I have been a Scholar for about a month and have easily lost about 7 pounds. My protocol includes fasting until noon, no snacking, eliminating sugar and flour, measuring my protein and reducing my alcohol consumption to an occasional glass of wine with a meal. I have questions about what foods elevate my insulin:
1.a midmorning energy drink that has 0 sugar (I think it’s sweetened with Avantra Z), 20 calories and 4 carbs.
2. pasta made with rice or other vegetable product (chickpeas, artichoke, etc)
3 when eating out, I’m not sure if there is flour or sugar used in preparation
4 when buying prepared foods (such as salad dressings) and not sure of the ingredients. The names of sugar can be very deceiving.
5. Brooke mentioned that the use of Stevia is questionable. I have been using it in my coffee and on berries. How do I know if this is problematic?

Since I am being successful and do not want to spend a lot of time and energy on shopping and food prep, I am not sure that there is a need for an expansive level of scrutiny. What do you recommend?