a few questions from a newbie

[dimar97]

Ok, I am at day 9 today so I know I am a baby still! I did my best to stay on track last week and though I thought about cheating, I did NOT! I want to do this right! But the more research I do on-line (I have read the book) it seems that perhaps I still cheated! I have a couple questions … does cream cheese count towards the 3-4 oz of cheese allowed in induction? Also, I am still stuck on figuring out true carb counts. I have a bottle of Newman’s Own Creamy Caesar that says 1 gram carb per 2 tbsp so I thought that looked good. But Corn Syrup is listed as an ingredient about 2/3s of the way down the list. How do I factor that in? I feel like I need to do another week of induction bc last week wasn’t as good (clean) as it could have been. I have lost 3.5# but that was between Monday and Friday last week – no progress since then which has kind of bummed me out. I drank alcohol over the weekend which I now know is a no-no. But I’m back on track. I bought the ketostix and mid day they were bright purple and by evening barely lavender. I don’t want to get hung up on them but I want to make sure I am doing things the right way. I still “think” about forbidden foods and I can’t tell if just thinking about them means I am still craving them ! Is it too early to think that this will have passed? I’m sure I have a million more questions but I’ll stop now! Thanks for your help

[Scooterjam]

Hi Kristin,

Scooter here. Nice to meet you. Well a couple things stand out, first off, congrats on discovering that your induction has had some 'issues', to me that proves that your willing to (obviously posting) admit that you want to live this way, and you want to do it correctly.

Cream cheese does count towards your 3 -4 oz of cheese a day. When you hit rung 2 (dairy) that will increase, and you can add other cheeses too.

Salad Dressing - Always be sure to read your ingredients in everything you buy, no matter whether they claim to be 'low carb' or 'no carb' or 'zero carb' anything that ends with -tose Fructose, Gluclose, Dextrose, is sugar plain and simple and should be avoided. Wishbone makes a nice 'South Beach' ranch dressing (1 Carb per Tablespoon) with no corn syrup, corn syrup solids, etc. Or you can do like I do and make your own! It's fun and easy!

Alcohol - This one is kind of a 'everybody does their own thing' topic. Actually Alcohol is not allowed until level (5). And even then, you should be aware that your body stops burning fat, and starts burning the alcohol whether you've eaten low carb or not, it will have an adverse effect. Now that does not mean you never allowed to take another drink, but everything we eat or drink is in moderation. Alcohol can also cause false signs of hunger and make you grab some yummy quick snack that you are not allowed to have.

I've never used the ketostix ever, I've not relied on them at all. I simply go by how my clothes feel, and the dreaded scale 1 a week.

Possibly continuing on with another week of induction or two weeks of induction might not be a bad idea, but do not hesitate moving onto OWL quickly after that! OWL is absolutely awesome!!

As far as craving and forbidden foods, experiment, find legal substitutes, try new foods you've ever had before.

Best of Luck to you!! Life is good!

[dimar97]

thanks for all the info! I guess I am still confused by "sugar" listed in ingredients VS the nutrition label. If there is any form of sugar listed any where in the ingredient list - irregardless of the nutrition label info - then the product is no good? Man, I'm gonna have to do some more grocery shopping! Also, a question about fat. If while in ketosis your body is burning fat for energy wouldn't it make sense to limit the fat intake so as to encourage your body to burn your fat stores instead? I don't understand the chemistry... thanks again!

[*Emma*]

carbs last longer in your body than fat does, so we burn it quicker, its very important you get your fat intake pecentages correct fitday.com will do that for you!

As for the alcohol thing, what are you drinking? im one of the bad ones on that, but i drink vodka which is carbless - and seems to burn off very fast for me, ive never been knocked out of ketosis by it.

Ketostix, if you ever show up moderate or more, your body is dehydrated, you should always be in the paler two!

[Theperfect10]

Hi Kristin, know how you feel! Sometimes all the rules seem so difficult to cope with, but its amazing how quickly this WOE becomes normal! I'm more of a 'baby' than you - only on day 8, but well done you on how well you're doing so far. As for alcohol, I've decided to stay away from it for my induction. After that I'll make a decision. But if I do have a drink - it will be vodka and diet coke - at least I know I can track the carbs with that!