I know Atkins says to stay away from nitrates. My husband still buys bacon and pepperoni with nitrates. He says that he is still losing weight so he is going to keep eating them. I have been following Atkins faithfully and I have not wanted to chance stalling. I would like to know from everyone's personal experience how eating/not- eating nitrates have effected their weight loss. Thanks!

Jess

I have eaten them all along and haven't had any problems. My husband also eats bacon every morning without problem. We've both been doing Atkins for 21 months now.

I think it all depends on your individual body. Dr. Atkins' main problem with nitrates is that they are potentially unhealthy. Processed meats, in addition to nitrates, have salt, and that can slow down or stall weight loss too.

Bacon & salami don't seem to slow me down at all. I'm still leary that nuts are, though- so I cut way back. I've read posts that say everyone's different with what MIGHT make you stall. To each his/her own.

Best of luck,

Amy

I eat bacon, slami, pepperoni...
without any stalls even though they have nitrates. I also haven't noticed water retention due to the sodium in these either.

Donald

From my own experience I'd like to add that foods can become problem foods farther down the road. When I started LCing I ate bacon, LC bars, nuts and cheese with abandon and lost quickly.

But these same foods now stall me.

Just something to keep in mind further down the road when you stall and remember that bacon didn't cause problems in the beginning.

Allison

Thanks guys. Allison, I will keep that in mind down the road. I had not thought of foods reacting differently to my body over a period of time. Thanks again,

Jess

I'm admittedly new at this (day 3), but I've read a lot recently. As I recall the problem with Nitrates/Nitrites is that they are a potential carcinogen (cause cancer - maybe). I don't recall reading anything that said bacon, et al. cause weight loss to stop. In fact the bacon & eggs breakfast seems to be a mainstay of Atkins' program.

Robert is right. Nitrates are linked to causing Cancer. This kind of scares me because my kids love hot dogs. I only give them hot dogs once maybe twice a week but still.