Hi and Happy 2021 (I HOPE!)-

I haven't been on the site for months and came today and am so happy to see the new activity and wanted to pop in and say hi and welcome (back) to CAD and CALP.
I have been on CALP since 2003- and it has totally changed my life. If you find old posts, I started CALP to see if losing weight would lower my cholesterol. I had been on a very low fat diet for years following my doctor's orders. When he accused me of lying about my eating because my numbers were getting worse (after more than 10 years of low fat) I decided that when something you're doing isn't working you can do it harder or do something different. I chose different- and after reading a bunch of books I picked CALP and CAHHP as the plan that would be best for me. LC made sense to me- especially the geeky science stuff about insulin and insulin resistance- (I really liked the Protein Power books and some of Atkins too) but I knew myself and too many rules and restrictions wouldn't work. My DH also told me "I'm not changing my eating!"- so CALP worked as I could do the RM for dinner and give him his carbs and eat mine for RM. After 2 weeks on CALP I turned to my DH and told him that I felt 'normal' for the first time since I had my son, who was 15! I lost weight- cholesterol never really changed- but I feel so good on CALP that the rest is history.
I never go off plan. I eat 3 meals a day, no snacks. I eat 2 CMs and one RM. I try to balance my RM with salad then protein, veggies and a carb. I limit sugar and alcohol to typically 2x/week. I exercise daily- during Covid I take a long walk and skip the gym.

It does take discipline- but I have already decided this is my WOL so I will make it work. It's my body and my responsibility- and my choice.

In the beginning I did A LOT of planning- it was a very very steep learning curve for me - I planned all my meals and shopping and eating out (like looking at menus online before we went out and picking out my meal and not even looking at the menu at the restaurant) and daily reading of LC books. I found this site months after I started CALP- and until the last few years came everyday and posted. For me, failing to plan was planning to fail. I took it very seriously. In the beginning I would say to myself that if I really wanted something I could have it- at my next RM. Foods that others were eating that looked great and I really wanted (chocolate croissant anyone?) - I would and still say "it's just food and I've had it before and can have it again. Not worth going off plan and getting sick over this". That helped. And treating myself to something- like a fancy espresso or bottle of water while they ate helped too. I could be and still am a bit flexible- if I want a cappuccino or a flat white I'm not going to stress over the milk or cream in the drink- but I know it's a treat. If I really want a certain carb with RM and a drink and the meal isn't balanced but carb heavy- I will have it knowing it's not a daily thing but I can be flexible as it's still in my RM and my other meals were CM. In the beginning I wasn't flexible at all- I had to be strict to make it stick.
I also am convinced that I would be diabetic and sick if I hadn't found CALP- and I know if I go off plan that will happen to me. It is a slippery slope going off plan- there are too many people who taught me that.
Now I don't need to plan as much- but I still make sure I have what I need for my CM breakfast and lunch and my RM dinners. I haven't gone out to eat at all this past year- and that led to more weight loss. I hadn't really realized how much I was eating for my RM when I ate out. Eating all my meals at home has tightened up my eating plan.
There isn't really a lot for long term maintainers here- and maintaining day in and day out is boring- but I think this plan is fantastic and I wanted to just say hi and tell you YOU CAN DO THIS.