I did Atkins for a while...until I got so bored of it!! Ketchup is banned as it's full of sugar, therefore carbs. Plus any 'low fat' dressings etc are full of carbs as they fill them with sugar. Diet pop is allowed after the first 2 weeks. It's a really easy diet to figure out what you can have...just check the amount of carbs in things and make sure you don't go over 20g a day! =o) Enjoy....I lost 12lbs in my first week on it, but had to come off it due to the whole inconvenience of the food you're allowed!! I will always stick up for the atkins diet though!! =o)