I've decided to give it a try.

Yesterday, I had my CM breakfast, a chicken salad and diet soda as my CM Lunch. For my RM, I had a taco salad of sorts...hamburger, lots of lettuce (started my meal with some of the lettuce and dressing before moving "into" the main part) cheese, olives, 2 tbs of salsa, and a bit of ranch dressing. As the Carb part of the meal, I splurged on some applesauce cake I had made for my son...

Today, I wasn't hungry for breakfast until about 11:00. I had 4 sausage links, 2eggs with a bit of cheese, and a Ketogenics low-carb muffin (2g of net carbs)

Then I got to wondering about the difference between CAD and the subsequent books regarding sweeteners.... should I have had the muffin? Do you have "net carbs" in CAD, subtracting fiber, or is it not an issue?

I do feel kind of hungry already... if I was still on Atkins, I'd be having a little snack, to be honest.

I'm determined to give it a fair try for two weeks, though, so I'm not going to break the rules, and I'll see if it goes away. I'm sure it'll take a few days to adjust to the switch.

Any hints are MORE than welcome!

you mentioned something about sweeteners in the muffin -- I'm one who even with artificial sweeteners can feel hungry or want more of something if it has a sweeter taste.

I don't know if that's what you're experiencing or not.

I'm not familiar with CAD that much, so this is just a thought.

Unfortunately, the net carb theory doesn't apply to CAD/CALP (at least that's my opinion based on the fact that it is never mentioned in any of the Heller's books). You need to count to total carbs in that muffin. If it is greater than 4 - save it for reward meal.

Regarding sweeteners, in CAD Heller's encouraged their use, in CALP they said try avoiding them for faster weight loss, in CAHHP (the heart health book) they said avoid them like the plague they are worse for you than sugar (I'm paraphrasing - but you get the idea). Once again it's an individual issue. If you find you do okay with artificially sweetened items at CM go ahead, as long as they are < 4g carb per serving. Some are even okay with diet pop between meals. I have found I have to avoid them or I get cravings. Just keep track of how you feel and look back at what you've been eating. You should find you are less and less hungry as time goes along on this program. I that doesn't happen you may have to give up certain items (check out the stallers sheet by Zule).

Once again welcome to this WOE.

This is just how I decided to approach the switch from Atkins to CAD and so far, its worked pretty good. I decided that for my cm's, I'd keep them clean and simple. If any has read my journals, you'd realize I'm boring, I enjoy vienna saus too much lol (btw, vienna saus come 7 in a can, I always eat 6 and leave #7 for my kitty cause 3=2 g carb per the can)
However, I am going to start changing to another type of food or two at cm's. What my thoughts on doing it this way was, I am not sure what are "triggers" for me. So I figured, this way, it wouldn't get cloudy.
I chose to do it this way, because I had heard, many times, stallers/triggers aren't in the rm, but in the cm. And I knew myself well enough to know that nothing would make me more feel more frustrated and defeated than to stall or start craving without being able to pinpoint why. Last night, I got munchy for the first time and it had to be the rm, because it was the only new foods. So I am not approaching mexican pre-made sauces, mixes, or even rice again till its the only new food in the meal, so I can nail down the culprit.

As for the net carb thing, it was confusing for me even on Atkins. So even then I didn't bother, plus, many products were craving triggers as I recall.

I agree with Jalera. The muffin would be best saved for your RM if it has more than 4 grms of total carb.
It is best with this WOE to try to eat as clean as you can for at least two weeks before you start to add in the iffy foods. Until you know what your body feels like without the insulin triggers you won't know if a food is a problem.
It is best to eat the reccomended low carb vege's and protein for your CM's and save the muffin and the diet soda for your RM's. Follow the plan for two weeks then you can experiment.
It can be a challange to change over because your body has been being over stimulated and is used to that. It will take about three days of being "clean" to get the cravings under control. After three days or so you will experience this wonderful freedom because you will find that you will only want to eat when you are truly hungry. It's really cool.
I don't think you stop learning about it either. I've had to get serious about my WOE this last week. I went off for awhile due to issues I needed to deal with. I'm back on and doing just great. I haven't been hungry at all. Today I had a cup of black coffee, which is rare for me, and I'm finding that my stomach is growling only 1.5 hrs. since eating breakfast. That is not normal and I am sure it is the coffee. I have not heard of anyone else having this reaction, but I now know that I can't drink coffee except at my RM. So it's a learning process and we keep fine tuning our WOE to fit our needs.
It's a great plan. Welcome!

Hello Signey,
That is really funny you posted about coffee because today is the first day that I did not have any. I am always hungry after the first cup, which is too bad because I sure love the stuff. Funny it took me so long to give it up. I did have some green tea and No major hunger pangs with that, so I guess I will be switching to green tea in the morning. Funny the things that can set of that hunger mechanism.

I looked through the book again, and no mention of net carbs. No more muffins, I guess until RM. I can live with that.

I'm realy suprised at how "weird" I feel though. I was starving all afternoon, so maybe I overdid it on my RM. Right now, a half-hour past eating, I feel bloated, headachy and not that well....

I ate salad, green beans, beef and a bowl of Kashi Cereal (I thought I'd go nutritious for my carbs..) BTW, it was the first bowl of cereal I've had since starting Atkins in May, 2002!

I'll stay with it, but I hope I don't feel this way for long! I was used to being able to eat when hungry on Atkins, and although I'm committed to giving this a real try, I don't like having my stomach growl half the day!

Welcome PotatoFree... Just want to wish you the best on your new woe..
I hope that you will enjoy CAD-ing with us..

Usually if you feel bloated and headachy it's a sign that you're sensitive to a particular food or group of foods. Of course the headache is also a sign of withdrawal symptoms. As Signey said, it takes three days of strict CAD/CALPing for those to go away.

Withdrawal from WHAT? Since I've been on Atkins since May, 2002.... there's nothing to withdraw FROM.... For me, it's adding carbs, basically, since there's nothing in the CM's that I haven't already been eating.

The hardest part is no between-meal snacking. I'm going to have to adjust the timing and/or quantity of the CM's, I think so I don't have to go as long without food....

Well, if you've been eating AS, nuts or veggies that aren't on the CM list, they are still carbs and can get your insulin up...so you might have to withdraw from that. A lot of Atkins people still have withdrawal systems when they switch to CAD. On the other hand it could be a sensitivity to the cereal.

Potatofre, go back to the book and read about snacks. they are half the size of a meal and are 1/2 verggie, 1/2 protein ex: celery, cheesestring, warm broccoli, left over chicken whatever fits this guideline. I find that around 3:30 -4:00 (when kids coming in to have something from school) I need a snack. I have either walked with a friend or have been to curves so I need a little something till dinner is ready. it really cuts down on being ravenous at meal time. Hope this helps. Oh yeah, only 1 snack a day if you are having 3 meals. can only eat 4 times a day.

The only non-CM foods I eat are during the RM, as the book dictates. I have "fallen off the wagon" while on Atkins, and got kind of bloated, etc. after eating anything starchy. I'll still give this a fair chance to see if I adjust...

Sorry!! I meant while on Atkins, not on CAD.

I remember the withdrawals when I started Atkins...<shudder>

I don't know if switching is going to be a good idea. Today, I woke up STARVING for breakfast. I had some sausage and two Complementary muffins (from the book) and I wasn't very satisfied. I understand the CM's are not supposed to be big, but I think I should have eaten a little more. I'm not a veggies-in-the-morning person, so I'll have to get creative I guess...

I'm trying to do this right, but I hope it starts feeling better soon... I'm not used to being hungry all day, and too full and bloated in the evenings. On Atkins, I was eating 5 small meals a day and never felt hungry. I'll still give this a fair try. I suppose it'll get better soon.