OK, so bear with me. I'm still skeptical of some of the scientific theories surrounding CALP, but open-minded. I've come to believe that a good part of it is in tricking the mind. You train yourself in your first two meals of the day to be very restrictive. So all day long you're congratulating yourself on how well you're doing.

Then along comes your golden hour and reward meal. Well, who wants to blow it now? Why chow down on all kinds of high-carb junk when you've been so on-plan all day long? Certainly not me!

And there's a lot to be said with the permission thing. Several years ago, I read a book called "Overcoming Overeating" (I've posted on this before). They tell you to first identify your biggest trigger food. Then go out and buy more than you could possibly eat in a week. I chose Suzie Q's. I bought 3 boxes of 12 each. Then you give yourself permission to eat as many as you want, as often as you want. And if your supply starts getting low, go out and buy even more.

It has nothing to do with eating so many you get sick of the sight of them. It has everything to do with giving yourself permission to eat them. Once they're no longer a forbidden food, their hold on you is broken. If you know, deep down, that you have permission to buy more whenever you want, you don't feel compelled to buy them.

In a weird way, it worked for me. I did this with both Suzie Q's and Doritos maybe 5 or 6 years ago. I haven't had a Suzie Q since, and have only had Doritos on, I think, two occasions -- and then in quite moderate portion sizes.

So I think CALP is kind of like that. As soon as I gave myself permission to eat anything I wanted during that hour -- each and every night -- the spell was broken. Like yesterday as I was driving home. I was thinking that there's nothing special in the house to splurge on for a luscious dessert. I thought about stopping at the grocery store and buying something sinfully delicious. But what? As hard as I tried, I couldn't come up with anything that sounded good.

This is all very interesting to me.

Thoughts?

Goodmorning!
I hear what you are saying about being skeptical- me too- but it works. In CAD the Hellers emphasize the importance of keeping the carbs to the RM once a day. Want icecream- take it home and have it with the RM. Someone brings cake to work- cut a peice and take it home to have with your RM. You are giving yourself a decision point, and taking away the impulsive aspect. You do have permission- and a choice.
Have a great Day 3.
E

Ahhh the magic of CAD!!! Many of us have experienced that feeling of not finding anything tempting enough/good enough for RM dessert.

Enjoy!!!

Bawdy,

I'm about 10 days into CAD & haven't had any problem finding things to top my RM with!

But so far I'm amazed at how much less I'm eating, and I think it's because of the permission issue you brought up. Like you, I find I don't have the desire to gorge myself at RM time because I don't want to ruin all the good work I did earlier in the day. I have permission to have more than 1 helping of everything but so far I haven't really done it. Whether it's the CR foods that are doing it or just my subconscious-- I'm not sure. I'm just thrilled to be able feel satisfied without eating the huge amounts of food I was before.

Hi Bawdy, interesting point you bring up...mind tricks..they do work for sure, but maybe not in a way that is beneficial for some.
I can attest to that in my case (following CALP/CAD) it is definitely hormonal. The reason I say that is because I got off of CALP thinking I would not ever gain the 50 lbs. back that I had lost (1st mind trick) Then I thought, well a few pounds, a few more carbs what does that matter? (2nd mind trick) Till finally I was completely out of control..see where this is going? Gained back 30 lbs. with all these darn mind tricks...Its plain and simple...Carb addiction is real. Insulin response and all the other chemicals involve really do dictate what goes on in the body and having control over these things is no mind game...It's not will power either. But it is something we can control by following the program... Good luck to you and if you stick with this plan it will work. BTW I am a rural mainer too...when the heck is it gonna warm up???

Hi, Pat! I'm in Norway, where are you?

If you read my signature, you can see that I've fallen victim to the same mind tricks that you have (witness the number of times I "got stupid").

I think that this is why there are so many low-carb plans out there. No one plan will work for every person at every stage of life. Protein Power worked wonders for me the first time. The pounds just slipped off before my very eyes. Then, after gaining again, I did Atkins and IT worked wonders. Since starting my third (and by gawd FINAL) attempt, neither Protein Power nor Atkins was working. I even tried Lean for Life for a very short time, but it just seemed to involved to me.

So now I'm trying CALP. My DH has been very supportive all the way through this long journey, but I was afraid to tell him the basics of this plan, figuring he would think it's a crock and and half. I did tell him yesterday over dinner, and he actually thought it sounded like a good idea. Strangely enough, it's the way he eats, for the most part, except that he doesn't limit his first two meals to protein. When he eats during the day, which isn't often, it's typically toast or cereal for breakfast and milk and cookies for lunch.

So anyway, I'm enjoying this new adventure. I've ordered the book and it should be here in a couple days.

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Hey Bawdy

I experienced similar feelings the first couple days of CAD. I remember how I planned and planned all the treats I wanted before I started this program, but now, almost two weeks in, I haven't even had some of them. For example, I was dying for a Dairy Queen blizzard or some pizza. Once I was "allowed" to have them, I realized that they weren't really what I wanted. Funny, how we always seem to want what we cannot have, simply b/c we cannot have it.

I also think some of it is fear like you said. You've been good all day long, why undo it with a dessert? I also had that mentality, at first. But I started pushing a bit more and more, especially when going out to eat and not really sure what was in what I was eating. And I quickly found that the moderation thing is incredibly important. So hopefully, you are just approaching this the correct way, that so many seem to struggle with at first, and are listening to your body, not your carb-crazy mind

Keep us updated. We are in this together. I am almost at two weeks now of doing this. I am currently 1 lb above where I was when I started, but considering my crazy ice cream experience a week ago, I am quite pleased.

Hi Bawdy,
I'm in Newburgh which is near Bangor... I had relatives that lived in Livermore Falls, and had a camp on Bear Pond. As a child I saw that famous sign. The one with Poland, Norway etc...
I was thinking the other day what my hubby eats and he naturally chooses low carb foods and protein for the most part too like yours...guess that must be built into men. He actually dislikes bread, can any of you imagine that? It kills me.
The really nice thing about this plan is you don't have to buy anything special such as protein drinks, bars etc. Just grocery shop on the outside aisles. If you think about it, everything you need is in the outer parameters of the store.. fresh produce, dairy, meats.
Glad you ordered the book, it clarifies alot, because yes there is so much info out there, its no wonder some get confused. For me sticking to basics keeps my mind clear. (fibro fog)

One of the things I really like about CAD is it seems to be a very natural way of eating. It is kind of mind-boggling for a longtime dieter to hit the first couple of RMs and think, I can have anything I want? Really? How on earth do I choose between Mexican or CHinese or pizza or popcorn or... you get the idea. But isn't that a decision that "normal" (ie not dieting") people make, every single meal, every single day? Limited only by food availablity, of course. Isn't having the world's menu available to you and then deciding what you will eat, eating until you're satisfied but not stuffed, the way Nature intended us to eat? But somehow that got perverted into lists of acceptable and forbidden foods and portions. And I do believe that if eating from a list was easy, then the statistics about losing weight and/or regaining it once it's lost wouldn't be so grim.

Obviously there are people who eat from a list and seem quite happy about it-- there are many long-term Atkins dieters, for instance-- but even they "indulge" (or cheat) and discard the list every once in a while. For me, I like knowing I can have pizza or enchiladas or whatever just like a normal person and still control my weight. And feel great, too. Nothing feels better than being hungry, eating a satisfying meal, and then not thinking about food again for a while! Having "permission" to eat whatever I want once a day is very liberating- and feels natural, too.

I love this WOE for that reason. If I want something during the day. I take a mental note and tell myself that I can have it at my RM if I still want it then, but you know 9 times out of 10. I forget about it by the RM

"Like yours" ?!?!?!?!?!

The man who thinks Girl Scout cookies come in single-serving packages?

What I said was that he eats virtually nothing during the day and then TONS of food at dinner and afterward. And he'll pick cereal or toast or cookies over veggies and protein every time!

End of Day 4 and I'm doing great. No urge to binge at all. DH had to go out of town at the last minute for a business meeting and dinner, which left me all alone for dinner.

So I'm thinking of all the wonderful things I could have for dinner and, guess what . . . nothing came to mind.

Finally I thought about coconut shrimp and a slice of turtle cheesecake (my grocery store has a new line of gourmet frozen foods). Yum. So I'm driving home, and the closer I get to the grocery store the more I realize that is not at all what I want.

I had planned on making steaks for us tonight, so I ended up broiling one just for me. Add a salad, a dinner roll, a small Irish whiskey, and a couple of GS cookies, and I'm a happy camper. I didn't even want the cookies, but I ate them anyway just to remind myself that I DO have permission to eat them.

I'm hoping the book comes tomorrow, or at least by the weekend so I can curl up and read it cover to cover!

[Sorry, told you it was fibro-fog day yesterday]
What I said was " for the most part"..Didn't want to get into what he eats after supper...popcorn, cookies, licourice, cheeze wiz, crackers, anything I baked for that day, nonstop munchin lol...he waits until I go to bed to do these things..lol..