Man im so confused I have been on atkins for over a year lost 40 lbs then went off and after 3 months i have gained 20 pounds back. I have to admit i went nuts eating. It was like i ate everything i missed and a lot of it. No problem on atkins but now i see its not going to work for the long run. I have no problem when im on it to stick to it but when im off look out.
I am now on atkins already lost 10 lbs in two weeks but i need to get on cad for a soultion to this addiction. I really could eat on induction the rest of my life if i had to but I really dont think I want to. I just bought the CAD book and read it two times. I wont have a problem with the CM meals at all i never cheated on atkins and i wont cheat on this. But i just have a few simple questions i went through almost all of the posts on this forum and just cant find the answers.

Reward meal i understand 1/3 1/3 /1/3 as in

1. steak,potato,vegiees Is that a balance? If i want more i need to eat more of each that makes sense to me or steak rice veggies is that ok?

2.Now what about Ribs thats protein,potato carb and veggie.that should be balanced but what about putting bbq sauce which is very high in carbs on the ribs? That would raise the carb level of the ribs so would that mean i should cut out some of my potato? Do you get where im goin.

3. Hambuger on bun and veggie, is that 1/3 protein 1/3 carband 1/3 veggie If it is how about if i add french fries what do i do now? Add more veggies and more meat? See what i mean

4 Meatloaf,baked potato veggies is that balanced? Meatloaf is that protein or carb and protein because of the bread? I cant handle meatloaf with porkrinds anymore.

5 Chili I eat a lot of venision chili what would i need to eat with it to have a balanced meal i know veggie but does chili being high in carbs count as carbs and protein at 1/3 1/3 see what i mean
6 hamburger helper that is meat and pasta 1/3 1/3

7.Deer or beef stew Ya know kinda has everything in it meat potatos veggies served on pasta how or what would i eat witha bowl of stew to balance it out

l8 the most important If i eat 4 slices of homade pizza what do i need to balance the meal out?

Or Am i making this to hard on me.

Man if a Guru would answer these eight questions one at a time even a yes or no answer would really help me out And if anybody would need help on atkins or carb count answers I would be very willing to help thanks MADMAX

You're making it too hard. Just relax a bit and use your common sense. You're on the right track.

Let me try to simplify.
The first part is easy. Always start the meal with a nice salad, coleslaw or 1 cup cooked veggies.

1. Then, you just envision a plate in 1/3's. Protein goes in one, veggies in one and carbs in the last. Dessert can be extra or counted as part of the carbs.

2. Ribs. Try to use lc sauce...kraft makes a good one or make it yourself, bbq sauce is very high in carbs. If you have it, cut down on portion size of carbs to compensate. You're exactly right.

3. Hamburger. Buns are really high carb. Have the bun or have the fries don't have both. Or eat 1/2 with 1/2 bun, 1/2 without bun and 1/2 fries. We say, "You can have anything you want, just not all at once."

Now mixed meals.
4. Meatloaf has bread but it's not that much and you can cut down on the amount. You can even use crumbs made from lc bread. So you can just eyeball it or cut down on the carbs a little.

5. Chili. If you put beans in it, don't serve it with rice but you can put extra cheese on it. Make it heavy on the protein. Balance it with 1/2 cup of CM veggies on the side.

6. Hamburger Helper. Double the protein called for. Make that 2/3's of your plate. Have CM veggies on the side.

7. Don't serve pasta with the stew. It already has potatoes in it. If you're still hungry just eat another bowl of stew. Balance it with 1/2 cup of CM veggies on the side.

8. Homemade pizza. Make the salad extra large and use plenty of meats, cheese and veggies on the pizza.

Pasta dishes. Cut down on the pasta or buy Dreamfields pasta. Use extra protein and veggies in sauces.

I couldn't tell from your profile if you're male or femaile. If male, you should really have no problems eating this way for life with little thought.

Good luck!!!



Mixed meals.

Hi Madmax,

I think for starters, yes you are making this way harder than it is. You don't need to be exact on any of it. The main thing you need to do is to use a little common sense.



I think you pretty much have a handle on this. It is 1/3 protein, 1/3 CM veggies and 1/3 carbs. Remember you do not have to measure or anything like that. When you are looking at your dinner plate just imagine it into 1/3. You won't always be exact but you will probably be in the ball park.

1. Yes, the steak, potaoes and veggies is balanced, or substituting the rice for the potato would be balanced, or forgo the rice, or potato and have some kind of dessert. Choice is yours.

2. If you really want to be perfect with this, you could only eat 3/4 of your potato, or use the BBQ sauce a little sparingly. Don't get too picky with this.

3. If you add your french fries to your burger, then yes you won't be balanced. If it is just occassionally that you have a burger and fries, there again, don't stress too much and just enjoy it.

4. The meatloaf would have some carbs in it, if you make it with breadcrumbs, and I make mine with breadcrumbs. If you stop and think about it tho, in each slice of meatloaf there would not be all that many breadcrumbs or carbs. I love mashed potatoes with my meatloaf and I just won't eat quite as many of them. Just remember, if you make meatloaf with breadcrumbs, do not eat it for a CM.

5. DH makes a lot of chili during the winter months. I try to eat a salad with it and technically you probably should throw in some CM veggies, but I rarely do. This is one of those dishes that just eat and enjoy it.

6. Throw in a salad and some CM veggies and it will be just fine.

7. If your stew has potatoes in it, I would not eat the pasta or vice versa. Just eat one or the other. Make a salad to go along with this and you will be all set. A great meal for these cold nights.

8. Try to have a salad with the pizza. By eating the salad first, it will fill you up and you probably won't be able to eat 4 slices of pizza. As you are on the diet for awhile you find you appetite is not near what it use to be.

My advice would be not too worry too much about the 1/3 portions. You won't always be able to divide your RM into 3rd's. Just like the chili for instance. I mean how to you divide chili into 1/3rd? I guess it could be done, but that would take way too much time and it really is not necessary. Just do the best that you can on most days. When I first started CAD in 2000, I didn't balance by 1/3rd's. Heck I didn't even know about it because I had read the very first version of CAD and it was not in there. I lost 40 lbs in 6 months. and I didn't balance, but I did use some common sense, and probably most of my meals were kind of balanced to begin with. I ate chili if I wanted it and stews etc.

Good luck if you decide to do CAD. I think once you get use to it and find out it is not all that complicated, then you will love it. If you have any other questions, just ask.

Thank you for these great answers it is now day three of cad from switching from adkins. It is hard to add the carbs though and i was wondering if i am not hungry for my cm meals is it ok to skip them or not eat as much as they call for would this hurt me or help me

oh and by the way i have only gained about 1 pound after the switch

I would say that if you have a bad cad day (as in you don't get your carbs in the right place at the right time) then it will still count as a good atkins day - but I might be wrong - I have never been on cad so can't advise on the science behind it - just makes sense to me that if you don't eat the carbs....well, it should be fine.

Hi Madmax,

It is fine to skip your CM's or eat less than the book says. If you are not hungry than don't eat. Heck that is how Rachel Heller lost all of her weight. She only ate 1 meal a day and it was an RM meal.

Don't worry that 1 lb gain will come right back off again. Your system needs to adjust to the change from Atkins to CAD.

Have a good day.

Day 4 of cad I have now gained 4 lbs i have not cheated and only added 1 night baked potato one 1night baked sweet potato 1 night big salad and 3 pieces pizza and last night two hotdogs only 1 on piece of bread and 1 low carb yogurt and i no sugar jello I am starting to get worried i am up to 197 when i started i was 193 I am not hungry in the day I also had a diet pepsi two rm also What do you think I will stick with it a while longer

I'm sorry you are having the problems gaining. I am down 3.5 lbs. in only two days. Do you feel like you are breaking any of the rules? My only carby food has been some cookies as part of my RM. Are you drinking plenty of water? How about exercise? I've had no diet drinks but plenty of black coffee.

Hi Madmax,

It is normal to gain weight when you switch from Atkins to CAD. I see what you have eaten for your RM, but have you been eating any CM or any kind of snacks? If you have, list exactly what you have been eating outside of your RM. We might be able to spot something that you are eating that could be causing the gain. Some of this could be water retention from the night you had pizza. Don't panic yet. Just let us see what you have been eating, if you don't mind.

THREADJACK - Momto4boys - what part of SC are you in? I live in SC too. I live in Simpsonville just outside of Greenville.

Well my cm has been 2 mornings i had 2 egg ham and single slicecheese omlet the ham is two slices of shaved ham and only coffee to drink the other two mornings i skipped I also skipped two cm lunches though not the same days 1 lunch was 4 oz homemade chicken salad made with homade chicken o carb mayo and yellow mustard and i slice low carb sweet pickle and a small salad the other was just a bout 3 cup salad with blue cheese dressing and thats about it no not a thing between meals except water. Oh i forgot i rm i had a small cinimon bisquit i just got a new toaster oven and made them for family just had to try if you know what i mean. But nothing else and this is day five today i had a small salad for lunch nothing else. And Anleigh but if all you ever have is a few cookies as part as your Rm you are actually on a stricter version of atkins than cad, I was on that so long i can tell your carb count would be lower than induction on atkins. If you eat your cms and then a rm with just a few cookies not a bad thing but i thought that was what this diet was about not eating like atkins and having carbs only at some times so as not to have the insulan spikes but you need the carbss for it to work. Im not picking on you or anything but that was less carbs than when im on atkins induction which i stay on for months at a time I will stick with your program and we will see what happens here in the next few days Heck im like a science project now lol

Madmax,

Everything looks good menu wise. About the only thing I see that might be a problem and I said might, is the sweet pickle, but you only had that the one day. Everything else is clean.

Iam sure a lot of this is water retention. I know when I eat pizza, I am up several lbs for a few days. The best thing to do is to drink lots and lots of water. Are you doing that? That will help to flush you system and get rid of the extra sodium. Of course you probably already know this coming from Atkins.

Are you averaging your weight? Write down your daily weight and at the end of 7 days average it out and deduct it from the previous week. This takes care of the ups and downs that occur while on CAD.

Glad to see you are not giving up yet. Just hang in there and give it a try.