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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Takes a hard look at the 'American' way of eating - life, January 6, 2009
This review is from: The 9-Inch Diet (Paperback)
My family couldn't believe it when I bought luncheon plates to use as our dinner plates almost 10 years ago. I was still too embarrassed to use them when someone came over to eat, I would pull out the 'regular' corelle dinner set. Now I have some validation for my thinking! Thanks! I have a continual battle with weight. I don't yo-yo or loose weight only to gain it back - I have just stayed at 215 lbs give or take a few for many years. I should be at about 175 for my personal opinion. Now I can see that dining out really can be a problem. Even before I read the book, I realized one time when my family of 2 adults and 3 girls (ages9-16) were seated at a booth table, that when they brought the food, the side which my kids were seated at would have not had enough room if the one kids meal didn't come in a basket! There was plenty of room for them to sit, but three platters would have been end to end and touching each other on the table! And now the fast food places have begun to sell 2 burgers for the price of one, encouraging you to overeat because of the perceived value of food in relation to how much you pay. If it is cheap, it must be ok to eat that much. Really, I feel fast food is trying to change your lifestyle to depend on the small amount of effort required to get it and become a frequently used option in meal planning. No small matter that it would make the average person fatter. We have all grown up with the goodwill of others encouraging us to get seconds, or if nothing else seems to get you out of the blue - then have something to eat... I have tried to keep from saying this to my girls - now that this book has been published, I have had the two older ones read it and we discussed it. It helps them understand other families eating dynamics and made them appreciate that I have not done the same. My husband is a little slower in absorbing the book, but I think it will help him alot. Its not complicated, no journaling or mathmatic calculations, just reduce. The french seem to cook much of thier stuff with butter and lots of cream, but they are still thinner. I would much rather limit what I eat than try to find and 'acceptable' tasting low fat or low calorie alternative. This book helps validate my resolve and make it easier to stick to it.
I know this review is lengthy, but its hard to condense a subject which occupies so much of our time, from meal planning, to eating and then to finally trying to loose the wieght gained or deal with the health problems associated with it.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly Simple!, December 17, 2008
This review is from: The 9-Inch Diet (Paperback)
Let me start by saying I love these guys (I don't actually even know them, I only know their work which is spectacular!). I pre-ordered and read the book the day it arrived. As a veteran of Weight Watchers (lost 100 pounds in a year, gradually gained back 120) and Atkins (lost 90 pounds in 6 months and gained back 140) I'm ready for some common sense. More importantly, I'm ready for something I can do the rest of my life and get off the yo yo.
One thing these guys are brilliant at is simplification. Whether in their advertising or this book, they are great at taking the complex and making it seem so simple you wonder why you couldn't see it all along. When they say that "diets obviously don't work, otherwise we'd only need one of them" it puts the entire best-selling diet creation industry on notice.
Does it work? Who knows, the book arrived yesterday. But... it's near the beginning of 2009, I'm easily 100 pounds overweight and in a pre-diabetic state (don't worry, I'm seeing a doctor and he thinks this is brilliant as well). I don't have a better idea right now so, I'm trying it. Check back from time to time and I'll report on my progress.
Stay tuned!
Even if it doesn't work... it's worth it for the laughs!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking and interesting, February 9, 2009
This review is from: The 9-Inch Diet (Paperback)
My wife ordered the book off Amazon after we saw it on display at a Barnes and Noble. We're both over ideal weight (although I'm an order of magnitude or two moreso) and I'm not a big believer in diet programs; after reading "You! On a Diet" and other articles, I tend to think now that it's not a diet program that works, it's a lifestyle that makes the difference.
This book reinforced that idea with facts comparing American eating habits, and sizes, from the past with today. This isn't a diet book. The author goes out of his way to emphasize this. It is simply pointing out what impact American culture, and the consumer and the psychology of advertising has had on American waistlines; portion control has become nonexistent and todays generations consider huge quantities to be so "normal" that we can't recognize what an actual portion is, and worse, when faced with a reasonable portion, psychologically we have trouble accepting it...it's just too little.
This book is filled with (sadly) funny anecdotes and information about changes in movie theaters, planes, and even retail stores (the IKEA stories were a really nice touch) and history of topics ranging from Hershey's chocolates to McDonalds changes over time. It's a quick and informative read. Before filling your head with more "diet" information, take a look at this book and reflect a bit on what the author is telling you.
While I've not switched to a nine-inch plate for dieting yet, I am simply trying to lose weight by watching calories (and thus some portion control) using [...]no gimmick diet, no special program...and in less than two months of just limiting my daily intake to about 1500 calories, which should be fine for a relatively sedentary lifestyle, I've lost nearly 50 pounds. It was an adjustment to lifestyle, not a short term diet, which is primarily what this book seems to be advocating.
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