Thanks for that info, pamlynn. So you found the book to be enough? You didn't need to sign up for the website? Because I see there's a fee for that...

Thanks for answering all our questions!

I got the e-book cause I was anxious to start looking over the material and though the e-book was fine, it wasn't handy - you can't print any of the pages, you can only download the book. I actually ordered and now have a book I can carry with me. I really wanted to digest ALL the material and for me it was hard to do with the e-book.

About the website - I've been toying with the idea - it's certainly cheap enough and there are plenty of tools - nothing though that I'm not already using with FitDay. Plus because there are so many food choices and virtually nothing you can't eat at some point during the cycle, I don't feel the need for the support right now from the website - so I'm gonna pass for now.

Even though I like low carb eating and know that a person can be successful doing it, the part that I can't come to terms with is adding the carbs back in. For some people (like me) it can trigger a carb binge of monumental proportions LOL. This happened to me and all the weight I'd lost came back. I read something in another book that made a lot of sense to me - that when you cut carbs so drastically for so long and then try to re-introduce them - your body doesn't know what to with them because it's gotten so used to using the fat you eat and that's stored for fuel - so it stores the carbs you eat - all of them. This is not me saying this, this is what I read in a book whether it's true or not, I don't know. But for me it gave me a reason for wanting to try this because you get to keep your carbs (veggies) so adding other ones back in (the right ones) doesn't become a problem for your body to handle. It almost sounds like the missing link.

I'm still reluctant to buy another book, especially since it has the thing about 18 minutes of intense exercise. I'm not physically able to do anything intense, and I just plain hate any exercise at all, so basically I know that's what's keeping me from losing with any diet I try. SB emphasizes veggies, but I'm not all that fond of them. Right now I'm pretty depressed about not being able to loose wt. and a multitude of other (not obvious to others, but) very irritating health issues.

To all those on this diet: What is your exercise routine?

It can get kind of hard to fight off the depression about not losing weight.
I hear you on the exercise too! I have degenerative arthritis and over the last 6 or 8 months it has been the worst is ever been and I have been having a hard managing the pain with meds - pain that is worse after exercise. I still wanted to do CTL though so I could at least be doing something. I can't say I'm not exercising at all. I started about a month ago trying to strengthen the muscles around the joints that are causing the pain and my plan is to add some upper body weight training to this. I'm hoping to eventually get my joints strong enough to do the required 18 minutes but for now I'll just work the diet.

So the diet works even w/o the exercise?

That's what I'm going to find out. This is only the 2nd day of the 2nd week I've been doing this, so I can't say. Like you said, any diet is going to work better with the addition of exercise, not only to help you lose weight, but to keep it off. My plan is to go forward with it, while in the meantime try to get my joints strong enough to add the exercise later.

Keep in mind too that these first three weeks are called the "Priming Phase" and it's designed to get you used to the way it changes phases within a seven day period. It's an excellent way to "see" if this is something you can stick to.

I didn't do any of the exercise routines that was recommend by the book or my friends, I jog/run alot and didn't want to add any other exercise. Yes more intense exercise will always show a bigger/faster difference, but if you are unable to do the exercises simply walking every day has great benefits. I have a friend that runs 5K races with me, she couldn't do anything at all for the longest time, I had her start walking slow at first for 10 minutes a day, she increased speed slowly and after a long time started doing 20 minutes a day and she did that for months, even with just the 20 minutes a day she got great benefits from it and now about every 6 weeks she runs with me in the 5k.

LD, thank you for the encouragement to exercise. I know you are right. It's just getting to doing it.

Okay. You have peaked my interest. Going to see if my local library has this book.

If it sounds to good to be true it probably is. JMHO

I am at goal, I couldn't get to goal doing Atkins, most days on Atkins I didn't feel good at all. I never said it was easy. I followed the diet, I exercised & I reached goal.

Any structured diet will work if you can follow it (unless there is a medical reason that prevents a diet from working). People lose weight on low-carb (Atkins) or low fat (WW). Those diets are pretty much opposite from each other yet they both work depending on if the person following the diet is actually following the plan. Carb-cycling (this plan is the only one I know about) works, this diet didn't leave much room for junk. You can eat junk on your cheat day but I learned I really wanted the other stuff and not so much junk. My cheat days ended up being exactly what I wanted and a majority of the time was good whole foods and no junk or processed foods.

LynnDee I think I am just a chicken when it comes to changing something that has worked for me. I must admit that carb cycling sounds interesting to me. I have considered trying it on a saturday and sunday to see what happens.It would add a little change for the weekends as long as I stay eating good whole foods and not junk.I have dealt with bulimia and low carb has completely fixed that and I don't ever want to go back there. So if I try this I have to really tread lightly. Also there seems to be so much info that it becomes over load and then I back out of trying anything different. I do admit it makes sense to change up your metabolism so it doesn't get in a rut.

LynnDee: I have a question.

Today I'm starting the Higher GI/GL phase and it says to have only one portion of Higher GI/GL food w/each meal. At the beginning of the explanation for this phase, he says that any of the Lower GI/GL foods are permissible, but if you eat one of the lower GI/GL foods wouldn't that mean you couldn't eat one of the higher ones at that meal. And if this is the case then how are you bumping up your leptin levels appropriately prior to starting the CORE phase?