I am looking into this cad diet. Can anyone help me with some questions? How is cad different then Atkins? Do you have a certain amount of carbs per day you eat?
I lost 15 pounds on Atkins then gained back 6 of them. I am always cheating because I feel like I am lacking. I am desperate to lose and I am sick of being fat. I took the ca test and I tested 3-4. I guess that is mild ca. So if anyone could tell me their opinions and answers to my questions I would be grateful!

thank you!!

Here's your answer:

http://pages.ivillage.com/carbaddicts/faqs/default.htm

Along with answers to other faq about CAD/CALP.

thank you so much for the reply! That really helped me!!!! But I am wondering, is there a carb count on this diet? If so what is it? And how many carbs are we allowed for breakfast and lunch? I mean if we can eat all that food for dinner what are the guidelines for the rest of the day? i would like to try this and I am not able to get the book at this time. can anyone please help me get started?

Look through the theads in this forum and find "cheat sheets". That should give you a good place to start until you get a book. (I'd give you link......if I knew how! )

Best of luck....it's really wonderful.

Deb

No there is no carb counting on this diet.

The foods that are allowed at your two Complementary Meals are listed here .

And you can eat anything you want at Reward Meal, just not everything you want Check this out.

Can you tell I love the ivillage site? There is a ton of information there, they basically give you the book, just click around.

thanks again you guys for your help!Will you guys give me your personal testsamonys for the cad diet? Were either of you on Atkins before?
I really want to lose!!! I am really hoping this works for me.

Here's my testimony.

I LOVE CAD! I was on Atkins a looonng time ago, not immediately before starting CAD, so I cannot help you with the changeover questions. In reading past posts, it seems to vary with a few pounds gained initially and lost quickly to nothing gained at all. It's all a crap shoot really.

I've lost 30 pounds since Jan.. It's not been fast, but it's been sane, rewarding, happy, and satisfying. I enjoy eating with my family again everyday, not just when there is a special occasion and I choose to go off my diet. I don't have to go off CAD. Everyday is the same. Satisfying for body AND soul!

You're welcome to browse my journal and most others (none, that I know of) mind if you read theirs either. I don't know if you're new to the site so, just click on the journal icon at the bottom of the post and it takes you right to that persons journal. Many of us list our foods on a daily basis and our struggles and celebrations. Reading journals really helped me the most in the beginning.

Deb

One thing I would suggest is that you go back and take another look at the Carb Addicts test. Make sure that you are answering the questions the way you would have before you were on a low carb program. Really think back to how you felt before your Atkins days. I know if I was to do it now my answers would seem very different to what they were before I started. It is just a thought. Also, there is a longer more detailed version of the test in the CAD book.

Part of the beauty of CAD is that you don't have to count anything, including carbs. You just keep your first one or two meals of the day ultra-low-carb,eating only foods on the allowed list, and then enjoy a balanced reward meal. Like Deb said, it is so nice to be able to enjoy a meal with your family, not cooking special stuff all the time. And being able to enjoy some of your favourite carb foods really makes this diet easy to stick to. It is the first time I have ever had any lasting success with a diet. I would always always give into to the carb cravings, sooner or later.

Good luck
Tracy

Here's my story. I'll try to be brief. In about 1997 I weighed 153 lbs. I had just had my second child and that was my pre-pregnancy weight. I had a physical and my doctor told me I should weight 135 lbs (I'm 5'4"). I didn't think I was fat but hey my doctor said I was so I decided I needed to diet. I tried all kinds of things but nothing resulted in weight loss. I just became obsessed with food. Food became my drug, and I started to gain weight, up to 176. I came to the point were I just gave up. I said to God, "if you want me to lose weight you show me how." A few weeks later (July 2001) I was at the librairy with my kids and I found the CAD book. I sat down and skimmed it and said "this looks too easy" so I took it out, and started the program. It was beautiful, I could eat supper with my family and still lose weight! I could eat take out lunch with my coworkers and still lose weight! Well I had to take that white book back to the librairy, and when I tried to find it at the book store it was out of print. I bought the yellow CALP book. Honestly, when I read the part about balancing the reward meal I was pissed off! I decided then and there I wasn't going to change what I was doing unless I stopped losing weight. I got down to 150 lbs (that was my goal then) by February 2002. Unfortunately I hadn't figured out that this program was for life. By April 2003 I was back up to 163. The rest is documented in my journal. the process is slower this time around, and yes I have had to start balancing my reward meal. I am now lower than I was when my doctor told me I should lose weight. I am not sure how far down I will go, my goal is currently listed at 140, but I am pretty comfortable where I am. I will let my body decide where to do next.

wow! You guys have awesome encouraging stories!!! I guess I should share mine.
I started thinking I was fat in 6th grade so I started watching everything I put in my mouth. I am also diabetic and I caused myself to pass out. my blood sugar would go so low. but anyway I was always freaked out by my weight. I was so skinny too!! by the time I got into higwow! You guys have awesome encouaging stories!!! I guess I should share mine.
I started thinking I was fat in 6th grade so I started watching everything I put in my mouth. I am also diabetic and I caused myself to pass out. my blood sugar would go so low. but anyway I was always freaked out by my weight. I was so skinny too!! by the timke I got into high school I was about 10 ounds over weight but thought I was huge. I dieted all of the time. The I started using drugs to get skinny. All that did was cause huge problems in my life! S I finally stopped drugs got married and had 3 kids. But even though my drug problem was delt with my food problem wasn't! So I starved and worked out twice a day and took laxatives and all. So to shorten my story I decided that I was so obbessed and I had friends and family stop talking to me so i figured it wasn't worth it. So for the last 4 years I have eaten what I wanted when I wanted haven't exercised and have gained 60 pounds. So my head is better but now I am focusing on my body. I am honestly a litle nervous and hope this works for me too!!!!! I have about 55-60 pounds to lose. And i am starting this WOE tomorrow.



I am wondering are we allowed to have pizza? what about a hamburger? Fries? candy bar? Can you tell I have been deprived? LOL

You can have whatever you want an an RM. Just try to keep some balance about it. That gets better with practice and even then sometimes doesn't happen. (Example of that in my journal tonight!) Whatever you do, stop within the 60 min. time limit. That is crucial.

It would probably be helpful to you to look through some journals and see how we all eat. We're all a bit different. Click on the journal icon at the bottom of the posts and that will take you to our journals. Not everyone keeps a daily menu, but many of us do.

Hope your first day goes great....remember, you may feel kind of yucky and still a little cravey for about 4 days. Just get through it, because it's great on the other side. Come here and we'll talk you through it.

I forgot to look, but if you haven't started a journal, your first day would be a great time to do so.

Good luck,
Deb

quikdeb, when you suggest that I keep balance to my RM meal do you mean just to not go over board and to not eat after 60 minutes?
Also, i ate 3 eggs and some cheese for breakfast is that ok? what is low carbs? Is 3-5 ok for my 2 CM's?
i also noticed that you weren't eating the cm at all and then you started. After you started you lost some. Have you been losing more now?

Kyla,
Your breakfast CM sounded fine. Balancing means trying to keep your protein, lc veggies, and RM treat of choice (bread, milk, pasta, dessert....) in some even proportions. The Hellers recommend looking at it as a 1/3,1/3, 1/3 plate. You can eat until satisfied, but if you're going to have more carb, it should be joined by more protein and lc veggies to even it out. This is the ideal. Most days go according to plan, some days........BUT...whatever you do at your RM, even if you think it's really bad and are tempted to throw up your arms and throw caution to the wind....DON'T!!!!!! Stop within your 60 mins. This is crucial!!!! You will have unbalanced RM's. We all do, but always stick to your 60 min. so you don't undo the whole day.

Deb

Thamks Deb. hey I was wondering how much weight you have lost on cad? I also noticed in your journal that you weren't eating your cm at all and then started. After you started hgaving a cm did you lose faster and how much did you lose?

I've lost 30 pounds on CAD. It hasn't been very fast for me but I'm sane and happy and don't jump on and off it all the time. This woe really fits me.

I'm never really hungry during the day and don't really enjoy the CM's so I've been frequently known to skip them. "We"....my pals here....tend to think it slows me down. I think they're right and so I have recently....again....begun to eat a mid-day CM. I've been on a stall for about 6 weeks and I'm hoping that will jump start me again. I don't ever lose fast. Afraid I've done too much dieting over my lifetime. Right now I'm just working on a trust issue with my body....trusting that I'll feed it....as I said....still a work in progress.

Deb