Customer Reviews

The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan that Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds

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I have been eating the Engine 2 diet for five months. I've lost 35 LBS. My cholesterol dropped over 60 points. This was all after a meeting with a doctor who told me my cholesterol would only be slightly lowered by changing my diet.

I had the good fortune to get a head start on the rest of the world by meeting Rip in person. He is one of the good guys. I have shared countless 'plant-strong' meals with Rip over the last five months. He lives and breathes this diet every single day.

This is the first time in my life I have practiced any discipline with my diet. It's important to note changing my diet was not easy at first. The book remains an invaluable tool that guides me through the process of choosing the right ingredients at the grocery store - which is over half the battle. I have to set myself up for a win before the hunger sets in (rhyme). It also provides a nice array of fast recipes (tackle the lasagna later in the diet - it takes a bit of work).

Eating out is tough on this diet. You will find the vast majority of restaurants are not run by people who want you to live a long, healthy, balanced life (not yet anyway). I would suggest forgoing the restaurant scene while you find your bearings. I've certainly saved a fair amount of money cooking my own lunch and dinner - and it's not that I don't go out to eat - it's just less often.

Rip relates the detailed science behind this way of eating in terms all of us can understand. It's important to note he was raised in the household of a plant-devouring cardiologist - Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. Rip's data and experience driven understanding of how our bodies react when fed a plant based diet is proof that this IS NOT another fools errand for all of us looking to lose weight and return our bodies to health. It is a diet of the truth. What would you expect from a firefighter?

Stick to it for 28 days. Get some blood work done before and after. I've been able to watch twenty or so men and women start the Engine 2 diet. I can say with certainty that the average person will see dramatic numbers change with their cholesterol. Everyone will lose weight. We will all feel better and ready to take on this new uncertain world.

Best of luck to everyone who wants to live a longer more comfortable life.

By way of disclosure I was a participant in Rip's first pilot study. It's the one oft cited in this fantastic book. Heading into that study I felt a lot like most of you probably will as you ponder eating the Engine 2 way. I was an omnivore. I was a creature of convenience. I was worried - just what the hell am I going to eat and when am I going to cook it???

My motivation in doing the diet was threefold; to learn more about nutrition, understand what was going on with my lipid profile and just generally experiment to see if I FELT better by eating this way. Weight loss wasn't my goal, though that came as well. After four weeks on the diet I had answers:
1. Cooking takes planning. Meal planning and shopping. Rip gave me the tools to do that. They are in the book.
2. The bulk and produce section of the store are truly amazing places. With the recipes in the book you can prepare ANY type of cuisine. You will not be left craving your favorite flavors. You will become a food adventurer. You will also go from eating calorie dense and nutrient lite foods to calorie lite and nutrient dense foods.
3. You will be as regular as a "Swiss train." Need I explain?
4. You will not suffer from allergies (my seasonal allergies almost disappeared).
5. You will lose weight. In fact, already being thin I started to eat more nuts, avocados and other healthy sources of fat to maintain my weight. I saw other people shred their fat. It was really cool to see!
6. You will not crash at 3:00 everyday like I used to. Sustained energy will be yours. With or without coffee - which I still love by the way.
7. My total cholesterol dropped to 100 when I was 100% Engine 2. Pretty amazing to me.
8. You will have the tools (recipes) to save your own life. As Hippocrates once said - "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." More recent studies solidify this notion and they are VERY well documented in this book.

My experience has yielded the promise of the book - I am now a very plant strong eater that feels GREAT. I have sustained this for over two years. To interrupt our western ways of eating and look critically at the cause and effects of disease in our society is what this has become about for me. The discovery has been tons of delicious foods I never knew existed or ate very infrequently. These foods are now my staples. I appreciate and honor food like never before.

So what do I get for writing this? My two young sons will have a healthy father for their lifetimes. My wife will have a healthy husband for our lifetime together. My kitchen will have a lot less grease in it.

Bravo Rip for telling your story and empowering what I hope will be tens of millions of people to make "self care" their personal solution to the "health care" crisis in this country. You have shown the way. And the way is really tasty.

The Engine 2 Diet has typical self-help elements--personal success story, user testimonials, good advice, and bold claims for positive life-changing results. The advice is simple; Esselstyn summarizes it in just eight points. Like the advice in most self-help books, it's been preached elsewhere. Esselstyn's contribution summarizes the evidence for significant health benefits from a "plant-strong" diet, adds a dash of exercise, and lays out how to identify healthful choices and fix a variety of dishes from breakfast through desert.

Esselstyn's "plant-strong" means vegan. Engine 2 adds strict limits on sodium, fat, and sugar. It may be smart to avoid the vegan label. Engine 2 is aiming for the mainstream. There's no mention of saving animals, just a healthy lifestyle saving people. Another thing you won't find, there's no advice to limit how much you eat. The diet focuses exclusively on what you eat, claiming you can eat as much as you want of the allowed foods, be healthier, and lose weight.

I love many things about Engine 2. It gives people excellent goals for better health and explains in detail how to achieve those goals. I found the chapter on reading labels extremely helpful, especially the specific criteria for the grocery store aisles. The large recipe section includes many simple everyday dishes and few elaborate dishes. It offers replacements for animal-sourced high-fat workhorses like mayonnaise, salad dressing, and sandwich fillings. The book's strength is showing how to live this lifestyle every working day.

The recipes are easy to follow, instructions are clear, and I usually end up with what I expect. I had trouble finding ingredients for some of the recipes, especially on the first trial, and had to substitute and omit. Substituting firm tofu for soft in the mousse was unsuccessful. The result was grainy and runny--edible but not appealing. With the right type of tofu, this was very nice, not as rich as a high-fat dairy version but nearly the same consistency, very tasty, and totally acceptable to my household. Omitting nutritional yeast from the salad dressing changed the consistency only slightly and made an acceptable dressing. The black bean sandwich spread, on rye with the fixing, will be a regular lunch. The curry-seasoned tofu sandwich spread was good with rice and chutney in a tortilla. The simple sweet potato fries didn't last long. I really liked the meat-less loaf, although the rest of my household was less enthusiastic. The sloppy joes were easy and tasty, with nice serving suggestions.

Coming from a former professional triathlete, I expected exercise would get more coverage. Esselstyn gives a basic workout, fine if you aren't already exercising regularly. He emphasizes that anyone can exercise without joining a health club or installing a home gym. I really loved this; I am living proof. Aside from one basic chapter on exercise, this book is about the diet.

Many readers will encounter real difficulties adopting the Engine 2 plan. The book glosses over difficulties and makes a couple of rather silly recommendations. Readers are to empty and refill their kitchens over a weekend to immerse themselves in the Engine 2 plan. I laughed out loud. What working family can afford to throw or give away hundreds of dollars worth of food? Not mine. Engine 2 recommends that you get several medical tests to compare before and after results. What insurers will pay for medically unnecessary tests just to see if a new diet works? These put me off.

Readers who can't or won't mostly buy fresh and cook from scratch will find it hard to adhere to the Engine 2 plan. Finding Engine 2 approved packaged prepared foods as well as some specialty ingredients is a significant difficultly. There's not much at my local Safeway. At My Organic Market (MOM), I find only a few canned and frozen foods that met the Engine 2 guidelines, even among the brands and products mentioned in the book. (And the stuff at MOM is pricey.) There are other stores and the internet but this is starting to eat up considerable time and money. As an environmentalist, I object to extra miles driving from store to store.

Most readers will have to give up many foods we are currently eating. Even with strong motivation, it's hard to give up favorite foods cold tofurky. The promised benefits are great enough that my household will adopt as much of the plan as our resources and willpower permit. But, it will definitely take much longer than 28 days and we will certainly make compromises between what Engine 2 recommends on one hand and what foods we can find, how much time we can devote to extra shopping and cooking, and what we can bring ourselves to give up on the other. Instead of a 28-day sprint, this will be a longer journey for us.

I've read a lot of diet books and been on a lot of diets but what's so intriguing about Engine2 is that it's written by an unlikely character--a triathlete Texan firefighter who is not just a vegetarian, but a vegan, and not just a vegan but an oil-free vegan.

If you're not from Texas, you can't really appreciate what it means to be a vegetarian in a state that prizes its beef industry and barbecue. Why just last month at the Houston Rodeo one of the most popular foods sold was something called "chicken-fried bacon." It was deep-fried bacon!

Engine2 presents a pretty radical diet--no meat, no artificial foods, no white flour, no white pasta, no dairy, no oil. Yet there is something altogether compelling about the case Rip Esselstyn makes. It sound so logical, so simple ...

Anyway, I tried it. I have to admit I tried it imperfectly in that there were parts I didn't understand at first (but have since corrected--like eating white pasta). It's been about 3 weeks. I haven't been exercising up to his standards, either. But I lost 5 pounds and never spent a minute hungry or feeling deprived.

But I'm getting hardcore right now not because of the weight loss, but because I feel fabulous. I had no idea how bad I felt until now. I'm not kidding--my frequent headaches are all but gone, no more GI troubles, no more aches and pains. My energy level is increasing.

The recipes in the book are different but really great. Love the "Big Bowl," "Sloppy Joes," and "Fajitas" but be prepared--you have to be willing to start buying different foods (lots of produce) and cooking for yourself. But the recipes are quick and easy and very tasty.

I am totally sold on this. This is the first and only book review I have ever done here at Amazon and I did it because I'm just an ordinary woman living in Texas who tried this diet and discovered improved health instead of mere weight loss.

In this book review of "The Engine 2 Diet," I'll describe both my experience of the book itself and then my personal experience being on the diet for the past 3 weeks. Rather than call the Engine 2, a "diet," I'd prefer to call it a "lifestyle" with a major focus on dietary change. When you see the word "diet," you may immediately think of giving up quantity and giving up foods you are attached to. This is absolutely not the case with the Engine 2 diet. With this dietary plan, you can eat as much of the foods on the plan as you want to eat (with a few logical exceptions) and the foods you eat will taste wonderful. One thing for sure with this Engine 2 Diet, I always feel satisfied and don't have any cravings for foods---this was completely unexpected and surprising.

The book itself is very easy to read and follow. The book is divided into 3 major sections, (1) His philosophy of the Engine 2 Diet with the author's own story and background; brief citing and review of the medical and research studies documenting the health benefits with this diet; exploration of the myths about food and following a vegan diet; blood markers; and a brief review of exercise benefits and necessity with the diet. (2) How the Diet Works-the 28 day plan easily explained and described; how to seriously and deeply understand labels on all food products (this chapter is outstanding); and overall how to make this diet work to improve your life; (3) Recipes, meal plans, preparing your kitchen before starting the diet and how to shop for specific foods-brands to buy, foods to reject, ingredients to keep on hand, etc.

His reasoning and explanation for the diet are clearly explained. The health benefits are outlined and are numerous. The chapter on how to read labels is outstanding. You learn precisely what ingredients to avoid and how to properly shop for foods. You'll feel smarter than 99% of the population just after memorizing this one chapter. The recipes are easy to prepare, even for a novice cook such as myself. They taste great and are very satisfying. His website is excellent and adds an additional layer of organization to your menu-making and shopping lists.

I have been on this diet for the past 3 weeks and I have never felt better in my life (47 yrs). I started the diet for several personal reasons: (1) My cholesterol has gradually gone up above normal levels over the past 8 years and my physician wanted me to start Statin drugs. This was a major wake-up call because I don't want to be on a drug regimen for something I can control with diet. That's a HUGE POINT with this book---I am taking back control of my body and my health through the most basic empowering action--what foods I eat. The book stresses this aspect, how nutrition is at the root of health and disease. (2) I had gained about 10 lbs and wanted to get rid of excess weight. (3) (He does not discuss this point) I philosophically prefer not to eat animal products due to my love of the animal kingdom and wanting to reduce my energy demands on the environment. (4) I want to prevent the possibility of having cardiovascular disease, diabetes, memory loss, stroke, cancer, etc. as I get deeper into middle age. (5) I want more energy and want to feel better overall. (6) I suffer from some food allergies (including lactose and eggs).

MY EXPERIENCE TO DATE: I love this diet. The recipes are easy to make, and follow. I have not cooked much before this diet, so this statement is coming from a man with little cooking experience. The food tastes great and he has the right seasonings and flavors combined. I NEVER go hungry, I NEVER have cravings, I don't miss the meat, dairy or eggs or oils. I have more variety in my daily menu than I used to have. Even during the first few days, I felt great. My blood sugar feels much more balanced and I don't experience the high and low energy spikes that I used to. I don't crave sugar or more food at night like I used to. I have more mental and physical energy.

I was amazed that I did not need oil to make pancakes and I did not need eggs to make spectacular french toast! I still can't believe how much sodium (salt) is in so many foods and that I don't need it to make the food taste good. I used to add salt to everything...I stopped that cold turkey with the Engine 2 Diet and I don't miss the salt. The reason is that the recipes have many other herbs and spices to take up where the salt was before. The flavors are wonderful. Aside from eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables daily (adding a lot of fiber to the diet), his Lasagna, Pad Thai, Big Bowl breakfast, Black Bean Extravaganza, & Chili are my favorites so far. There are many recipes to choose from, so you won't get bored.

My colon feels a lot cleaner and I feel lighter. I lost 5 lbs. and my entire digestive system runs much better with no distress. In fact, I feel so much better mentally and physically that it is hard to imagine not eating this way. I never expected this to happen. It's phenomenal.

When in the grocery store, I feel really good and knowledgable. I stop and read the labels with much more intelligence. I now understand (due to reading the book) what to avoid and what is healthy. I feel smarter and stronger with my food choices and this affects my attitude about other areas of my life. I'm much more conscious. I feel like I was let out of jail when it comes to eating. This diet makes me feel smarter and freer, another unexpected result. Rather than feel deprived, I feel like I have license to eat whatever I want. I also know that I am eating consciously with awareness and pleasure. My body thanks me all day long.

I thought I'd miss "protein" from animal products----I was quite wrong. I get plenty of protein on this diet from plant sources and grains. Again, all of my preconceived ideas went out the door, once I started this plan. I will find out my cholesterol levels in another week and surely the numbers will improve, thus keeping me away from drug therapy. But, perhaps, more importantly, this diet has changed my life in significant ways, improving my health, well-being, sense of power, strength and probably saving me from having a heart attack, diabetes or stroke later on---as I was certainly heading in that direction. I can't wait to see the reaction from my physician when he sees my improved blood cholesterol levels and I can safely reject taking Statin drugs. Millions of people take Statins for high LDL and total cholesterol levels, when the majority of them could simply change their diet plan and get off the drugs. Knowledge is power.

I really believe that this author has saved my life! This book is a gem and perhaps it will awaken you the way it has for me! Don't hesitate one minute. Read this book and take control of your life where you can really make a difference!

Length:: 5:53 Mins

Fair warning to the health care industry! After reading this book I am one less pawn that will be using your services and I'm certain others will follow. This is just too easy. Mr. Esselstyn shows how not only how to lose weight fast but how to lower your cholesterol *fast* in his 28-day program. I lowered my cholesterol from 195 to under 150 in less than 3 weeks then all the way down to 128 by the end of the 4-weeks. I've gotten most of my friends to follow suite with the same results.

One more warning. Don't plan on ever going back to your All-American diet filled with fat and artery clogging crap that will cause your early demise. If you crave donuts, ice cream, fried food (of all varieties), etc this read will show you alternatives that are tastier and more heart-healthy! (I stole "heart-healthy" from Mr. Esselstyn). Your recipe suggestions are fantastic! I can see a whole other book coming with
just recipes :)

This is not a fad thing based on anything new. 20+ years of research went in to this and I can say 100% that this fact is what sold me. I can see no other plan from *any* popular book out there that is based on long term empirical evidence.

Just as important is you just may show your loved ones how to be a more healthy too. If only my Uncle would have read this book so he wouldn't have croaked from a massive heart attack at 47. Looking back on it now I see how preventable that could have been.

I am a convert. Thank you Rip Esselstyn. Why didn't someone write a book like this before? Maybe they did but I haven't seen it. My mom and dad always said to eat my fruits and vegetables. Of course they served up BBQ every Sunday so they didn't get it all correct ;)

My husband was given this book and he's been on the Engine 2 program for over a month now. The results are amazing... He has lost 25 pounds. His Total Cholesterol was at 209 before the diet and is now down to 133!!! His blood pressure has also decreased. Overall he just feels and looks so much better. I've been eating the same foods with my husband and I am pregnant. It's been great for my energy level!! I highly recommend this book for those seeking a healthier lifestyle. The diet is so simple to follow and the benefits are quickly realized!

The quick review: Rip's approached worked for me and keeps working for me two years later. ENGINE 2 DIET is fun to read, is impeccable in its scientific foundations and gives you a big bundle of fire fighter tested recipes to boot. Buy the book, take the challenge, and you'll be wondering why you had to wait so long in life to find the information and guidance.

The long review: I will be 77 years old in two weeks. I met Rip some time ago and I've now been plant strong for more than two years. My weight is 180 (down from 230), my waist is 40 (down from 46), all my medical health tests are in the healthy zone and I am on zero medications. And, I need to add, I feel fine. I attribute this to my change from the standard American diet to eating plant strong, just as Rip explains in the book. And to a modest increase in exercise.

I have been retired for many years so I have been able to try one system after another and research them in books and on the web in my quest to score well on medical tests and feel fine. Rip's book is a great find. It joins a few other recent highly scientifically based books on nutrient dense eating styles to point to a workable way to health via plant strong eating. Rip's book is different in that first it is fun to read (stories, quips, friendly words) and second that it offers a way that an individual can run a personal test in only a few weeks. He offers you a challenge. You take it. You see the results. You decide whether you'll change your eating. And you can change it because the "how to" (explanations) and "what" (recipes) are in ENGINE 2 DIET. He references those other scientific books in ENGINE 2 DIET if you want to probe scientific foundations.

As an older person, I took the exercise message he gives and incorporated daily physical training into my life, but I toned down the activities. In discussion with Rip I have a routine that takes into account my older ligaments, my slower recovery time from older muscle tissue, and my lingering slower cardiovascular recovery time ( from a lifetime of too much standard American diet). I won't enter a triathlon contest, but by modest daily training I am strong enough and I can move enough to do just about anything else I choose.

I hope Rip is successful in setting up an ongoing web support system. Support when you take the challenge really helps. And for those who see exercise in an anathema, a web site might give a workable "challenge" method to guide those of us 'slightly less than normal" into exercising in a way that is do-able and reasonably pleasant.

Darrell Williams

This is the most amazing diet. I never go on diets but I bought this book as a gift for my son-in-law and when I read it I decided I had to go on it. Heart drugs had made me put on weight and even though I swim a mile a day it would not disappear. I was most concerned about my cholesterol which is normal but still I thought to try the diet. I have been on it for two months now and have lost ten pounds. I have been taken off the blood pressure medicine and all other drugs have been reduced. I have tons more energy. This diet consists of all the things I would never eat, (which I eat now), and none of the things I love. OH! Well!. The book itself is fun to read. I have now bought four of them for friends. Hey! I'm 73. If I can do it anybody can.

So, if you found out that you could take control of your health, extend your life and have more energy every day of that life would you be adventurous enough to make the changes required or would you bitch and moan about not being able to enjoy buffalo wings and donuts? The stuff that Rip writes about is backed up by hard science and test groups. If you have a family to raise, things left to do with your life and a desire to live well you really can't ignore the advice in this book. No one will put a gun to your head and demand that you do everything in the book right away but if you started to implement this program and then eased into it week by week you will wake up one day healthier and happier than you have been in years.

It's never all or nothing. My family follows this diet most days of the week. Once in a while we go out for a burger. But the benefits accrue and they are real.

To anyone who believes you need animal protein in your diet you only have to watch the author swim with his Austin masters swim team. The guy has it all: Speed, endurance and boundless energy. He is a the poster man for living clean.

You'll probably spend more on your next dinner out than you will on this book. The interesting thing is that the dinner out may shorten your life while draining your wallet. The book will help extend your life while helping reshape the way we eat and the wasteful way we (as a nation) experience food.