Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss [Paperback]

Joel Fuhrman (Author), Mehmet Oz (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2005

Dr. Joel Fuhrman's revolutionary diet is not about willpower, it is about knowledge. Eat to Live offers a healthy, effective, and scientifically proven Six-Week Plan for shedding a radical amount of weight quickly. The key to the program's success is simple: health = nutrients: calories When the ratio of nutrients to calories in the food you eat is high, fat melts away. The more nutrient-dense food you consume, the more you will be satisfied with fewer calories and the less you will crave fat and high-calorie foods. Eat to Live will help you live longer, reduce your need for medications, and improve your overall health dramatically. It is a book that will change the way you want to eat. Most of all, though, Eat to Live will enable you to lose more weight than you ever thought possible.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel Fuhrman, M.D., is a board-certified family physician who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. He is the author of "Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease," published by St. Martin's. He lives in New Jersey. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; Reprint edition (January 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096576351X
• ISBN-13: 978-0965763516
• ASIN: 0316735507
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (446 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joel Fuhrman M.D. is a board-certified family physician, NY Times best-selling author and nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. He is an internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, and has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows including the Dr. Oz show, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly. Dr. Fuhrman's own hugely successful PBS television shows, "3 Steps to Incredible Health" and "Dr. Fuhrman's Immunity Solution" bring nutritional science to homes all across America.

Dr. Fuhrman is the author of 7 books including 3 New York Times best sellers. Dr. Fuhrman's #1 NY Times best-selling book," Eat to Live" (Little Brown) has sold over 1,000,000 copies and has been published in multiple foreign language editions. In October 2012, "Super Immunity." (HarperOne ) also became a NY Times best seller and in January 2013 his latest book, "End of Diabetes"(HarperOne) reached the New York Times list. Dr. Fuhrman has published in several peer reviewed scientific journals, which include: "Glycemic and cardiovascular parameters improved in Type 2 Diabetes with the high nutrient density (HND) diet." Open Journal of Preventive Medicine and "Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet." Nutrition Journal.

Dr Fuhrman is the father of nutritarian eating. His health (longevity) equation H = N/C, (healthy life expectancy is proportional to lifetime intake of micronutrient diversity and quantity per calorie) has interested scientists the world over. As an advocate of diets rich in a vast array of plant micronutrients per calorie, his ANDI scoring system, (featured in Whole Foods Market) has directed millions of consumers to eat an anti-cancer diet-style .

Dr. Fuhrman's discoveries in differentiating the physiology and biochemistry of true hunger from addictive hunger (which he calls toxic hunger) is essential for understanding and resolving both health and weight concerns, and an essential element to solve our nation's obesity and health crisis.

Dr. Fuhrman is the Research Director of the Nutritional Research Foundation, a member of the Whole Foods Market Scientific Advisory Board and a member of the Dr. Oz Show Medical Advisory Board. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1988) and has received the St. Joseph's Family Practice Resident's Teaching Award for his contribution to the education of residents.

As a former world class figure skater, Dr. Fuhrman placed second in the United States National Pairs Championships in 1973 and third in the 1976 World Professional Pairs Skating Championship in Jaca, Spain. Today, he is an active participant in multiple sports and is a health and fitness enthusiast. His dedication to sports medicine, foot and body alignment, injury prevention, human performance and longevity speaks to these lifelong interests. Along with his nutritional expertise, Dr. Fuhrman has been involved professionally with sports medical committees, advised professional and Olympic athletes, and has lectured to athletic trainers and world-class athletes for maximizing performance and preventing injury.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#3 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#3 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1,321 of 1,345 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars my full review of this total game changer May 10, 2010

By Jeffrey Pelletier

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

So, six weeks later and I'm done the first stage of Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" diet. I'm really excited about this diet and thought I'd spread the word. This looks a bit like some sort of infomercial but I promise you I'm not getting paid for this, and these questions are a big summary of the ones I've been getting for the past 6 weeks.

What is this diet?
In short, it is six weeks of vegan food with no booze, caffeine, salt, or fat. That means no olive oil, nuts, or fatty things that are still good for you like avocados. After 6 weeks you transition to a diet that can include meat and alcohol plus days where you can eat whatever the heck you want. That's where I'm going now.

Why did you go on it?
My cholesterol was too high. I was slowly putting on weight and not liking the way I looked. I was sick of pretending that doing nothing was going to work.

Does it work?
In short, yes. I lost a total of 24 pounds in 6 weeks. It kind of blows my mind that I still don't look the way I want and I had 24 pounds on TOP of that. That's what years of gradual weight gain will do to someone I guess.

Do you get hungry?
Actually, no. This one surprised me the most. The basic premise is that you should eat 1 pound of raw vegetables, 1 pound of cooked vegetables, and 1 cup of beans a day. Think about that, it is a lot of food (you can also add more to that as long as it is healthy stuff). I often had trouble finishing the meals I was supposed to eat.

What do you eat?
Breakfast consisted of a bunch of fruit or some oatmeal a few times a week. Lunch was pretty much always an enormous salad. Dinner varied and I learned to cook a lot of different things and make extra for leftovers. I'd usually have a small(er) side salad, some sort of main entree (beans, mushrooms, some sort of fat free sauce), and some more veggies. You're allowed a little bit of bread now and then (as well as some starchy vegetables) so I never got massive carb cravings or anything.

Do you get enough nutrients?
Yes. This was a big eye opener for me, but I never realized how much protein is actually in vegetables. Calorie for calorie, vegetables have WAY more protein than meat. That is why you have to eat huge salads though, you need to eat more to get the same amount of protein in chicken or steak, for instance.

What would you change about the diet?
Some of the recipes in the book are rather ridiculous. I spent 4 hours cooking his "famous" anti-cancer soup and if I never have that crap again I'll be a happy man. Also, he kept wanting me to have simple green salads that I would soak in orange juice. Um...no thanks, I'll pass. So I bought the fat free balsamic vinagrette at Trader Joe's ate that with all of my salads (only 25 calories per serving). I probably had a pinch more salad and fat because of it but it was worth it to me to have food that tasted normal. I ended up getting a lot of my recipes online through google searches for "eat to live recipes".

Can you go out to eat?
Basically no. I did a few times and it was always depressing as the options were basically crappy salads with no dressing. I can get that at home. Some Ethiopian and Indian places had barely passable options but that was mainly with my eyes closed pretending that there was only a bit of oil in them. Stay home if you can manage. He mentions that some people live on this strict diet the rest of their life. Personally, that seems insane and I could NOT do that. I really miss going out to eat.

What was the hardest part?
Going out with friends. Life is based around food and alcohol. I figured I could plow through 6 weeks of it, and I did, but it was NOT easy. Not eating wasn't a big deal, and not eating most of the food was OK too, but not doing both was basically torture.

Now what?
Well, I move into the "rest of my life" diet. That means eating basically what I've been eating the last 6 weeks for the majority of my meals (especially easy for breakfast and lunch by myself at my desk at work). The rest of my meals I can eat a healthy non-vegan meal or splurge and get what I want. My weight should drop a little more, just more slowly, and then level off. You can also drink at this point. That will be a welcome relief. I'm also really glad I learned how to cook really healthy food. I actually learned to love to cook which was a lot of fun.

Why do you recommend this diet?
1) it works.
2) the books is really good and educational. I would recommend it even if you don't go on the diet. It really breaks down why it works and the science behind it. It also takes a really objective look at other diets which, in the end, made me not want to try them.
3) I was never hungry
4) It gave me a lot of tools I can use the rest of my life to make better and more informed decisions.

So, that's it. I know this whole things sounds ridiculous and corny, but I've really never felt so damn awesome and enthusiastic before. It was hard in some ways, as people really do want to find reasons to get you off a diet. The temptation to cheat can be intense, but I stuck to it, and feel great. Mind you, I'm dying for a martini, but in the end six weeks wasn't the worst thing in the world.

2,022 of 2,095 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars High nutrient density, not vegetarian June 26, 2003

By "bretandanna"

Format:Hardcover

The reviewer from Philadelphia below misrepresents Eat To Live. As a physician myself, I am concerned that this misinformation may harm other people by preventing them from reading Dr. Fuhrman's important book - I am especially concerned about our American epidemic of obesity and diet-related diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Fuhrman presents the cure in his well-researched book. The reviewer (did this person read the book?) from Philadelphia states that Dr Fuhrman's recommendations allow no animal products when in fact Eat To Live is a diet-style, not a diet. It has no such rigid requirements. In his menu plans he gives 7 days of menu plans for those on a vegetarian version of the plan and 7 days on a non-vegetarian plan. Dr. Fuhrman also makes it clear that a diet rich in vegetables does not have to be all raw or exclude animal foods completely; it is flexible. As a physician, I have observed him in action with patients and he can modify recipes and menu plans to accommodate various tastes and food preferences. It is not an all or nothing plan. However, without reading Eat To Live, your future diet-style will be based on misinformation, not science. It takes experience, creativity and knowledge to make the healthiest way to eat taste favorable for many people. Some people will reject the idea of eating for health based on incomplete information and what they want to eat based on short term thinking (those french fries sound good), rather than enjoying truly more delicious foods that are actually healthful too. Just remember taste is learned and takes a few months to adjust and you can also learn to make healthy food taste great. I have observed that most people over time actually like the taste of this diet-style better then their prior one and love the fact they can eat as much as they want. You get to eat lots of food, not be hungry and get great results too. Get the book and see for yourself. I believe every person in America must read this information; it puts all controversy about diet to rest and may save your life.

419 of 466 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't cheat yourself out of reading this life-changing book! January 14, 2004

By Thad B Roe

Format:Hardcover

To lose weight, keep it off, and live a long and healthy life, we must consume fewer calories. The big question always is then, how to do that and still feel satisfied? You'll learn in Dr. Fuhrman's book that the answer is filling your diet with the most nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, and beans, which tend to be very low in calories vs. their physical bulk. With these foods, your body's nutrient requirements are met very quickly, therefore controlling hunger. Also, you can eat large volumes of food, feel very satisfied, and still not consume too many calories. Along with losing weight, a host of other benefits come along with this way of eating, such as seeing diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and many cancer risks melt away.

As people continue to look for easy answers and get suckered into gimmicky diets like Atkins and South Beach, it's refreshing to read a book which reinforces repeatedly proven dietary advice we've all heard for years. That eating large quantities of fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts promote health and longevity. Dr. Fuhrman takes it much further and masterfully shows you how that principle can be optimized to live a long and healthy life.

This is 100% pure evidence based science. Read the book and cross reference the information to medical journals and medical search engines. Unlike Atkins and South Beach, there is no disputing the information Dr. Fuhrman presents. Don't gamble with your health! Although the low-carb diets out there are correct about eliminating unhealthy carbohydrates, many other parts of those diets have mounds of evidence against them. Why take the risk? I don't understand why people impulsively follow such gimmicky diets and potentially put their health at risk. Losing weight is one thing; losing weight and being healthy is another.

Dr. Fuhrman doesn't try to sell books by telling you what you want to hear, he tells you what you NEED to hear. I won't kid you, it is not easy to make these changes if you have been following the standard American diet for many years. Poor food choices surround you and you must learn to prepare and eat foods in a way that is unfamiliar to most Americans. You have to be patient and be persistent. I love eating this way now and the rewards are great. Personally, I have lost just over 30lbs following the advice in Eat to Live. I have also reversed my diabetes and no longer require any medication.