I just ate a few slices of lunch meat and then realized that it might have some hidden sugars in it. I ate 2 slices of gypsy salami and 2 slices of garlic salami. If I assume there are some hidden sugars in it, does it mean I've blown it today?

I also noticed that my mayonnaise (Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise) has sugar listed in its ingredients (7th on the list). The label says 0 carbs per 1 tbsp, but should I discontinue using it because of the sugar?

Thanks in advance.

Most processed meats have some sugar and tend to be loaded in sodium. I would avoid those. As for the Hellmann's; it is widely used by most everyone here and it is not only considered safe to use, but encouaged to get that fat percentage up.

Great...thanks emily! I was starting to panic. I thought maybe I had been unknowingly messing up. I'll stay away from the lunch meats from now on.

I also noticed that all the bacon at my local grocery store has sugar in it. It's shocking to learn how much sugar I consumed.

While on induction I would avoid processed meats, but if you can find them without sugars and low sodium, you can use them in moderation. I found it helpful to grill up several chicken breasts or drumsticks, boil a dozen eggs (leaving some in the shell and others I would devil), keeping loads of cleaned, chopped up veggies in the fridge, different full fat dressings, low sodium cheeses (swiss is quite low) etc. available at all times. I'm a huge snacker; if I didn't have something quick to grab, I usually ate something bad. Check out the recipe section too. There are a ton of LC casserole type dishes that can be heated up in a snap; I often have re-heated casseroles for breakfast. One of my favorites is the chicken broccoli dish.

Great - thanks for the tips. I am realizing that I need to re-learn how to cook and prepare meals as well as snacks. This way of eating is completely opposite of what I'm accustomed to (like many of us, I'm sure). I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes and will definitely check out the chicken broccoli dish.

Congratulations on exceeding your goal weight! How long did it take you?

Thanks for the congrats.

My first attempt at Atkins was in May 2005. I lost about 15lbs. I didn't follow the plan well. There were lots of cheats followed by restricting my fat and calories, which didn't work because I was constantly hungry. I fell off the wagon in about July 2005 and gained back a few pounds. The second time I followed the plan properly beginning at the end of December 2005. I met my goal July 1, 2006, so seven months to lose 47 pounds. My weight loss wasn't steady either. I would lose in chunks. A few pounds one week then nothing for two weeks. You have to keep in mind that our bodies need a "recovery" time from weight loss. Once your body adjusts to it, the pounds will drop off again. I have been maintaining my weight between 127 and 132 lbs for the last six months. I do have the occasional treat, but I do adhere to LC very closely because my eating can get out of control really quickly. I found this site detrimental in my success and even more so in maintenance.

Emily- I hope this site was essential to your success- not detrimental. Michelle

Emily, this is excellent advice/tips. I could definitely get more organized with my snacks. Thanks.

Detrimental Yikes! I meant essential! I guess I shouldn't post at 2am.

Or maybe instrumental?

Yes, Instrumental! Gosh, what a fool I am. I hope I didn't scare anyone away with my temporary brain freeze.

Hahaha...brain freeze or no brain freeze...I found your message inspiring and helpful!

I didn't lose any weight from yesterday to today and so it was good for me to read that you lost your weight in "chunks".

I have been using half-n-half in my coffee and think I might have eaten too many veggies yesterday. I didn't realize that "heavy cream" wasn't "half-n-half" since I haven't ever used any other kind of cream. Back to the grocery store

I find that my cravings for carbs aren't as strong as they were a few days ago, but I am still thinking about them every second of the day. A few times yesterday I noticed that I didn't really WANT the carbs, but for some reason I was still thinking about them. This is good.

I bought some fresh chicken legs and will eat one of these for a snack instead of the lunch meat today.

Here's a questions though....the label on the cheese I eat says 0 carbs. If that's the case, why can't I eat more than 3 - 4 ounces as my Atkins book suggests?

....oh yeah.....HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!

healthboun - the reason you shouldn't eat more cheese is because it's not *really* 0 carbs. Its probably something like .5 carbs. So 4 ounces of cheese here and 4 ounces of cheese there a few times a day, day after day, and pretty soon you're eating lots o' carbs.

actually, the nutritionals on cheese are fairly accurate, and we all count the carbs from dairy, so it isn't a case of cheese being 0 carbs and those half-grams adding up and throwing us over. it's because there are things in cheese (like casein, i think) that will stall some people if they don't limit their intake. if you aren't sensitive to casein and you find dairy doesn't stall you, as long as you're eating REAL cheese instead of processed cheese foods (monterrey jack versus velveeta american slices), and as long as you count the carbs in your cheese, the 4oz thing is more of a guideline than a hard, fast, concrete rule.

personally, i'd rather get my carbs from veggies than cheese, but that's just me.

I agree with Kvon on the cheese. If you take a look at my journal, you'll see I love cheese and really ate a ton of it in the beginning. I had a six week stall at some point and reluctantly had to greatly reduce cheese in efforts to see if it did stall me and low and behold the weight started to come off again. I still use cheese, but more like an ounce or two daily. I use sharp cheddar or romano or others that are similar because of their strong flavor. Cheese tends to be really high in sodium, swiss contains probably the least.

I also suggest using heavy cream (18%) over half and half. You can even use whipping cream (35%). You definately get more bang for your buck; they are lower carbs and higher fat.

I just realized your also Canadian.... I'm in Ontario.