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Natural peanut butter is very good for you, and is on the Atkins diet.

I'm a wine lover, and I've got some things I've tried for those out there who like it, and want to stay on Atkins (as I do).

First red is best; there's more sugar in white, especially the sweeter whites. A chardonnay is almost like a red in terms of sugar.

Wait until late in the meal before your first glass (yes, you can have more than one). And, NEVER drink water and wine at the same meal.

Why is that? Wine is metabolized at a slower rate since the alcohol is absorbed by other foods. The metabolic process will be even slower if the foods ingested are proteins (as they primarily always should be). The slower the digestion process, the less fat will be stored, and the longer your hunger will be sated.

Drinking water and wine dilutes the alcohol and facilitates its absorption into the blood stream, and speeding up its metabolization.

I've actually found that wine is better for digestion than water. Water dilutes the natural gastric juices.

I've started not drinking anything (wine, water, lemonade) until 30 minutes after eating and have dropped another two pounds in the last month. This must be due to waiting until after eating to drink anything; I haven't changed anything else.

One thing's for sure: that pre-dinner cocktail can put you on a weight-loss plateau. Yes, just one drink on an empty stomach can do that, Atkins or no.

Wait until late in the meal before your first glass (yes, you can have more than one). And, NEVER drink water and wine at the same meal... Wine is metabolized at a slower rate since the alcohol is absorbed by other foods.

Wow... this is good stuff!! Thanks!

Thanks for the very helpful advice! Fortunately, I drink mostly red wine already. The only white wine I drink (and not that often) happens to be chardonnay. So that is convenient that they (red wines and chardonnay) are the wines lowest in sugar. Also, I'm an after-dinner drinker. I've been having either water or Propel (sort of a Gatorade-lite, only 3 carbs per glass) at dinner and my beer or wine afterwards.

Starting with tomorrow's dinner (too late for tonight), I'll try having my wine at dinner (30 minutes after I start eating) and my second glass right after dinner.

You mention that wine is better than water for digesting food. I've heard that before. In many cultures, a jug of wine at the dinner table is mandatory and even the kids imbibe. In fact, wine used to be used for purifying drinking water up until the. Many people back then would never drink a glass of pure water. If they didn't have wine to dilute their water with, they wouldn't drink it.