Hey all! Happy New Year's Eve!!!! I've been attempting to begin the CAD program for the past 2 weeks but I'm not losing. I don't think I'm doing it right. Maybe those of you on the program can forward me a typical week's menu, so I can see where I'm going wrong. Please! It would mean so much to me--I want to do well on this program. Any program that gives me the OK to have dinner with my husband is the program for me!!!

Hi there! First off welcome! This is the best eating plan ever becuase you can have your cake and eat it too!! LOL!

Have you read any of the Hellar's books? All the ones I have give you sample eating plans. I do not have a set menu plan I follow. I have a list of things I don't eat. Anything not on the list is fair game. If you try perusing some of the journals of people folowing the plan you will get a better idea of what sample menus are like. There is so much you can eat that I could tell you what I'm eating and you would hate it.

Oh and I cannot imagine trying to start ANY plan during the two weeks around Christmas and New Years! Don't give up, but make sure what you are doing is what the plan calls for. Also, check out our cheat sheets sticky-ed at the top of this forum.

Maybe tell us what you are eating and we can let you know where the problems are?

Dawn

Hi T-
welcome!
The biggest mistakes newbies make are not following the plan- and not balancing the RM. Some people can still lose if they don't balance, but I didn't. Please let us know what you are eating- like Dawn says you can see plenty of daily menus in the books, old posts and in journals.
E

Okay, so I'm really excited now. I had a fresh new start...again. I have the CAD book, but I'm embarrassed to say, I never read the ENTIRE book, which now I can see was a total necessity to really UNDERSTAND the program. So I read the whole book, realized that I was just doing it ALL wrong and made a fresh new start today. I'm even baking the CAD bread right now as I type so I can have French Toast tomorrow. I'm so excited!!!

Hi T-
reading the book is really important. I wil also tell you that if it were me, I'd also read the CALP or CAHHP books also by the Hellers (please just do an AMazon search on them and get all the titiles and stuff). These are much newer. Don't be disappointed if the bread turns out bad- IMHO many of the recipes are not terrific. And in the later books they are not as up on soy and other such ingredients.
One of the hardest things for new CAD/CALP people is that it is not atkins. We don't count carbs and try to limit them- it is really a carbs only at RM plan- and as long as the vegies are on the CM lists (see cheat sheet here on this site) they are allowed.
HTH-
E

Thanks Eno--the bread turned out...funny looking! But I'll use it. I had chinese food for dinner with a side of veggies. I really should've had a salad instead and will have to do that from now on--have the salad when starting my RM. I'm still new at all of this and will appreciate any advise you can give me.

hi-
just read a lot of posts and read the newer books. You are going to do fine-
E

Hi again! I started with CAD but didn't know about CALP when I did. (Checked out a bunch of diet books from the library and CAD was the only one I thought I could do.) Anyway, it wasn't long before I skipped my salad at dinner and even though I lost on that crazy plan I made up, I haven't been so lucky this time. I am now doing CALP. It is a better plan, more updated. And I agree with Eno about the bread. When I hear bread, I think fluffy with flour, not the crazy lowcarb/no carb junk found in the appropriate recipes. I wait and eat real bread at my RM. Check out your library or Amazon for CALP. You won't be sorry you did!

Thanks Dawn! I'll order it today--I feel fantastic!!!

Dawn and Eno---the CALP book is the Lifespan Program, right? It says it's for people in the 40's and up...does it matter if I'm not 40 yet?

Hi t-

no- it does not matter. They were trying to get the demograhics to sell the book. It is more up to date, and I think better. In the first book I think you can get the idea that you can eat anthing for RM. This book sets better limits, IMHO.
E

I ordered the CALP book earlier today, but can give me an example of the RM on this program? Because, like you said, I've been pretty much eating whatever I want at my RM. I really feel guilty when I'm finished. Thanks!

Please read some posts about BALANCE. Again, it is a YMMV issue. Some people swear they don't have to, and others swear they must. They (Hellers) talk about it in the CAD book too- and having a salad at every RM is an option in CAD.
Don't feel guilty- you are supposed to have carbs!

CALP: balance 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 carbs/protein/vegies and a salad. That is your meal. No weighing, measuring, counting. Just balance and a salad.

HTH-
E

Okay, I'll read those posts on BALANCE. I'm still new at the lingo. What's YMMV? No dessert with your RM on CALP?

YMMV=your milage may vary! (we are all different).
Of course you can have dessert in CALP- you can have any carbs you want. BUT it has to balance out withthe protein and vegies. So if you have a salad, a burger and spinach- your carbs can be a roll, OR ice cream, OR cereal, OR fruit, OR yogurt, OR a sweet potato.....
You can also be very creative and have a spoon of each, but that again is an individual thing.
Some of my favorite carbs are bread, cereal, fruit, nuts, and I seem to focus less on sweets. Then I'll go though a phase of wanting sugar.
E