Hi, sheralyn.....glad to see you inquiring about this plan. It has been amazingly successful for many folks for many years now.

First off, let me say that everything I say here is my OPINION, based on my reading, discussion w/ others and my own experiences. I am not an expert, I don't do research and I am not to be confused w/ any sort of guru-type at all.

In answer to your question, yes, many have lost weight by simply eating whatever they like during one continuous hour per day and eating low-carb the rest of the day. That's the very basic level of the Hellers' plans. The rest of it is simply tweaking for better results.

To get started, hie thee to a nearby library and check out all the books written by Richard and Rachael Heller. They published "Carbohydrate Addict's Diet" (CAD), "Carbohydrate Addict's Lifespan Plan" (CALP), "Carbohydrate Addict's Healthy Heart Plan" (CAHHP) and a couple of others. Read the core of each book, where they tell you about how to do it. Read the part of each book where they explain about insulin, what it does and how it can be controlled. Read the parts in some of the books where they discuss "Options" you can add on to the basic plan. The rest of the books are pretty much just war stories, interesting to read but not essential to success.

The science upon which the Hellers base their works is that some of us produce excessive amounts of insulin when we eat foods high in carbohydrate....starches, basically. This is what makes it so easy for us to gain weight and so hard to lose it on many of the diets we have tried. The Hellers have termed this "carbohydrate addiction", although the proper term for it is "hyperinsulinemia"....i.e., too much insulin floating around in the bloodstream. You may also be familiar w/ the term "insulin resistant". It has been in the popular press for quite a while now and simply means too much insulin; so much that your body can't handle it and so "resists" it. When this happens, the last depot where your body can and will put energy from food you eat is in your fat cells. Thus, overweight.

Not everyone is in this boat, and there is a quiz in each of the books that will help you sort out whether you are and whether this plan may work for you.

When we restrict our high-carb intake to once a day, we control the amount of insulin our body produces, not just in response to that meal, but all day long. Less insulin means less weight gain. Even more importantly, less insulin means less hunger. When you are on plan, you are usually not hungry and do not have cravings for carbs, so it's much easier to stay on plan. Many also report that they feel much better on plan, which also makes it easier to stay on. There really doesn't seem to be a downside to this WOL!

If you decide to try it, there are lots of folks here to offer advice and support.....you won't be alone! Some of us are newbies; others have years of experience to call upon. It's pretty easy to get going on a plan that you can handle. There are no forbidden foods at all. Just timing your meals.

But Job One is to go read, read, read. Only by doing that can you decide if it is for you. After you decide is plenty soon enough to settle on which variation you want to follow and to put out money for the book you want to use to plan your success.

Come back here armed w/ the basic knowlege and ask away!

Remember now, this is only my OPINION! You get to make your own opinions.