Hello everyone. I am pretty new around here, but I have a few questions. I havent not bought nor read any atkins book, please dont be frustrated with me I really want one but I dont get out a whole lot and havent been able to go somewhere where a book would be but plan to get one asap. Anyway I have a few questions. I am on the induction phase of atkins and I started it friday, I lost 7 lbs the first 3 days (which I've kept off). since then I am staying where I am (granted this is only day 6). Anyway I am wondering if a certain few foods have stalled me out.
1. gum, not much but a little of it?
2. pepperonni's. they say no carbs but have nitrates and are prepackaged.
3. are sour cream or cream cheese okay at this stage? I am really confused I have read they are and that they arent.
4. alcohol, specifically whiskey, is it okay with diet coke? I only ask because I did drink diet sodas this weekend when I lost weight and they didnt seem to effect me. I havent drank yet but the whiskey info I have found says no carb and so does diet soda.
I cant think of anymore right now. I am staying 20 carbs or less a day. I am not messing with net carb because I for some odd reason dont trust that. I will give up whatever items are deemed not acceptable because no food is worth feeling negative about my weight or size. I just want to feel good and get smaller. I have also considered (as I have read on here) that loosing so much weight in 3 days could "shock" my body and maybe it needs a break before letting go of more. I am not going to give up, I am determined as heck. thanks in advance!

Here's my take on your questions :

1. Gum should be ok as long as it's sugar free

2. Pepperonni should be ok too. I love to eat salami, kabana and cheese kransky's !! The only issue with this is that meats preserved with nitrites can cause cancer, so maybe minimise consumption of these.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_nitrite

3. Cream cheese is fine and i'm sure sour cream should be ok too, check the label to see how many carbs are in it.

4. Diet sodas - For me, I like to drink Pepsi Max but I do limit it to no more than 2-3 cans a week. I used to be addicted to the stuff - buying it by the carton. Now I drink water with my meals and during the day.

With regards to the whisky, someone at work told me that never mix spirits with diet coke as it forms a nasty compound in your gut and "gives you gut rot". I'm, not sure about this, but I don't like the taste of DC anyway so don't drink it.

I'm pretty sure that with alcohol, it will be used as energy first by your body, so it will stop you from burning your body fat until it's energy value is burned by your body.

However, I think spirits are preferred to wine or beer, as I think those drinks have extra carbs in them.

Don't be too worried about the scales yet. I would focus on your food portions, drinking lots of water and exercising. Your weight will fall, don't worry, and expect a few stalls here and there.

Until you can get a hold of your own book, here is a link to the Atkins website. Just click on the different phases to see what is recommended. You are doing great! If you follow the plan, I know you will have VICTORY!!! You can do it!!!

And, no alcohol yet. you have to wait on that and when it is allowed, drink it with great caution as you will find it can really hit you hard and fast....blahhh

http://www.atkins.com/articles/nutritional-approach

1) So long as it's SF you should be good.
2) Pepperoni does have a lot of sodium so just be careful with it. I'd not eat it every day, but that's JMO.
3) Limit your cream cheese to 2 oz a day (or less). You should be fine with sour cream unless you plan to eat the entire container....
4) Whiskey, or any alcoholic beverage, is low-carb or carb free - that much is true. However if you are in ketosis now, and you drink alcohol, then your body will shift from buring stored fat to burning that alcohol. So it'll probably kick you out of ketosis for a day or two, resulting in what you may see as a 'stall'. It won't hurt you to drink alcohol but you need to be realistic with what will happen with your weight loss if you do.

Congrats on your success thus far.

Thanks for the advice. I think I may have gum when I feel my breath is bad However I think I'll try to keep the pep's to a minimum. I know I'll eat what I have here and I wont buy more for a few weeks, at least. I mostly want to cut out diet soda b/c even w/o carbs it is still not good for the body. I have made some crystal light but want to keep it to one glass a day or less until I can just drink water. Thanks for the advice I really do appreciate it. I know I shouldnt complain b/c some stall for months and just b/c the scale hasnt moved in a couple of days I worry. I am probably not in a stall at all, just a worrywort. I think I should just not drink alcohol at all for now.

Thank you for the advice. I have been making pepperoni chips and making little cream cheese sandwiches out of them (cream cheese wrapped in peps) but only like a 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese. However something about eating peps feels wrong (if that makes sense at all) so I think I should stop. Thank you as well for the advice about alcohol, i think I should not drink it yet. I am curious though w/o Ketosis sticks, how to tell if I am in ketosis?

Thank you for the link, I am about to check it out after this reply. I think the general consensus for me about alcohol is not to do it right now so I will abide by that.

Some signs you are in ketosis include:
-Heavy metalliac taste in your mouth.
-The dreaded 'ketosis breath'.
-TONS of energy.
-Lack of hunger.