OK, next week dh & I will begin Phase 2, and I'm a little nervous. When I'm out shopping, what do I look for on the nutritional labels when it comes to carbs and fats, and ingredients? Am I looking for low carb - period - no matter what the ingredients? I'll admit it gets a bit confusing and also time consuming cause I'm spending hours in the store (well, maybe exagerating a bit) looking at labels wondering what is good and what is bad. The cheeses and dairy products are especially confusing....regular, low fat, no fat, part skim, fat free................example: a low fat cream cheese might have 3 grams fat and 2 grams carbs. The same brand in the fat free version might have 0 grams fat but then 4 grams carbs. So which is the one that I want?

What are ingredients to totally avoid as well?

And what on earth can I put in my coffee? I miss yummy coffee so much. The fat free half & hlaf has corn syrup in it and 3 grams of carbs. I'm using a bit each day but I hate it! I miss my International Delight Mocha yummy coffee creamer. I think it's about the only thing on this diet that is truly breaking my heart

I would just follow the SBD book and the list (revised) at this site. The main thing I look for is sugar content, which I avoid.

For coffee I use powdered nonfat dry milk. I've always like that.

Remember that this is a good carb diet, not a low carb diet. When looking at bread, pasta, etc look for foods that have whole grains listed as ingredients. Watch out for "enriched" flours. It you choose to buy items marked low carb, watch out for the fat content. A lot of these items are high in saturated and trans fats. Also, when looking at carbs, pay attention to fiber and sugar. High carb count is not always a bad thing if it's from fiber and whole grains.

It's unfortunate that the book is not more specific about what to look for in foods. I had the same confusion (and a great deal of time spent in the store) when I started. There is a second book coming out, "Good Fats, Good Carbs Guide". Hopefully that will contain more specifics to follow. Good Luck!

you know...I could be hallucinating, but I could swear the book states that fat free half and half(land o lakes) is ok to use.
True it has corn syrup in it, but it's in the book.
weird huh? I know there are various weirdnesses in the book, but this seems like a glaring mistake....or is it?
just sharing
have a good weekend all