Customer Reviews

The Diet Cure

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

...at least for me! Her recommendations for amino acid supplementation worked incredibly. Although only 10 - 15 pounds overweight, I have dieted and "not dieted" since I was a teenager. By 45, I have learned that dieting, even moderate programs such as Weight Watchers, are only something I can follow for so long. I would always inexplicably binge, feel completely confused and completely without "will power" and note one more failure.

Though I would prefer to be slimmer, I have always been more upset by the fact that I couldn't "control myself" or follow through with a decision to eat healthfully and not binge. What wierd, psychological thing was causing me to do this??

Hello Dr. Ross! If only one, tiny thing stands out as a "magic wand" experience (and there are more than one) it was her "emergency" recommendation to handle cravings. Open a capsule of L-Glutemine and let it dissolve under your tongue. I have never experienced such an about-face when it came to fighting the urge to EAT IT!

From reading some reviews by others, I would encourage readers to follow her recommendations in full, not "sort of." Certainly everybody's body chemistry is different, but you will not be giving this program a fair trial if you approach it haphazardly. That said, it is a very simple program to follow: eat lots of protein, and lots and lots of vegtables and fruit, and take your amino supplements. No rigid combinations or measuring is required. You only need to make sure you're eating enough protein and veggies. (It sounded like a disaster waiting to happen for me - I never ate LOTS of either of those things!) Yes, the supplements do cost, but if you are a binge eater, believe me you'll make up the cost on all the food you DON'T buy any more.

Even if you are a vegetarian (for ethical or health reasons) consider this program. If you are as frustrated and demoralized as I was, it's really worth a try.

I bought the book one afternoon and couldn't put it down until I was through reading it! It answered so many of my lingering questions that weren't urgent enough to see my doctor about but which still concerned me. Julia Ross explains the problems, causes, and solutions in a very clear and understandable way. Now I am finally able to see my patterns of dieting and the troubles which have followed me since. Although I've spent a lot of money on supplements I felt better the day I started taking them; I had more energy and my constant need for sugar disappeared. To me it's worth it! I feel safe taking the supplements because I checked with my MD before hand and he said he took amino acid supplements as well. My doctor's only recommendation was to chart and observe the way I feel so that I can create my own plan and be able to maintain my mood and control my cravings. Julia Ross recommends the same thing: to be aware of your body and be able to help it help itself.

Definitely worth reading if you are interested in health and willing to get off the teeter-totter of dieting. Who cares about "double-blind studies" if you get healthy and REAL results? Julia Ross mentions the Blood-type diets which may have been "debunked" but I have found that I am allergic to the foods that Eat Right for Your Type recommends avoiding (dairy & wheat). Personally, I don't care what the majority opinions of theories are, if I feel better and am loosing weight in a healthy way then I'm gonna go for it!

I work in molecular biology, and that has given me an understanding of cellular metabolism. In gaining this understanding, I have come to realize how horrific our American diets are. Unfortuneately, a few well meaning and misguided nutritionists and scientists earlier in teh twentieth century tried to reform our eating habits. These habits stuck, and now we have a country of fat unhealthy citizens. The more I read about nutrition, the more I understand what is wrong with our eating habits. The author has doen her research and has a very firm grasp on the concept of cellular metabolism. She references actual scientific studies that have been published. More and more literature is coming out debunking the food pyramid and extolling the health benefits of a high protein, low SIMPLE carb diet. This is not to be confused with diets such as Atkins, where all carbs are evil. Or diets such as weight watchers which encourage the consumption of processed foods. Or diets such as the Zone, whose recommended caloric intake is not enough to sustain basic cellular function. Diets such as South Beach are actually good models of a healthy eating plan. And amino acids, as Ms. Ross explains in her book, are the building blocks of proteins, whish are essential for our body to function. While her book does skip around, and can be a little hard to follow, it offers sound advice. Advice that sadly the rest of the world is slow to follow, out of ignorance.

I am pretty savvy when it comes to nutrition and healthy living, I've read alot of books on this topic and have been eating whole organic foods most of my adult life. I avoid fast food, processed food, additives, simple sugars, wheat, etc. I add supplements here and there when needed, keep the meals balanced with the right amount of protien, carbs and fats, etc. I thought I was doing pretty good, at least in the top 20% so I thought. Well, Julia Ross has changed my life. Within a week on her program, the mental fog that has been slowly drifting into my existence over the past 10 years has lifted. My memory has improved as well as my focus and mental clarity. My sensitivity to life's pressures and stresses is cut by half. I have more energy and it is more consistent through the day. My carb addiction and afternoon blood sugar drops (I have often commented (half) jokingly about joining "bread addicts anonymous") are nothing like they were. After one week on her program, I have experienced a dramatic improvement in all these areas. The program lasts three months, I am truly excited to see the end results of this cure. I purchased this book for myself along with The Mood Cure for my husband and we have been going through the books together. We are both experiencing dramatic improvements in our lives. It is worth mentioning that I was not achieving results on the lower doses (she gives a range). Follow her instructions and increase your dose until you get results. It may seem like a lot of supplements, but stay with it and follow her instructions. Once I hit the right dosages, I got results very quickly. Julia Ross and her Nutritional Psychology colleagues call it science, but for us this information is a *blessing* of the highest order. Thank you Julia for making this information available to the masses!


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After years of yo-yo dieting, I've finally found something that makes sense. I've suspected for years I had low thyroid function, but the blood test my doctor ran showed me in the "normal" range. This book explains how that test (the TSH) can be misleading and what other tests can be used to PROPERLY diagnose thyroid and other hormonal imbalances. I started taking three simple amino acid supplements, and I felt better within 48 hours! Really! My energy is better, my sugar cravings are virtually gone, and I don't have all the muscle tension and aches that I used to have every day! This book offers sane, sensible and SAFE advice (I checked on this!) on using nutritional supplements to help re-balance the body's chemistry so that it can work better. It also recommends seeing a medical doctor to have certain tests run, to see if prescription medication is needed. The book has chapters on how to help problems with mood, energy, sugar/starch cravings, recurrent yeast infections, food allergies, and disgestion. It also reaffirms in a positive, supportive way that weight problems are not due to lack of willpower, but can be caused by our body's chemical imbalances.

I love this book! It is not your usual "diet" tome. For most folks, trying to eat healthy can be tough. Cravings are hard to overcome. In this book Julia Ross describes how to use supplements to help control your cravings. As you read through the book, you identify your problems ie blood sugar imbalances, sluggish thyroid etc. and then follow the supplementation she suggests to rectify the problem. There is alot of information here that I have not found anywhere else. However it is not an easy read. It takes a lot of time and effort to plan your program, especially since she "jumps" around alot in the text. I also feel she could have been more specific about a few issues regarding the amino acids. For example if you have more than one problem is it safe to combine all the amino acids listed and at what doseage? The back section with information on what to eat for health could have been beefed up more also. Still I gave this book 5 stars because the information in it has been so useful!!

While i didn't find it a cure-all, and according to the book you end up taking a lot of supplements, too much for me, I still got some good advice out of this book. It gives a lot of supplement advice to take, and some of it I tried, like taking L-Glutamine for sugar cravings, and it worked... and food advice, like eat your fruit with some kind of protein to help stop cravings, and that worked too.

The book is divided into different sections for different problems you may have, like thyroid, or weightloss or whatever and gives you corresponding advice for each problem. I found, though, that that made some of the advice a little hard to find because I still found good advice in each section even if it didn't pertain to me... so if you are interested in a specific supplement for example, go into the index and look it up in all the chapters, and you will learn more than what was just in the chapters that pertained to you.

For 15 years, I've blamed myself for lack of willpower in controlling my 'recreational sugar use' but now I realize - it's not my fault. My body has been conspiring against me with its multiple imbalances. This book has saved my life from an eating disorder, moodiness, heinous PMS, cold hands, skin discoloration, obsessive worrying, memory loss & the list goes on and on with things that I would've NEVER attributed to my diet. 1000 thank you's Dr. Ross!

I've been learning nutrition for many years and worked with a nutritionist as both client and student. This book contains all the information that I've been taught on causes of weight gain and inability to lose weight, plus it explains it to the reader in simple terms. It individualizes the problem and makes it easy for someone to understand and apply the information for better health. I'm very very impressed. I have an educational nutritional website and I've linked my article on weightloss to this book so my readers can buy it. Thank you, Julia Ross, M.A. Chris, Founder, McVitamins

This book, and its author, Julia Ross, are teaching me a new way to eat. I've been on the food plan she recommends, and the supplements, for 8 days, and I feel so much better than I ever have before. I used to get really hungry 2 hours after eating, and start to *crash* within an hour after that; my whole life revolved around making sure that I would be able to eat something every 2 or 3 or hours. Most meals would make me fall asleep or get cranky. With the help of the suggestions in this book, I've learned what types of foods I can eat that don't cause any bad reactions. When I walk away from a meal composed the way this book tells me to -- 1-2 cups of vegetables, a little bit of rice, 4 oz of lean protein, a tablespoon of olive oil -- I feel full and satisfied, but not bloated or sleepy. I thought bloated and sleepy is just the way you're supposed to feel after eating! I can eat a meal and not feel hungry for 4 or 5 hours afterwards. If I do get hungry, I have a snack of raw nuts and seeds, or fruit. I don't have sugar cravings, my digestion is normalized, and I need less sleep than I used to. I'm getting reacquainted with my kitchen, and learning to create wonderful things in there, especially luscious vegetable dishes. It's definitely challenging to learn a completely new way to eat, but the rewards are worth it. This book supports your efforts with a really clearly spelled out eating plan and supplement program. If you're having trouble with your energy, digestion, mood, or weight, (or all of the above), read this book.