Customer Reviews

The Foundation Diet: Your Body Was Designed to Eat

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I discovered a book called The Foundation Diet by a psychiatrist named Dr. Anthony J. Burlay the other day and was fascinated by his creative approach to weight management.

Dr. Burlay, who lost 50 pounds on his weight loss plan and has kept it off, said some diet programs fail for certain people because they unnecessarily eliminate certain foods that your body was "designed to eat." Some may say that's what happens on a low-carb diet, but Dr. Burlay is actually referring to the foods that our ancestors long ago had to survive on -- vegetation, fruits, nuts and what could be "captured or found." The other foods that we consume these days were never meant to enter our bodies.

The Foundation Diet explains this in great detail and provides the reader with compelling reasons to get back to the low-carb roots of the early humans.

Interestingly, Dr. Burlay explained that our tastes can and will change over time. In other words, foods that we used to find extremely desirable suddenly become less desirable to us after the "initial discomfort" of denying ourselves the pleasure of indulging in such foods.

"It is as though your taste buds evolve to a new plateau of satisfaction," Dr. Burlay stated. "Those foods that previously had such a grip over your decision making may actually cause an adverse response. You will go by the donut or pizza shop with a new found freedom and not give in to the primitive part of your brain linked to emotions and food aroma."

As a 180+ pound weight loss success, I have found this exact phenomena to be right on the money. I never would have thought it would be true, but you can actually lose your desire for your favorite foods. Think about that food you think you could never live without. Got it? Okay, now just imagine there being a day when you become so repulsed by even the thought of that food that you could never put it to your lips again. THAT HAPPENED TO ME!

I started my low-carb lifestyle and stopped eating one specific food item that I ate gobs and gobs of without any hesitation. This food was, needless to say, my most favorite food in the world prior to the time I started livin' la vida low-carb (you'll have to read my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" book to find out what it is!).

But, it didn't jive with my low-carb eating plan, so it had to go. It was hard for a few months, but then something amazing happened. POOF! My desire disappeared. Into THIN AIR! Gone forever! Hey, how'd that happen?! I don't know, but it did and I am better off because of it. It really is a miracle and Dr. Burlay recognizes that in his book.

"Once you are eating a diet which is evolutionarily correct, you can and should pay attention to your body's signals to eat, says Dr. Burlay. "At that point your body will be telling you what it needs and you will find that your 'needs' and 'wants' are the same thing."

The Foundation Diet is a great book for low-carbers who want to read about little more of the historical precedence that low-carb had on humans long before anybody ever heard of Dr. Robert C. Atkins!

In doing some research on Dr. Burlay's views, I couldn't help but be attracted to an article he wrote called "'Low Fat' is Killing America." Oh, I'm lovin' this guy even more already!

He notes in that article that the USDA-recommended Food Pyramid "has not been effective as demonstrated by the increases in rates of overweight and obese Americans" and that a low-fat diet is not a "natural" thing for the body to endure.

Here's what Dr. Burlay writes about eating too many carbohydrates (you're gonna LOVE it!):

"After eating a meal rich in carbohydrates, your body secretes hormones that cause storage of the extra blood glucose in the liver as a storage material called glycogen. When this reserve gets filled up, the rest starts getting stored as fat. By changing your approach to eating, this process can reverse and cause fat burning."

In other words, by eating less fat you make it more likely for your body to store fat. But when you eat more fat, your body becomes a "fat burning" machine! That's the science behind livin' la vida low-carb and what helped this former 410-pounder go from flabby fat to sensationally skinny in one year.

One criticism of The Foundation Diet, though. That has got to be the UGLIEST book cover in the history of publishing. While I understand the motif that is trying to be presented, the cover design does nothing to attract attention to the reader. And that is such a shame considering the excellent content therein.

Nevertheless, The Foundation Diet is worth picking up.

I was very happy with this book from the start. Though there are some parts that are difficult, in general the book is informative and, at times, funny. There is just enough so you understand the points Dr. Burlay is trying to get across. Negatives: I do wish there were more recipes as I love most of those that are included and would like more. Also, as far as the exercises in the book (and I mean the kind you write not the kind that make you sweat)it would be nice if there were more of them and more space to write your thoughs. Positives: The book is very motivating, and if you like to cook you will love it. If you don't there is a section that helps you choose foods when you eat out. The last chapter addresses many situations that I needed help with, including eating with my kids and eating on vacation. I have gone back and read that part many times. Highly recommended.

The Foundation Diet is a diet book that emphasizes tips, tricks, and techniques that promote one to lose weight in a manner that puts the body's and brain's natural mechanisms to use for one. Author and psychiatrist Anthony J. Burlay, M.D. draws upon some of the core philosophy behind the Atkins diet to show the reader the importance of how and when to remove carbohydrates from the diet in order to nudge the body into burning its stores of fat for energy. At the same time, carbohydrates cannot be completely eliminated - vegetable carbs and plenty of fiber are particularly important to healthy nutrition and digestion, although The Foundation Diet does guide the reader toward eating meats and proteins much as the Atkins diet does. Above all, a critical key is not to simply skip meals or deprive oneself too much; such an action merely triggers the body to shift into fasting mode and conserve energy, rather than lose weight. A scientific-conscious dietary guideline and a welcome supplement to non-vegetarian diet and weight loss shelves.

This is a fad diet and I stuck to it but to no avail. Maybe it works for others but not for me.