Hello! I hope some of you posters are still out there because I want to do Wendy Chant's program with you! I just bought the book and my husband and I are starting today. I want to lose 30 pounds, but I'll take what I can get. My husband also needs to lose about 30 pounds. I know the first week is going to be hard since we are carb lovers, but am hoping once we are through this week things will get easier.

So, how are all of you doing on this program? Is it easier after the first week? Thanks!

I'm so excited about this change of eating lifestyle. I made it through the first week (Cycle 1 - Carb Deplete) without a hitch, followed the plan exactly from the book, and lost about 8 pounds. My pants are looser, too, so I know I'm burning fat in the right places. I bought the book after reading the Woman's Day article and it makes so much sense to me. This week I started introducing and cycling carbs, and oatmeal never tasted so good! I know I will be able to follow this plan because the goal is basically to be able to eat what I want, but to do so in an educated, common sense way. I control the food now...the food does not control me. Already I notice I have no cravings for sweets or potato chips, like I used to, and I am developing far more energy and better sleep (except tonight). The weight loss is not as dramatic as the first week, but it won't be because you need to lose it slowly and completely for it to stay off. READ THE BOOK! You need to know the science behind this plan to understand how and why it can work for you. Be informed, be educated, be in control, be healthy!

To Ladyfrog: The magazine article was confusing to me. There is so much more depth to this plan. The book is a superior source. As far as patterns, there are three types of days after you get past the first week, which kind of resets your body and starts teaching it how to look for body fat to burn. The three days alternate in different patterns. These days are carb-up days (the recommended "right" carbs for three meals), carb-down days ( recommended carbs for breakfast or lunch) and baseline days ( recommended carbs for breakfast and lunch ). The rest of your meals and snacks consist of combinations of recommended proteins, vegetables, and fats. You really need to understand the purpose of these days, and the book will teach you about that. I found that once I got used to a specific type of day, I could make substitutions from her lists and get a little creative with my meals. But I'm a newbie to this plan, too, and it is the only thing that has worked for me. I'm so excited and am now out of my size 18 pants and into loose 16's, so I must be burning fat the RIGHT way. The only problem I have is not being able to exercise, which is important for weight control and overall better health. I have torn cartilage in my knee and am having surgery Nov. 4th. I'm looking forward to developing a new, active, healthy lifestyle as soon as I am able after recovery.

Give it a try. All you have to lose is about $18, but hopefully you'll lose weight and body fat, and gain a healthier lifestyle!

hi! teachermom, you have inspired me to continue. my husband and i are on day 5 today. it's probably easier for me than for him as he is more of a carb addict. he won't weigh himself so i won't know until his pants look looser whether he has lost : ). I have lost, perhaps, 1 pound. i have the kind of scales that if you stand on them one way they say one thing and if you move, they say something different. i try to stand the same way each day -- but my memory is bad! LOL! i had hoped to lose more than this by this point in time. one thing i notice is that i am usually not hungry when it's time for my next meal so i think i'm going to reduce my portions a bit. i'm under 5 feet tall so maybe i should adjust it. am looking forward to day 8 when we can add some carbs. however, i have a challenge coming up on day 9. a friend wants me to sit on her porch with her and hand out trick or treat goodies and she wants to order pizza and drink beer. i'm trying to think of a way to handle this. maybe bring wings to eat instead? if i eat carbs with her it will be after 3 pm and that is not allowed. grrrr!

keep us posted on how you are doing on this!

Hi I am the new kid on the block..well I saw the magazine about this being better than Atkins so I was interested..Bought the book and started out ..wasn't 100% on the carb deplete week but by week two I had five lbs off......then I blew it and for two days had a binge on candy...So instead of starting week three as she says you should, I am starting week three with the first two days doing carb down days..by the way the binge costed me two and half pound gain.. I miss fruit and of course other things but I am still doing this......will check back in about a week..........

You can find Wendy Chant's book, Crake the Fat-Loss Code at Borders Bookstore. It will really help explain why we eat what on what day and it's not hard to understand like the Womans World article.

Blessings,
Cindi

Since I am new I wanted you all to know that I am married, a mother of 3 and grandmother of 7. My husband & I love living on the Gulf of Mexico, working with youth and families, enjoying golf (regular and mini) and sharing life together.

Looking forward to getting to know you.

Blessings,
Cindi

hello all! i bought the book, too, in order to find out the rationale behind the plan. it makes sense to me. my husband and i are now on day 5 of the 2nd week. he has lost (we think - he didn't weigh when he started) 8 or 9 pounds. i have lost about 5. the first week was hardest, but we stayed on it. by the 2nd week i was not craving sugar or carbs but he still was. i rearranged our days the 2nd week because the 2nd day of the 2nd week we were going to a halloween party. so we used the 2nd day as our carb up day and ate 1 slice of pepperoni pizza, several chicken wings (including a few breaded ones) and had 1 glass of wine in the evening. also had a few carbs during the day. we did a carb down day the day before and the day after. then 2 baseline days - that's what we're on today. i plan for us to do 2 carb down days before starting week 3 and then trying to follow the plan as written. my husband cheated a little yesterday -- went to a bar to watch a game and had a hamburger on a bun and 2 alcoholic drinks. i have stayed faithful. i'd like to see myself losing some more pounds this week or i will get discouraged.

what's the longest any of you have been on this and what's your results? i need more motivation! thanks!

Hi!

I'm Laura Orlowski from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I too saw the articles in Woman's World and First magazines. I purchased the book from the bookstore. It really makes a lot of sense to me. I also purchased the bootcamp DVD, which came along with a recipe book, a daily log book and a book that summarizes the plan on a daily basis, from the website.

I haven't started yet...need to get to the grocery store and stock up on essentials.

How are things going for everyone else on the program?

Thanks,
Laura

Hi Laura! After you've used it, I'd love to know if you like the recipe book and DVD. I've just been using the book, using quite a few of the recipes and inventing a few of my own. Is the DVD exercises or advice on following the diet? I have not yet gotten into an exercise routine and I know I need to do that to see more results. Maybe tonight . . .

Teachermom,
Just wanted to say that I
saw in the post you were to
have surgery today and I hope
and pray it went well and you're
back on your feet again REAL
soon.

I started the program. I didn't follow it closely but I did lose 5.8 lbs.

Yolie -- that's great! My husband and I are on day5 of week 3. He's lost 12 or 15 pounds (he didn't weigh when we started so we're guessing a little). I have lost 6 or 7. We have followed the program pretty strictly. Need to add exercise. I did exercise once last week. Gotta make that a habit.

Keep up the good work!!

Wow...you guys are doing great!
Thanks for the encouraging post. Yeah...I have probably exercised once a week. I need to add more exercising too. Will keep you posted on my progress.:)

hi everyone! the big news at our house is we bought a new scale -- a MODERN scale! it is digital, also gives you fat percentages. it told me this morning that i weighed 149.2! i have always had trouble losing to below 150, so i'm excited about that. i did NOT like the fat percentage read out, however. time to exercise - seriously.

we have followed the diet pretty strictly. today is the 6th day of week 3 for us. i do all the meal prep because my husband cannot get the hang of this. his part is to not eat unless he's told to : ) and to eat ONLY what he's told to. i've figured it out pretty well, now. i've used some of wendy's recipes, which are all very good, and i've invented a few of my own. also i did buy vanilla protein powder although my favorite uses are not for shakes. the shakes do not seem that tasty to me, even when i add flavored sugar free drinks. carb up days still seem incredibly sinful. for instance, tonight we are going to have pizza. we have had 3 or 4 carb up days by now and we're still losing so i guess it's ok. this is very motivating because i've tried just about everything and i feel like i've finally found the right plan for me. i am never hungry. i don't even miss sugar anymore! amazing!

here's an idea for breakfast on a baseline day when you're eating your carb at breakfast: i make french toast using the food for life bread (either ezekial or raisin cinnamon). for one serving of two slices: i use one egg, one egg white, mix up about 1/2 scoop of vanilla protein powder w/ 1/2 cup of water, add that to the egg and egg white, mix it up really good, sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon into it. i spray a coated pan with "pam", and i let the bread soak in the french toast batter longer than i do regular bread because it is denser and takes longer to soak up the batter. i fry it and i use "cary" brand sugar free/fat free syrup on it. you could also use sugar free jelly on it. very good! i have 2 pieces and i am satisfied.

i'd love to hear how all the rest of you are doing and if anyone has any hints. for us the key has been to just stay on track and keep plugging away. after the first week, it is much easier.

linda

Wendy Chant's 'Crack the fat loss code'
 

Hello, i'm new here and i wanted some help with this diet, i ordered the book because it was not in store, so now i have to wait 7-10 days for it to be delivered, and i'm in a hurry to loose some weight before feb14, because that day i'm getting married, and i have read that for some of you it worked, even if it's only water weight by now i would like to loose a few pounds, so i wanted to see if somebody will be willing to give me at least 2 days meal plan i can follow while i wait for my book, i have the one in first, but if i eat the same stuff for 7 days i think i will quit after day 3 so at least 2 different plans will help me to not get bored so please if anybody can help me i will appreciate it.
Thank you

menu ideas
 

Hi! I'm at work so don't have the book with me, but I'll give you some ideas off the top of my head. The first week is the hardest because you're doing almost no carbs. I don't know what the meal ideas are in First so maybe these will be duplicates:

Breakfast ideas: omelets made with 1 egg and 2 or 3 egg whites. i usually use 1 egg and 2 egg whites. my favorite is to stir in about 2 oz. of cooked lean ground beef, cook the omelet and just before folding it over add 2 or 3 oz of cheddar cheese. it's a recipe in the book that she calls a cheeseburger omelet. of course, you can use other variations on the omeelet such as using swiss cheese and a little cooked chicken, or cooked bacon and cheddar cheese or whatever. if i know i'm going to be eating breakfast on the run i boil some eggs the night before and i eat 2 boiled eggs and a 2 oz piece of cheese as i drive to wherever i'm going. you can also fry or scramble eggs and cook a couple pieces of turkey bacon or a couple of turkey breakfast links to go with it.

Lunch ideas: i'm big on eating salads with lettuce, sliced radishes, sliced cucumber, sliced green pepper (no tomatoes at this point- they have carbs) and then adding either cheese or meat or both -- sometimes deli sliced turkey or chicken, sometimes pieces of cooked chicken breast, sometimes pieces of cooked steak (often leftovers from the night before). dressing of your choice. otherwise you can always eat any cooked meat and then microwave some frozen broccoli or green beans and have a simple meal. since fat isn't a concern the first week, you can put butter, margarine or cheese on your broccoli after you cook it -- makes it taste better.

Dinner ideas: quite a bit like the lunch ideas. basically you are going to eat protein and vegetables, but you can choose a different protein every night -- such as salmon, chicken, lean beef, turkey, etc. Wendy says you HAVE to eat broccoli at least once a day which I usually do. But if you've eaten broccoli for lunch then i'd eat a side salad or a different vegetable for dinner. very important is not to think that starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, beans, potatoes count as a "vegetable". those are really carbohydrate dense because they are starchy and you are trying to stay away from a lot of carbohydrates, especially the first week.

Snacks: 2 oz piece of cheese; 1/2 cup of cottage cheese; deli sliced chicken or turkey rolled around a slice of cheese; 2 boiled eggs or 1 boiled egg and 1 slice of cheese.

Basically, after the 1st week you'll be adding in more carbs on various days. It's extremely important the first week to drink lots and lots of water. at least 8 glasses a day and if i were you i'd drink more than that. you will be going to the bathroom all the time, but that's a good thing. you can easily lose 3 to 5 pounds the first week if you follow it religiously. remember, no fruit at all (that was a hard one for me) because fruit has carbs and is full of sugar. also, eat NO sugar at all and have NO alcoholic beverages. it's sort of tough, but you have a big event (or should i say huge?) that should motivate you.

good luck, let me know if you have questions. i have been following this since late october, with a sabbatical during christmas which set me back. i'm 57 years old and i don't lose weight easily due to a wacky metabolism. however, i lost 10 pounds before christmas, gained about 4 back at christmas time, and in the last 2 weeks have taken that back off and i'm going down again. if you are younger you'll lose much faster than i did. also, if you haven't been dieting your entire life (like i have) you'll lose faster because you won't have screwed up your metabolism!

linda

I havn't read other replies, but to be honest it sounds
crazy
unhealthy
and totally awful for your relationship with food. No listening to the body, just deciding it needs protein/carbs at X hour and in Y proportion!

Gimmicky stuff does NOT work. Maybe you'll lose water but etc etc. Not really.

Sorry :(

Science behind Chant's diet
 

You'd have to read the book before making such a generalized statement. Over the years, I have followed Weight Watchers (reached goal at age 40 in 1991), Diet Center, Nutrisystem, and Form You 3 (I was a counselor there). Those diets are essentially low fat, no sugar, portion control drawn from the entire food pyramid. They worked for me, but sort of slowly. I always found that if I ate less breads/starches than I was allowed on those programs I lost faster.

Chant's book is not as crazy as Atkins where you eat low carb all the time forever. You do have a very low carb first week, but after that you are eating moderate carbs and trying to eat unrefined carbs whenever you do eat them. You also have carb up days when you can eat pretty much an unlimited number of carbs. After you've been on the program for several weeks you also have a "free" day each week where you can eat anything your heart desires. Chant explains the science behind all of this, with lots of footnotes to scientific papers and studies -- it is very well researched and has been proven to work for many people. Personally, I think it works best for people such as me who have or are close to having metabolic syndrome, who are basically carb addicts. In many ways it is not unlike weight watchers or any other program -- in this case you are just monitoring your carb intake more than in those other programs. Also, you are trying to eat protein at 3 or 4 hour intervals which I know from my own reading keeps you full longer (it takes longer to digest protein) and prevents you from losing weight from your muscles instead of from your fat stores.

Bottom line, this is not a crazy diet. It is sensible and based on good science. You do track what you eat and when, but that's basic to any good eating plan.

thanks trytryagain!!!
 

I have bought the book and started 4 days ago. It seems that you would never go hungry.
I have to thank TRYTRYAGAIN, you have been the one that has helped me the most in how to work the program and what to eat. I am also 57 with a very busy business and I find it very hard to lose wait, especially because I travel 10 days of each month. I will try to post often but I do value your posts.

what to it on the road
 

I am in the car a lot and I was wondering if somebody had good ideas for snacks to take with me, I am doing the turkey rolls and the cottage cheese, can you use any cheese? how about trukey peperonis?
I appreciate any help I can get!!!

travel food ideas
 

hi! glad i'm of some help lulita. yes, you can use any cheese -- 2 or 3 oz. read the label and you'll see that it has no carbs and each ounce has 7 or 8 grams of protein. you're trying for high protein and low carbs the first week. the turkey pepperoni i have says that 14 pieces has only 1 gram of carbs and 7 grams of protein so i think that would work fine -- but be careful if you have high blood pressure and have to watch sodium content because both cheese and turkey pepperoni (or other processed lunchmeats like turkey bologna have a lot of sodium). if you are leaving from home during the day, boiled eggs are good, too, unless you hate boiled eggs. canned tuna is good, too, if you like tuna -- mix a little bit of mayonaisse with it and maybe put it on some lettuce for a salad. also, you can go through a drive through and get a hamburger or grilled (not breaded and deep fat fried) and throw away the bun. i've done the "throw away the bun" thing for years, even on other diet plans. seems wasteful, but . . .

after week 1 it gets easier because you are adding some carbs on some days.

addendum to travel foods
 

sorry, i didn't edit my last reply very well. i meant to say a hamburger or grilled CHICKEN at a drive through and throw away the bun!

I'm just playin around. I'm liking my new "jewel" avatar. And I thought I added a weight loss thingy to my messages, too. We shall see what shows up with this post. Time for bed . . .

thanks again TRYTRYAGAIN!!!
Do you use Crystalight and howmuch? I find it helpo with sweetcravings, although I am having a lot less of those.

oh, I'm on day 4 of atkins induction and I don't think I can take anymore!!! I was lurking on this thread earlier and checked the book out of the library and have been reading it non-stop and I'm going do it. I wonder if I have to do the first week since I was following atkins? I'm guessing
no but is there anyone here who might know different?

hello everybody,
tomorrow is my first day on week 2 and I am a little scared. did you continue losing? do you eat what's in the menues and change for things that are P V O S A, etc? Any ideas would be great!!!:carrot::carrot::carrot:

Hello everyone,

I am so glad to have found this forum.

The way I found Crack The fat-Loss-Code was kind of out of the blue. I was shopping for something completely unrelated at amazon, and somehow the book popped up on my screen. after reading dozens of reviews by readers who had bought the book and are following the Crack The code lifestyle, I decided to buy the book.

I knew it was a positive sign when I could not put down the book. For the first time reading a diet book, I did not not get bored and skimmed through it rushing to get to the diet section. Instead, I found myself reading, and re-reading, and underlining key points.


I am excited because not only for the first time, I have found a system that makes sense, but I know that this is an eating lifestyle I can follow for the rest of my life.

I'll start my first week (carb deplete) tomorrow. I re-created the daily logs in Word, and printed them and I am all fired up and ready to go:carrot:

Happy cracking to everyone!

checking in
 

hi everyone! i'm checking in. i'm on a week long "vacation" to see relatives and friends. very nice to see everyone, but i'm having a hard time staying on the plan. i've been through the entire 8 weeks as some of you know, and lost well. christmas kinda interfered so i was going back to week 2, and doing well, i'm afraid this week is going to throw me again. i am trying to avoid sugar and doing the best i can. also, taking walks.

i'll be in touch when i get back. someone asked the question about whether the first week of atkins translates to the first week of the crack plan and i think it does. hope you figured that out and have moved on!

stay the course everyone!

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I don't really know much about this diet. Can anybody give me some pointers about this diet? Is there a website that I can go to and find about what this diet is all about?

Crack the Fat Loss Works
 

Yes it works. My husband and I started the diet and lost 7 - 8 lbs the first week and another 7 the second week. The only problem is we can never seem to stay on it for more than 3 weeks with out falling off the wagon. Something always seems to come up.

While we were on it we did some excercise but nothing extensive,,,, some cardio in front of the tv and that was about it.

We are actually going to start it back up this week. He's a truck driver and just went back on the road after 6 months being off. He originally started at 206 lbs got down to 179 and is now back up to 194 being back on the road.

I'm around 154 and would like to get back down to 120.

So we are going to try and crawl back up on the wagon and stay there this time and see if we can do the full 8 weeks.

Supposedly there is a new crack the fat loss code book coming out this moth with some different menues. Maybe that will help us to stay on it longer.

Hello everyone I just started this plan and am confused, are we not supposed to count calories? Just eat anything as long as it is protein and we do not go over 20 carbs per day?

I started this diet May 11, 2009 and have already lost 4 pound! I am never hungry and have had more energy than I have ever had in my live...even when I was a teenager!

I was wondering....
 

Are you still following this plan? I too saw this article and brought it home and it is still hanging on my fridge!! Doesn't work I guess if you don't follow it!! Anyway I was wondering how it worked for you. I just stepped on the scale to see what my weight was, it has been a while I avoid it like the plague!! Anyway I am up to 300.4 lbs. I just don't know what to do I am desperate and I can't find anything that I feel I can stick to. I am scared at this point that something is going to happen to me if I don't get this under control. Any words of wisdom would be very helpful. Thanks so much, Hilary B :?:

Following Chant program again
 

I've dropped off here for awhile and I got off program for awhile, too. This plan really does work for me when I use it. It is not unlike other low carb programs, I THINK, although the only one I ever tried in the past was Carb Addicts or something like that. Anyway, for me, cutting carbs does the trick. And I like the carb cycling in this plan after the first week. To answer a previous poster, after the first week, you should not be counting calories, per se, but you should be trying to watch fat intake. I.E. don't just cut carbs and eat everything else, but eat only lower fat high protein foods when you're eating your protein.

Unfortunately, I have to modify my weight loss ribbon as I am back up to 154 pounds. I was at 157 after memorial day, but started week one this week, on Monday, and 4 days later I'm now at 154. I haven't exercised this week, but exercise is always my plan. And definitely also helps me lose when I start getting into the routine.

I post only on this thread because I don't have time to follow other threads. I have looked at a few recipes on 3fatchicks, but this is the thread I'm interested in. There is nothing fishy about this program. It's pretty straightforward, scientifically based, and the book itself is footnoted throughout. I've followed lots of plans in the past, with some success on some of them, but I have concluded that I have, or am near having, metabolic syndrome and low carbs is the route for me.

Love to read other people's posts who are working on weight loss using this program!

Just starting week 2
 

My brother told me about this program. I'm just starting week 2 today.

I've done well on it - although I found parts of week 1 difficult. After the first 72 hours (day 3 or so) I really found myself feeling lightheaded and so on. THAT was a concern! But I recognize that is part of the whole carb deplete thing. I just fought it off - I know it's short term.

The science of the book makes sense and I like that there are no forbidden foods. I'm glad to be through the first week because she makes it really clear that you have to be exact on week 1. If you mess up, you need to start week 1 over - your body needs the full 7 days to deplete of its carbs.

I'm not missing carbs terribly at this point (although I've prepared mashed potatoes for lunch and I'm sure I'm going to savor them like a bowl of ice cream!). I AM missing milk, which she recommends for carb-up days, but I can live a few days longer without it. I'm not wild about broccoli which she says should be eaten daily, but I did it. I intend to see the full 8 weeks through.

To the person who said this diet looked like a crazy fad diet, I don't think you could be further from the truth. The woman who wrote the book knows her stuff - and she's got the credentials to prove it.

Try Try again, my husband and I just started on this plan and I have a question, I am sticking to the sample menu planner and substitution list and I counted my calories for day 3 week one and it was 800 calories, is this going to sabatoge this diet, I thought wendy says in the book that you dont want your body to think it's starving itself or it will just hang onto fat, or does the first week not count and- can you have shrimp as a protein and bacon?

can't get the book yet
 

[Read the article in First too and am wanting to start, but the two bookstores we have in town don't have it, and the library has to find it :-( Is there a website that tells how to do the diet? I'm so excited! I think I have tried every single diet out there, so maybe this one will be it!!! I know the metabolism is a major issue (and my love of food). I really don't eat that much though!!! I'm excited about finding this forum so I can have some encouragement.

I read the article too. I actually tried this diet last year (when I had read it in First the first time they put it in)and lost 4 pounds the first week, then my son ended up in the hospital,and needless to say my dieting went out the window. I just ordered the book (used) on Amazon.com for $4.21!! I just put Wendy Chant in the search engine on Amazon and the book came up, I clicked on that and then it gives you the option of a new or used book. Good Luck!!

can you tell me where you downloaded this from