Hi Moe,

I will try to explain this for you as best I can.

Over the years the Heller's have revised their CAD book and also wrote another book called the Carbohydrate Addicts Lifespan Program, CALP. Too many people were using the RM for a total free for all and eating any and all carbs they could get their hands on. When they did this, they found they were hungry, had terrible cravings and of course didn't lose any weight, so they gave it up and said the plan didn't work. The Heller's found that people who start their RM's with a nice big salad, anything that you want to put in this salad is legal, BTW and also any kind of dressing. Then they advise eating the rest of your meal in 1/3 portions. This is 1/3 protein, 1/3 legal CM veggies, and 1/3 carbs. There is no limit on the amount of food that you eat, just that it is balanced and you eat it within the 60 minutes. If you desire to have more carbs, then you are suppose to have more protein and more veggies along with it. The Heller's claim by eating this way you won't have any desire to eat outside of your RM, you will be full,your cravings will be gone and you will be satisfied.

Not everyone balances like they should Some don't balance at all and still manage to lose weight. I know my experince with CAD was, I followed the very first CAD book starting in Dec 2000, and I didn't know about the 1/3 balancing part of the diet at that time. I just used some common sense and just ate a normal meal with a dessert. It worked wonderful for me and I lost 40 lbs within 6 months. After that things came to a screetching halt and I have not been able to get the scale to move again, using any plan. In fact this past year, the scale has gone way up. I haven't been faithful like I should have been. I do know when I follow CAD, I feel good, I don't have any cravings, nor am I hungry. The longer you are on the diet, the better you feel, and the less you will want to eat.

My advice to you would be to make the program as liberal as possible, just make sure that you don't make your RM a free for all. Try to eat a fairly good healthy meal, use some common sense. Later on if you feel that you need to tweak the program a little bit, then you can do that. Sort of find what works for you. Some people find they can't lose if they have any sugar with their RM's and other find they can eat anything. No 2 people are the same with this plan.

I am sure there are others out there who can explain this better then I did. I hope this helps. If you have any questions please write and ask. Someone will help you.