I have been doing atkins for 3 and 1/2 weeks. I started out felling like crap, had a couple of good days, and felt like crap until yesterday. Yesterday I went totally of plan and had pizza for dinner. I felt so much better today--didn't feel the need to sleep all day, actually got out of bed voluntarily--lol. I have been doing some checking on CAD, and I love the idea of the reward meal, in fact that's pretty much how I ate today. I think Atkins may have been too drastic of a change for me. Also, I've read that cutting carbs so drastically can affect thyroid hormone levels, and I'm also wondering if that has happened. According to my doctor, I'm one of the few, strange folks that has been hypo- and hyper- at different times in my life, beginning when I was a young child. I don't know how true it is about the hormone levels being affected, but it sure feels that way.

Anyway, I like most of what I've read about CAD. I have taken the carb addict test before and knew before I started atkins that I am one. Only thing is, I have not seen where artificial sweeteners affect me as far as inducing cravings. So to get to the point (finally), I am thinking of going on my own version of LC, don't know how well I will lose weight on it, but I feel that I could stick to it.

Basically, it would be mostly like CAD, only difference would be allowing myself artificially sweetened drinks, probably 2-3 a day, including my morning coffee, which I absolutely refuse to give up. I don't have the CAD book yet (am planning to read it ASAP), so I don't know all the details about it yet. I do know the basic rules.

Anyway, sorry for being so long-winded. I realize that I am still very new to low-carbing, but I feel that I have learned so much in the short time I have been doing it. I think it makes perfect sense, I'm just having trouble finding a plan that I feel like I can stick to forever. I would love to hear opinions on this.

You may want to pop over to the Candida/IBS board too. The fact that you felt so crappy then felt much better after the high carb meal suggests you may also have candida. It is very common for folks who begin fairly drastic low carbing to feel pretty crappy while they detox, and the folks harboring candida get hit the hardest. As the candida begins to starve one of the very classic symptoms of cadida infestation is that it makes you crave *unbelieveably* strong toward sweets/starches/fermented products. When you cave in and eat the sweet/starch, then the candida feels better and you feel better (momentarily) too. But continuing to low carb will eventually kill the little buggers off and you'll feel better in the long run. But candida can make your life a living hell while you slowly kill it off. I suspect a lot of folks who 'just can't stay on low carb' are really candida hosts. Candida is really tough to get rid of and every time you 'cheat' it just keeps the candida alive. If after reading some of the threads you suspect you may also have candida then I would strongly disagree with CAD or similar. Candida hosts pretty much have to stay on Induction for at least 3 months (depending on how bad the candida infestation is). It took me about a year to totally get rid of it. I *truly* felt possessed...as I was, by candida.

Interesting post above, however I have no experience in that area.

No one is the same and everyone reacts differently to low carb plans. Certainly, the fact that you felt so much better after having the extra carbs does indicate that your body was not happy on the level of carbs you were giving it, provided that you were drinking enough water, etc.

I suggest that you read the CAD/CALP book first before thinking about your own plan. You should try it out first before trying to modify it to your needs to ensure that you have all the whys and wherefores at your finger tips.

I have read a number of low carb books and after several months slightly modified my plan with one of the others.

So my advice is to spend a bit more time low carbing according to the book, whether its CAD or Atkins, before trying to modify it to your own requirements. Make sure that the modifications do not sabotage what you are setting out to do.

Well I read a little in the candida forum and also read in NDR. I don't think I'm a "host". I read the list of symptoms, and I do have a few (I think it was 5 out of 14), and they are really general ones that can be attributed to other things (such as nasal congestion, post-nasal drip--am getting over a cold, low energy, feeling low, irritable--could be thyroid, etc.). The only thing that changed from eating the carbs was the fatigue and my energy level which had been in the negative. I don't have any abdominal symptoms, have never been on any steriods, not on BC, and have only been on antibiotics a few times (I try to avoid them unless really necessary).
I also did not have really strong cravings for sweets and carbs. The main reason I cheated was that I was tired of ordering sandwiches without the bun when we go out to eat--and pizza has always been one of my very favorite foods.

I can't say for sure that I don't have it. The symptoms are so varied and there is no definite "If you have more than so many then more than likely you have it". Get what I'm saying? And I'm also assuming there is no definitive test for it, which doesn't help matters.

Thank you for responding and the suggestion--I never would have even thought to check that out.

LittleAnne--

My body was definitely not happy. I do plan on getting the CAD book as soon as possible, probably this weekend, provided my local bookstore has it. Before I posted, I had read that artificial sweeteners are not allowed on CAD and since then, I read somewhere else that they are, so I definitely need to read the book and find out for sure. The main thing I am trying to do is find a LC plan that I can live with, because I don't want it to be temporary. And to be honest, I didn't research other LC plans besides Atkins before I started. On the other hand, I feel that after doing induction, I am better prepared to do a less restrictive LC plan. Because I don't have really strong carb cravings, I feel that I can stick to a more moderate plan without going overboard on the carbs. I know that it won't be a breeze, but I think it will be much easier now than before induction.

Do you know where I can get accurate info about CAD to read over until I get the book? I have read the basics, but I would like to know more. Thank you.

If you are interested in CAD you should stop over to their forum and see if you can engage Zuleikka. They are a most helpful and supportive group of people... I can say from my own experience that CAD is stricter than you think it will be initially. The reward meal is a very tempting component of that particular way of eating, but in order to "qualify" for that reward meal, you have to follow the rules that the Hellers have devised. If you "make your own CAD program" you are likely to run into trouble. At least I know I did. Plus, there are some things that are generally LC friendly, or allowed on the Atkins program, that are restricted or forbidden on CAD. The other thing that causes some people trouble is "mixing" elements of one plan with another. I think Karen (our resident chef!) said she had some problems when she introduced some elements of Atkins into her successful Protein Power plan. You might want to do a search and see if you can find her discussion of that...all LC plans are not created equal and the subtle differences can cause some sensitive people real problems; it is wise that you want to get educated about your options before jumping in.


Hope this helps.

I am a CAD-ette myself and I think it is a great plan, for me at least. It might be just what you need. You can have one cup of coffee with milk (and sweetner if you want it) per day, but it must be drank (drunk?) within 15 minutes. That was a hard thing for me to get used to, I used to drag mine out for an hour! Otherwise, you can have all the black coffee (no milk or cream) you want. You can also have coffee with whatever you want in it at your reward meal.

As far as sweenters go.... this is something I have struggled with. I used to drink diet pepsi, with aspartame. I gave that up as it seemed to be stalling my weight loss. I have recently tried sucralose-sweetened drinks, but I suspect they are doing the same thing, so from now on, for me, I will be having them at my RM or not at all. The Hellers are ambiguous about sweetners. They say in several places that they might cause problems.. but a lot of their recipes also use AS. I guess you would have to just try it out.

I also suggest coming over to the CAD forum, or checking out the journals of some of the CAD group for more info. Whatever you decide to do .. I wish you great success!

Tracy

Another plan that you might want to consider that is more moderate in carbs is The Schwarzbein Principle.
I tried CAD and just couldn't restrain myself at the reward meal, so I wound up gaining weight on it.
At this point, CAD wouldn't work for me at all unless I kept my reward meal very low carb as well because what would be a normal reward meal for most people would spike my blood sugars too much.

I'm also on CAD(just the CALP version, but they are really close to the same)and love it. I switched over from Atkins. I use to think I HAD to have diet soda during the day or I'd die, but I've discovered that it's not the case anymore. I am able to wait until my Reward Meal with no problem.

Definitely read the book and check out the CAD/CALP forum. There is a lot of useful info there that should help you.

A few years ago I started out with Atkins and switched to CAD. Im sure now that I had candida then because the reward meal ended up being my down fall becuse it triggered cravings. I guess thats what I like the best about Atkins- no cravings-no hunger. I am treating the candida which ended up affecting my left ear. Hopefully I'll be able to hear again out of it. Good luck with CAD. I hope it works for you-I'd love to be able to eat that reward meal. Vonnie

Trip to the bookstore this weekend--bought PP and CALP. Think I'm leaning more towards CALP but haven't read a whole lot, just skimmed through both. I know I've gotta decide and stick to one of them. Saw my mom yesterday for the first time since I started Atkins, and she and my sister could actually tell I had lost weight by looking at me! Nade my head get all big--LOL! And yesterday I noticed that the one pair of pants that did actually fit me right don't anymore--they kept slipping down and they're getting baggy in the butt! Talk about motivation! (something I think was dwindling)

Thanks to everybody for the input and advice--got a lot of reading to do now...