Customer Reviews

The EatingWell Diet: Introducing the VTrim Weight-Loss Program

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My wife and I have lost weight every week we have tried this diet. It is very easy to understand and implement. The recipes are fantastic and very filling. We are amazed that we can lose weight and still eat most of the foods we love. We are eating better and feeling better than we have for years. The concept behind this book does not rely on gimmicks or unproven theories. The basic idea is that your body is like a calculator. What is added is calorie intake (weight you gain) what is subtracted is energy burned (weight you lose). The book explains how to easily calculate and eventually balance this equation. After trying a host of diets that were embarrassingly unscientific and unworkable it is nice to find one that is logical and practical.

I've always found healthy cookbooks to be hit-or-miss. Either the recipes are excellent or they really, really, really stink - as in, you can't wait to toss the offending dish into the trash.

Not so with this EatingWell cookbook. My fiance and I have been blown away by the amount of excellent recipes contained within. He's 100 percent Italian, and normally there's no pleasing his palate with anything except his mom's pasta. So his satisfaction is a major compliment to EatingWell! Did we love every recipe? No. But at the worst, a recipe might have been so-so.

Now, neither of us needs to really lose weight, so we look at this book more as more of a means to healthier eating. But guess what? Just by eating mainly EatingWell entrees, I did slim down. Can't say I mind that, especially since it was so easy!

While we still have plenty more we want to try, so far these recipes have made the cut: Greens with Parmesan Vinaigrette, Roasted Red Pepper Subs (a particular favorite; try it with some Boar's Head lean, low-sodium roast beef), Oven-Fried Chicken (not quite the same as the real thing, but still delicious), Mushroom-Sausage-Spinach Lasagna (best the day you make it; for some reason it doesn't reheat well), Spicy Beef with Shrimp and Bok Choy, and Oven Fries.

Some people might be surprised to see a good chunk of the book is dedicated to how to eat well, with the actual recipes starting around page 100. Don't skip over that how-to section. It contains a lot of useful information. But if you have a hankering for more recipes - as I did - you can go to www.eatingwell.com. Sign up with the site for free - they won't harass you with e-mails - and you can browse their recipe archive. There's hundreds of great recipes there, as well as diet-related articles. A bonus is that most of the recipes have pictures, even if the cookbook version of the recipe didn't. Plus, the recipes are rated by users!

Some great online recipes that we've sampled: Crustless Crab Quiche, Tortellini & Zucchini Soup, Oven Barbecued Pork Chops, Hamburger and Sour Cream Casserole, Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Wilted Watercress (one of our favorites), Tandoori Chicken and Inside Out Cheeseburgers (yummy cheese on the inside of the burger).

Sound good? They are. My deepest gratitude to EatingWell for making a healthy diet so darn tasty!

I am a registered Dietitian and I loved this book. I have one and came to Amazon to buy several for my friends. The Diet is based on firm science and easy to follow. The food diary is a bonus and encourages thoughtfull eating. Thomas Cooley, MA, RD Director of Nutrition at Temple University Hospital

I have been getting the Eating Well magazine for a few years, and I thoroughly enjoy the recipes and articles. I have read many wonderful reviews about this particular diet book; and needing to shed 25-30 pounds, I decided to buy it. I have not disappointed. The articles about healthy eating and the facts of dieting are great, very informative, and educational. There hasn't been one recipe that I have disliked yet. The nice thing is that most of the recipes use common items and aren't difficult to make. There are a few that call for an unusual ingredient; but if you like the recipes, you'll be making them again, making it worth the purchase of the more unusual items. I'm one who needs guidance when it comes to dieting; and for me the best feature of the book is the four-week diet plan, which details the days' menus from breakfast to dinner, including snacks. It's a healthy way to diet and encourages a life-changing eating pattern. I highly recommend this book for any potential or current dieters. :-D
P.S. In two months I've lost 18 of the 25+ lbs. I want to lose!

The EatingWell Diet: 7 Steps to a Healthy, Trimmer You is not a book for those who aren't yet ready to make a serious commitment to losing weight. This isn't a book full of empty cheerleading and excited promises. As such, many people who want to lose weight won't be able to make full use of its suggestions. Those who are ready to make the serious commitment needed, however, may find this book to offer one of the more promising roads to healthy, long-term weight loss, and even those who aren't will find useful suggestions to get them started and improve their diet.

Dr. Jean Harvey-Berino is the Professor and Chair of the department of nutrition and food science at the University of Vermont, and she developed the "VTrim Weight Management Program" upon which this book is based. Her background as a researcher shows--you'll learn plenty in the pages of this book about what long-term studies have shown to be truly effective when it comes to health, nutrition, and long-term weight management. It's a very readable book, however, with fascinating tidbits of information and nifty quotes.

The EatingWell Diet doesn't just try to walk you through losing weight. Despite the name of the book, the nutritionist who came up with the program firmly believes that it isn't about `dieting'--it's about adopting a healthy lifestyle. As such, there are plenty of tips for facing and handling everyday temptations and slip-ups. There's also an entire chapter on maintaining your weight loss once you've lost it, and that's after it delves into tracking weight, calories, and exercise.

More than half of this book is actually a set of calorie-calculated menus and accompanying recipes. Some of the recipes are full-sized recipes, while some are quick little things often listed 5 or so to a page. The full-sized recipes I tended to enjoy, such as a "loaded spinach salad" with egg, carrot, toasted nuts, and blue cheese dressing in it. However, I was disappointed with all of the little mini-recipes I tried. Each one seemed to start with a basically good idea, such as sweet potato oven fries, or brown rice with Asian flavors, but they all came out tasting very bland and uninteresting. Diet food just doesn't have to be bland, and it's my own opinion that the fact that so much of it is designed this way is what makes folks think diet food is torture.

Mind you, I'm aware that there are plenty of people who like bland food, so you folks can ignore that particular complaint of mine and consider that you will likely enjoy the cookbook side of this book more than I did.

All in all, I think this is a solidly practical guide to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Just be mindful that there are no easy answers, there's a lot of hard work involved here, and you're going to need a serious commitment to your health to make full use of this book.

I bought this book based on the Eating Well cook books, which are excellent. Every recipe I have tried in both books has been at least an 8 out of 10. They have tasty menus that watch your waistline, which is a good combination. This book addresses changes in how to eat, portion size, and common sense. I am looking forward to applying it to my menus after the holidays!

I am a personal trainer and bought this book as a tool to use not only for myself but with my clients as well. I will suggest to all my clients to purchase this book. I never suggest trying any fad diets but to lose weight through lifestyle changes and this book gives you all the tools to do so. It is easy to read and understand. The tips it gives you are simple and can easily be used to start improving your life and to lose weight. The recipes are great as well and I love that they factor in the calories for you as well as nutritional information. Whether you are just getting started with a weight loss program or just need some new recipes and ideas I highly recommend purchasing this book. In addition I must also say that not only is the information great but the layout and quality of the book itself is wonderful.

The first 97 pages of this book are devoted to outlining the Eating Well diet and lifestyle plan. Following that is 150 recipes divided into sections such as breakfast, salads, soups, poultry, snacks, etc.

In addition to the nutritional information that one would expect to find, each recipe has an icon at the bottom that indicates if the dish is low carb, low cal, or high in fiber. I've made 9 of the recipes in this book so far and each one of them has surpassed my expectations! In fact, the Chicken with creamy chive sauce has become a regular feature on our weekly menu.

Bottom line: the recipes are well written, easy to follow, contain common ingredients, and result in food that tastes good and is good for you.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. I initially bought it for the recipes included but was very happy when I started reading it. The authors offer honest, straight-forward advice for safe and sustainable weight loss. The book doesn't promise you you'll lose 10 lbs in a week or 5 inches off your waist with no effort, but rather helps you set realistic, long and short-term goals.

The biggest piece of advice the book has to offer is to track your food and acivity in a diary. It really helped my hold myself accountable for my actions (or lack thereof). There are no "forbidden foods" or odd diet restrictions. This way of dieting just helps point you in the right direction.

This is the first type of diet I've tried where I truly think I can reach my goals and be very proud of myself along the way. I followed the book faithfully for 4 weeks and have managed to lose 12 lbs. I feel as though I've done it the right way and I'm very happy with how things are going.

I've tried dozens of diets and what makes this work is that 1) the recipes are amazing. You don't get hungry and they are good enough to serve to guests 2) the theory works. 3) this book will change the way you eat forever, not just for a few weeks.