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Trish, I agree, if it's not working for you, ditch it and move on to something else. I'm starting to change my mind about switching plans. I used to think, pick a plan and stay with it. Sometimes a plan might start out working well but if you body gets accustomed to it, then you will stop losing. You need to do something to shake it up.

I think what I do is really closer to CALP than the Slow Carb I'm supposed to be following. I rarely eat any starchy carbs before dinner. My breakfast and lunch are the same low carb foods over and over. But dinner is what I cook for DH and always includes carbs, sometimes I eat some and sometimes I don't. Just depends on what else is there. My blood sugar is better than before, and my weight hasn't gone up for at least a week. Not even a fluctuation. Hopefully it will start to go down more quickly.

My husband cooks sometimes, but what he makes isn't necessarily healthy. I will eat some because if I make a negative comment he will never cook again and I don't want that. When I worked until 5:30 he always had dinner ready when I got home, so I know he can do it.

Last week my husband bought a pkg of cookies that have always been my all time favorite. They are called Pinwheels, and they are chocolate covered marshmallow with a graham cracker base. I was surprised that he bought them because he doesn't like chocolate. I got into them and ended up eating about 5 of them! I was so glad when the package was empty, thinking they were out of my life. Well, yesterday, he had me buy him another pkg. I said "Why? You didn't eat them. I did!" He said "Well, then, don't eat them!" So now I am determined to show him that I am not going to eat them. Sometimes he purposely sabotages me like that, although he would firmly deny it if I said that. I don't know why he does that. He agrees with me that I should lose weight, but maybe he doesn't really mean it. He knows my weaknesses. If I'm smart, I will use that to my advantage and become more determined to stick to my plan.

Carol Sue Thanks for the July thread.

My deceased hubby used to sabotage my diet too. I always thought that part of him wanted me to lose weight because he was quite supportive, but then when I was in OA we had a discussion about our hubbies sabotaging our diets. We decided they were afraid of us losing it. DH 1st 2 wives ran around on him and were thin. Although he always enjoyed being with me when I was thin, he never treated me any differently when I was huge. We finally decided that he was afraid that if I got too thin that he might lose me, however, if you had ever told him that he would have denied it.

As for Tony, he just likes a lot of things that aren't necessarily healthy. I don't think he does it to sabotage me at all. In fact, since he has been diagnosed with diabetes and had some of the problems he has had, I think he is more understanding with me because he has experienced what I have.

Well, I got up this morning very excited about what I'm doing. I have read more on Intermittent Fasting and how healthy it is and how it is helping my body. I still haven't watched that man again, but I did learn enough from what he said on the 1st day that helped me understand more about how certain types of foods work in our bodies. And then remembering what I have learned over the years from the Heller's who wrote the CAD/CALP books and other nutritionists. I now understand how and why IF with CAD/CALP will work given time.

I ended up losing 2.4 lbs from what I weighed yesterday and my FBS was 102 this morning. I now am starting July with a 4.4 lb gain from June 1st. Looking back to June 1st, my FBS was 95. Not sure what I was doing diet wise back then and when or where I got off track. Some time during that time, I evidently switched to the plan I was using as the weight went up. One thing I'm doing differently this time is that I am keeping a journal of everything I'm eating.

I've settled on some fave's so that my plan will be easy. Like you Carol Sue can eat almost the same meal for my 2 LC meals every day and then add a few carby foods when DH and I eat together. I love eating out on CAD/CALP because as long as I stay within that 1 hr Reward Meal for my higher carbs, I'm still OP.

Since that man stressed eating greens and good healthy veggies along with omega 3 fats (I think he said that olive oil also works like Omega 3) and protein. I have eggs with either bacon, sausage or C. bacon along with a pinch of shredded cheese and greens (alternating between collards, kale and spinach) Dinner will be some sort of protein and veggies. The Lunch will be our main meal with the added carbs such as milk and fruit for dessert. I really like to end my RM with a dessert/treat and I decided fruit would be a good healthy treat. Still will do this within 8 hr most days and on days I have no control with the eating hrs could range from 4 or 5 hrs and even up to 9 hrs when needed. I'll still be following the Intermittent Fasting as well as the CALP plan. For those who don't know... the difference in CAD and CALP is some of the options you can decided to follow in CALP. CAD you don't make the option changes. My main option that I do is to the best of my ability, I do not use MSG and I also limit the sweetners that I use.

I went and got my blood draw today for my kidney function. I am hoping that has corrected itself.

Sorry this is too long. I guess I better go throw some clothes in the washer since I'm going to be away from home tomorrow afternoon. DH has lab work tomorrow. Could have done this together but no one caught it. I've got a chicken roasting in the over and need to go prepare the sides to go with it.

Here's hoping for a better July for all of us. Have a great day.

Trish, I am starting July with a gain also. I have not changed my ticker, but I was up as high as 203 and am now right at 200 and have been there for about a week. I am hoping to get back down into the 190s so I don't have to change my ticker. I know that my eating has changed a bit lately. I have not been eating as many vegetables like I was and I intend to get back to that.

Yesterday I made stuffed peppers. I just make 2 peppers for DH and I. I made the filling and filled his pepper, then I added some cooked lentils to the filling and filled mine. I liked that I got to add them to my meal without serving them separately. I think I could have added them to DH's, too, without him noticing, but if I ever get caught adding something to his food he would probably quit eating my cookiing! LOL I could add lentils to meatloaf, too, as long as he's not in the kitchen to see me doing it. When I make chili he picks the beans out, so I mash them with a fork so they blend in and he doesn't see them. It's like trying to feed healthy food to a child. LOL

DH eats so many things that are not healthy and has to have sweets every day. The reason I think he was sabotaging me with the Pinwheels was because he rarely eats chocolate. He won't even eat chocolate chip cookies and EVERYBODY likes chocolate chips. When I make them, I have to make a few for him without the chips in them. His daughter was here yesterday and she ate some of the Pinwheels so they are almost gone. Now that I figured out why he bought them it is easier for me to resist them. If I'm going to be fat, it's going to be MY choice. LOL

Well, it's July, lol.

I'm starting the month at maintenance- just a higher weight than I would like. Guess I shouldn't complain too much, bc my FBG and BP are both good. But, I have to be honest, I am in it the for vanity as well.

Trish, I do not know anything about the gentleman you were referring to on the June thread. Some of what he says in common sense and I think it sounds pretty good. Not too sure about his science, but really, it's irrelevant. If something gets you eating and feeling better, I'd say go for it. I will add this, for myself, I always seem to need to know the reasons why something isn't working, partly bc I feel as if reasoning takes part of the blame off of me. Truth be told, 'why' doesn't really matter. If it doesn't work, chuck it and move on.

In school, I was taught that neurons cannot be rebuilt, but different pathways can be formed; the brain will learn to compensate for a deficiency. For instance, your DH cannot taste right now, but his sense of texture is heightened. Keep in mind, my name does not have MD after it, just another bunch of useless letters that means squat in the long run, lol.

Carol Sue, glad you had couscous success! It takes on the flavor of anything you add to it, so I typically cook it in stock and add veg to it. The first night I eat it hot as a side and the rest of the week I pick off of it cold, for a salad. I do the same thing with quinoa.

I am not a quiet person and if my DH brought food into the house with the intent of sabotaging me, he'd find himself eating blue cheese and cauliflower for a week- he hates both, lol.

I guess I am fortunate, my DH will cook and clean, as well as all of the childcare when I need it or just want to get away for a few. However, the mess he leaves behind him makes it just about not worth it! LOL

I'm going to email my doctor in a few minutes and see about playing with my BP meds. I take 150-300mg of Labetalol a day, but it makes me very tired. BP is good, so I think there is room to move. But, whatever she says in the end works for me.

What do y'all have planned for the holiday weekend?

Elizabeth, long ago DH and I had the discussion that just because I can't eat something is no reason why he can't. He would never admit that it's intentional. His reply to my recent complaint about the cookies was "Don't eat them" and I haven't. It seems that when I realize that he is doing this intentionally, my armor comes on and I resist. The package of cookies has been sitting on the counter since they came into the house and have not tempted me. Well, truthfully, my mouth is watering just thinking (typing) about them. But I will not indulge. I have learned to do the same thing with ice cream that he buys. We used to stop at the dairy queen on the way to the casino, but as much as I'd love a cone, I will not get one. If I don't get one, he won't stop for himself, either. That's his loss. I consider this to be in my best interest. For the rest of my life I am going to find myself in circumstances where I'm faced with foods that I should not eat. I am learning not to eat things just because my mouth is watering for them. I just noticed that there's only one left. He will never eat the last one of anything. It will sit there until it turns into a rock!! LOL

Trish, you may have read this before, but the post made me think of you.

This is a copy and paste:

Rule #1 – Forget about the Eating Window
A lot of people have difficulty fasting because they are early risers. They wake up around 5 or 6am and try to fast until the early afternoon because they think they need to adhere to some arbitrary 8 hour feeding window from 1pm to 9pm. The reality is that the game changes depending on what time you rise in the morning. If you wake up earlier, you should be having your first meal earlier. Conversely, if you sleep in like I do, you should eat later in the day.
The power of fasting comes down to spending a good chunk of the day in the fasted state. This isn’t about some arbitrary feasting window, but rather a tailored approach of eating 4-7 hours after you typically wake up. For example, if you are out of bed by 5am, I recommend having your first meal around 10am-12pm. Alternatively, if you wake up at 10am then I suggest having your first meal around 3-5pm.
4-7 hours is a perfect amount of time to spend in the fasted state each waking day. The sweet spot for me seems to be about 6 hours and some days I’ll push it further. But I recommend listening to your bodies feedback to determine when you should eat your first meal. Some people may prefer to fast well into the day, others will prefer to eat just 4 hours after rising. Whichever protocol you find more enjoyable is the strategy I encourage and keep in mind it may change overtime.
Best of all, because you’re not trying to adapt your life to some feasting window, you don’t have to worry about eating your meals at the same exact time each day. If you have to have your last meal earlier or later than usual, it won’t make a lick of a difference. Keep it simple and keep it flexible, fasting should enhance and liberate your life, not control it.

Elizabeth Thank you for sharing that. It pretty much confirms what I read on the FB group. Someone asked if it was better to eat a 4 hr window or an 8 hr window... small meals or spread out meals during the 8 hrs for faster weight loss. I usually get up in the morning between 7:30 and 8. I usually eat some time between 11 and 12 unless I'm not hungry. Then I may wait until we eat around 2 or 3. I kind of go by how I feel. So I guess I'm doing that part right.

She was told that it really didn't matter because it still came down to the amount of calories when eating since the eating window was not a time to feast/binge eat. You still need to be eating healthier food. Example given was... if you eat 1100 calories in 4 hrs or you eat 1100 calories in 8 or 10 yrs, the results would be the same for weight loss.

This also shows me that it really doesn't matter whether I use the CAD/CALP plan or not. The main thing is to just eat what I want to eat within the window I choose. There are days when I will eat within 4 or 5 hrs and then there are days when I might eat within an 8 or even a 9 hr window. It all depends on what is going on that day and how I feel.

For my I'm learning that I need to not eat a lot of processed foods because I think that is what makes me gain weight. Wednesday I bought some processed jerky. I ate it as a small meal to take my Januvia. #1 It made me want more (what I've learned processed is designed to do). #2. My weight jotted up to 226.4 lbs and my legs were horribly swollen. I couldn't take the fluid pill because it wasn't a day when I could. But another lesson learned. I still have some processed things I will be using to get rid of but I will have to spread it out so I don't wear it.

Here is what is amazing. On the plan I was using last month I learned that when I go out to eat I would weigh 2 or 3 lbs more the next day. Yesterday I didn't use CAD/CALP although I did stay within the hr IF window. I didn't eat until we went to eat and we went to Cracker Barrel which is our favorite place to eat fish. I had my usually deep fried catfish, coleslaw, one corn muffin and decided to have corn instead of the green beans I usually get. Of course I always get lemon water. That was fine because if I had stayed with the CAD plan yesterday then I was fine.

Went to Sam's and DH decided to get a watermelon. Well, fruit and nuts are not allowed outside of the CAD Reward Meal. But when we got home, DH decided to cut the watermelon. So I decided to have a slice myself. The interesting thing is that when I read the book Miracle Foods for better Blood Sugar, they had found by Glycemic Load that watermelon is an acceptable food. It is a diuretic because it is full of water. I had a snack of a few nuts and the watermelon. Later, I also had my planned lowcarb meal of breakfast for dinner to take my Januvia. All this was eaten within about 7 to 8 hrs. The shocker? My weight was down a lb today instead of the usual 2 to 3 lb gain. I will check my FBS before I eat later.

Then I read on FB's IF group that how long the eating window doesn't really matter so much as how much we eat during that window. I do know that fasting has healing factor in it and the body needs those hours to process our food and rest. I learned that years ago. Of course I do believe the longer the fast and maybe even more often is better, but from what I understand from all I've read, the longer fasts with shorter eating windows really only have to be like 2 days minimum a week for the benefits most people want. The other key which we also know from dealing with diabetes which Carol Sue recently shared is exercise added to the IF plan gives great benefits as well as helps diabetics lower their BS.

Well, I don't know if I'll be back here before Sunday or Monday or not. Y'all have a great 4th of July. DH and I are going to have most of it to ourselves as DGS has plans to spend the night to night somewhere else and works all day Sat. I've changed my plans so I can stay home and be with him.

Oh yes. Heard from my lab work and kidney function is improving. Doc sent message to keep doing what I'm doing. If I eat a serving of watermelon each day, I won't need a fluid pill. LOL

Trish, years ago I had heard that going to bed on an empty stomach is preferrable because while you sleep, the body is repairing. If it has to be digesting food, it upsets the repair process. I posted that on a message board one time and someone jumped all over me and said that it doesn't matter when you eat, just how much. I tried to google to find what I had heard, but couldn't find it anywhere, but I feel that it goes along with IF. It is so similar to the way I grew up...we ate dinner around 5-6 and didn't eat again until the next morning. It wasn't until I was out of the house and snack food was more readily available that night time snacking started. I have always felt better when I didn't eat at night.

I agree that eating to stuff yourself during your eating window is self defeating, although for people who are addicted to food, it's normal to do that because you know it will be a while before food is allowed again. I think it has to come naturally, and it's not for everyone.

Since I am somewhat doing Slow Carb, I have saved Carb Day for tomorrow. I will be cooking hamburgers and hot dogs, bratwurst, potato salad and baked beans, and I'm making a cheese cake, which is mainly for DH but I will have some, too. I don't want to go overboard on carbs, but I want to be able to enjoy what I have without guilt. This is only my second Carb Day. I am still struggling with keeping the carbs out on the low carb days, but it's making me think twice before I eat something. "How can I lower the carbs in this meal?" My blood sugar is better and my weight is down a few lbs, but nothing earth shattering. I want earth shattering!!!

Carol Sue I remember that too when they used to say don't eat anything 4 hrs before going to bed. Now I hear people saying even on IF that it doesn't matter. However, I know people who cannot go to bed on a full stomach. My Daddy is one of them. I also know they I rest better on an empty stomach. So I think that is another one of those things where you have to listen to your own body.

I think the reason it is easier for me not to stuff myself during my eating is because like you I didn't eat a lot of food growing up. Personally I was too active to mess with eating all the time. I only seemed to need 2 meals a day so that was usually all I ate. Plus I only ate a small portion because for me food was only for fuel not necessarily for pleasure. No one taught me that, but I just never thought of food that much. I was not that interested. It absolutely makes me wonder how in the world I did that because I would love to feel that way again. I have also lived like those people who binge during their eating window because I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat for a long fasting time. One of my problems at times with the Reward Meal on CAD/CALP is that I until I got things under control, I could actually turn that one whole hour into a binge. This is why I'm not really good at doing CAD/CALP any more.

The 6 to 8 hr eating window of IF gives me the opportunity to eat a variety of healthy foods spread over the day without the temptation to binge or over eat.

I too have the tendency to want earth shattering results from what I'm doing thus the reason I've never been successful for any length of time. I've decided that slow and steady as long as the weight and the bs is steadily moving down perhaps that is better because maybe that is how we become successful. I think what we are doing right now is finding our way to be successful.

Elizabeth Hit on something one day that made me think too. I realized that I am always looking for a "title" of a diet or plan. Maybe I don't need a name. Maybe I just need to call it "healthy eating" and not try to give it a name.

Thanks girls, you give me things to think about and I think by sharing our thoughts and what we read, hear and learn, helps us find our way to hopefully be successful.

Good night.

I know that I do not follow any eating plan 100%. I usually call it "Low Carb" but only because I try not to eat many starchy simple carbs. Low is a relative word. For some, low carb has to be 20 gm or below. But if I'm accustomed to eating 100 gm of carb per day and then I start eating 50 gm, to me, that is low carb. The SAD has a lot more carbs than that.

Sometimes I think my inablilty to lose weight is because I don't follow any plan 100%. The tweaks throw me off. But I can't say that I'm never going to have beans, or never going to have dairy, or bread, or sweets or whatever the item is that is not allowed on a particular plan. I want to be able to eat all foods, but keep control of the amount of food that I eat. I think that is my problem, more than what I eat. I think I should just be following a reduced calorie plan. Maybe what threw me off is when I started hearing that you don't need to count calories on a low carb plan.

I think I just talked myself iinto that! LOL

Trish, I think when people say that it doesn't matter when you eat, they are talking in terms of weight loss, and in that case, it might be true. It's just for me that I sleep better when my stomach isn't full. I've always been that way. It improves my sleep, and good sleep is essential to weight control.

Carol Sue I understand exactly what you are saying. My body only tolerates so much high carb foods and then it reacts with a rash which I am not experiencing. Some where I have overstepped my bodies limit.

I really think "if" I would/could do Atkins as it was originally planned to be done, I would be able to learn what the carb limit is for me, but I just never seem to be able to do 2 weeks. I think I managed 10 days one time. That was after my 2nd husband died and I was single.

My money was extremely limited and although they said on the low carb bars not to use as a meal, I learned that I could eat one of those and have a cup of coffee and go until lunch time without eating. So I would do that. I was working around the clock besides the church group I ran with. One of the ladies and I used to go sing in nursing homes. I look back and wonder how in the world I did all that. I always bought roasted chicken to keep in the fridge and sometimes I would run by the house and grab a few bites of the chicken. Didn't always add anything to it. However, there were days when I would go all day on the lc bar and coffee and it might be as late as 8 o'clock when my friend and I would head over to Cracker Barrel to eat and I would get a huge chef salad to eat. I was losing weight like crazy but now I realize that I was NOT getting any nutrition because it affected my nervous system in some way because I was taking care of patients dressing them etc and I couldn't wear anything but pull over shirts because I couldn't button my own shirts. My oldest son live with me and he would have to put my earrings in my ears for me because I couldn't hold them and get them in. I could walk up stairs but felt wobbly.
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When I married DH, I was able to eat better and I did CAD and I lost weight but I got all my functions back and the wobbly/dizzy feeling went away. I've always known that there were benefits from eating low carb and even from fasting, but after the experience I had of being eating so strict, I was afraid to try it until now. However, I do know that CAD is what helped me pull out of all those problems and I did actually get down to 167 lbs and it didn't really take me all that long back then once I could afford to do it correctly.

I don't know why I struggle with it now. I know it isn't going to work as quickly as it did before, but I do know that it works. I know that IF works great with it too. So I have to ask myself "What is your problem Trish? Just get with the plan and do it". And it fits mine and DH lifestyle so very well and because it corrected everything that was messed up with my life back then from the crazy diet I did, I know CAD/CALP is a healthy way to eat.

So, I think we both know what we need to do. I just don't know why we struggle with it so much. For my part, I think I still have this dumb idea in my head that there must be a way to do this without giving anything up.

As for tweaking a diet, I have a book about how people lost weight and kept it off longer than 3 yrs. While some of them did take a diet plan and followed it exactly, I found it interesting that most of them took a plan or more and tweaked them or combined them in a way that worked for them. So you can successfully take a plan and tweak it to fit yourself. I think it also goes back to Elizabeth's Bob in that we think we have to have a name/title for what we are doing. Not everyone does and neither do we.

Have a happy 4th.

Trish, the first time I lost weight I kept it off for 10 years. I lived alone and I was in control of what foods came in the house. I even did fairly well after I got married because I cooked, but rarely ate dinner or anything afterward. Without knowing what it was called, I had an eating window between 6 AM and 1 PM. I have always been a morning person and sedentary in the evening, so I didn't feel that I needed "fuel." It was after the kids moved out that DH wanted me to eat dinner with him that I really gained. Add 800 calories a day to your diet and that's what happened. Now I can't seem to break the cycle. DH eats very little thoughout the day but wants dinner. I just can't eat that way. I am more active in the morning and that's when I need my food. I have to drastically drop my calorie intake if I ever expect to lose weight.

Yesterday, we had typical American 4th of July food and I ate without any regard to calories, carbs, etc. Actually, it was a disappointment. It was ok, but I know realize I have changed my appetite. Carbs are just as addictive, but I don't enjoy them like I used to.

Hi girls!

Will BBL with more, as I am getting ready to run out the door.

I find for myself, the two big issues I face are trying to name the plan and holding on to what worked in the past. I'm not 30 anymore and can only assume being pre-menopausal makes everything that much harder.

Today is today and I HAVE to accept that it is going to be harder now.

Like Bob told me, the only relationships worth keeping are the ones you'd be willing to fight for...not willing to keep the weight or the meds and need to stop fighting myself.

You're right, Elizabeth. Our bodies change as we age and we have to recognize that. What worked before might not work again. And since we have all developed metabolic issues since our younger days, that needs to be factored in. My main realization is that weight loss would make a lot of my medical issues go away, or at least greatly improve. I guess I don't want to do what needs to be done. I want to wake up tomorrow and have it all be gone. Every day I continue to procrastinate is one less day of health for whatever is left of my life. Am I just giving in?