Thread: Add a meal weeks, ??

My counsellor suggested I have a add a meal week as I was on LL for a month before starting CD. Should I or not?

It would be a nice change to have a little chicken but maybe I will leave it a couple of weeks until im used to this diet?

Any ideas? What If on days im struggling I have the 3oz of chicken but not everyday or will that mess me up.?

It hasnt really been explained to me ?

It shouldn't mess up up Karen,

I lost 5lb on my 1st add a meal week...
and don't forget your little bit of vegs too

Amanda
xx

Hi,

Add a meal week is a requirement of the CD. The only way you can miss this out is if your doctor provides your counsellor with a letter saying he will see you monthly to monitor your progress.

It is important not to lose touch with food.

This will not affect your weightloss, the only thing that may happen is you could plateau that week but would have a good weightloss the following week. Some people continue to lose during AAM. If you plateau the fat is still being broken down just retained as fluid in the body for a few days.

On AAM you must have the food everyday as your body will not know whats happening if you keep changing your pattern of eating and you must have ALL 3/4 packs per day.

All of my customers follow AAM.

Phone your counsellor and ask her to explain this to you or failing that PM me and I will give you my phone number. I am more than happy to talk you through this.

I can't really advise because I've been on CD for almost 20 weeks and have NEVER had an AAM week. My choice - I prefer it that way.

But I've heard lots of people say very positive things about AAM. Some say it boosts their weight loss on the following week ... others say it was the downfall of their diet.

I just knew I had to address my own personal issues around food before I could start dabbling with 3oz of this and 2oz of that. FOR ME, decades of a bad relationship with food weren't going to be addressed in just 5 weeks.

But this is only a personal opinion based on what I know about myself - others will say different things. Personally, I think it's hard to generalise about AAM - how can anyone say that 'everyone' will find it beneficial?

Maybe you could give it a go and if you find it works for you and you enjoy it then you'll feel confident to do it next time but if you found it messed with your head then you could act accordingly. I think CD is like any diet in that, although it is more rigid than some, you can still 'tweak' it to a way that suits you best i.e some people adapt their packs and 'cook' them, some people do 790, some people don't do AAM, some only have the shakes. Even on a VLCD, I don't think it's 'one size fits all'.

No-one knows you like YOU do. How do YOU feel about AAM?

I'm worried if I eat then I might enjoy it to much
So I will stick at this for another 2 weeks and then consider doing it. Or even wait until ive done 4 weeks on cd, and forget I did 4 weeks on LL. If you get what I mean. So its like starting again. I dont see my CD counsellor again until 24th aug as shes on holiday. But will ask her then.

It is important not to lose touch with food.

This was my main reason for choosing CD over LL - felt it was crucial to deal with my food issues while on the journey. AAM has given me sooo much confidence that I WILL cope with maintenance which, in my opinion, is the hardest battle of all Like Linda, I'll be encouraging my clients to incorporate these weeks when I become a CDC.


Having said that, Debbie is absolutely right - the 'one-size' only approach doesn't always suit everyone. I guess the best advice would be to give it a go and see how you feel

Just thought I'd add that I hope no-one thinks I'm actively discouraging anyone from doing AAM ... in principle I absolutely agree with it.

It's a 'principle' I agree with too but I know from long hard experience that a diet that restricts what I can eat and how much just reinforced my dependency on food which led to my downfall each time. To me it is like telling someone that they had to give up smoking but could have 1 a day, it would work for some but not for me because it just would provide a daily fix of the feelings I was missing out on and make me feel deprived.

I like abtaining from food to give me enough time and distance to focus on my issues. I don't think I will have the same issues with food when I go back to it in about another 7 weeks time because I have had that time and distance to figure a few things out. Only time will tell.

For others like those that don't have food issues and they weight has just crept on then I can see there's going to be no problem.

I suppose if you are adding a bar, you are eating food (as opposed to drinking it). There's no difference. It's just another flavour and texture on top of the various CD ones.

When I was SSing, I really thought I had done most of my distancing from food to sort myself out. Personally, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was easy for me to think that though when SSing.

AAM is so tiny anyway, I found it easier just to think of it as an extra bit of Cambridge rather than a step up into the real world. I always did it. Found it hard most of the time. Learnt a fair bit though in the process.

That's what worries me.

I know that ssing for me is the easy bit which is why I am sticking to doing just that and not cheating. I have read enough posts from enough people to know how difficult it is to climb back on the wagon once you have fallen off and I don't want to take any chances. Falling off once I get to my despination is more acceptable to me.

Can I now practice moderation and not use food like a drug in order to try to change my moods? Well that's a whole different ball game to think about in about another 7 weeks time (I am thinking that the goal weight I set is going to be too low) and I am trying not to feel too confident (in case I get complacent and it all goes to pot plus I don't want to tempt fate!) that I now know enough about myself to be able to spot the warning signs and actually deal with my problems rather than trying to blot them out with food.

Abstaining from food is best for me for much the same reasons that CD advise that you abstain from Zero Coke, it's not the damage the item itself does but the unpredictable cravings it can trigger. Same principle. I'm now not scared of returning to conventional food, far from it. I am actually looking forward to testing out what I have learnt. Fingers crossed that I end up as one of the 1/10 that maintain my weight like you have done so well in acheiving

Learnt a fair bit though in the process.

That sums it up beautifully for me too karion It certainly made the mental process a lot easier when I took a week's break for a hol in Tunisia at the end of May - I knew from doing AAM weeks that I'd be able to get back into SS without any problems.

On a personal note, I've had a weight problem most of my adult life - I'm now 60 and I'd be the first to admit that I've had a HUGELY unhealthy relationship with food for most of that time. VLCD's certainly do give us the space to focus on our issues, but ultimately it's up to each one of us to take advantage of this time to learn to change our previous bad habits

Again, it's very much 'horses for courses'.

Demon was tunisia nice were going at the end of the year ??? What part did you go too?

Tunisia was great, but from what others have said I think it does depend on which resort you're in.

Mr.D and I stayed at the Maharba Palace in Port el Kantoui - lovely place. Knew we'd be fine 'cos a couple of friends have been a few times so it was highly recommended. The hotel is very quiet though, not much entertainment, but we were looking for a week of complete relaxation so it was perfect for us - not sure it would be so good if you're looking for something a bit livlier.

Where will you be staying?

We will be staying in Sousse where my husbands family live! I want to stay at a hotel lol but we got to stay with his family!!