I've been rereading a good book, "The Secret to Low Carb Success!" by Laura Richard, which I highly recommend. It's very focused on losing weight and she got a lot of good ideas from internet groups like this one.
One example in particular has been stuck in my head. She was describing the way the body reacts to weight loss. The body only has internal monitors; it doesn't know how much food is around you. Thus, when you lose a lot of weight, the body reacts as though some kind of upset has happened "out there."
If you keep eating, it is calmer than if you try to cut your calorie levels to drastic depths. If it loses a lot of weight, it has a tendency to hang onto it because stores are low and it's not sure what's going on.
If you are in a stall, and you can't find the reason for it, there just may not be one. It's just the body adjusting to the new weight, the new levels that are needed to keep the body at the weight, and the fact that the warehouse of fat has now shrunk to a storage unit.
Another thing she mentioned that I hadn't really thought about before is that my new, lighter body has different needs than my old one. Less food in general...maybe less carbs, less calories, or something.
This is why sticking to one thing doesn't work. I have to realize I haven't changed my plan...but my body has changed.
Which is a good thing!

This is a very clear explanation if how complicated it all is. Thanks.

We still keep on trying to make our bodies do what we want, lose weight at a regular rate etc, but we are not in charge, are we! We can only do our best and let our bodies do their best!!!

That's why I was nervous about switching plans..I wanted to stay with what worked in the beginning, even if it wasn't working NOW.

I plan to return to Atkins eventually, but CAD seems to have shaken up the status quo a bit for me. Maybe my body thinks the carbs in the reward meal are evidence that everything's "normal out there"..<shrug> Maybe we just have to change up the plan sometimes to make our body let go....

Also, that must be why a little cheat or carb blow-out works so well for many of our members. I have been under the mindset that consistancy was the way to go but perhaps I am mistaken.

Black57