Carbohydrate Addicted Kids
Stories Of Success

IN HIS OWN WORDS: CASEY'S STORY

Dear Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller,

I'm eight years old and I think your diet is great! I have lost three pounds and two inches off me so far. I wanted to start the diet because I wanted to lose some weight. Now I feel great because I am losing some weight. I feel honored and appreciate that you will put me on your web site to talk to other kids about your diet. It will be neat to talk to other kids about how I am doing and how they are doing on the diet.

The changes I have made have been easy and successful and I will be happy to share them with others. Thank you for the card and I hope to hear from you soon.

Love, Casey Hill, Port Orange, Florida.

Many hugs and our warmest regards to Casey, his terrific mom, Tami, and his loving family. We invite you to come back to this page from time to time and we'll keep you up to date on Casey's progress. We think he's just super!
Drs. Richard and Rachael Heller

OUR PERSONAL MIRACLE: CASSIE'S STORY

Your kid's program has been a godsend. My daughter is happier than I have seen her in a very long time. Even that statement makes me want to cry. Within a few days (!) on your program, her whole life changed. The cravings that used to drive her (and me) crazy, were gone! Literally gone! (I remember the second day on the program, she forgot her evening snack and went happily to bed without the comfort of more cookies than I care to count). Her behavior has done a complete turnaround. She is even-tempered (am I talking about my daughter?), and finds pleasure and fun in the world around her. She is no longer demanding and clingy, which though I hate to admit, had become part and parcel of her way of relating to me. In five weeks, this fourteen year old has matured by twenty years - from acting like a three year old to acting like a content and sweet-spirited young woman. And I know that it's no accident because when she went off the program for one day, she was her old impossible self again. Now she's back on it for good.

When she started the Jump-Start Plan, she was about thirty pounds overweight. She has lost about a pound a week or two steadily. Her grades have gone up significantly and she is a joy to be with. My husband who has passed away was a carbohydrate addict and suffered from obesity and diabetes. My one regret is that he is not around to see this miracle. Sometimes, I think maybe he is watching over us and has brought you, and this personal miracle, into our lives.

Thank you both from the bottom of my heart."

Angela (and Cassie) Simpson; Tampa, Florida*

"T" IS FOR TERRIFIC: A TRUE STORY OF MIRACULOUS CHANGE

"I used to say that raising kids could be described by the letter "t"; from the "terrible two's" to the "terrible teens." Now I know that, as you say, "it wasn't what was eating my son, it was what my son was eating."

Josh started throwing temper tantrums when I stopped breast-feeding him. I thought it was because he resented being taken off the breast but now I wonder if it was all the fruit juice and soda he began drinking when I stopped nursing him. From that time until I discovered your program, my family has lived with and had to tolerate Josh's "ways." He was diagnosed as having an attention deficit problem and clearly had trouble concentrating. I never was sure whether or not we should consider him hyperactive but he just could not seem to focus for more than a few moments at a time - if at all.

Time after time, I sat there helpless watching him cry or become angry because he just couldn't comprehend what I or someone else was trying to make him understand. It was terrible. We put him on medication but he hated taking it and I hated the thought of giving it to him.

At twelve years old he felt like a failure and so did I.

I knew that some times he was more difficult than at others and I thought it might be related to what he ate but I was never sure. Now I know. Boy, do I know.

Within two weeks on your program, he began to change. It was slow a first (he's on your Step-By-Step Plan) but that was okay because the changes I was making in what he was eating were so small he didn't fight me. He barely noticed. One day, more of the one vegetable he doesn't hate; next day, popcorn or pretzels instead of sugary cookies. Not much to him but what a difference it made.

It's only been three months but the changes are unmistakable. He used to be taken to the counselor's office at school at least once or twice a week. It's been weeks and weeks since that happened. He used to tear through the house like a hurricane, leaving a path of destruction behind. He could never sit down for a normal meal and the only thing that seemed to hold his attention were video games. Now he is still energetic but I can talk with him and laugh and have fun doing things together. We've channeled some of his energy into making foods that are healthy and enjoyable and this has become a Sunday afternoon ritual.

I love the child Josh has become and so does he. He feels good about himself and understands that although many of the problems he has were not his fault, there is a lot he can do to stop them from happening. He tries very hard at a lot of things now and this too is a brand new behavior.

Last night I found him reading my cookbook in bed. When I asked him what he was doing, he said that he wanted to be a chef when he grew up. I can't tell you how I felt, how grateful I am and will always be.

God bless,
Anna Marks, Evanston, IL*

*At times, names and identifying characteristics may be changed to protect anonymity.