Hi, all,

I feel so inspired by the enthusiasm I see here. I've been on and off Atkins for five years, and it no longer seems to work for me--probably because I feel so denied on it that I fall off at least once every couple of weeks. I'm a veteran of the CAD, from way back in 1993. I got quite thin on it, but that was before RM's were required to be balanced, so I was bingeing on HORRIBLE pastries, fatty foods, etc. during my one hour each day. Still, it was pretty cool to be able to eat that stuff and not get fat. Now I'm 35 and it's time to buckle down, because I seem to be getting heavier with every decade, and I'm showing signs of hypoglycemia.

I do have a couple of questions before I begin. One is, do those of you who have 20 pounds or less to lose find that the weight comes off of you slower than it does for people with more weight to lose? Is exercise an absolute must for success? And how long, in your experiences, does it take for the carb cravings to go away? I have a terrible time with sugar cravings, and in the past when I tried a day or two on CAD, I never made it very far because my reward meal seemed to be triggering cravings.

Thanks for any advice or info you all can give me. I really want to get my weight under control.

Shelby

144/144/120

Shelby,

Welcome back to CAD. I hope it works for you. I am losing slowly, but that can be an age thing. I certainly have more than 20 pounds to lose, more like over 70. But, I have already lost over 150, so no complaints.

If you stick with balancing the RM and doing the CM and CS's properly, your cravings should start to diminish in a few days.

I do find certain things cause hunger. Equal (Nutrasweet, aspartame) trigger strong sugar cravings for me. I also get hunger cravings from eating certain carbs and MSG. MSG and sodium also cause bloats for me.

This is a great place for support and everyone's 2 cents worth. I hope it helps you.

Some of us post journals. If you want to read any, just click on the journal icon at the bottom of the post and you will be taken to that person's journal.

Welcome, Shelby,

I hope you love being back on CAD!

Hey Shelby,
I have less to lose than twenty pounds too. I am sure it will take longer, but you know what, I'd rather enjoy eating now instead and be healthy- no more binging or worrying for me, I am so sick of all that. If you want to do this together, we can keep posting on this forum- I'd love to have support! Have a great day,
-Hazel

Thanks for the welcome, guys. Hazel, yes, absolutely I'm in need of a support counterpart! I'm on my second day. I haven't weighed myself yet, but I'm off to do that now. I like the averaging weights idea in the original CAD book.

Best of luck to you!

Shelby