I have been doing Atkins since 2-4-02. In all this time I have only lost about 10 lbs. My husband and I got very bored with this and began to "cheat" one meal a day. All of a sudden I dropped 3 more pounds in 4 days. Here is a sample of my cheat : TGI Fridays I had chicken fajitas (chicken, green peppers, 2 tortillias, lettuce, tomato, sour cream , and guacamole and we shared a hot fudge brownie sundae. When I got up the next mornig I had lost a pound! When I went back to sticking to Atkins I didn't lose anything. (Why?)
Anyway, I have decided to give CAD a try since this is similar to the way I dropped the extra pounds . I do have several questions.
Are low carb products such as Flax-o-meal allowed? How about the low carb tortillias and pancake mix? I was still eating those types of things when we began our "cheating" and the weight came off. Also, what about snacking? I have heard that CALP allows snacking but CAD does not. I love to snack on macadamian nuts occasionaly and they are not on the "acceptable" list. Can I have a few between meals, or are nuts forbidden altogether?

If anyone could help me answer these questions I would really appreciate it. Thanks!!!!!!

Kerry

My suggestion would always be to find the right fit for you. You have to keep your eye on the ball and also make sure that your change is always for the better and not for the temptation (sometimes it's hard to distinguish the two)...

That said, I used to follow the CAD and have recently bought the CALP and I honestly didn't think I could love anything more than my CAD book... but I was wrong. I like the way CALP explains everything better. The only thing I didn't find in there is how many carbs you're allowed in your "non reward" meals. (I might have missed it) However having read CAD, I know it's supposed to be as close to 4g as possible.

So if I were you, I'd try that. Have my two 4g meals, the snack is supposed to be around that as well (less if possible) and then have your reward meal... don't forget to have equal amounts of protein, vegetable and carbs. It really does help.

The LC products of course are allowed if that's what you'd like to eat. No need to measure as long as it's 4g or less and then really no measuring for dinner as long as your 3 portions are about equal... even if they are big. (lets not forget the 60 minute thing).

I don't think nuts are forbidden altogether, however I think you have to be careful of how many carbs you have on your snack. I would maybe leave some for RM if you really have a craving for them.

Please feel free to ask any questions... we love to help!

I think Gracia gives good advice. You kinda have to find what works for you. I recently switched from Atkins to CALP and find that it is much more liveable. At the same time, however, I follow it fairly strictly. The one thing I do that is not a part of the plan, is to not restrict my intake of diet soft drinks. They don't seem to cause me to have cravings, and in fact they actually help keep me regular.

One thing to keep in mind is what the CAD/CALP plans are all about. They are about being in control of your eating by reducing cravings by reducing carb intake. The reward meal (I actually think of it as my "regular" meal) should be where you satisfy your longings for any particular food. I really have no problem eating correctly during my CMs and often I skip breakfast altogether. What keeps me going is knowing that if I'm dying for pizza, I don't have to cheat to have it.

I recommend keeping a journal of the foods you eat and your reaction to them. Fight to be objective about what your body is actually telling you. I, for instance, have discovered I can't have nuts at my CMs....they cause me to want carb-rich foods the rest of the day. On the other hand, artificial sweetners (with the exception of Splenda) don't cause me any problems.

STOP THE CRAVINGS!!!! That is paramount. The cravings are what got you where you are and the cravings can put you right back into a destructive lifestyle.

God Bless,

Thanks for your replies!! How different is the CALP book than my CAD book? I read somewhere that it is basically the same except that there is more stress on how balanced the reward meal should be.
I don't remember reading the part about the 4g limit, but I easily could have missed it. I lost 1/2 a pound yesterday and my husband gained a pound. It seems Atkins is better for him, but he hates how boring the food is.
I have never had a problem with the nuts I eat causing cravings. The can of macadamias I have has 4 carbs in 1/4 a cup with 3 grams of fiber that net is 1 carb. I usualy only eat about a 1/4c once a day. Do you still get to subtract fiber on this program. Sorry for the stupid questions, but I want to be sure I'm doing this correctly.

Maybe I'm just dumb but I don't understand why this diet is working for me. I'm basicaly eating like I was on Atkins with the exception of the RM. Why is eating that reward meal causing me to loose weight? Do the carbs I consume give my body some sort of super fat burning energy?? Does the CALP book answer these questions and explain it better? If it does I think I'll pick one up.

Again thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.

CALP in my estimation is the Heller's reaction to the fact that some people weren't losing weight on CAD because they were treating the reward meal as a time to binge. CALP has lifestyle choices that can speed up weight loss and improve overall health.

Having read both books, I think CALP helps ease you into a sustainable lifestyle. Here's what I mean by that. I think most people are searching for the Holy Grail of diet plans. What we want is a plan where we can eat whatever we want and never exercise and still lose copious amounts of weight. I think for some, when reading CAD they get the idea that they have found the holy grail and moderation is unimportant. The problem for me if I were to adopt that attitude is that I wouldn't actually change what is the problem for me...carbohydrate addiction. For me, I think it would be like being an alcoholic and then getting blitzed 1 hour a day. Under those conditions, I wouldn't be learning to deal with my addiction.

For me, the CALP book eases me into dealing with the addiction of carbs. It is more concerned with helping you live in moderation. Ultimately it works because you intake less food. That is very different from Atkins.

One little warning: My first week on CALP, I dropped a large amount of weight. The following week, however, I had a pretty severe reaction to the change in plans. I started retaining water like crazy and my blood pressure jumped up. Once I got through that 2nd week, I felt fine and my weight loss became steady again. I say that just to let you know, that what you're experiencing now could change abruptly.

One more soapbox item: Whatever plan you work out for yourself, you need to make sure that you're working on the actual problem (in my case carb addiction), and not just a symptom (weight). That is a trap I have fallen into so many times as I have lost and regained weight. As hard as it is to do, don't focus on weight as the goal, but rather a sign that you're doing well dealing with the real problem.

Sorry for the length. God Bless,

I found, read, and started CALP long before I read the CAD book. I do prefer sticking with CALP although I find that they are basically the same only CALP is easier to understand. I would suggest reading them both....and re-reading them both.

I guess I was lucky. I seemed to fall into the right low-carb diet for me. I think, (now that I have read it a couple of times) that Atkins would have been a little to strict for me to start off with.

I lost a lot of weight the first three weeks. It was amazing. I had no hunger, no cravings, no constipation..... no problems whatsoever with CALP. I seem to be loosing about 1-2 lbs a week now and that is just fine. I have learned that I have a couple of trigger foods, so I have just moved them to my Reward Meals.

I try to follow CALP to the letter.

best wishes,
Libby

It is my understanding that the complimentary meals are NOT to be limited to four grams of carbs for the entire meal.
In the CAD book, pages 117-18, under the heading of BEVERAGES it says the following:
"You may drink ulimited quantities of carbonated water, seltzer, club soda, or black coffee or tea.
Diet soda that has no fruit juice added is also acceptable. Read the label: if it contains more than four grams of carbohydrates per serving, avoid the drink except during your reward meal ........
Any sugar substitute that you drink must have no more than two carbohydrate grams per serving . All alcoholic beverages should be consumed during your reward meal."
If anyone can find where it says to limit the meals to four grams of carbs per meal, please let me know. If that is the case, I need to make adjustments.
Thanks,
Flo

Regarding the original poster, I think that if you found that the way you modified Atkins to work for you indeed works, and you lose, by all means stick with it. You don't have to pick a specific structured program to lose weight. If you stall for a while, and think your plan has something to do with it, then consider conforming. But it sounds like you're happy the way you are.

Nope, I can't say I have ever seen that one and I follow CALP very closely.

I think the idea of 4g carbs is for each individual item not the entire craving reducing low carb meal.

Libby

Hi there,

This limit number is NOT in the CALP, it's in the CAD book.

I don't remember seeing it in the CALP.