To AAM or not to AAM ?

Professor

Guess whos back...
Well since i changed over CD i am due to do the AAM this week.

But i spoke to my counsellor about it and i aint too convinced its for me, i mean i am losing loads weight anyhow by contuining with Abstination from food. 4stone in 2 months rocks my world you know! And the meals i can add are SO SO tiny it really is rude to call it a meal you know, i mean 2oz of chicken with a spoonful of green veg doesnt constitute a meal in my book. Yes i know i have to revaluate my idea of a meal from the old bargain bucket to a sensible healthy meal sure, but one single 50p piece size of chicken and a similar piece of veg really in anyones books aint a meal surely? Is it? (dispairs on his future)

And also i am a guy whos like a 5yr old kid and doesnt like/eat greem veg so the AAM life is almost a nightmare for me, i realise veg is going to have to come in my life soon enough and i will cross that bridge when i come to it for sure. But i think i have decided that AAM will probably just make me feel worse, so for now at least i am going to skip it and carry on as i was.

Am i right?
 
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nooooo!!! do it...seriously, you will enjoy it. It won't make much difference to your loss plus us lot on CD have to comply with EU guidelines which means that either you do AAM, or you get a medical form from your CDC and get checked out by the doc and signed and the doc will determine whether you can SS for 4 more weeks or not.

I feel AAM is really important as so many people can get freaked out by food after doing this diet, it's important to teach portion control and to know that you can eat and not gain weight.

Do it....:D
 
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Hi Lee,

As a responsible adult, I've decided that I'm not going to do my AAM week. I'm too focussed at the moment and it just ruins my momentum. It's not the weight loss, because apparently you should still lose 3lb that week, it's more the fact that it's a disruption and I can't risk anything slowing me down on my dress mission!

But, as the disclaimers say, I'm not a qualified CDC and this is merely my personal opinion. Have a look on the user Punkass 's diary, she was struggling with the AAM week as well.

You did really well to lose 4 stone in 2 months, I'm very impressed - I would like that myself (with 8 1/2 weeks to my wedding).

Good Luck on the rest of your journey professor :)
 
Again, this is only my PERSONAL experience ... I decided not to do AAM for the first 5 months of my CD journey because I didn't want to lose my momentum: I wanted an absolute break from food.

I did AAM in month 6 and I've never been able to get my act together since. :(
However, I know the reasoning behind why it is recommended and wouldn't actively encourage people to follow my lead ... as I said, it was my own personal experience.
 
Hey Lee

I chose not to do AAM week... it felt too weird being able to eat! I started my diet on LL.. did two weeks then switched to CD.. so i had the mentality in my head of not eating for 14 weeks...

I did one day of AAM and it just felt like it wasn't right... i didn't want to eat.. and I felt like AAM meal would start to make me think about food before I was ready to... and i'm really enjoying the diet without food..

I plan on introducing AAM towards target.. which if all goes to plan will be beginning of Feb.. so i will prob do an AAM week at beginning of January... when it can potentially do less damage!

I wasn't worried about weightloss, everyone still seems to lose.. i just didn't want that little voice saying "well u've eaten now.. u may as well eat this yummy bag of crisps" etc etc.. coz to date (6 weeks into the diet) that little voice hasn't appeared!

Good luck with whatever u choose
 
Hey Lee

I have done AAM in the past but have decided against it for the future because it takes me ages to get back on track. I agree with you the foods not much. I actually love my veg so don't struggle finding things to eat but it's just not worth it.

I've decided that I'd much rather lose a stone and go out for one nice meal (healthy options of course) which I've done now - I chose Chicken Caesar Salad and stuck to drinking water but it was just nice to go and feel normal and make an adult decision about what I was going to have - I still feel you get the opportunity to prove to yourself that you can restrain yourself.

Good luck with whatever you decide and congratulations on your fantastic weighloss.
 
I did aam, and, it was the best thing I ever did.

It taught me not to be afraid of food, and to enjoy food in moderation, it gave my metabolism a boost and enjoyed eating plain food and retraining my taste buds.

I think its best to do it x
 
I just think it's really difficult to generalise ... we're all individuals with our own individual issues.

Some people may be overweight because they 'let things slip a bit' in their general diet and lifestyle, others have serious emotional issues attached to eating. That's why I think it's hard to say AAM is absolutely right for everyone or absolutely wrong.
 
I just think it's really difficult to generalise ... we're all individuals with our own individual issues.

Some people may be overweight because they 'let things slip a bit' in their general diet and lifestyle, others have serious emotional issues attached to eating. That's why I think it's hard to say AAM is absolutely right for everyone or absolutely wrong.

Great words of wisdom, I think it is very much up to the individual concerned. If you know you will let it slip then maybe (with docs permission!) its not right for you at this time, I was so scared about it at first but it was right for me to do it, I dont think I could have gone four months without it, just 2 things I thought of though
Can you do this perfectly well without AAM

Or will you tie yourself in knots because you can do it but fight not to??
 
I think I'll always tie myself up in knots as far as food is concerned - SSing on CD just unties me temporarily :(
 
Regards doctors orders, i signed up orignally of course to LL and had docs permission to SS for 3mths.

Having seen him recently he is still in approval, altho i havent done any forms.And Coley, smacking bum bums, should offer to a guy! :cool:
 
For those who dont really like vegtables on their own try chopping cauliflower and brocooli and chicken really small and putting it in your soup. A lady i see couldnt eat veg without ketchup and this is what she did for the week and still had a great weight loss.

I advise AAM as it helps you to gain control of portion sizes really it should be called add a forkful but i think it really helps you through your journey instead of doing it all at the end and then worrying about adding real food.

julesrush
 
Yeah but learning "portion size" you would really need a small sensible meal? not 2 spoonfuls? Like i said that isnt a meal..

I am all for maintenance and plans for when i get off SS, but i wont be able to live on spoonfuls. /cry
 
hee hee....now now prof.....;) not smacking in a nice gentle way....with a frying pan perhaps?:rolleyes:

nah...I really would do AAM. OK...the portions are small (not so very small if you go for cottage cheese) but thats the point and it makes you learn that you can have a small amount....I suspect quite a few of us have a problem with eating a lot...just volume wise!!

me for instance....could match my other half...who is a 6ft 2" man!!! I am 5ft 5.6"!!! hello!!! thats not right...bad me! I need the practice for the real world....I now understand what 2oz of chicken looks like and various other quantites.

AAM is a challenge...and obviously some people find it easier to continue with the diet without doing it which is fine with the right approval to make sure you are ok........but if you can handle it, do it, it might teach you something.
 
Alas Coley ... that's my problem: add a meal, add a feast, add a crumb - none of it actually 'teaches' me anything. I have to accept the fact I am what I am - an emotional eater. When things are great - I eat like a normal person. When things are bad, it's a different story. Unfortunately, no amount of having only eaten '2oz of chicken and green veg' X number of months ago prevents me from diving into the penguin packet at times of severe stress. Emotional eating has little to do with hunger and portion control.

Really, I'm not knocking AAM (I've done one and actually really liked it) but the fact still remains that for SOME people (not all of course) it doesn't do ANYTHING to re-wire certain thought processes.

Perhaps that's where LL beats CD as far as providing CBT is concerned. Maybe counselling and not cottage cheese is the only way to beat the demons for some of us :) (shame about the hefty price tag though!)

(Thinks ...... wouldn't it be great if CD offered separate counselling you could pay for 'on top' of your diet if you felt you needed it)
 
Right there with you RD. I did LL before CD but didn't get much out of the CBT, hence regain!!! I didn't really draw on the CBT when I was in munch mode!

I munch for emotional reasons too....been trying to detach myself though!? I feel that it would be helpful to get portion control under my belt when I'm upset/angry/bored so this is why I do it....trying to train myself to not eat huge amounts of stuff when upset and all my other reasons.

But yeah...I get where you are coming from. Some peeps would benefit from the counselling, I find it easier to tackle things "physically" rather than "emotionally" as in...sort out my portions rather than sort out my head ....maybe that says more about me than anything else....:confused::confused:

Oh well!! aam is still tasty though!! :D
 
Don't tell anyone but when i did AAM I didn't weigh my chicken or measure my greens.
I definately had more than I should have had but it was still very small.
On the advice of my CDC I made little teenie kebabs with the chicken and some little mushrooms cut up.
I drank a pint of water before and during the meal and it seemed really weird eating. In fact I really had to make myself eat it. Didn't feel hungry at all lost 5 lbs that week.
But the key is
a)It gets rid of blockages and
b) It kick starts your metabolism. The week after your weight loss goes into overdrive.
So I would highly recomend it and don't worry about the size mate its what you do with it that counts.:D
 
Yep I'm for AAM, if nothing else it's adds a teeny weeny bit of variety and that for me was very welcome.

Fully understand though that for some peeps it's very difficult. I was quite frightened to do it, but enjoyed once I was there and believe it or not that forkful of chicken seems like soooo much food. I ate my first AAM, kebab made of chicken & mushrooms and felt stuffed, didn't have my third shake for ages afterwards.
 
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