145 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Common-Sense Advice, GREAT recipes!, March 6, 2006
This book is full of good, common-sense advice about how to eat a healthier diet. If you're a person who eats a lot of fast food or junk food, this book will really help you make more nutritious choices. By cutting out flour and sugar, it forces you to choose less processed foods, which are naturally better for you as they usually contain a higher nutrition to calorie ration than processed foods, which are full of empty calories.
I especially like the recipe section. Everything i've made from the book so far has been delicious--seafood gazpacho, halibut baked with fennel and sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic salmon, pork chops with dried cherry reduction, spicy peanut sauce. Even the sugar-free desserts are delicious. I especially liked the lemon panna cotta and I'm looking forward to trying the strawberry crepes with dark chocolate sauce, too!
This book will definitely help you make better food choices, and it will give you lots of ideas for what to cook, too!
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112 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Healthy, sensible, simplistic weight loss plan, August 25, 2006
I give Dr. Gott a standing ovation for creating a simplistic plan for weight loss. Complex plans that require higher math skills (a la 40-30-30) or intense memorization (is it no carbs with proteins or no fats with carbs or no fruit with protein or other carbs?) tend to frustrate dieters at some point in the process and they resort back to the old, weight-gaining ways. Dr. Gott's plan has 2 main rules - don't eat anything with flour (in any form) or sugar (in any form). C'est tout, as the French say (and we all know they don't get fat...:) The fact this plan is simplistic does not mean that it is easy to follow. I have been amazed daily when trying to follow Dr. Gott's basic recommendations how much food I eat on a normal basis that contains sugar and flour (and I suspect any self-respecting comfort-food loving, chocolate addict will feel the same). No bread (but you can have corn tortillas that are not made with corn flour). No pasta (mama mia!). Most cereals are out (except whole grain with no added sugar of any type). No desserts at restaurants (although there are some great recipes in the book). What does that leave, you ask? Wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (although I'm a vegetarian, so that means soy products and beans), and whole grains like oatmeal (which I'm eating now), bulgur, brown rice, etc. (but NOT anything made with whole wheat FLOUR). Basically, what this plan does then is cut out all the processed foods which we shouldn't really be indulging in, anyway, and it concentrates on whole foods that are healthy and nutritious. For those who would rather die than give up sweets, Dr. Gott does allow products with artificial or fruit sweeteners, so you can still have your Diet Coke (not exactly a health food, but we have to have some vices, right?) and anything else you can find that is sweet but has no flour or "real" sugar.
Anyway, by cutting out a large portion of the processed junk we Americans have grown accustomed to, Dr. Gott has created a simple, inexpensive, and healthy way to successfully lose weight and gain health. For these reasons, I give him a high 5. Thanks, Dr. Gott (and thanks Splenda :)
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189 of 205 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simple and Effective Plan Based on Common Sense Nutrition, August 19, 2006
Let me start saying that I have read a lot of books on weight loss and I have my own experience in the weight loss game, having being able to loss more than 200 lbs and shrink my waist (from 44 to 32) in about eight months, and I have been able to keep in good shape for more than 6 years. I believe that for a Weight loss program to be effective in the long term it has to be realistic and it has to be practical and easy to follow, so one can stick to it in order to gradually obtain what we ultimately want: Burn unwanted body fat.
"No flour, no sugar". That is basically it. The whole idea of the book is based in just that four words and can be obtained just there in its title. Pretty old and simple idea based in common sense. You will lose weight and fat just because by eliminating sugar and flour from your diet you will be cutting down two of the simples carbohydrates that you can find, and as science has show simple carbohydrates and food with high Glycemic indexes will turn into body fat quickly than any other food. An important note: you should drink plenty of water every time you are cutting down carbs from your diet.
Weight Loss is not a simple matter, since it takes commitment and discipline to achieve real and lasting results. Once we accept this we are ready to turn advices into habits. I weak point of the book is that it focuses only on the diet aspect, but for a plan to be successful I truly believe that it has to be complemented with advices on how to avoid emotional eating due to anxiety (a point well covered in the book "Intuitive Eating") and an exercise plan is always an excellent plus, not mandatory but an excellent complement for long lasting results and better health (a good combination that could also be explored in the book "The ABS Diet").
Since you are checking this book I have to guess that you are interested in losing weight, getting in better shape or just be healthier, so I will share my own experience in the weight lose game:
My own successful personal experience in weight loss is based on strategies to boost metabolism. Don't stress yourself, eat frequently, eat just what you need each time, and choose wisely what you are going to eat, supplement your diet. Yet simple and it works. I loss more than 200 lbs and shrink my waist (from 44 to 32), and I have been able to keep in good shape since then. Every single aspect of my life has improved since then.
Based on my own personal experience I can recommend another tools that you may want to consider, to establish your own strategies for boosting your metabolism, loosing weight, and even more important keeping that weight off. They are:
- "Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss" by Mark Hyman. A practical a more realistic plan for weigh loss.
- "The ABS Diet", which is another very practical, readable, insightful, and inspirational book.
- A Body Fat Monitor or Scale. This will help you monitor your progress, to assure that the weight you are loosing is fat (fat lost = increased metabolism) and not muscle, water or bone mass (decreased metabolism).
- A Heart Rate Monitor Wrist Watch. This is an excellent tool that will help you monitor and control your Heart Rate in order to keep yourself in a burning fat state (increased metabolism).
- "Heart Monitor Training for the Complete Idiot", a primer on the use of Heart Rate Monitors for health improvement or weight control.
If you want to star focusing only on your diet, the first two may be worth considering. If you exercise, or want to start doing it right, the last three are for you. If you do both, all the recommended options can improve your results.
I am 39 years old, With the help of the tools I just mentioned not only I went fro size 44 to size 32 pants, but also obtained substantial benefits that included weight control, cardiovascular improvements, lowered blood pressure, and improved muscular-skeletal strength and flexibility, but also the myriad of mental and psychological benefits derived from being in the best shape of my life.
Keep in mind that loosing those extra pounds are just part of the equation, you also need a plan that helps you keeping them off. Anything you choose to do that increases your metabolism is in the right direction. A high metabolic rate will keep you burning calories (and fat) all day long.
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