Inside the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet (Episode 97)
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Taking a closer look at the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet
Hello and welcome back to another exciting episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” This is the Internet’s premier low-carb podcast online today and we have YOU to thank for that! 
In Episode 97, our host Jimmy takes a look at The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller. This book advocates controlled binging each day! Oh my goodness… What will people say about such a controversial diet? Add your voice to the conversation in the comments section below.
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 97
- Book Jimmy Moore for a speaking engagement by calling his publicity agent Christina Jeffrey from The Palladian Group at 864-596-7501 or e-mail Christina@ThePalladianGroup.com.
- The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller
- Jimmy Moore’s “planned splurge” strategy
- Take the Carbohydrate Addict’s Test for yourself!
- Living The Low-Carb Life by Dr. Jonny Bowden
Did you miss anything Jimmy said? Don’t worry, baby! A full transcript is available by clicking the following link!
TRANSCRIPT of Episode 97
This is Episode 97 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” I hope you enjoyed my interview with low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish last week. That was one of the most gratifying interviews I have been able to conduct over the past couple of years because he really didn’t have to agree to speak to or acknowledge me in any way. And yet he did and answered every single question I had for him. I still strongly disagree with much of what Dr. Ornish believes, but that interview earned me his respect as a person. Perhaps his professional courtesy during our interview will open up the door of opportunity for continuing the conversation about our areas of agreement. We’ll just have to wait and see about that.
Would you be interested in having me come speak to your group and make a public appearance in your area? If so, then please contact my publicity agent Christina Jeffrey from The Palladian Group at 864-596-7501 or you can e-mail her directly to set up the details at Christina@ThePalladianGroup.com. She’d be happy to mail out an informational package about me and set up everything with you about scheduling my appearance. I look forward to meeting you and sharing my experiences on the incredibly healthy low-carb lifestyle in the near future. Book your date now before it fills up fast in 2008.
Today I want to talk about a popular, but highly controversial low-carb diet plan that I am no personal fan of at all. I realize a lot of people have done well eating this particular way and I’m very happy that it works for them. Unfortunately, I could never recommend this particular program to anyone because I have some very serious questions about it.
When you have lost as much weight as I have, it’s a very natural thing for others to be curious about how you did it and then kept it off for several years. Whenever people have heard me tell my story, read my blog or book, watched me on YouTube, or listened to this podcast show, one question invariably has shown up time and time again and it goes something like this: “So, Jimmy, what do you think about this low-carb diet where you can eat whatever you want for one-hour per day?” The first time I heard this, I had never come across anything like that in my life. My initial reaction to these people who asked this question was usually something along the lines of: “That’s absolutely crazy! There’s no way you could ever lose weight and keep it off using this method.”
As you know, I did the Atkins diet after reading DR. ATKINS NEW DIET REVOLUTION and I didn’t check up on the bazillion other low-carb diets floating around out there. Since losing my weight and becoming a student of the low-carb lifestyle, I have come across all sorts of variations on the low-carb dietary approach. But there was something very odd about this particular plan that allowed you to eat ANYTHING you want for an hour a day that it made me dig deeper and look around to find out more about it.
Little did I know there was an actual book out there espousing this very diet that so many people had been telling me about. If you haven’t ever heard of it before, it’s called The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet and was written by a husband and wife team named Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller. This bestselling book has been dubbed by the authors as “The Lifelong Solution to Yo-Yo Dieting.” Sounds appealing enough, doesn’t it? But can it really work for those who desire not just weight loss but also improvements in their health?
The CAD diet, as this plan is often referred to, makes the claim (and I agree with it) that many people are severely addicted to carbohydrates and need to be gradually weaned off of their dependence on them for sustenance. Just like a crack cocaine addict gets smaller and smaller concentrated doses of their preferred drug daily so they can eventually get by with less and less, that same concept is what goes into the CAD diet. But let me warn you now, this diet is not for the faint of heart. If people think the Atkins diet is restrictive, then check out what you do on the CAD diet. For BREAKFAST, you eat a ZERO-carb meal consisting of a little protein and fat. Then for LUNCH, it consists of another ZERO-carb meal consisting of small amounts of protein and fat. You are NOT allowed to eat any bread, fruit, milk, juice, and most starchy vegetables. There is absolutely NO snacking whatsoever except for black coffee or diet soda and you cannot use artificial sweeteners either. Sound appealing, anyone? I suppose if that’s all there was to this diet, then virtually NOBODY would do it or stick with it over the long-term. But there is one more key aspect of the CAD diet that you would probably be quite interested in. And that would be DINNER. At this final meal of the day, you are permitted to (hold on to your hat on this one) eat equal amounts of protein, vegetables and sugary desserts of whatever you want to eat in whatever amount you want, but the catch is you must consume it all in a one-hour time frame. In fact, you can even enjoy a beer or a glass of wine with what the Hellers describe as your “reward” meal.
Now how’s that for incentive? You basically starve yourself and remain in ketosis all day long just so you can get to those sixty minutes at the end of your day where you can say hello to the buffet line of whatever you want! Who wouldn’t enjoy a diet that lets you do THAT?! Well, let me just say that I’m still very skeptical about any lifestyle change that encourages you to eat the very foods that got you overweight or obese to begin with on a DAILY basis. I caught a lot of flack from my fellow low-carbers about my controversial “planned splurge” meal every 6-8 weeks during my weight loss. That was ONE MEAL where I ate whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted during my weight loss in 2004, but it wasn’t every day, every week, or even every month. Keeping 6-8 weeks between these “planned splurge” meals was enough to keep me on the straight and narrow for the rest of my low-carb lifestyle. And it worked very well for me to use this strategy. However, the Hellers give you a DAILY planned splurge!!! What’s up with that and how can you possibly be helping your weight and health eating this way?
We can blame this on Dr. Rachael Heller, who stumbled upon this way of eating when she weighed 268 pounds after being on diet after diet. She became a psychologist to learn more about why people overeat (ostensibly so she could help herself in the process, too). Almost by accident, she figured out this now infamous plan when one day she had skipped breakfast and lunch when she was fasting for a blood test and then, like most of us would, she ate to her heart’s content whatever she wanted for supper. The next morning, rather than a weight gain, instead she noticed she had dropped 2 pounds. Thinking something must have gone wrong with her scale, she tried it again the next day, skipping breakfast and lunch and then eating a gargantuan dinner and once again, she lost another pound. Dr. Rachael kept playing around with what would eventually become the core principles of The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet and she went on to lose 150 pounds which she has kept off to this day. CONGRATULATIONS on your success and I’m happy Dr. Rachael found what worked for her.
She believes it is the frequency of eating carbohydrates that is the real key behind the CAD diet. The Hellers state that anyone who consumes ANY amount of carbohydrates during the day will then set off all the bells and whistles in your body that you are hungry faster than if you avoided them altogether. They say that eating carbs throughout the day is like giving lots of small doses of cocaine to a cocaine addict. It will simply make them crave their poison even more! And that’s why you basically avoid eating carbs on the CAD diet until the end of the day. This process of getting over carbohydrate addiction is a tricky one, and the Hellers think they have found a solid plan for making it work for lasting weight loss in people.
I still can’t get around the fact that you don’t change the poor eating habits of the people who have packed on the pounds. Sure, they basically starve themselves throughout the day before they eat their one BIG meal each day, but how is that stimulating the metabolism and preventing the biggest obstacle to weight loss success? That would be hunger. There’s no way on God’s green Earth I could do the CAD diet because I enjoy eating SOMETHING about every 2-3 hours to keep my metabolism constantly in motion. I truly believe this is one of the things that has helped me lose the weight and keep it off. Since you cannot snack or use artificial sweeteners on the CAD diet, it would literally drive me insane even if there was that “reward” meal at the end of the day!
Wanna take a test to see if you are a carbohydrate addict? Go to the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com to take the 10-question Carbohydrate Addict’s Test. I scored a 2 on it, which means “You do not appear to be carbohydrate addicted.” I disagree that I’m not a carb/sugar addict because that was my biggest vice prior to beginning the Atkins diet. But maybe we’re talking about degrees of addiction to carbs and some people may actually need this approach. I just can’t see it being productive since you still eat the foods you are addicted to on a DAILY basis.
Dr. Jonny Bowden, nutrition expert and author of Living The Low-Carb Life, examined the CAD diet in his book and said the Hellers use some fuzzy science to make their points about why their plan works. Here’s what Dr. Bowden wrote: “While it seems pretty clear that there are both insulin and serotonin abnormalities in the obese, it’s not at all clear that high levels of insulin depress levels of serotonin, as the Hellers hypothesize–in fact, the majority of the evidence points to the opposite response.” Furthermore, Dr. Bowden said he is concerned about the lack of attention on exercise as part of their weight loss program, stating “it’s vital to both maintaining weight and to raising the metabolic rate.” While The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet has worked for a lot of people and I always tell people to do what works for them to lose weight and keep it off for the sake of their health, I still have my reservations about this program. I think I’ll pass on carb-loading my body for one hour a day thank you very much!
That’s it for Episode 97 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” Have you tried or have even been successful on the CAD diet? I’d love to know your experience with it and how it worked for you. Share your comments in the show notes section for Episode 97 at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com. Whether you love it or hate it, let’s hear what you think about this plan created by the Hellers. Come back on Thursday as we do it all over again with another exciting episode of the most listened-to low-carb podcast show on the Internet today. So, until next time, keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!
Popularity: 40% [?]
From over 400 pounds to 230, Jimmy Moore is 
At one time I tried the Hellers plan; I gained 7 pounds the first week! I now follow Atkins to the letter. I do like you Jimmy and have a planned cheat meal on occasion; they are few and far between. Hey, whatever works!
That “planned splurge” (don’t like the word “cheat”) idea REALLY helped me and I’m happy it’s working for you too, Linda! THANKS for listening!
Jimmy Moore is a famous and well-loved, somewhat controversial low-carb blogger. In fact, I link to his site very prominently from my websites (www.low-carb.us and www.sweety.com ). Our websites have enjoyed millions of viewers per year since their inception in 1999 (low-carb.us is a little younger).
First of all, let me say in Jimmy’s defense, that I do understand where he is coming from, and that for him the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet would most likely not work, as he would have a tendency to eat too many of the wrong carbs in one sitting, derailing his awesome weight loss. Therefore, I totally understand his horrified reaction. Hey, everyone is different! To be perfectly fair, though, there are thousands for whom the modified Carbohydrate Addicts Diet called the Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program will work and does work, as can be attested to by the fact that the Hellers’ diet books have been runaway bestsellers. It is, however, not quite as popular as the Atkins diet and for probably some of the reasons that Jimmy hotly outlines. Again, everyone is different!
I feel I need to be a lonely voice in the wilderness and moderate some of what Jimmy says in a nice way. With the first book (CAD), the Hellers found that some people went hog wild on the reward meal of the day (even although they said it should be a balanced meal) and would eat the very foods that they are addicted to in abundance – and obviously those people were not learning to eat in a balanced fashion and worse yet, were probably not losing much weight. As a result of this tendency of some people to abuse their diet, the Hellers revised the diet with some rules added and wrote the book called the Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program. This program definitely provides a more controlled approach for the reward meal in particular. The meal is to be preceded by a large salad. Then the actual meal consists of 1/3 protein, 1/3 veggies and 1/3 starch (this can be a ¼ of a potato and a small dessert, for example). However, it is commonly known, that if people stay off sugar and white flour and use the root vegetables only as a form of carbohydrate at that meal, weight loss is more predictable and faster.
Jimmy’s objections: 1. the 2 low-carb meals are no-carb meals. This is not true as low-carb veggies are allowed and a listing of craving-reducing vegetables is given.
2. People will not change their poor eating habits. I think if people eat as is described above that that will be a very healthy and balanced way of eating, doing an effective end-run on the amount of insulin the body produces daily.
3. He likes to eat every two or three hours to keep his metabolism humming. For Jimmy, this is also why this program would probably not be as appealing. However, low-carb snacks are optional on the CALP diet. It sounds like Jimmy would like to have his sugar-free dessert with his coffee, though, and that would not work.
4. He does not like their stance on not using sugar substitutes. I also don’t like that and will use Splenda preferentially over sugar at the reward meal.
5. He cannot understand how one can eat foods one is addicted to on a daily basis. He had low-carbers give him a tough time over the one splurge meal he had every 6 to 8 weeks during his weight loss period. It worked for Jimmy, so why knock it folks? Still, Jimmy made this splurge such an occasional thing, that he cannot understand doing this on a daily basis. There is a science behind it to reduce insulin output, that seems to work for many people, if the diet is followed correctly. Eating carbs wily nily in an unbalanced fashion is not the intention of CALP. In fact, one cannot go back for just dessert if one is still hungry. One has to go back for 1/3 protein, 1/3 veggies and 1/3 carbs/dessert in small amounts. How is that eating as much as possible of the bad carbs? Now, admittedly, some people will only go back for dessert and that is incorrect. Some people may not be able to have the self-control faced with that temptation, so it really is a YMMV issue. Some people may have to stay more low-carb at the reward meal, especially in the beginning of a weight loss program. Again, I can see why Jimmy would have trouble with this meal and I understand his reservations completely.
6. Jimmy quotes Dr. Bowden as saying that exercise is not encouraged. This is not true. It is one of the options highly recommended in CALP.
7. He says one can eat carbs in whatever amount one wants to. This is not true of either diet, but CAD was abused that way and so CALP was born. It is not a buffet line of whatever one wants to eat in whatever quantities. Hunger should still dictate the amount and the emphasis for the meal is on “balance”.
In any case, this new program, CALP, outlines two low-carb meals, usually breakfast and lunch, snacks are optional (also very low-carb) and a reward meal (balanced) to be eaten in one hour. The science behind it, if I can remember correctly is that a certain amount of insulin (not much) is produced during the very low-carb meals and that at the beginning of consuming the reward meal, about the same amount of insulin will be produced, however, if the meal continues past the 1 hour, sometime thereafter a second surge of insulin will be produced, which will mean more of the glucose in the meal will stored as fat, because of the extra insulin (fat storing hormone) floating in the blood stream. In a person who does not have insulin resistance, this would not be a problem, but as we age, most of us have some degree of insulin resistance. So this diet does, in fact, have a solid science behind it, and its intent is to do an end-run on insulin, which it does.
The only thing I disagree with the Hellers over is their stance on the use of Splenda Granular instead of sugar. For me, sugar is a known poison, and I prefer to make my desserts with Splenda Granular, which seems to me to have been a better way to go for our family, based on the research we did 15 years ago. We know that if we had lived through the entire recipe testing for my cookbooks (seven) using sugar and white flour, we’d all be in trouble in this family. Our sons grew up on Splenda. Our family has been planet earth’s only human guinea pigs for massive Splenda consumption (most other people will never consume that much in a life time). Splenda, in case anyone is wondering is not the same as the even more controversial aspartame. Splenda is made from sugar with the sugar molecule being changed so that the body will not recognize it. It is inert, which makes it extremely heat stable for baking. Aspartame is not heat stable and should not be recommended for baking. I was the first in the world to write a dessert cookbook using Splenda Granular for a sugar substitute, mainly because Canada had the product 10 years before FDA approval in the United States.
I myself preferentially on a daily basis like to eat low-carb throughout the day, just like Jimmy does, but occasionally I prefer to follow the Carbohydrates Addicts LifeSpan Program (I prefer it for losing weight as well, as does my husband. I tend to eat low-carb desserts wily nily during the day on Atkins and that derails me.) to allow myself flexibility when eating out or visiting friends’ homes or on vacation. This is a useful tool for many low-carbers, without making them feel guilty for occasional indulgences at one meal. Let’s not be low-carb traffic cops and let’s rather cut the people slack who find this particular Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program a diet that they enjoy and are successful following. In my opinion it is a good, solid program and it will work for those who can follow it properly. For some, it will be like a license to an all-you-can eat buffet of carbs – but that is not the program! Let’s also give the Hellers credit where credit is due! Thanks, you guys!
In defense of my friend, Jimmy, I believe he was reviewing the first book, Carbohydrate Addicts Diet and not the Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program.
THANKS for sharing your experience, Jennifer. And yes, I was referring to the CAD diet and not the CALP one.
I took the 15-question quiz in the Carb Addict’s LifeSpan Program book, which I found at a thrift store, and I answered YES to every question but one. That scared me enough to read on. But what I started reading scared me even more. I’m with the Eades’ Protein Power Plan, and needless to say, this copy of CA’s LP is going back into the thrift store donation bin.
I read the book, then donated it to the recycling bin. I knew that I would do some serious damage in a “balanced” 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 meal every day for an entire hour! Thanks for reviewing the diet and I think most of your comments would be equally applicable to CALP.
Yeah, Lucy, that’s my concern with that test. You can be carbohydrate addicted, but the CAD and even the CALP plan can be WRONG for you. Keep working the PPP because it sounds like it’s working for YOU.
THANK YOU for your insights, too, Marie!
Jimmy,
I heard about the CAD over 10 years ago, when I was SEVERELY carbohydrate addicted, but didn’t know it. I knew nothing about insulin or hypoglycemia, I just knew that if I kept going at the rate that I was I was either going to die from blacking out behind the wheel (did it once already) or become so obese I would no longer be able to function. The CAD was a godsend to me. It was the only thing that got my eating and my extreme blood sugar swings under control. I was so addicted to carbs that the idea of cutting them out of my diet entirely would have convinved me I wouldn’t succeed, and I would never have started. At first, I planned for my reward meal like an addict getting her methadone. I thought about all the courses I would eat, and how good they would taste. And I savored my reward meal like it was my last meal. This went on for a few months, in which time I effortlessly lost 30 pounds, compeltely controlled my blood sugar, and began exercising and educating myself about nutrition and diet.
Then one day I looked down at the sweet potato I had lovingly baked for my reward meal and thought to myself “I don’t need to eat this.” I tossed it and began following a modified Protein Power style diet, that I still follow to this day.
My point is, that from what I know now, CAD is kind of remedial low-carbing, and not the diet for me. But it was the surest, most accessible way to break the hypoinsulinemia cycle, which was what I desperately needed to reclaim my health. Once I got off that roller coaster, my entire life changed. And I will be forever grateful to the Hellers for that, and still recommend the diet to people who are afraid to low-carb, though they really need to.
Hi Jimmy,
You do make good and valid points opposing CAD, but then again, I think, as with most things, what works for some may not work for others.
Where Jennifer was talking about Splenda, she said she didn’t understand why the Hellers were against using it. I am not sure about this, but the way I understand it, they don’t want you eating anything that even TASTES sweet, except during your reward meal, because your brain thinks it is sugar. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t want you to use it during your reward meal, and I’m not even sure if that’s what they said. It’s been a while since I read the book.
I have taken the test, though, and I’m extremely addicted to carbs. Not so much sweet foods, but pasta, rice, potatos, etc. I would have one big problem though. I drink iced tea or soda with sweetener in it, and it’s an all day thing for me, so that would be hard to break.
Hi
I went on the CAD a couple of years ago and it was perfect for me because I was not a breakfast person, so i just ate a lunch with no carbs, and ate to my heart’s content for one hour at dinner. I lost around 30 pounds almost effortlessly. And the weight falls off so fast that it keeps you motivated. The only thing that i found to be very hard was controlling alcohol units after the reward meal, especially in social occassions. I went off of the diet because I got too skinny and needed to gain weight. It is a great diet to break bad habits and get to your goal weight
THANKS for your input Kelly, Shannon and Jane!
I tried the CALP diet and went from 285 to 235. It was very successful for me. The problem was that every day during the 2 low carb meals I became more and more frantic and obsessed about my Reward meal at the end of the day! During my Reward Meal I would eat like a madman, eating fast and not tasting my food I was so frantic! 2 hours after I would get a slight headache and feel irritable as all get out. Sometimes I would get hypoglycemic blood sugar shakes and weakness a couple hours after the pig trough phase. My meals would be very balanced in the 1/3s fashion but it didn’t matter. It’s a wonderful idea and makes for an endorphin drug rush during your Reward meal, but when your body reacts that way I say it’s a big red stop sign. That is a sign of major drug addiction! Living your life like a druggie waiting for your night time fix? Obsessed about it? Never again!
As a side note though, whenever I go on vacation, I set aside a few days where I implement the CAD or CALP diet…it works very well in that framework! But as a lifetime WOE? No thanks!
Hey Steve, Thanks for sharing your personal experience with CALP! Going through life with a monkey on your back seems like a sure setup for failure - I’m glad you found an approach that works for you!
Kevin the producer
(Jimmy’s on a well-deserved vacation!)
I’ve been on the CAD/Heller routine for about 6 months. I lost 1.5 pounds a week until I lost 30 pounds and was at my target weight. I didn’t change anything at that point and I’ve maintained for the last 5 weeks. It might not work for everybody, but it sure worked for me. I’m rarely hungry for carbs and don’t do sugary suff at supper–just normal starches like pasta or bread.
Hi. I just read this post and thought I would comment. Over 7 years ago I was on the CAD and lost 24 pounds. It worked wonderfully for me and cut my carb cravings dramatically. It got to where I didn’t “need” something sweet. I was content more often when it came to food. After several months of maintaining my weight, my fiancee and I broke up and I didn’t care anymore about what I looked like or felt like and started eating just anything at anytime. Thus I gained my weight back. After I got married 2 1/2 years ago, I was on the depo shot and that contributed to more weight gain, in addition to the fact that I wasn’t eating healthy at all. I am now 75-80 pounds overweight and I am actually starting the Hellers’ program again because it worked so well for me before. I do agree that this program is not for everyone, but it is great for a lot of us. I agree totally with Jennifer Eloff’s comments above and when it comes to my reward meals, I do try to make healthier carb choices, such as brown rice and whole grain pastas.