I think half of my cravings are mental, not physical...I enjoy the freedom of making carby things for lunch, but when Ihave them, I don't enjoy them nearly as much as I imagined.

CAD means you have no carbs at breakfast and lunch and then you have a "reward meal" at dinner, that means 1/3 carbs, 1/3 veggies and 1/3 protein...I think mentally it helps me to know that if I really want something I can have it as part of my reward meal. Maybe it would be good to switch to if Atkins is to strict for you, that way you could have some carbs and not feel guilty because the plan works to allow that, and it works better BECAUSE of it. Just another note about CAD, I haven't had any constipation problems...

My sister started CAD yesterday, and is hopeful about it. She's got about 30lbs to lose I think, so she's in a much better position than me(I still have about 60-65lbs to lose) Hopefully it works for her because she's pretty self consious about her body and I think it would do her self esteem a lot of good.

hey, thanks for the info. i'll look into it.
other than a few issues with atkins, i feel pretty good about it. but i will definitely read about CAD now. it sounds interesting!

yup the cravings are mostly mental for me too. i hear that. like wanting to watch a movie and munch on candy, but i sat through spiderman with my bottle of water and i didnt get too upset. even went to work (at a convenience store) with dots and all these other favs of mine and survived! hahaha! if i got through this weekend, i really cant mess up now! i dont really want to stray either! going for the SUMMER CHALLENGE!!!!!
in a month im going back to school, well actually in like 18 days or so. the 23rd. it will be harder for me to stick tomy plan then, because ill be living witha friend for a week or so before i move in to my apt (june1). hopefully i wont have a problem=) ill buy tuna (even tho i dont like it too much) and other stuff when i get there. i feel kinda bad having to make my food such a big deal- the person im staying with always bugs me because i eat "so healthy". so itll be rough. thats a bigger challenge for me now than avoiding the sweets!!
especially if his parents cook dinner! oh boy! well, ill just do my best and opt for the lowest carb things. i actually thinking im allergic to wheat And my body just doesnt digest it, so i have an honest excuse for that!!=)
well ill stop going on and on! keep me posted with how you are doing! what do you eat as your reward meals?
~monika

I love that I can have reward meals...I eat "normal meals" Tonight I had roast beef(protein), a roasted potato(carb) and a big bowl of salad(veggie) and then a bit of chocolate for desert! At first when I started CAD, the reward meal (RM) was what I lived for, but after a couple of weeks I had broken my food addiction, and my carb addiction so I now its not such a big deal. I definetly don't have anywhere near the food issues I used to!

I was talking to my mom & sister today and saying that there really aren't times I'm tempted much anymore, about the only time in the last 6 weeks or so is when my family went to Wendy's restaurant for lunch and I LOVE Wendy's but I ordered a salad even though I wanted to cheat SOOOOO bad. Anyway I really enjoyed the salad (The Chicken BLT salad) but I had to have it without the dressing because the dressing that came with it had like 29g of carbs in it! No way! I really enjoyed it by itself because it had cheese and bacon in with the veggies.

Hey! How's life going? How goes this week?? Update me on how you're doing

I'm doing okay, I started lifting weights this week to try and help get rid of inches faster, lots of fun (NOT!)

Howdy -
I would like to join your summer challenge .. I gained a freshman 30..with the help of quitting smoking and ankle surgery and I a graduating in December and I want to use this summer to be back to being skinny.. 125 .. no one thinks I can ever be that small agian .. but I am gonna try .. I have been doing really good Buffalo wings are the best and I have a good chili recipe if anyone need some meal ideas.. I have been doing 1 hour of cardio everyday for 2 weeks now and 1 hour of weights .. and I just order a Pilates tape so I will let everyone know if tha tworks at all .. Good luch to everyone .. Talk to you later

Gig' Em Aggies ..

Hey, I'm so glad that someone else joined this challenge, I don't think anyone was really checking the posts here anymore, except me!

I know what the freshman pounds are like. I've always been a big girl, I was about 200lbs when I went away to university 2 years ago, and I went on Depo Provera(the birth control shot) and it caused me to gain about 50lbs and no matter what I did I couldn't lose weight. I went off it last June and joined a gym last summer and even with working out like 4 times a week, I wasn't losing ANYTHING because the drug hadn't totally left my system.

Anyway, thats great that you quite smoking too!

Well, welcome to the group and hopefully we'll all be looking Fab this summer!

Wendy's can be had for a no/low carb diet, you just ogtta know what to do. I had this for lunch almost everyday while working this summer: 2 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers WO/tomato - eat it without the bread. It is all good. Not sure if it was the absolute smartest thing I have done, but hey, I don't argue with results.

I also had the Chicken BLT salad and I just didn't use the dressing or eat the tomatoes, and it was sooooooooo good.

I try not to eat out very much because it is expensive and when I get a burger and throw away the bun .. its like there goes 1/2 of what I paid for.. .. I have found that I like Wings and Chili and you can bring the chili anywhere you go and just microwave it .. Total it has 10 grams.. but I can eat off of it at least 4 times so that does not come out to much per meal ... The other times I did this diet it was just a bunch of chicken and pork , but since I have found out how good and easy this chili and wings are .. I will probably have them a few times a week

I don't eat out much either, sometimes at dinner. Being a CADer, I can have a meal which has carbs. So I can have some restaurant foods.

Mostly I eat burgers or hotdogs on my George Foreman Grill, and salad. I went through a celery phase, and a cucumber phase, and now both just don't seem appetizing. Right now I'm into romaine lettuce. Sometimes I wish there was more kinds of veggies!

I AM SO TIRED OF EGGS! I dont' even want to look at another egg(unless its deviled, then its yummy still). I guess I should find new ways to make them, maybe I'll figure out how to poach an egg.

I know .. I am more than tired of bacon Well I am gonna go out to the pool today .. so I am gonna have to be forced to look at my SUPER skinny friends.. I am gonna drink some beer today ... A prof of mine did this and he drank beer every week and he lost 80 pounds .. he said it was OK b/c your body burns the alcohol first and then you are back into ketosis the next morning .. Lost another 2 pounds ..
Have a great weekend

I'm not tired of bacon because I don't have it often, but its always been something that I can only eat when I crave it.

I'm going to Toronto tomorrow to see a friend, she's my room mate at school and she has been such a positive force in my weight loss. She's about 150 and around 5foot7, so she's right around her ideal weight, and she's beautiful(we're talking blond, blue eyes and a gorgeous smile) but unlike most of my 'skinny' friends she makes sure to tell me how good I look and makes me feel beautiful too. I think that I might have given up quite a while ago if it wasn't for her. Anyway NONE of that was the point of my story. I am going to Toronto and she hasn't seen me since I was at 235 and I'm 220 now, so I'm looking forward to showing her my progress. As well, I too will be drinking tomorrow, but I think I'm going to buy some vodka and diet 7-up so that at least my body only has the alcohol to worry about, not sugar too.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the pool! I'm jealous, I'm really hot at the moment(just got back from a workout so I'm sweating big time)

yep I am 5'7 1/2 and blonde hair and blue eyes also .. but I am not happy at 150 .. I probably should be ... All my friends tell me how beautiful I am too but just for me I wanna be TINY again .. something you might want to try if you like Vodka is abslout mandrin and diet 7-up .. it's not like those sweet smirnoff ones it 80 proof and has no carbs .. and when you mix it with diet 7up or sprite it tastes like one of those orange sodas YUM... Vodka makes me sick so I am not gonna drink that
HAve Fun

Thanks, I'll look for that vodka brand. It helps to find out the little things like that. I can drink vodka but don't give me wine...I love white wine but BAD things happen when I drink wine.

My friend used to figure skate so she is really muscular. She had a coach who insisted that they be fit and built all over their bodies(not just legs) so she's pretty muscular.


Have a good weekend

Well I went out last night .. I had a good time but it was hard to watch people eat crackers and stuff.... I was like I need to go home and eat something .. Well my 13 year old little sister is coming to visit me for a couple days and I know that I am gonna have to cheat when she is here because I can't cook her something and then not be able to eat it .. Oh well .. I hope your visit with your friend was fun