I can't seem to get the straight scoop on onions. I LOVE onions - the big Vidalia's are my favorite. I'm perfectly happy to carmelize a Vidalia in butter and top a steak, a burger, a chicken filet, anything with sauteed onion. I don't think I should be eating a whole Vidalia even if it cooks down to 1/4 - 1/2 cup cooked.

I also notice many Atkins recipes use scallions, green onion, instead of yellow or red onions. Is that because I shouldn't be eating up all those Vidalia's?

How much onion can I have every day on Induction? (I haven't dropped many pounds on Induction, but I've had several brief excursions into fat food and haven't been drinking all of the water recommended until yesterday.) I've stopped that nonsense, but want to make sure I don't sabotage myself with onions.

I started using Ketostix, and they showed a nice purple change yesterday. Help please, ladies.

I went straight to the source, the Atkins official website, and found this info on onions.


Portion Food Item Total Carbs (g) Fiber (g) Net Carbs (g)
0.25 cup Onions, green 0 0 1
0.5 cup Onions, raw 6.9 1.4 5.5

I bought the Ketostix too. I couldn't get mine to go past pink. Thought I had to be in deep purple or thought the darker the color the faster I would burn fat. Not true. Actually the darker the color, they say the more dehydrated you are. As long as it changes color then you are in ketosis.

Hope this helps.

Interesting that scallions [green onions] are on the salad list for Induction while onions are on the "other" vegetables list. The "other" list says you can have 1c. raw. That's a lot of onion! I LOVE Vidalias too but in Canada they're not the same - they lose the sweetness in shipping. I usually use 1/4 of an onion when I make my meals.

Thanks for the onion info; there's lots of carb difference between green onions or scallions and regular onions - especially if you're on induction carb level. Now I get it, I think.

I read in a post, maybe by Jerseygyrl, that we should use Atkins' books published in 2002 or before...why? I have Atkins for Life, copyright 2003. What is the difference? Did the program change? How?

Thanks so much!

The difference between the 2 is the 2002 or older version were written by Dr. Atkins, anything newer has been modified by the Atkins Corporation. They are more apt to pushing Atkins Products.

If I dont have my book with me, I often refer to his wife's website. Her name is Veronica Atkins and his plan [2002 + before] is on her site.

Okay, that makes sense. I noticed in the Atkins for Life there're lots of references to the shakes, bars, snacks from Atkins, and in the earlier publications, you're encouraged to eat fresh, whole foods prepared without lots of additives and warned against using low-carb products especially in induction.

I appreciate the information.

I like onions too but it's one of the foods that a lot of people find is a "staller" (mushrooms as well). I try to keep quantities limited and eat them less often than I'd like, but I do eat them from time to time. I agree different types of onion have different levels of sugar (carbs).

I try to limit mushrooms even more than onion however, I've seen some stalls when I've had higher mushroom consumption. I never keep my eating tight enough to know for sure it's just that one ingredient, but I do try to keep control of my mushroom intake now...

The Atkin's products other than the origional bars and the shakes will slow weight loss. ESPECIALLY the CANDY.

I got a box of the PB cups there are two in a packed I ate one a day for 12 days and did not lose any weight at all for 12 days. I read up on it and it looks like I am not the only one this happened to.

I can see they could be usedful if you are on maintenance (or about to go off the deep end and eat a enitre loaf of bread) but people seem to agree that they should be avoided if you want to loose weight.

This has "hopefully" helped me as well. I have been stalled and couldn't figure out why. I am in the darkest level of ketosis, walking everday and lifting weights. I love onions and use them in most things I cook. I will deffinately cut them out to see if this helps. Thanks!

I mostly use chives and leeks because I grow them in containers and they are perennials. I like not having to buy them, ever.

Vidalias and other sweet onions are lovely. Nothing like liver and onions (with bacon, of course.) I only use a small portion of a sweet onion, and usually mix it with cabbage due to how sweet and starchy the sweet onions are.