Weight Loss Books

During the process of losing 54 pounds, I began reading "Thin for Life" on the recommendation of a friend. First, this book is not a quick fix for anyone trying to lose weight. If you're a couch potato who is looking for a magic formula for weight loss, look somewhere else. What it is, however, is a sure-fire confidence builder, especially for those of us who have continuously lost weight and then gained it back. I can't count the number of times I've joined groups like Weight Watchers or TOPS and lost weight, only to pile it back on again (and then some) a few months later.

That's why this book is so helpful - it gave me the motivation and confidence I needed to not only lose the weight, but KEEP IT OFF! I didn't read it all in one sitting - instead, I would read a little bit before I went to bed each night and let it sink in. Knowing other people had kept off this weight - and reading about their successes and setbacks - helped keep me going. I've read it through once already, but because I know how much it has helped me, I am planning on reading through it again. It sits by my bed as a constant reminder of the pounds I've managed to lose and the vigilance I must continue to keep on with my success.

This book puts everything I have learned into one body. It is optimistic and encouraging. There really is hope. I have been well on my "weigh" so the book just topped off my efforts. Everyone who hopes to take weight off and keep it off can benefit from collective thinking that this book is.

The good: The advice here from successful weight-losers is wide-ranging, generally useful, and presented in context so that you know something about the person's weight history and particular circumstances. Not all of it is going to be useful for any particular person, of course, but the perspective of successful people is, as another reviewer remarked, like gold.

The bad: About half the book (scattered throughout plus a section at the back) consists of the author's own weight-loss advice and diet program. This is very much oriented toward fat-as-dietary-demon. If you're using a high-protein/low carbohydrate approach, this part obviously won't be applicable for you; if you're following a conventional low-fat/limited-protein/high-carbohydrate diet, you'll find it more useful. HOWEVER...

The ugly: Be careful about the particulars of the diet advice here. The book advises use of margarine instead of butter in the meal plans, which was conventional thinking in 1994 (when the first edition was published) but is inexcusable in a book published in 2003. The author recommends using sweet snacks such as jelly beans, licorice, marshmallows, etc., and says "Sugar and low-fat sweets per se don't concern me too much as a dietician" so long as they don't contain fat. Sugar candy may have zero fat but that doesn't make it a good thing to encourage people to snack on. A dietician writing in 2003 should know better.

Summary: by all means read the book, but get it for the stories of the "masters", not the diet advice. Just about all of the "masters" had at least one thing to say that I found useful and insightful.

This book was suggested by my dietitian. I have been impressed with the level of research and authority contained in the book. It is reassuring to see the process that I am going through is the same thing experienced by others and that they were, and remain, successful in their weight loss. I highly recommend this book and consider it a "must have" for anyone who is serious and committed to changing their lives through weight loss.

I like this book. I don't love it. It has interesting mini-stories about people who lost weight and kept it off, just like the title states, but doesn't go into great detail.

I was spending loads on nutrisystem which it's big claim it that it's low glycemic, so you don't get hungry and have energy. I like the concept, but was tired of pre-packaged foods, so I bought this. I definitely learned stuff I didn't know, such as acidic foods slowing down digestion, whether pasta is bad or not, which breads to eat and the dish on sweetners (I use Stevia now, never heard of it before). I try to follow low-glycemic concepts along w/ a reduced calorie diet for weight loss. It gets four stars b/c there was a lot to the book that wasn't helpful, but the good stuff makes it worth it!

This book, while it gave some advice that was useful (news about acid foods and cinnamon), overall it was quite complicated - and actually took me off the track I had been on through another, easier to follow method of being on a low glycemic diet. Some advice to reduce stress by moving into more urban areas to avoid traffic confrontations were a bit extreme. It makes better sense that living in a less stressful home life to be a better benefit in managing our stress than just the travel time it takes to get back and forth to work. Found much information of little use - and found other books to be much more helpful with an easier path to follow.Living the G.I. (Glycemic Index) Diet

I am newish to the Glycemic Index Weight loss idea, so I thought I should start with a book that covers all the basics of the Glycemic Index. This book covers all the basics of everything. There's even a section entitled 'Don't Supersize'. Really. Gosh, I didn't know that supersizing my french fries would cause me to gain weight. There are even recommendations on what you should wear when exercising or stretching. In a 332 pg book supposedly on the Glycemic Index, there are only 5 pgs of Glycemic Index values (in large type). In addition, this book also contains a lot of poorly thought out, pseudo-science. If you have never exercised or considered your health or nutrition, then maybe this is the book for you (just don't believe everything you read in it). If you have exercised before and have given your health a bit of thought, then this is not the book for you.

This book is one of the best sources of information on understanding how food works in your body, especially for those who have Type II Diabetes, or have the history of this disease in their family.

I also bought a copy for my mother, who has Type II Diabetes, and she said it explained more to her than her doctor ever did. Best of all it is easy to undertand and to apply to your life and food choices. She is now on a better path forward for managing her Diabetes.

Was diagnosed with Type II last December and after the anger and denial phase, I finally got busy and read everything I could find on diabetes. This book - hands down - was the easiest to understand and completely turned my negative attitude into a 'can do' approach to adapting the principals of GI living. With a sensible progression of information, it gives you the tools and motivates you to take responsibility for your health. My sugars are now within normal range and I've lost over 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks since reading this book. So you could say, this book changed my life!

My family and I have really enjoyed trying the recipes in this book. It doesn't seem to be much of a diet book, but more of a great cookbook that sends you in the right direction to eat right with lots of flavor. Yum!!

Great book. Tons of great healthy recipes that taste amazing! Highly recommended. Very easy to make, and most, if not all, made from fresh foods and vegetables. Love it!

The Eat-Clean Diet: Fast Fat-Loss that lasts Forever!

Great inspiration for eating clean & healthy. A great motivation tool & good recipes too. Reading this will make you look at food in a whole new way.

highly recommended.

Great, full color book. Lots of great facts to understand why it's important to eat clean.

I found this book to be a bit boring. The two recipes I made from it turned out okay, but my biggest complaint is that you need to shop at a large grocery store for some of the ingredients. I live in the midwest where tofu is pricey and some of the other ingredients can't be found at our local grocery. I think the book is geared toward people living "green"in large cities. I also got tired of the high expectation that you can't even cheat at the holidays. Give me a break!

Great read for anyone that needs to loose weight or incouragement while living the low carb lifestyle. Very easy to read and understand.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RLX04J3G9NGHU *****
What a great educational and motivational book from someone who has been there and done that the low-carb way! Here is a 3:30 video I made telling you more about my experience of this terrific book.
*****

I have not finished reading this book yet, but have talked with Jimmy several times via email and he is nothing shy of Awesome!! His book is so inspirational and honest that I know that I was just meant to find it and read it. I am a true blue "low carber" but unfortunately with some personal issues and all these people telling me how unhealthy this lifestyle is I gained back a lot of weight. Jimmy is truly an answer to my prayers!!!!! I highly recommend this book and also the chance to talk with Jimmy. He lets you know that, no matter what, if this is the healthy lifestyle you so choose then "GO FOR IT"!!!!

This book is not your typical diet book. It helped me to see how another person had their ups and downs, and the steps he used to overcome the flab. I read it everytime I get discouraged.

Jimmy Moore's personal journey - from morbid obesity to Livin' La Vida Low Carb - is an evangelical accompaniment to Good Calories, Bad Calories and Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, New and Revised Edition , Atkins Complete - Fast, Easy & Healthy (Deluxe English Edition). There's a lot of "Praise the Lord!" in his life and his book - it's The Way to weigh less for chubby Christians.

As he says, this is His take on Livin' La Vida Low-Carb. It is not a "one size fits all" way of living, and he encourages the reader to modify it to what works for you.

As for this reader/reviewer/low carber: I did *not* give up caffeine, nicotine, or the occasional light beer (methinks that's Jimmy's Bible Belt talkin' there) nor commit myself to obsessive excessive exercise, and it works for me!

/TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Years ago when Susan Powter first came out... the book with the workout tape, etc. I bought it. I had knee surgery & during my recovery time had packed on the pounds. I knew the basics of weightloss but was still unsure of the details. How many calories are too many? You know the deal. The workout tape was great because it wasn't high impact, it worked for my recovered knee. The basics of her diet were easy to understand & easy to work into my daily life. I could easily go through a supermarket & look at the nutritional list & decide if it was ok or not without a calculator, book, cheat sheet, etc. I am horrible at math so this was quite an accomplishment. I've recently bought some of the newer diet books, the ones that focus on the mentality & emotional parts of weight gain & quite frankly been bored silly. Susan Powter did have a lot of hype, etc. but you know what? She was alive & fun & didn't bore me silly & made it very easy to understand. She also makes it clear that you do what you can do. Can't follow an excersize video because you are too large or have a bad joint, then modify it & do what you can because something is better then nothing. You can tweak the diet, it's not an exact science but it gives you a place to start. I should add, that I lost over 30 pounds and her way of watching what you eat & working out was the only one that worked for me.

In this lively, chatty book, Susan Powter is absolutely inspirational. She offers hope for overweight people who are fed up with diets that don't work, who don't know how to start exercising, and who love to eat.

It's not without its flaws. Her breathing advice, for example, will cause useless and possibly dangerous hyperventilation. The Buteyko Breathing method (not in Powter's book) refutes her theory there, and I'd recommend looking into Buteyko, if you agree that breathing right is part of a healthy lifestyle.

But what's really useful about her book is the attitude. Get out and exercise, and quit eating refined, fatty garbage. She makes diet and exercise fun, interesting, and enticing.

The most intriguing part of her diet is the Powter food pyramid: heavy on complex carbohydrates and drastically low on fats and sugars. Readers are urged to enjoy whole grains and legumes: not bad advice. The very nearly vegetarian mix of foods in her diet really is low fat and very satisfying. I think most people following her diet suggestions will lose weight, but mostly they will be healthier. She doesn't say it, but the high fiber alone will bring enormous benefits to heart and digestive health.

The exercise regimen is totally doable, and I personally have found that her simple prescription of walking is extremely easy and effective.

Readers are urged to make a lifestyle change, and that is the most realistic advice overweight people need to get. I found the book a refreshing alternative to gimmicky diets.

I know she's not a doctor, but she's a former overweight gal, once stuck in a state of depression, who pulled herself out of the funk and offers us a pretty darn good way to take charge of our health. That's good enough for me.

Great motivator although I got really tired of the ex-husband bashing. Also, there are some serious oversights on her part. Go ahead and eat all the bagels you want. If it works for you, congratulations. I wonder what new spin she'll put on this stuff for her latest get rich scheme.

Susan Powter is wonderful in her positive expression of her seething vicious angry hatred of her ex-husband. Who could ask for a more insanely bifurcated message?

Like every other diet book out there: her argument boils down to:

Eat right
Exercise

She's a hypocrite. She goes on and on about how evil the diet industry is and how she's one of us because she was once fat. Fine: great. But half her arguements I'm not buying: No one fact checks books anymore.

Also, the book is still fixated on fat. Recently, we learned that it isn't just fat that makes us fat. Look at a bag of sugar: if I eat that, will I not gain a pound? It's fat free...

Great Susan: how do we stop the insanity? First: EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT (as long as it's health food)
Second: EXERCISE
Third: BREATHE (I think this is just filler cuz she didn't have anything else to offer).

Instead of starving ourselves, we're to go to a chart of how many calories we're to expend a day. That's still cutting calories.

Also, lumping OA into the diet industry is wrong: it's not for profit. Taking people out for a walk instead of going to an OA meeting is like taking raging alcoholics out for coffee instead of attending an AA meeting. A temporary solution to an underlying problem. Didn't susan later have some sort of substance abuse problem too? Methinks the lady doth protest too much...

She's gotten all her little droogs to write raving comentaries on her book: but who the hell has heard of Susan Powter in the last 10 years. NO ONE!! SA's a flash in the pan.


Here's the scoop: eat right and exercise. Now pay me a billion dollars cuz I'm telling you "the truth."

Was very informative and it awoke me as to why I ate the way I ate. Now I do not have too. I am now free at last to eat what I was meant to eat without meats, dairy, cheeses, and all the rest of that stuff agonizing my desires.

This book is not a magic bullet to ending food cravings. You still have to be motivated to change your lifestyle and eating habits. It does present the most reasoned arguments I have ever come across in a nutrition or "diet" book and the advice Dr.Barnard gives seems to be out of genuine concern and well-informed. Many other nutrition books I have read are almost abusive in their approach and language toward the dieter. Dr.Barnard uses a sensible, logical, and caring approach that really works as long as you are committed.

Being a medical doctor and nutritionist, Neal Barnard explains the chemical reactions that take place in our brain and cause our bodies to crave or even worse become addicted to certain unhealthful foods. His remedy is most importantly, eating a proper breakfast with enough sustaining nutrients including protein and fiber to get you through to lunch, then eating a nutritious lunch to sustain you until dinner, and the same at dinner time. If you get the right amount and balance of nutrients at the proper times, your blood sugar will remain steady and you will no longer crave unhealthful foods and will also be well on the way to losing weight and disease prevention. Getting exercise and proper sleep, of course, are other important factor to health. At the back of the book, he includes a three week vegan kickstart menu which if followed will give you immediate health improvements and will train your taste buds to crave healthful foods instead of junk. It also includes a variety of tasty vegan recipes.

This book really surprised me. There are many good tips for eating right and a lot of valuable information here, but the author ends up telling the reader that he/she is too weak to ever go back to eating any of the foods that he/she was addicted to (meat, cheese, sugar). Therefore, the reader must go on a strict vegan diet for life. Although I understand the value of such a diet, I am amazed at how this book goes in such a severe direction. Why can't someone possess enough willpower to keep meat and dairy products in their diet? I will keep this book for its valuable information but ignore the vegan fanaticism.

This book confirms all those things you suspected, but thought were myths. Dr. Barnard lays out the (shocking) facts. Though hard to believe, everything is footnoted to the pages and pages of references in the back. The practical part is the second section, which tells how to put the information into practice. He gives a three-week plan to kick those cravings. The recipes in the back are easy and fresh-a whole cookbook! A bombshell of a book.

I ordered this book when I saw the Authors on Montel Williams show a couple of years ago. Having Multiple Sclerosis I was willing to try it. I have to say that I felt so much better, not to mention lost a few pounds. I definitely would recommend (and have recommended) this book to others.

Purchased two copies of the Gold Coast Cure. Very pleased with the books (one was a gift) and in the promptness in which they were received. Thank you.

I bought this book for my daughter who has MS. Her feet were starting to go numb. This scared her enough that she was willing to try anything. She followed the Gold Coast plan to the letter for five weeks and her symptoms completely disappeared. She has a love/hate relationship with Ivy. She loves it that the plan works, but she hates how hard she has to work with the exercises and how perky Ivy is (on the exercise DVD). My daughter says, "I swear she must have been a cheer leader!" She has been following the plan off and on for over a year and knows that she feels much better when she follows the plan precisely.

I've been working at a national cooking magazine for 13 years and I thought I knew what kinds of food was good for my health. This book has been an eye opener! I'd been suffering from lots of food cravings and was eating all the time, even when I wasn't hungry. Needless to say, I was packing on the pounds. After reading the book, I switched to whole grain pasta and bread and consciously ate more whole foods like vegetables, potatoes, legumes, and lean meats. I don't worry about portion control because whole foods fill you up more quickly and takes longer to digest, so you don't get hungry as quickly. I sourced out local, organic vegetables and pasture-raised, natural meats and switched to organic milk. Combined with the easy-to-do, low-impact excercise plan (40 minutes, two or three times a week. All you need is a step up bench and five-pound hand weights), I've lost 14 pounds in a few months and went from a size 12 to size 6 (I also started doing yoga, which I love). I don't have any of the diseases mentioned in the book, but I think this lifestyle change is really helping to keep me healthy.

Four of my friends and I ordered The Gold Coast Cure on the recommendation of a fifth friend. We couldn't put it down. We call ourselves the Gold Coast Girls! The book explains everything so simply and I have never found an eating/exercise plan so easy to follow. What I noticed first was that the water weight I carry in my hand and feet disappeared. I feel lighter and so much healthier. I retooled my pantry and my entire family jumped on board with me. The changes in our diet were really easy to make because they did not seem drastic. The kids love the soy nuggets. I can't believe such simple changes in my diet made such a difference in how I feel every day. I have so much more energy. It feels good to feel good!

I have read several books on health and diet and this is one of the best practical books I have found.

Jack Challem is an exceptional nutritionist who provides common sense advice for reducing inflammation, eating right and feeling great. It explains in wonderful detail where aches and pains come from and how to minimize them. It also addresses diseases such as cancer and how to minimize your risk of getting them by eating right and taking the right suppliments.

The Inflammation Syndrome reinforced much of the knowledge about healthy eating right that I already knew. It also provided me with new insights that lead a more pain free life.

Challem makes excellent food recommendation such as eating more salmon and halibut. He also encourages increasing intake of Vitamins C & E, Omega 3 fatty acids, green tea and flax seed. He discusses the benefits of Green Tea, Olive oil, and more.

Overall a great book for anyone serious about eating right and feeling great!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes

I have studied nutrition for 40 years and this brings it all together. It is the best book on the subject of the four that I have read. Unfortunately, it does not mention that FARMED salmon usually contains 5 to 7 times the harmful fatty acids that the same amount of wild salmon has, and that flax seed is not a good substitute for omega-3 fish oil, because humans cannot convert it efficiently. Mice and fish can and that had not been taken into accoount until recently.

The book itself is very informative and easy to understand. It goes a long way in trying to educate a population that health begins at the cellular level and with some knowledge, health is still within our reach. Poor health can be turned around.

The delivery time was quick....I appreciate that.

I bought this book because I have fibromyalgia and the only thing that showed up abnormal on my tests was "inflammation". This book helped me understand what was causing my pain and the supplements to take to reduce the inflamation. I have used the suggestions in this book and Meggs' book to reduce my pain.

I've had asthma all my life - luckily it has been fairly well-controlled throughout adulthood. That is until I was unknowingly exposed to mold in my home. Even though the mold was remediated, I continued to experience severe, persistent asthma for over four months. I was referred to a pulmonologist and put on high doses of various types of asthma medication. I had a minimal amount of relief with these medications and still had to use a nebulizer two or three times a day.

I realized this was no way to live my life and started looking for other solutions. Thank goodness I came across Mr. Challem's book - after only one month of following his recommendations of the basic supplements (vitamin C, E, and fish oil) - I have found relief! I have not had to use my nebulizer in a week. I want to ease into the nutritional program because it will be a big change for me, but I can only imagine how great I'm going to feel after once it is implemented.

Take back control of your life, instead of letting your body do it for you!

I absolutely loved every part of this book. It was entertaining, both satisfying and interesting. The story winds in and out of many different settings, but it masters all of them, from high school to a mental institution to the circus. Faith's journey restored my faith in reading novels, after so many cliche storylines and stereotypical characters, this was incredibly refreshing. Worth buying, reading, and rereading.

Recommendations: Circling the Drain (the author's collection of short stories), The Catcher in the Rye, Girl Interrupted, The Bell Jar, and Romeo and Juliet.

i went to a memorial service for amanda davis shortly after her death in san francisco at the bookstore she was scheduled to give a reading. i was overwhelmed by the standing room only crowd that turned out for her. i actually met some of her relatives and told them that she was certainly an amazing woman, not just a writer, which they happily concurred. i read this book a few months later. she had talent, definately. as a girl power novel, davis hits it out the park, though anyone who has ever felt out of the loop can relate to it. circus stories are always fun and she makes the main character's odyssey's at the circus a hoot. i love the fat girl alter ego character, who sticks around to keep her in check when she gets haughty. mcsweeny's magazine put up a blog in her memory, and were are pages and pages of tributes to her...i was told her novel was better than her short story collection " circling the drain," but i'll read it anyway, just to check out the development of her stunning singular talent...

I picked up this book because I was bored. However, it turned out to be one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Amanda Davis weaves an intricate and unique world. She develops the main character brilliantly and shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

This is a book that begins with the revelation of a horrible event in a young girl's life. The details unfold as the novel progresses, and the reader is able to feel the pain and to understand the fragmentation of her personality to include "the fat girl." Joining the circus is an effort to belong somewhere after commiting an act of violence herself. This book has several levels, but it does come together at the end when the adolescent "coming of age" evolves and the dual personality is merged. I did have a little trouble keeping all the circus characters straight once they began to interact with "Annabelle." This is a book that would do well in sequel form. I am interested in finding out how Faith's life continues to evolve.

It took me a chapter or two to really get into this book because it's so disjointed at the beginning, really jumping from one scene to another, back and forth in time. But the author's writing is absolutely wonderful and just compelled me to continue reading. She seriously has a way with words that make you want to eat up every last drop of this book.

It is interesting to read about behind-the-scenes carnival life, but this is one of those books that is more idea driven than concrete-plot driven. Faith Duckle was raped a year ago, then tried to commit suicide and was in a home to help her, and has now decided to run away from her life and join up with the circus. She learns about other people who make up the world, coming into strange situations with some of them, and also learns about herself and what she wants out of life. The story is definitely a dark coming-of-age type, but it was excellent to devour.

I'm not sure about rereading this book simply because it is so heavy but there were parts I thoroughly enjoyed and will take some time to think about. I'd recommend this to you if you're looking for a dark, well-written book about a girl growing up.

Brilliant book for all of you who are concerned about your health and how to stay healthy in such a common sense and easy way. It's all about protein and I give Dr. David Heber my full house of stars!

This is an amazing book. After years of hearing so many conflicting reports abut diets - high carb - no carb - atkins etc... It was fantastic to have someone explain in plain English how your body reacts to different foods and how you can live a healthy life by making just a few subtle changes.

I've read some of the other reviews on this book and am a bit annoyed with most of the negative one.

Before answering the negative comments, let me say that I've been following the diet for 7 weeks and have lost 20 pounds. The thing I like best about it is that it's the ONLY diet I've found that allows me to eat the quantity of food I'm eating, and still keep my calorie count at about 1350. I love having a full plate and a full tummy. With this way of eating I get full at all 3 meals, have 3 snacks during the day, and am still able to lose weight. On Atkins I got full, and my lipids and sugar were great, but I didn't lose much weight because my calorie count was too high. On Weight Watchers I was always hungry, because I invested too many of my points in refined carbs and grains. This works for me.

I'm planning to use Dr. Heber's earlier book "What color is your diet," for maintenance. I have my physician's enthusiastic blessing for both.

BTW - I have no cravings. I'm easily able to say no to candy, chips, cake, cookies, etc. My pre-diabetic metabolism is loving this!

Here's a typical day's menu for me:

Breakfast: Shake made with 1C skim milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1/2 a banana and 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries.

Lunch: Salad made with 3 C romaine lettuce, 1/2 a cucumber, a 1/4 of an avocado and 3 oz of roast chicken.

Dinner: 4 oz lean ground turkey burger smothered with sauteed onions and mushrooms, 2 C pureed cauliflower (a la Atkins), 1 cup thinly sliced butternut squash sauteed in a small amount of olive oil

snacks/dessert: 1 C non-fat cottage cheese with 1/2 c pineapple; 1 clementine orange; 1 c watermelon; 1/2 cup blueberries with 1 T low-fat coolwhip.

All this runs about 1350 calories, with 140g of protein (1 gram for every pound of lean body mass I have), and is about 20% fat. A smaller person, with less lean body mass, should be able to eat closer to 100 g of protein and still get all of the fruits and vegetables in, for fewer calories.

My reaction to other comments about the book:

1. I read the book cover to cover and (unless I missed it somewhere) I didn't see the name "Hebalife" anywhere in it. It does NOT promote any particular brand of protein powder. It does suggested using "flavored" shake mix (vanilla or chocolate), but I ended up getting plain unflavored protein powder (Genisoy) that I could mix with skim milk. If I want chocolate I add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa for 15 calories. For the person who said the shakes taste horrible, well, for goodness sake, try a different brand, and be sure to add some fruit!

2. How can anyone say this is not a healthy diet? You end up eating a huge amount of fruits and vegetables, healthy added fats like olive oil and avocado, and lean protein. No one needs grains in their diet. They're just not necessary. I use a computer-based program (fitday.com) to keep track of my calories/carbs/fat/protein and 32 different nutrients. I consistently take in well over 100% of the RDA's for all nutrients (except vitamin D, but you get that from sunshine too), without taking any supplements. And I get about 30 grams of fiber a day.

4. Even some of the people who said they liked the diet didn't seem to be really following it. A nutrition bar for lunch and a reasonable dinner? That's not what this diet is about. You're supposed to eat from all 7 colors of fruits and vegetables every day. You can't get them in if you don't eat them at every meal and for snacks. Nutrition bars are not recommended in this diet. Have a huge salad with meat instead!

If you follow the diet the way it's laid out, it's very healthy and satisfying. But like any diet, if you stop eating that way and go back to eating the way you ate before, yes, you're going to gain the weight back. That's how you got fat in the first place!

I discovered "parts" of this diet through my brother (who distriubutes some of the products) and will never look back.

My primary objective was not to lose weight but to find something affordable, convenient and healthy for the average single working guy... instead I got a whole lot more...

1. I no longer suffer from the intestinal cramps that have sometimes kept me off from work for the last 6 years.

2. I no longer yawn at work

3. I sleep better

4. I am more focused and attentive.

5. I have lost fat and gained lean muscle.

6. The longer I'm on it the more I enjoy it.

7. I no longer crave cokes or energades because my sugar levels are consistent throughout the day (saving me even more money)

8. I now hardly ever have a headache at the end of a working day.

9. I feel great.

10. It is simple to stick to (the results encourage you so much).

I used to be associated with Herbalife back in the 1980's and have a lot of respect for that company. Today I have to chuckle at Herbalife's success. I well remember people calling this a fad that wouldn't last. 25 years later, Herbalife is doing $2 billion in annual sales and still going strong. Some fad!

Now on to the book. What I like about this program is that it combines both protein and carbohydrates in a practical manner. David Heber also explains that there is no one size fits all for weight loss. Having been a weight control consultant since 1976, I know that people have individual needs.

The advantage of the diet shakes is that you get high protein/low fat/low calories in a concentrated form. One of the disadvantages of the shakes is which brand you buy. Some are just cheap soy protein and still require you to mix them with milk. Not good for those with lactose intolerance. Many are hard to digest. I am using a shake product right now that mets the criteria Heber suggests and can be mixed with water. It digests easily and tastes great.

The addition of fruits and vegetables is critical. I and many others have lost weight very quickly with low carb/high protein diets using either real food ala Atkins or high protein diet shakes. This approach only works in the short term and can't be maintained. David Heber discusses this in his book. By following the advice that Heber suggests, you can still lose weight effectively and quickly but in a safer way and you will feel better.

What I have noticed in myself and others using this system is rapid but safe weight loss. As much as 10 lbs in 10 days. Improvement in the condition of hair and skin. A rapid tightening of the skin even without exercise and an increase in energy.

I also like the fact that Heber suggests supplements. Some of the supplements will speed weight loss while others add nutritional support. Few people realize that when you cut down on calories with conventional diets, you also cut down on nutrition. Supplements are therefore needed.

Something else I noticed is that people on this program lose fat primarily as opposed to water and lean tissue which seems to be the case with other programs. With most diet programs, you just become a smaller fat person.

And finally, as I mentioned in the opening, I am not currently a Herbalife distributor but I do have a lot of respect for what this company has done to combine the science of herbs with other nutritional components to produce a very effective weight loss program that beats the conventional diet approach. They also offer a much better alternative than the low calorie/high sugar diet shakes that are offered that really do nothing for your health or permanent weight loss.

David Heber has combined the best of nutritional supplemention along with eating real foods that will help you lose weight, feel great and enjoy better health and vitality.