Just wondering why nobody posts too much on this board? I've decided to abandon Atkins and go with CAD. Did CAD not work for everyone? I find this a little disturbind as these boards are very active except for... here in the CAD forums.

Hmmm...

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314/312/185
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CAD does not seem to generate much discussion on this board, it's true.

I can only speak for myself as I tried CAD, but for just a couple of weeks. I found the "reward meal" was hard to manage (too easy to overdo it). Also, I had lots of food cravings, which disappeared after I switched to Atkins.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Perhaps Ilse will pop in here. She had a great deal of success with CAD, I believe.

I also had a brief stent on CAD; at the time I tried it, I did not have enough self dicipline; alas, my reward meal was always more like the *grand prize*

If you are diciplined enough, I think it is a very good way to eat. You don't feel *deprived* and it's an overall healthly way to eat, IMHO.

Welcome to LCE! Keep posting, and you may generate some interest from some other members. There are lots of folks here that *tweak* their plans by blending several plans to come up with something they can have success with.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Shelley

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Shelley
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Visit Kassie's Korner



Life deserves a treat now and again, but life also deserves being healthy[with required disipline] to make it worth living!

For me, CAD wasn't an option, since regulating my blood sugar is my number one goal. The reward meals would be too tough on my BGL's.

I believe it is a sound nutritional approach for weight loss but, as Teel pointed out, some people find it hard not to overdo the reward meal and find they have fewer cravings if they attain ketosis early on.

A lot of the forums go "quite" for a while and then spring back to life. It seems to be part of the ebb and flow of the board.


(posting at the same time as Shelley, LOL!)

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I wouldn't say I'm a carb addict - but I don't avoid them totally either. However, I am VERY careful about how many I have! I work in servings (my own weight management program) and my carb serving from grain and cereals is 70 calories. I NEVER exceed 3 servings of these per day. I also keep an eye on 'carb creep' from other food groups, such as veggies. For about 3 years I tried very very low carbing - but headaches, sleeplessness, low energy, irritability and no long term weight loss forced me to look elsewhere. When I tried this WOE I didn't expect to loose much weight - because previously I had been almost nil on carbs and fats and still didn't loose the weight. As soon as I picked up some on both carbs and fats - hey presto! the weight just dropped off and is still going. So there you go - everyone is different! I thought the note from Goddess on the Atkins forum yesterday was just perfect - no matter what WOE we are on - that lady just said it all!

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

This is my first post here, but I saw your message and want to tell you it's not dead! I did Atkins for a year then went off and gained most of the weight back. While on vacation in Oklahoma, my daughter found the Heller & Heller 1997 book at a little library used book sale. The minute I read it, I knew it was the solution! Such flexibility, and it makes complete sense, too. I started as soon as I got home ~9/112 and have lost 8 pounds so far.

Also, I'm around food all day (we have chocolates and cookies for our medical students all day, every day), and I haven't even wanted a single one for two weeks, although I've had a cookie twice -- a planned one -- during the "Reward Meal" carb portion. I've had the Reward Meal once for breakfast, and love that I can switch that meal around during the day if I choose!

This is so easy to do! One of my "tips" is that I use a 6" plate, because it's easier to think of filling half of that with veggies and half with protein than it would be if I were using a 10" or larger plate.

Don't get discouraged if there aren't a lot of posts -- those biomedical geniuses (Heller & Heller) were on to something. I finally am completely free of cravings, and although I still get hungry from time to time, I FINALLY know the difference between being hungry and being possessed by cravings! I also know hunger isn't the enemy -- the cravings are the enemy!

Best wishes to all,

EditGal

CAD is what started me on the "controlled carb" concept and it gave me an initial weight loss of about 10 lbs. HOWEVER...I found after being on the program about one year, I was beginning to be hungry too much and I was really "pigging" out at the reward meal. Before I knew it, I was eating way too many carbs for the program and I had gained all my weight back. Then I switched to Atkins which I was on for 3 years. My eating philosophy meshed seamlessly with the Atkins approach and I not only lost the 10 lbs. I had gained back, I lost an additional 2 lbs. Alas, a medical problem with my feet "nixed" my walking routine and even though I was still doing Atkins, ALL of the 12 lbs. I lost came back one lb. at a time.

Just this past week, after realizing that my portions were way out of control and my calorie count per day was probably around 3,000 (yes...you read it correctly), I decided that I need a more balanced approach to eating.

While CAD may work for you and many others, and while it WAS helpful to me in the beginning, the one thing that CAD and other controlled carb programs does NOT teach you is P O R T I O N C O N T R O L. If you have portion control issues, this "demon" may revisit you at some time. For me, I have learned the hard way that planned portion control=unplanned calorie control=LONG TERM success.

Regardless of what plan you choose, I wish you the very best of luck in your journey.

Donna

I too, lack the control it takes to do the "reward meal" correctly. And since I have yo-yo dieted so much, my metabolism is more or less wrecked. So, I have to have a more disciplined plan like Atkins. Also, I think alot of the reason most people don't do CAD is that the reward meal, though balanced, keeps one out of ketosis. AND for some people, like me, it keeps the cravings going. I do better with no sweets at all, except for a limited amount of fruit.

I wish I were just starting out seriously trying to lose the weight.....I would get on the CAD plan and STAY on it. Rachel Heller has kept her weight off for years. I saw the Hellers featured on Oprah AND I read the book. It makes sense, but does pose some problems for different people in different ways.

No matter what, everyone should find a plan that works for them and work the plan. Sticking to it is the key, no matter what plan is chosen. Take care.

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I lost around 100 pounds doing CALP. (a tweak of CAD). However, I tried experimenting with other diets and stopped doing all of them for a long time. Hench-I am facing possible surgeries and other medical problems.

I did notice that if I kept my RM properly balanced and didn't overdo on the carbs, I would not wake up hungry. If I did not do the RM properly, I would wake up extremely hungry.

I am not currently doing any particular plan. I do have books I have to look at for clues in dealing with inflammation problems, causing arthritis,

If people start posting again here, I'll join in....

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Ilse

380/310(current)/154
5'7"
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible"
Walt Disney

I just popped in here by accident. I did CAD a while back, about 1992, and did lose about 10 pounds. Then I quit smoking and started the Nicorette gum. Then the diet did NOT work. I was like Shelley, the Reward Meal was the Super-Duper Grand Slam what with stuffing candy in my mouth before the hour was up!

I have always wondered if a combo of Atkins and Reward Meal would work. Have my normal low carb dinner, but have my low carb ice cream, or whatever low carb sweet I have on hand, during that hour, instead of waiting until 7:30 or so. Anyone ever try this??

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Alida
5'1" ~ 59 years old
Highest weight: 165
Atkins 7/10/2004
160/126/125
RE-DO, January 2008:
167/162/135

CAD is not dead!! I'm back and would love to get this forum going again, if possible.

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Debby
182.5/162.8/130?140?
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LC (with a few sidetracks) since 1/12/03
Starting weight of 206.5