I think there is something about that name, 'reward' meal.. that just makes it sound like you can go crazy..but of course you really can't. When I started at 328lbs, I could afford to include a LOT of carbs in my reward meal and still lose weight. But, the weight loss got slower and slower until it finally ground to a complete halt. I haven't had a real loss in a long time now. I am thrilled to be maintaining the large loss that I have had, but of course I want to lose more. Balance is the key for that, I know it. And I manage it too, sometimes. But you know.. I haven't had a reward meal that didn't include some sort of sweet food since I started CAD in Sept 2002. I'm not sure I could do that. Just the thought of it makes me a little nervous, to tell you the truth. And if I am eating the sweets every day at my RM, then there is no room for any other high-carb foods, including some that I love like starchier vegetables, fruit, grainy breads..not if I acheive balance.

Eno.. I like the bowl idea too. I just mentally measure out my foods to see if I am close to balance..but it might not be a bad idea to actually try that for a couple of days to see how I am really doing. I picture three little dessert-size bowls for my salad, protein and veggies, and a whopping big salad bowl for my carbs! LOL

Well, we all keep on trucking. CAD is a wonderfully liveable program, but it still does require some discipline.. something I have always been a bit short on when it comes to this.

Vel - you, short on discipline? OOOoooh, where does that leave me? LOL
You're totally amazing, so keep on truckin'. You may have to make little tweaks now that you're so much closer to goal, but you will get there. I find exercise for me is a must, but you are right about the discipline. Mine is more lacking than yours, but I'll also get there. I'm learning. I have the theory down pat, but the "d" word - hmmm - working on it!!!

Yeah - the bowl idea - pretty good!

TwoCats - You mentioned you are tall at 5' 10". To my mind you are already pretty skinny. You probably have fairly high standards for yourself. I tend to be that way too. I have made my life a bit of a hell at times!

Lovely Spring day here. Have to get going!

Welcome Newcomers!!

Hi All!

Vel, I am so in awe that you have lost over 100 pounds and kept it off. That is so awesome. And even though you want to lose more, you look beautiful in your picture and I hope you are proud of yourself and feel good about what you have accomplished so far. It's really inspiring!

Sue, you're right. I am lucky in that I do not have tons of weight to lose. I was quite a bit heavier when I was younger, so I always have this fear of gaining weight again. Though as I went through my twenties I sort of figured out how to eat and have been around 145 - 150 lbs for most of my adult life. So gaining weight when I was hypothyroid was not a huge crisis, but now that I am healthy and stable, I would love to let go of the extra pounds that are still hanging around. Plus I hate being plagued by cravings and weakness, and CAD/CALP really helps keep my blood sugar stable.

Ideally what I'm looking for is a livable woe that I can adjust back and forth from losing to maintaining as I go through life, and that gives me lots of energy and feels healthy and right. I definitely do not want a crash diet that makes me feel unstable and sets me up for rebound. And I don't mind if I just slowly move towards my ultimate goal, as long as I feel good and I'm going in the right direction.

And yes, I think you're also right about my having high standards. I tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist! Oops. I am working on accepting myself.

Thanks, and have a great weekend everybody! --Gretchen

Gretchen, did you mention you also have Hashimoto's and that you feel there is a way to heal oneself? I'm on medication for life, and was of the understanding that my antibodies have come down slightly, but are still very high and the end result will be a thyroid that is destroyed. I just had to ask out of curiosity.

Gretchen, you show a lot of spunk and discipline when it comes to dieting. I hope it is catchy. I seem to have lost my perfectionist streak re my looks and I'd like it back for a while to lose this weight once and for all....

Yes, I think this is a livable woe for sure. I do throw in Atkins days, when I can't manage the structure and start eating more often, but I always feel better on CALP - much less insulin running around and fewer cravings and therefore I feel more in control.

I was wondering if it is a must to follow the reciepes for the non-RM meals. I was thinking of doing similiar to an Atkins breakfast and lunch and then the RM dinner what do you veterans think of this? ginger

That sounds pretty dangerous. Atkins includes a lot of foods that aren't allowed on CAD for the CM's. It is really important to stick only to the CAD food list for your CM's and then enjoy your RM. Otherwise, you will have been releasing more insulin during the day and the RM concept won't work at all, probably leading to weight gain instead of loss.

Just checking in all..after a 70F weekend here...I'm really ready to get serious about exercise AND eating right. Feeling a bit frustrated, not losing OR gaining, but REALLY wanting to be on the success board here!

I really think part of my problem is my thyroid; can't wait for my dr. appt next week. But I think it's time for a new strategy. I've been reading here about 1 CM and 1RM....I get REALLY hungry even w/2 CM's, so not sure if I could do this. I was thinking about coffee in am..then CM around 11:30 (should it be a larger-than-normal CM?)..and then big dinner.....

OR, do you think 2 CM's/day might be a better plan short term? I dont' mind mixing it up..and shocking my system, but I'm really not seeing the scale move AT ALL!!!! For the 'hypo' ladies out there...which strategy do you recommend?

Hope you all had a good weekend!!

Holly-
I wrote to you on another thread too. I have always done 2 CMs, but others do 1. The RM is really important too.
Have you found the THYROID area on this site? It is excellent and has great information about hypothyrodism.
Good luck-
E

I find I lose more steadily with 1 CM and the RM. My RMs are kind of large and I think having 1 CM keeps both my insulin and calories under control. Often with 2 CMs I won't lose. I won't gain but I won't lose.

My son has a theory. If you're not a little bit hungry, you're not going to lose weight. Wow! Why does that bother me so much!

That's funny, because I heard from a 'diet guy' on Oprah a few years ago (not sure who he was) that you are starting to actually burn calories once you feel hungry. Just read in my magazine, however, that 'hunger' as indicated by the feeling of hunger and eventually a grumble in the stomach, is your body telling you that you need to replenish soon. Does it make sense, then that if you don't replenish right away, your body will be forced to use up some of the stores, or does it go directly to 'starvation mode' and conserve? Wish I knew how to keep it in use-up-the-stores mode and prevent the starvation mode!!

Hi All,

I tend to lose when I eat only one cm, and maintain when I eat two cm's. I have also read that you lose weight during the times when your body has used up all the ready calories from your latest meal, and when it has to dip into your reserve stash (ie, thighs, etc. ) Makes sense to me. I feel like the main fat-burning time is in the middle of the night to early morning, so skipping breakfast for me just extends this and makes a huge difference.

Sue - I originally had Graves' Disease, which is the hyper version of autoimmune thyroid disease. But I have both kind of antibodies, and when I started heaing myself the stimulating ones went away first, and then I was hypo for about 6 months. And yes, I think that it's possible to heal yourself. At least I hope I am doing it, and my doc and endo also confirm it, though they say I could develop it again at any time. I focused on healing my immune system, and I thought of the thyroid symptoms more as a side-effect. I stopped eating gluten because there is a lot of research connecting antibodies to gluten with those that target your thyroid gland (and the pancreas as well). Within one week, my hyper symptoms had mellowed quite a bit. Also I have really worked on reducing stress in my life as I think that is also a huge trigger for me. I stopped eating sugar and did lots of natural healing stuff like acupuncture and energy medicine.

I've been feeling really good lately (levels in the normal range when I last checked in November, and antibodies down to about half of what they were originally), and I thought I was healthy enough to try and diet to lose the last of the hypo pounds. After your email I thought about it and changed my goal to 150, which is my normal baseline, instead of 145, which is pretty skinny for me (trying not to be such a perfectionist!). However, as I mentioned on the weekly check-in, I've been having a few heart palpitations lately, which was my main symptom when I was hypo and hyper, and I haven't had that in months. So I'm a little concerned that dieting is too much for my body and I'm not quite all healed yet. I'm going to see what effect a week off work will have, and hopefully I'll be back on plan soon.

TwoCats, your post was very interesting! It sounds like you think along the lines of my DH - fasting from supper right through breakfast... He has the same reasoning as you do and he is a pretty smart guy!

I've heard the gluten angle several times and don't want to accept it, but frankly, have never had any gas or discomfort from eating it and would sorely miss it. It would greatly affect my life to cut it out, put it that way. I would never go to acupuncture or do stuff like that - just me - makes me nervous just thinking about it! But, I believe you are really onto something re the stress levels. I truly believe my Hashi's came about due to extreme stress/grief/loss of family I experienced for several years. I did not cope well and sunk into depression half the time, without having any help such as professional counselling or medication. God got me through, but it was a tough time. My antibodies also came down last count - by a Lot! They are now able to be counted. Anyway, I attribute it to being suitably medicated and taking selenium (200 mcg) every other day (every day for 2 years and now every other day). My thyroid nodule which was huge has all but disappeared.

Dieting can affect the body (it is also a stress factor, for sure), but also one goes through hyper and hypo stages in the disease. Apparently, that is quite common. Sometimes it means one is having too much caffeine or even chocolate, there is too much stimulation or stress or the medication is too much. Your FT3 and FT4 levels will give you a clue. Losing pounds often requires less thyroid hormone supplementation. I haven't lost enough to warrant that though. I am just about to switch from synthetic Synthroid and Cytomel to natural thyroid hormone (Armour). What are your thoughts on that? I'm really nervous as I feel well, but I've heard such good things about Armour having T1, T2 and calcitonin for the bones. In the back of my mind, though, I do remember Best Medicines, Worst Medicines Magazine saying that Armour is a "worst" medicine category. Eeek!

Hi Sue,

A lot of people on the internet swear by Armour. I think the medical establishment doesn't like it because it's not a drug with a patent - it's just derived from pigs (I think, but I'm not an expert on this). I always thought I would try Armour if I ever need to supplement, just because I always lean towards the natural side of healing. However, my sister (who also had GD and did the RAI) is on synthroid, and she feels fine.

I think you're totally right about the stress factor. My sister developed GD when she was changing careers and when our grandmother died (she was caring for her at the time). I got it when I took over being head of the department and when my husband and I were driving 6 hours back and forth every other weekend caring for his father who was dying of cancer. And now that I'm back in the most stressful time of the year for me, I'm feeling my heart palp symptoms come back. Even my doctor and my endo acknowledge that stress is a trigger for this disease.

When I was in the thick of being hypo and hyper, I noticed that eating every couple hours really helped me not have the heart palps, but of course I put on about ten pounds eating all the time. So now that I have been trying to go for hours without eating, especially during this stressful hiring time, I've been feeling my heart thing again. So I've backed off from dieting, and maybe when I get through the stressful phase of work I will be able to try again. But my health comes first - my weight isn't a health risk, it's more a comfort level of being in my body. And vanity of course, LOL! Bathing suit season is looming...

OK - I'll keep checking in even if I'm not dieting, and hopefully I can jump on the bandwagon again soon. Keep up the good work!

TwoCats...I'm sorry to hear of the stresses that you are going through. I think if you just make some concious choices to eat healthy, as you already know how to do, this will keep your body it's happiest and healthiest through these tough times. I'll be thinking about you! Goodluck!