Customer Reviews

The Balance: Your Personal Prescription for Supermetabolism, Renewed Vitality, Maximum Health, Instant Rejuvenation

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I love the Balance. It is so easy to follow. I took the quiz--It was so easy and quick. Once I found out what kind of burner I was I ate the foods and took the supplements Oz suggested. I was never tired. In fact my energy level increased! I lost 25 pounds! I look and feel great and I eat so much healthier.

I had been experiencing swings in my energy, ability to concentrate, dizziness, and no matter what I ate or didn't eat, didn't lose weight. I sat down and read the first few chapters in one sitting, and could not put it down. It was describing me to a tee! After understanding why some diets didn't work for me and what led to my "out of balance" chemistry in my body, everything started making sense of what was going on with me. Immediately, once I understood what had been going on, I lost the desire to over-eat or eat the wrong foods for the first time in my life. The knowledge and understanding gave me such a sense of hope and seemed so "right" that my appetite just slowed down. In the past week, I have lost 4 pounds, have actually forgotten to eat lunch for the first time in my life twice this week! I am not having to make myself stop eating. It is like I choose not to eat too much or the wrong foods and it doesn't bother me at all. That came from understanding what was happening to me and having hope that I could finally get healthy and fit and my desired weight.

THIS BOOK EDUCATED ME ENORMOUSLY ABOUT HOW TO EAT. IT EXPLAINED TO ME ABOUT HOW THE FOODS I WAS EATING WERE CONTRIBUTING TO MY MOOD SWINGS, MY PROBLEMS WITH MY CRAVINGS AND MY WEIGHT. I LOST 18 POUNDS SINCE I BEGAN THE BALANCE PROGRAM LAST YEAR AND HAVE CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN MY WEIGHT. I'M EXTREMELY HAPPY I READ THIS BOOK.

This book changed my life. It explains in a very engaging and accessible way how different kinds of foods cause your energy levels to go up or down by the way they are digested.

The best part is, it destroys the myth that you need to limit your calories, or limit your fat intake. Simply by eating the right mix of carbs, protein and fat (and the right kinds of carbs), you will naturally feel full when you've eaten enough, and you will not be hungry again right away. The basic idea is to make your digestive system work slowly, so that each meal "lasts" a while, giving you steady energy levels and reducing the desire to eat right away.

This book gets negative reviews for two reasons -- (1) it is not "new", so don't get it if you're already a nutrition expert, and (2) the "quiz" is useless: it has only three possible outcomes -- slow, mixed, or fast burner -- and the diets recommended for each type are extremely similar.

So, if you want a customized diet plan, don't get this book. But if you want to know how different kinds of foods influence your energy levels, and you want to know how to lose weight without feeling hungry and without giving up fatty foods, get this book now!!!

This book taught me nothing new. I think the author put together a lot of evidences and facts already published. He does not know his subject. He writes as an example that a person who drinks eight Diet Cokes a day and eats nothing can't be healthy. Well, doesn't everybody know that? Mr Garcia's definition of slow, fast and mixed metabolism is unclear, and leads to nothing, simply because Mr Garcia is not a specialist, nor an expert. He is just an amateur fancying that he has "helped celebrities and stars..", which to me is absolutely no proof of anything. I was so disgusted by this abuse that I sent his book back to him along with a letter similar to this review.

Like the previous reader I felt that I learnt NOTHING new. The same old; don't eat bread, pasta rice and sweets!!!! If you read "The Zone" or "Thin tastes better" you will learn much more.

I bought this book a couple of months ago out of sheer desperation. I took the test and was surprised to find that i had been eating all the wrong things. I started to follow the eating plan and by the second week I started to feel great. My clothes began to fit great, my bloated stomach disappeared and so did my pms symptoms. It was an amazing tranformation. My husband noticed right away and so did my co workers. I ended up photocopying the book for several of them. I have been off the "eating plan" for a month and I am back to sqaure one. Its not a diet, it's a way of life. I pulled the book out and I'm starting again today.

I have known Oz for about three years. I started as his patient and am now his friend. He helped me regain my health from a chronic illness. His book is an excellent summary of his practices. You can learn a lot from it - regardless of your age or body type. It is an easy read and his programs are relatively easy to follow. Of course, like any other diet or lifestyle plan, you need some discipline. However, Oz offers an excellent way of life, which is what such a program should be.

This book turned out to be of little use to me. I took the 50 question quiz and when I scored it, it turned out that I was almost evenly divided among the 3 categories. Garcia doesn't even address this possibility and what it might mean. I doubt that everyone who takes the quiz falls neatly and decisively into one of the three categories. I think it would have been better if the questions were weighted as to their importance in determining what kind of "burner" you are.

For many people trying to lose a few pounds, this book appears to be the ultimate solution - what a HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! The health/nutritional information offers nothing new, the questionaire is ridiculous and the diet suggestions require you to remember vast amounts of information as to what you can and can't eat. If you can afford to give up your day job in order to apply yourself to this diet, or of you have a chef in residence at your home, then go for it. But, if the questionaire indicates you are a mixed burner - then use the book as a door stop as it has no other use. For a no-nonsense approach to food choices, I strongly recommend Picture Perfect Weight Loss by Dr. Shapiro.