Hi there!

Tomorrow will be the completion of my third week on CAD - and finally my CALP book arrived so I get to see what you're all posting about!

I'll be honest, I didn't find it as easy a read as CAD - but there's a lot more in it and (quite literally!) food for thought.

I've been going a bit mad with my Reward Meal the last few days and eating far too many sweets. It's made me feel awful, ill , quite honestly. So today I had my RM in the middle of the afternoon and I had no sweet stuff at all. I feel so much better. It seemed that no matter how balanced my RM was, the moment I started to eat sweet things it was like I couldn't stop until I was full to bursting - but today, it was easy to stop.

I'm not saying I'll never again have anything sweet at RM time, but it's really made me think about how often I do it!

Anyone else had this experience?

Sue

I can relate. I think that it may be the sweet stuff that has made me eat too many carbs at my RM as well. I think I need to try a few without to see if that makes a difference for me.

Yesterday was day 5 for me and I made it through an entire morning and afternoon with a box of Crispy Creme donuts sitting in the office I work in, planning my RM the entire time!! I did realize I didn't really want the donuts though, that waiting was going to be worth the wait. Welllllll ... I learned, that for me, too much anticipation and planning are not a good thing. We ate at Spaghetti Factory and I had my favorite and although I did everything correctly, I ate too much and even had the brocculi with browned butter and mizithra (sp??) cheese. Then I of course had the ice cream, which put my plate at about 1/8th protein (and that's pushing it), maybe a quarter veggies (and not all low carb, as I did have that absoutely wonderful brocculi) and the rest would be carbs. Well, I paid for it dearly. Before we even walked out of the place I felt stuffed, lethargic and ready for bed!! It got worse and I reacted with my old patterns (not all that old, I'm afraid) and had more ice cream at home! I do know better, yes, I was just in the middle of my carb addiction once again and couldn't resist. I finally went to bed feeling awful thinking I'd never do that again. I woke up feeling fine, weight stayed the same and I said it last night and I'll say it again ... I am not doing that again!! I love the feelings I have when I do the plan right! I paid a price for the lesson, but I really think this plan helped me recognize that I really did feel awful. I'm guessing I've felt like that many times in the past (make that MANY, MANY) and it just started feeling "normal". Yikes!! Thank you CAD!!! I have ordered the CALP book also and hope it arrives this coming week. I love the CAD book and hope there aren't too many changes!

Cherylb

Thanks for your replies - I did guess I wouldn't be alone

Anyway, it's been a useful exercise in that I've discovered that if I limit my sweet intake I find it much easier to feel satisfied with my otherwise balanced meal. The moment I start on the sweet stuff I find I can keep stuffing more in. So, I've decided that if I'm going to include any sweet stuff in my reward meal from now on I can only eat it in the last ten minutes of so of my RM hour. I'm very strict about stopping within the hour so that should stop me from making an absolute pig of myself. Apart from anything else, eating that much sugar in one hit can't be good for anyone!

In fact, I've decided to lay off sweets altogether for a few days. I'm not going to tell myself I can't have them at all because I think being able to have whatever you want at RM time is part of how this WOE works - losing the feelings of deprivation.

My CALP book has finally arrived...a fortnight after ordering it. I've never had a problem with Amazon before but they managed/Royal Mail managed to lose my entire order. I'm still waiting for them to send that order again. The only reason I've got the book is because I ordered it again. It's not as easy a read as CAD. My original hunch that they had to write it because people (like me this week!) ate too much at their RMs still stands but there's some food for thought in there. I think I'm going to have a go at the complex carb option (forgo the sweets altogether) but I'll just try to reduce them this week to see what happens.

Cheryl, I know how you feel - I've done it so many times! But I think this is a plan that's really liveable and if we manage to stick to the plan more days than we don't we will succeed!

Sue

Good Morning,

I guess I am one of the lucky ones on CAD. I can over-indulge on sweets and or carbs at my RM, and as as long as I confine it to the 60 minute rule, I don't have a problem, as far as making me feel yucky, or giving me cravings later on.

I will admit tho, if I do overeat, it does absoulutely nothing for my weight loss. All I can hope to achieve is to be able to maintain, which is a good thing too.

I know for me, if I eat a sugary sweet every RM, then my body expects to have one at every RM. I get down right pouty if there is not something with sugar available for my RM. What I try to do is break myself of the habit by not eating anything other than fruit, popcorn or yogurts etc. It takes a couple of days and then I don't miss the sugar anymore.

I found the CALP book a little more complicated and I am so glad that I read the CAD book first. In the CALP book it seems like you can eat a lot more for your CM's and that for me worries me a little bit. Other than that the program itself is basically the same as far as starting your meal with a salad and balance the rest into 1/3's..Of course they talk more about MSG and AS and also over the counter drugs as well as prescription drugs. My CAD book is one of the very first ones the Heller's wrote and it does not mention balancing your meal in to 1/3's. All it says is to eat a balanced RM. They did revise this book.



Sue, I just wanted to make sure you were not waiting too long from your last bite of food until you have your dessert. I was taught when I first started CAD, 4 years ago, that you should not wait any longer than 5 minutes. I think 10 minutes might be even stretching it a little. No longer than 10 minutes tho.

Have a great day..

I can so relate to what each of you is saying ... guess it's true that I'm a CA!!! Not that I doubted it. Diane, I noticed that I also can get away with eating what I want carb-wise, even if it's a bit over the 1/3 of my plate, as long as I eat plenty of protein and begin with a salad. I do keep my RM contained to one hour, in fact, I'm usually done well within 45 minutes and don't run back to see how much more I can stuff in. I've found that if I just eat my salad first, then my low carb veggies with my protein, that by the time I get up and get my carb (dessert for me), that I eat a "healthy" portion and that does me just fine. I eat absoutely whatever I want for my carb ... I'm trusting that the Hellers know what they're talking about and I don't want to feel deprived at this point. Like Sue, I also want to eventually have my "dessert" be something healthier. It seems like if I actually "heal" my body, that sugar desserts should be limited to a special ocassion ... but I'm getting ahead of myself even going there! I have never managed to stick to a plan and lose all the weight I've needed to, let alone actually do something about my insulin resistance, so I am willing to work with this plan for life as I absoutely do not feel like I'm on a "diet". I'm not on a "diet" because I really do eat what I want ... just not always WHEN I want! I've finally realized that one baby step at a time is the only way I'm going to get where I want to be ... there is no quick fix for any CA that I'm aware of!

By the way, as a result of way overeating and definitely eating over a 2-3 hour time period, I put on a pound 2 days later (today). I figure if that's the worst that happens, I'm okay ... but it still wasn't worth feeling so lethargic, absoutely stuffed and like a lead balloon. No way! How good could that be for my body? So for this first week, my real weight would give me a 5 pound loss. Why is it that my head knows without a doubt that FIVE pounds is an incredible amount of weight to take off ... and yet my CA side says "why didn't you take 10 off??????". My head even knows that the weight loss needs to slow down, and will slow down, and yet I still think in terms of "only" so many pounds. I guess maybe that's diet mentality and I'm not on a diet!!! Yeah, that's it! I'm not on a diet, that's my story (fact) and I'm stickin' to it!!

Cherylb

Hi Diane

Thanks for your reply

I can identify with the feeling about always having to have something sweet at RM time - it was definitely happening to me! But I've now done two days without anything sweet and I feel much better. My meal isn't entirely balanced yet from a CALP point of view - I think it's a bit heavy on the carbo side but I've been getting away with that so far. Even eating the sweets I've had a loss of half a pound this week so I really mustn't complain! Like you, I've got an older version of CAD that just speaks about balancing your RM in very general terms - this suits me better. There's only so much salad a girl wants to eat!

That thing about the five minutes/ten at the outside - is that just relating to sweet carbos or all carbos? I remember reading that you shouldn't leave it longer than 20 minutes between courses but I've never seen the five/ten minute thing. It would make eating out even more of a minefield if it's true!

Anyway, I'm usually done with eating within half an hour or so - so perhaps if I'm going to do what I said I'll have to limit my RM time to 40 minutes or something. Most times that'll be more than enough time!

Thanks for the advice!

Sue

Quote:

Originally Posted by camie964 so I am willing to work with this plan for life as I absoutely do not feel like I'm on a "diet". I'm not on a "diet" because I really do eat what I want ... just not always WHEN I want! I've finally realized that one baby step at a time is the only way I'm going to get where I want to be ... there is no quick fix for any CA that I'm aware of!

Amen to that! That's exactly how I feel about it. I've tried so many diets over the last eight years - my head's stuffed with counting points/calories/fat grams/carb grams grrrrrr! I can tell you the nutritional info on just about any item of food. It strikes me that's really kind of sad...!

Quote:

Originally Posted by camie964 So for this first week, my real weight would give me a 5 pound loss. Why is it that my head knows without a doubt that FIVE pounds is an incredible amount of weight to take off ... and yet my CA side says "why didn't you take 10 off??????". My head even knows that the weight loss needs to slow down, and will slow down, and yet I still think in terms of "only" so many pounds. I guess maybe that's diet mentality and I'm not on a diet!!! Yeah, that's it! I'm not on a diet, that's my story (fact) and I'm stickin' to it!!

Yep! Patience is not a specialty of mine either. I only lost 0.57 pounds. But hey, if I lost 0.57 pounds every week for the next year I'd be nearly 30 pounds lighter. I've been stuck above 200 pounds for the last five years so why do I find the idea of not shifting it faster so terrible?

Never mind! We will get there. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step...

Sue

Hi Sue,

Just curious. Did you read the 20 minute rule in one of the books? I have looked high and low for this, but have never been able to find it. I was told several years ago when I was on the CADIS list, which is a CAD/CALP forum that the rule was 5 minutes. I trusted what they said, because the lady who started this forum was friends with the Heller's and I figured she got that directly from the Heller's. No guarantee that their info was right either, just what they all had taught me, and I have been doing that ever since. The main thing, if what you are doing is working for you, then keep doing it.

You are so right. Losing .57 lbs is great. It all adds up. When I was losing weight I averaged .5 to 1 lb per week, and it was great and it really added up. I lost a total of 40 lbs within 6 months. For some reason it came to a screetching halt and I have been stuck ever since. I think it might be my age and lack of exercise that is keeping me from losing further. I have recently bought a treadmill and I am keeping my fingers crossed this might help to get me started again.

Cheryl. Congrats on the 5 lb loss. That is wonderful. You are doing great.

I found I did better keeping my sweets to no-sugar-added ice creams, yogurt and fruit. No craving problems, I lost faster, and didn't have the temptation to overdo it.

Great thread-
I follow CALP, and love my big salad at the start of my RM. When I was losing weight, I did not have a "sweet" carb in my RM more than once or twice a week.I really stuck to grains, carby vegies, bread or fruit. If I had sweets more than once or twice my loss stopped. Just wanted to share my experience.
Eno

Being able to have some sweets at my reward meal was the main reason I felt I could try CAD (which seemed like a very strange plan) in the first place. I couldn't imagine giving up breads and other starches at breakfast and lunch, but I figured that as long as I knew I could have something I really liked at dinner, it might be ok. That plan has served me well.. but only to a certain point. I really feel that to lose further weight, I will have to reduce the sweets at my RM. I don't know when or how the spirit will move me to actually try this.. maybe when I get tired enough of sitting at the same weight and really want to move further down. Right now I am feeling pretty good where I am. I still strive for balance, but more often than not the carb portion is mostly dessert foods.

I'm afraid that dessert is something that I'm not ready to give up either, but I certainly hope to be at the point of switching to grains, potatoes, or any other non-dessert as my carbs for my RM. I also think that if I couldn't have anything I wanted for my carbs at my RM, I probably could not stick with this. As it is, it seems to be working beautifully! Fortunately I am able to have my cake and eat it too at this point!!

Cherylb

I couldn't remember where I'd seen this to start with - then I remembered it's on Zuleika's cheat sheet - I've bumped the post up again.

I managed 3 whole days without sweets at my RM but I confess I had chocolate tonight - probably because I had a couple of glasses of wine too!

My scales seemed to have stopped moving at the moment - the gravitional pull in this part of England is not wavering at all. Still, at least those numbers aren't rising!

Sue

I have tried cad before and would like to try it again. I have a hard time giving up sweet's. I am a type 2 diabetic and was wondering if Just the 1 RM a day would hold the blood sugar at bay. If anyone else here is diabetic, I would like to hear from you.