November 25th, 2008 — Book Review
Out of all of the diets, by far the one that has received more than a fair share of adherents is the South Beach Diet. While there are plenty of those that may criticize this diet plan, for many others it does work and quite well. However, many feel that the diet is not strong enough and want to see quicker results. In this vein, the South Beach Diet Supercharged by Dr. Agatston should address these concerns and show how to turn this diet into a powerhouse.
It is best to state first off that this diet is a new version of the South Beach Diet and some changes have been made. It's interesting that the author chose to keep that name even though many things are fundamentally different. It's highly probable that the name itself is more profitable and it certainly is easier to promote a diet based on this very popular diet plan that millions of people have tried. The author does break down the diet into three phases, much like the original South Beach Diet and it does draw heavily from this plan. However, it does branch out and provide new ways to adapt a healthy lifestyle.
The best parts of this book are the ones that focus truly on building a healthy new lifestyle and not just losing weight. The author did a very good job of stressing how important it is to make those changes, particularly if you are looking for success over the long term. Too many diet books focus on fads and fail to provide readers with solid information that they can keep with them for the rest of their lives. In this vein, the book is well worth the cover price.
The problem I have with this book is mainly with the types of food that were recommended. It's heavy on advice for using sugar substitutes without regards to what these are made of, many of these contain unhealthy chemicals and since this book is about not only losing weight but getting healthy, this is a bit at cross purpose. However, since the jury is still out on the safety of alternative sweeteners, it is difficult to judge this point too harshly. Personally, I recommend Agave Nectar has a sugar substitute.
The bottom line - this is a good book, but like many in the industry, you can't read just this one and expect to get the whole picture. For those who are already on the South Beach Diet, it's a great resource, but it is certainly not a stand alone book.
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November 23rd, 2008 — Book Review
This book is considered to be one of the most controversial diet books on the market and it certainly raises a lot of interesting issues that are normally avoided in the diet industry. Although a lot of people believe that metabolism and genetic predisposition can lead to weight problems, the author of this book believes that eating the wrong foods for your blood type may be the root of a weight problem. This is an interesting concept and unfortunately, there is not a lot of evidence around to support these claims.
The author does state that research was performed to come up with this plan, but facts are never cited and this research is never shared. This raises some major red flags right from the start. It's one thing to say that a diet can do something, but if it can't be proven, it's just irresponsible to make these kind of claims. While there are thousands that swear by this diet, there is a general lack of clinical proof in place to back up the author's claims and that is quite frankly, not good.
The book does not focus on lifestyle changes or the quest to get not only fit but also healthy. Instead, it claims that your blood type determines what kind of foods you can eat. For example, those with a type A blood type will need to avoid meat, dairy, tomatoes and peppers from their diet. This is no easy task and will take a huge level of long term commitment to keep weight off. The other blood types have similar restrictions, but they do vary a bit. For example, O Types are allowed to eat meat, but no carbs or dairy. The diets are just so extreme that they make even Atkins look easy.
The only real good thing that we can say is that the book makes it pretty clear what you can and cannot eat. Some people may find this refreshing since it really removes any question about grey areas. However, it is just not healthy to completely remove whole food groups from your diet. For example, if you completely stop eating both meat and cheese, you're going to be missing a significant amount of protein from your diet. Your body needs protein to function properly and without it, you can have some serious health problems.
In order to lose weight the healthy way, it's best to find the right balance of carbs, protein and fats. All are essential and should never be completely eliminated from a diet. When you do that, you end up feeling deprived and the cravings can be very intense since your body is trying to tell you that it is drastically low on protein or carbs.
We simply cannot recommend this book due to the fact that there is no research available to back up the author's claims. The suggestions are not healthy and adherents could be physically harming themselves by following this diet.
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November 21st, 2008 — Book Review, Meals, Weight Loss Journal, diet, recipe
Montel Williams is a pretty popular talk show host with a rabid following, and given his journey with his own personal health, it is not surprising to see a book from him. This was actually a fascinating read that will provoke a lot of thought and we were not prepared to like it as much as we did. While the suggestions in this book are not for everyone, they do offer an alternative to getting healthy and losing weight.
The main premise of this diet plan is that you have three weeks to rethink your food choices and how much exercise you get. Montel provides food and exercise diaries that are designed to guide you and help you track your progress over these three weeks. Diet diaries are already known to be very effective when it comes to losing weight, so this is solid advice that anyone can benefit from.
He lost us a bit when it came to the “green drink,” which is a bit nasty in our opinion. Basically, it contains a bunch of what Montel calls “superfoods” that are designed to help you get your health on track. The ingredients are always changing so you run a low risk of getting bored, but we just couldn’t get past the whole yuck factor with this drink. That said, even if you aren’t brave enough to try the drink, the advice in this book is pretty sound and should be beneficial to most readers.
The main problem facing Montel is that he is not a diet expert or guru, but then again, that hasn’t stopped thousands of authors from hitting the best seller lists. While he may not have a lot of training, the book comes off more as a personal journey, with tips that worked for him. Considering that he does have Multiple Sclerosis and has managed to stay pretty healthy despite that, it does seem as though his personal diet and fitness plan is working for him.
This is one of the few diet books on the market that is really geared towards men, although women can still get a lot out of it. The recipes and food suggestions are perfect for guys that are used to filling meals and eating a lot. The recipes should help men stay full and still get the benefits of eating healthy. There are a few issues with his recommendations, and many of the foods are not perfect, but when looking at the big picture here, it is clear that this is a diet plan that may actually work for most people.
We really didn’t think that we would like this book, but it managed to avoid the pitfalls that so many celebrity diet books have. There are a few problem areas, but overall we found the diet advice sound, the fitness principles largely accurate and the recipes delicious. If you are stuck with diets that are not working for you, this may be the answer to your problems.
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November 17th, 2008 — Book Review
Many of you that watch The Biggest Loser are already familiar with the author of this book, Bob Harper. He's one of the trainers on the show and has already provided millions of dieters with inspiration and advice on getting fit and losing weight. Let's see how well his book stacks up against the competition and whether it's really worth the cover price.
From the start, we were hooked with this book. Harper starts off with dealing with the emotional issues that affect so many of us that are overweight. For the vast majority of dieters, unless these issues are addressed, diets are an exercise in futility. The first major benchmark that Harper passed was also his emphasis on changing your lifestyle, changing the way you eat and changing your future. This is the standard by which we judge all diet books, and unlike so many out there, Harper included all of these points in his book.
This is certainly not a fad diet, and if you're going in hoping to lose ten pounds a week, chances are you're going to be disappointed. What it is - is a healthy alternative that will help you lose a lot of weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. When you read the book with the right mindset, it becomes so much more useful than the legions of other books, fad diets and miracle plans. Sure, the results are going to take a tiny bit longer, but you're going to be able to enjoy them a lot longer.
The book contains twenty different sample menus that will provide you with more than enough variety to keep losing weight without getting bored. Harper did a great job picking the right balance of foods for each menu so that dieters don't feel deprived. There are some really great suggestions and for this alone, the book is well worth its cost. However, there is a downside and one that probably should have been thought out before the book went to press.
There are no recipes, which for those of us that are lucky to boil water, this is a definite drawback. You can't provide someone with a plan for the future and then fall short when it comes with the blueprints they're going to need. Thankfully, most of the recipes can be found online or in most cookbooks, so this wasn't enough for the book to get a black mark against it.
If you're looking for a solid diet plan that really works and has documented proof of working, this is certainly a book that you need to read. For anyone that wants to make that commitment of losing weight and keeping it off, this is certainly one of the best on the market.
It's easy to see why the contestants on The Biggest Loser get such fabulous results. When they're working with a trainer like this, they can't help but succeed. We highly recommend this book to anyone looking to lose weight or just get healthier.
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September 12th, 2008 — Book Review, Weight Loss Journal
When Nathan Pritikin found out that he had heart disease, back in the 1950’s, most dietary concepts were pretty basic. He was one of the first to try out a low fat, high fiber diet to improve heart health and his results were pretty amazing. Fast forward to today and we now have the Pritikin Longevity Foundation and this book. For those looking not only to lose weight but also to get healthy, this is a great book to start with.Before we get started, our absolute favorite part of this book was that it stressed exercise. So many diet books claim that you can lose tons of weight without ever lifting a finger, and that is just not a realistic view. This diet plan will require a good commitment to follow, since you will be required to walk at least 45 minutes every day. However, this type of exercise is relatively simple for most and easy enough to do.
The main tenent of the plan is that you need to limit processed wheat, rice, and the majority of meat in your diet. Nothing really new here, but we’ll concede that back when the diet first came out it was pretty extraordinary. It’s easy to see where today’s diets got a lot of their ideals and obviously, this kind of eating plan does get results.
The main problem with the diet plan, at least for many, is that it is nearly vegetarian. If you’ve spent a lifetime eating meat, this is not going to be an easy diet to go on. That doesn’t make it bad, that just means that you will have to put forth a concerted effort if you want it to work. Quitting meat cold turkey is not easy for a lot of people, and if you have health issues, you will definitely want to discuss this diet plan with your doctor before getting started.
Despite the difficulty level, this is still a good diet. It promotes everything we know that is important for heart health. Many have found that they were able to improve their overall health with the diet, and the foundation does state that you can help ward off many illnesses by following this plan.
Overall, we enjoyed the book, even though we were familiar with most of the concepts. We recommend it based on the fact that the diet includes plenty of exercise and relies on proven techniques that do result in weight loss. It’s obviously not for everyone, but those that give it a solid try should see results.
Our main issue with the diet is that it does not include enough dietary fat. You do need some fat in order to keep your body running properly and to keep losing weight. If you do decide to try this diet we highly recommend adding a little more dietary fat, from good sources, such as salmon, olive oil and avocado, for the best results and overall health.
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September 5th, 2008 — Book Review
This book made Bob Phillips a household name and we thought it was a good idea to revisit this book and see how it compares to the latest diet books on the market. While we are deluged with new titles every month, it’s always nice to go back to an old favorite and see if it can still help us. Many of us buy diet books, read them and follow the advice for awhile before moving on. Should you give this one another try? Let’s find out!
The first few chapters are very informative and may change the way you think about food. We particularly enjoyed the fifth chapter that covers dieting myths and facts. You may be surprised about some of those old wives tales. The author does a great job of keeping the tone light and fun, which is always good when you’re reading a diet book. You won’t want to put it down and he did a great job of presenting his information and the way that he made the diet work for him. It’s pretty inspiring and a good read at the same time.
In the second half of the book, Phillips provides recipes for the foods he’s talked about in the first part. This was very nice to see since many diet books just don’t provide this research. It’s one thing to tell you that you need to eat something, but if you don’t show someone how to make that food, they may not ever follow through. Phillips makes it easy to do just that and discover some great new healthy and tasty alternatives for your diet.
The success stories at the end were a great addition to the book and once again, very inspiring. That was a stroke of genius and should supply readers with enough fuel to really take this diet plan seriously. The sections on kitchen essentials and conversion charts were also incredibly helpful.
Our main complaint with this book wasn’t the advice or the food suggestions. It was the total lack of attention towards another major component of getting and staying healthy – exercise. Without that, you may not be able to achieve your goals using just this diet alone. However, it does provide you with the tools you need to make lifestyle changes and that fact redeemed the book in our estimation.
While the book does have some issues, overall, it is a very solid diet book. For those that are having a hard time figuring out what they should be eating, this is the perfect teaching tool. While it doesn’t cover exercising nearly enough, it does what the title suggests – providing you with a new way to eat for life. It’s not a fad diet, and it’s not all sparkly and pretty, but it does get the job done. If you’ve tried everything else, you may want to give this book another shot. At the very least, it’s well worth the read and very useful.
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August 15th, 2008 — Book Review, calories, diet, exercise, fad diets, healthy eating, motivation, nutrition
Out of all the diet books we have ever seen, this one simply has the best cover. Nothing gets the point of the title across better than a pie-eyed dog staring at you over a bowl of what looks like very unappetizing cereal. The author of this book is the renowned Bradley Trevor Greive, who is a very big person in the gift book industry. It turns out that Greive is also a pretty big person in real life and he decided to write a book about his journey from 280 pounds to fit.
The sense of humor Greive has makes this one of the most entertaining books on the market. His chronicles of dieting and what he learned along the way will keep you enthralled and most likely, laughing quite a bit. His main premise is that dieting is pretty insane, especially when you're hungry, and he feels that he has found why so many diets just don't work - simply put - they're too mentally difficult to stick to.
As Greive found out, the best way to lose weight, and keep it off, is through an entire lifestyle change. It's not going to happen overnight, but if you keep at it, you will be successful. Our favorite piece of advice though was his best method of dieting - keep your mouth shut. As he put it, that's one of the best ways to reduce your caloric intake - even if it's not always going to work.
The tone of the book is very light but don't let that fool you. There is some really useful advice in here and it is definitely well worth the read. Through his engaging prose, Greive tries to open the reader's eyes to the fact that all of the diet fads and difficult diets in the world aren't going to help you until you make that step to get healthy first, and then lose weight.
Although technically there really was nothing new in this book - we all know how important it is to eat right and exercise - but the author managed to put all of these things into a fresh new perspective. He is a great motivator and we believe that this book has what it takes to actually change lives instead of offering false hope and a hefty cover price. Through Greive's mistakes and his humor, you may just find the inspiration you need to put his advice to good use.
Overall, we found this to be a fantastic read that was well worth our time. Entertaining books are just more fun to read and we were happy to report that we were indeed sad when it ended. This is the measure of a great book, and Greive hit all the right notes. If you're trying to lose weight or if you just want to get a bit healthier, we highly recommend this engaging book.
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August 8th, 2008 — Book Review, Meals, alternative ideas, carbohydrates, supplements
Out of all of the low carb diet books out there, this has to be the most confusing. Normally, we steer clear of diets that are strictly low carb, since few are balanced, but since this was a book from the Dummies line, we thought it might be worthwhile. What a surprise to find that this was one convoluted mess that mixed some really great advice with some really bad advice.
The book is not entirely about low carb diets and in fact, the author seems to be developing her own special diet throughout the text. There is nothing wrong with that in theory, but since her diet doesn't really mesh with the low carb theory it is a bit confusing at times. Our biggest issue was that she continually talked about how great a low carb diet can be and then brought up statistics that show it's not the smartest thing for your body.
Several myths are dispelled and enforced, again we have a contradiction. That seems to be the main theme of this book on several levels. The author says that carbs in fruits don't matter, when in fact, they contain some of the highest levels of bad carbs you can find. On the other hand, she recommends avoiding some of the best and most nutrition filled low carb foods out there, such as chicken wings. When she starts to contradict her own words though, it gets a little silly.
That said, this is still a good book. While the above wasn't exactly ringing praise for the author, the recipes contained are worth the cost of the book. You'll get plenty of good ideas for eating healthy, low card meals that are very well balanced. The key isn't so much cutting carbs out of your life completely as it is finding the right balance with good carbs and protein.
She also discusses how to find healthy replacements for fast food and again, this redeems what would have otherwise been a truly awful book. This section is very useful for those that like to eat out but don't know which kind of foods they need to be eating. This can make the menu selection a lot easier and you won't feel so guilty.
The book also covers making lifestyle changes, the importance of supplementing with vitamins while you're dieting as well as some great advice on how to avoid beating yourself up mentally if you do slip on your diet. For these sections, we recommend this book whole heartedly.
We recommend taking the advice on low carb eating with a grain of salt, but buy the book for the good advice on dieting as a whole and knowing what to avoid and what you can eat when you're eating out.
Overall, it's not the best book, but you can still get some good information out of it, especially if you go into it with the right mindset.
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July 25th, 2008 — Book Review
The author of this diet is already quite well known thanks to the ABC series, Extreme Makeover. David Hirsch has quite a reputation as being the go-to guy when you want to lose weight and celebrities swear by his plans. This online book/site received its fare share of hype and However, is it worth the cost to try it on on your own? Let's find out.
Right off the bat, this is a diet that will help people see results in just about two weeks, and unlike many other diet plans, it focuses on lifestyle changes as well as losing weight. This is the first sign that you're dealing with a diet that's going to work, not just now, not just in two weeks, but for the rest of your life. For those of us that want to lose weight and keep it off, this resource is packed with incredible advice amidst all of the inspirational talk.
The main concern we had with this plan was that in order to take advantage of it, you've got to join an online program for $16 and you'll also need to buy some shakes, which can be pretty expensive. For those dieters that do not have a lot of money, this really isn't a plan that they could get much use out of. Unfortunately, the whole idea of having to pay a monthly membership fee for a diet is a little too much to take, and cheapens what is otherwise a very good plan.
However, you can still walk away with enough advice to make these changes on your own, and stick with a new diet plan, without having to shell out money for shakes or memberships. Possibly the best part of the plan is that it contains a fitness test to help you gauge your progress as you start the diet. This is a terrific addition that not many diet books or plans have and it compensated for the points that we didn't like. You can easily use this test to make sure that you're not only losing weight but getting healthier too.
Exercise plans are given that can help you get on the path to total wellness and that was greatly appreciated. The bad thing is that you do have to pay to access them. We would have liked to see a few more free resources available for those who simply cannot afford to take advantage of this program. There is so much good advice here that it needs a wider audience and while this may not be economically smart, it would have been nice.
Overall, we recommend the Ultimate New York Diet simply because it contains so much useful advice, plans and information. It is a recommendation with reservations however, given that there is a monthly fee and the shakes are pretty costly. With a few modifications, we could really get behind this one, and that's not praise that is handed out lightly.
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June 13th, 2008 — Book Review
The main focus of this book is getting healthy over the long term, so right off the bat it moved to the front of our book shelves. Too many diet books promise readers the moon and deliver only yet another fad diet that doesn't work or leaves the reader open to future weight gain since it doesn't address the need to make whole changes to your life. Thankfully, the Gold Coast Cure was a refreshing read that hit all of the right notes when it comes to getting healthy.
The main point of the book is that by eating a healthy diet and getting the right amount of exercise you can undo the damage you've caused to your body by eating all of the wrong foods for too many years. You can turn back the clock when it comes to unclogging your arteries, getting rid of a fatty liver and restoring your body's natural rhythm. The good news is that this book makes it fairly easy to reach those goals.
The exercise component of the diet is very reasonable and requires only three days a week for a half hour each time. Even beginning dieters should be able to meet that commitment and those just starting out won't be as apt to get discouraged and quit. However, you may need to add more time or more days if you find that you've plateaued and stopped losing weight.
The book does a great job of addressing how you need to change your lifestyle in order to get thinner and healthier. Instead of hanging you out to dry and leaving you to your own devices once you've reached your goal weight, sticking to this diet will leave you incredibly healthy over the long term and you'll be able to keep that weight off. In order to really lose weight the healthy way, you've got to be ready to make that kind of a commitment. It's not always easy, but over the long term, there is no better way to lose weight.
The main emphasis is on learning how to make better choices when it comes to food. By presenting alternatives and assisting readers in learning more about why bad foods are so injurious to your health, it becomes a lot easier to stick to the plan and learn how to make these choices on your own. Not all diets will hold your hand like this and the book does a great job of making it easy to stick to your new diet plan.
Overall, we highly recommend this book since it fills all of our necessary requirements for a healthy weight loss plan: The right amount of exercise, the right kind of training to make better choices, and a sensible meal plan that should be easy to stick too. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, this is a great book to start with. Just remember, it will take time to get your results, but the process will be well worth the effort.
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