled and start looking for possible causes. Until that happens, try not to worry about it. Stress can also stall you.

on the subject of meats.....
I am still doing induction - i think it's been about 3 weeks. Not quite ready for OWL yet. Anyway, i had started on April 1st with the Carb addicts diet and they are very particular about sugar in items. Atkins doesn't seem so concerned? I have a packaged lunch meat, smoked turkey breast it lists carbs as 0 and sugars as 0, but it does have dextrose as the 4th ingredient, so is it ok? Also, what about deli turkey breast, are there any that are ok? What about deli roast beef? From reading the carb addicts diet (even though i'm doing Atkins now) i've been only eating stuff i prepare myself, but a little convenience would be nice. any info appreciated. kim

From what I know, even with Atkins they don't want you to eat anything that has sugar in it of any sort. Those hidden carbs. We still have to read the label and see if the product has sugar in any form in it. Only thing I buy with sugar is Ranch Dressing. Oh and the summer sausage I had purchased but will never again. =x

I have found that I have to stay away from processed meats! I dont' gain, but I don't lose either.

The only thing that I indulge in over the summer is OK, ready for this: Hot Dogs. We have a brand here in Buffalo that are all beef and very low in nitrates compared to most. The are only available here too I think They are Sahlem's Brand.

There is a lot of sugar in the deli meats guess it's because of all the preservatives. For convenience I always cook extra. I will make extra pork chops, chicken breasts, etc. I then use them like I would a deli serving. Hubby knows the "leftovers" of protein are MINE and he won't touch without asking. (He did once and it wasn't a pretty picture )

I recommend cooking a roast beef and then slicing it up thin and keep it on hand for lettuce sandwiches, (romaine leaves are great for this) same thing with a turkey breast or ham, but be careful of the sugar on the hams!!!! Honey roast, etc

Yeah, I have a penchant for disgusting processed meats from my childhood. Just rediscovered Vienna sausages. Just throw a pop-top can in my bag for a quick snack at work. I know they’re gross but they’re yummy (I think) and sooo convenient. They have a couple of carb grams, but only 3 of those little buggers tides me over between meals. However, If I hit a stall, the first thing I’ll cut out is processed meat based on the advice of y’all (and the fact that I shouldn’t like a food too much) .

henbane

Sometimes I find a product that contains sugar, but that has less sugar than salt. I usually figure that if it contains less sugar than salt, that I don't have to worry about it. Particularly if it's not a salty product, like mayonaise for instance.

I don't eat chips or pretzels of course, so they have all been non-salty products. But a little salt goes a long way, so I think I would feel safe with salami which had less sugar than salt too.

Like someone said, reading the carb count on the package is a great idea if they give it. People in the US are lucky that way.

Here in Canada not all packages are so well labeled.

Hehe henbane! I love Vienna sausages too. Stems from childhood too. My mom always gave those to me when I was sick so they are a comfort food for me. I still have them when I'm sick, and I'm glad they are legal on this WOL. =)

Kirsten

I haven't had or thought of vienna sausages in eons! I will have to pick some up next time I am at the store.