Hi everyone!

I made the decision last week to start Atkins today. I'm glad that I have found a place to go when I need support or have questions. This whole thing is really confusing to me.. so please bear with me!

I have a few questions right off the bat that I need to know for today. So I can't have caffeine, right? Well in the book it has a list of drinks that I can have and it says that you can have iced tea with artificial sweetners. Doesn't iced tea have caffeine in it? Can I still have it? It also says that you can have diet sodas. Does this mean that I can have a Diet Mt. Dew or do I have to have a Diet Caffeine free Mt. Dew?

Also, I bought some chicken salad for lunch. I thought you could have chickin salad, but the side of the container says that it has 8mg of cards per serving. Do I have to count them towards my daily carbs?

Sorry to start off with a million questions, but trust me... there's plenty more were that came from! Thanks in advance!

Welcome CP

Yes you can have the chicken salad, and yes you must count the carbs. You must count all carbs toward your daily 20g. The chicken salad is probably made with miracle whip, hence the carbs. You're better off making your own, but for today you should be ok. Be sure you check to see what a serving size is, sometimes they are quite small, you could end up blowing your entire carb allotment on the salad. Not good.

Atkin's says caffeine is a ; other plans let you have the odd cup of coffee. Its one of those YMMV (Your Milage May Vary). If you're going to drinkk soda's go for decaf and of course diet and try to limit them, citric acid can be a staller. And every diet soda you drink means you lost out on a glass of water. And you do need your water (64 oz or 8 glasses a day + one more glass per 25lbs you want to lose)

Point and click your way around this site, be sure to check out the "Low Carb Tips" section of the forum, you'll find valuable information there.

Happy low carbing

Nat

P.S. And CP please get a copy of the book. This forum is a great source for help and advice, but it is no substitute for the book. LC works and is a great WOL (Way of Life) but it must be done properly.

Hi, welcome to Lowcarbing and the Lowcarb Forum.

At first it's a learning curve for all of us....but eventually the questions get fewer and fewer. By reading as much as you can about lowcarbing it will help you get off to the right start.

Nat is right, be sure to pick up a copy Dr. Atkin's latest book. I still refer back to mine.

Good luck.

welome here and please dont feel bad about asking questions its the best way to learn. Read as much as U can about the subject, from posts on here to any low-carb book. Some people dont have problem drinking a bit of caffiene products others do. I quit cold turkey and suffered BAD for a few days but am really glad Im off them. I stick to water 90% of the time, may be boring however I do eat such rich wonderful food I dont miss extra beverages. I love coffee so a few days a week I will have decaf. Anyway good luck and keep asking questions!

hi Cp you have found the perfect place to ask questions and make friends...everyone here is so nice and understanding...Good luck with your new WOL and new WOE and enjoy