Hey, it's Amy. I can't seem to find anyone posting their menu's on their journals. I would love to read what people are eating to lose weight. I don't want to post mine because I'm still having trouble balancing RM. It gets out of hand. I don't lose, but maintain only. It's my fault, not CAD. I usually don't balance, and I eat too much. I would love to be able to control my cravings and hunger in the evening, but I can't. Any advice, thanks. Amy

Hi! I've been posting menus. I just started a week or so ago, though.

I find it's easier to do just one CM because then I don't feel as bad if I go overboard on my RM. But basically, as far as I can tell, it's all about balance, balance, balance. Like for instance, the other night I wanted more mashed potatoes but I realized I would also have to have more chicken and more salad and my stomach just went "yuck" at the thought of that much more food. So I realized I wasn't actually hungry at all...it was more of an emotional thing.

Don't be put off if you see my stats not changing during the next few weeks or so. I'm *hoping* to keep losing weight, BUT I have just given up smoking and who knows what may happen to my metabolism. So don't be discouraged and keep at it!

p.s. Could you post a journal too? I too am jonesing for CAD menus!!! I love to see what other people are eating to keep perspective.

Thanks, Glendora, I will start posting my menus soon. Congrats on quitting smoking. Way to go!!! Bye, Amy

Oooopps, I don't know how to start journal. Can someone help me? Thanks, Amy.

Thanks, Amy! Day One of non-smoking is going ok. I'm trying to keep busy & active.

How to start a journal: It's basically just starting a thread. Go to Journals/Boot Camp and just start a new post...call it whatever you want. "Amy's Aims" or whatever.

When you post in other people's journals, they'll probably reply to you in your own journal to be sure you'll see the message. Then you go vice versa. The reason is that the journals go by FAST with many people posting daily. Good luck!

How can I help with menus? I don't post because it is pretty boring- but I'l lpost if you want.
E

E, I would love to see some of your menus...your stats look awesome...would you mind typing one or two down?

Sure-
I tend to eat the same things for breakfast and lunch- RM is different.
CM breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, T of feta cheese in eggs.

For CM lunch, if I'm out I'll get a chicken cesar salad very lightly dressed with no croutons, Every place has a chicken cesar salad. If I'm home, i have leftovers the includes protein and vegie. Today it's a chicken breast and cauliflower. Yesterday it was a hamburger and salad. I will also have a can of tuna in water (not broth) with a salad. I make my own salad dressing: half olive oil and half vinegar, with lots of pepper and spices.

RM: I always start with a salad- always. Tonight I'm having a salad, black&blue burger (cajun spice and blue cheese), small baked sweet potato, spinach, and blueberries and yogurt with honey. last night I had salad, salmon with salsa, a flour tortilla quesadilla, spinach (love spinach), and ice cream. this is probably more carbs than you want to have- but I am maintaining and trying not to lose more. I have found that I need more carbs to do that. When I was losing I'd have one complex carb- like tonight I'd have the potato or the yogurt/berries- just one.
Eating out: I always order a salad, then an entree of something and vegies instead of whatever carby side they offer. Then I'll have a carb like a fruit based dessert or a slice of bread (if it looks really good)- but not both. If I ask the restaurant to sub vegies for the past/rice/potato I get enough vegies and have control of my carb and balance the meal.
HTH-
E

Thanks for that post. It gave me some ideas about how to balance. One thing though, the trouble I seem to have is how to balance by looking. For instance, if I wanted a hamburger and fries, how much veggies do I have to eat? I have a huge appetite for carbs, so I could probably eat alot of veggies to balance it out. If we went to mexican restaurant and I wanted a burrito, rice and beans, how do I balance that? Thanks for any reply, Amy.

Hi Amy-
I can only talk for me. I balanced when losing by only having one serving of carbs per meal. By the time I have my salad, protein, carb and vegie i am so full I don't need anymore. For the hamburger and fries, and I don't eat fries as I just don't like them enough to have as a carb, I would have the large salad first and a serving of vegies as large visually as the burger (no roll) and fries. I eat a lot of cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and spinach as my vegies. Someone once told me they balanced by putting their food in individual bowls to help see the portion size.
At the mexican place,I would not have the rice and beans- I'd only have one or the other, and get a side of some vegie and a salad. For me the tortilla in the burrito would have been my carb- plus the beans in the burrito (don't they usually have beans with the meat?). I get fajitas in a Mexican restaurant, and don't have the tortillas. The last time I went for mexican I got chicken fajitas without tomatoes, a salad, a few chips and salsa, and had half a margarita. That was plenty for me.
My goal in doing CALP was to fix my insulin resistance, and I found that balancing and eating lots of vegies and protein and having complex carbs seemed to do it for me. Since I have lost all this weight, and kept it off for about 18 months, I seem to handle simple carbs better, but I still have one RM a day. Tonight I ended up having that black and blue burger with no roll, a couple bites of potato (just didn't thrill me), cauliflower (left over), and the yogurt and blueberries. I left half of the yogurt in the container and had lots of berries- yum. I have found that paying attention to my body and really having what I want- even if it's yogurt or cereal or fruit or pancakes!- leaves me feeling the best and most satisfies. i have also given myself permission to be picky- to skip the tomatoes, to have it made the way I like, to add on onion or cheese in a RM- as I'm worth having my food the way I like. As I cook most of my meals, I can do that at home and work. It just took some courage and an attitude change to do it at restaurants too.
HTH-
E

Thanks, Enomarb, I will try to have just the one carb, cause I would like to lose some more fat. I say fat, with certainty, cause yesterday, I taped myself in my swimsuit, and I still have ugly cellulite on my legs. It looks really bad. I don't know if I could do anything about that. Well, will try, though.

Enomarb, I just ordered a chicken caeser salad at Wendy's and I looked on the net for nutrional value. It says they have 17 carbs w/o dressing. Is this to your knowledge, also. Just wondering.

Hey Amy

I know I am not Eno but CAD/CALP isn't about counting all the carbs in your meal. You just have to make sure that the salad as things on the "allowable" list. For example if there's carrot slices in a premade salad I pick them out before I put the dressing on. So my chicken caesar salad would be grilled chicken, lettuce & greens, and the parmesan cheese--the carb count doesn't matter. The resteraunt salad dressings do tend to me alittle more per serving than the Hellers like but when I am out I don't worry about that I just choose a lower carb choice like ranch or caesar. Since I don't eat out every day this doesn't turn out to be a problem. Anyway I just thought I'd add my two cents

Thanks for the answer, Jill. I never look at the carbs in any food either. I don't do the chicken cesar at Wendys as it has bacon, so I wouldn't know. If the chicken is breaded it is not CM, but you could have it for RM. My best CM salads are Burger King grilled chicken cesar or grilled shrimp cesar and Zaxby's grilled chiken salad that I order with no croutons, no tomato, no carrots. I like Chick Fil'A salads, but they are all premade with carrot shreds and such. I hate picking out those shreds, so I have the side salad with my RM for a great fast food RM ( they now have a whole wheat bun and I have a chiken sandwich and salad for RM. Broccoli in salad too!).
McDonalds has a grilled chicken salad too- and as long as you don't order the fat free dressing and stick with blue cheese or ranch you are okay.
At nicer chains, the chicken cesar at California Pizza Kitchen is really good too. Any other suggestions out there?