Customer Reviews

How the Rich Get Thin: Park Avenue's Top Diet Doctor Reveals the Secrets to Losing Weight and Feeling Great

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Jana Klauer an MD specializing in weight control with a private practise in the ritzy Park Avenue area of New York has penned a weight loss book describing how she helps her rich patients lose weight. She describes her diet as "the key to how successful, rich and busy modern men and women get it off and keep it off."

The title to the book sounded a bit gimmicky so I was surprised as I read the book to read alot of solid information. She stresses the importance of daily exercise, how protein can help suppress appetite, why calcium can increase your metabolism, how prescription drugs can cause weight gain and more. There is a lot of good information in this book and Dr. Klauer spells it out; weightloss takes effort and determination. She also includes a simple method to help with cravings that can really come in handy. (Set a stopwatch for 15 minutes, drink water, eat protein to normalize your blood sugar and wait it out.)

But despite the excellent information Klauer shares, the bottomline is "How The Rich Get Thin" is a high protein, low carb diet that will be very difficult to stay on. There are two phases. Phase 1 is the "Get It Done Phase". You follow this phase till you are within 5 pounds of your goal weight. Typical day: Breakfast: 2 omega 3 eggs with 1 ounce of low fat cheese and 1/2 cup of berries, coffee or tea. Midmorning: A cup of green tea. Lunch: A large mesclun salad with 4 grilled shrimp and lemon juice, tea, water. Afternoon snack: Caprese Salad, water, green tea. Dinner: Mixed green salad with 2oz Parmesan cheese and lemon juice, 4-5 oz red snapper, steamed asparagus, yogurt with cinnamon for desert. Phase 2 maintenance adds in some carbs but not many.
Not a lot of food. And you are also expected to exercise for 1 hour each day. My guess is anyone who can follow this plan is either already thin or will likely regain any weight they lose from following it. It's simply too restrictive.

Dr. Klauer intersperses her text with little quips and Park Avenue tales..these range from interesting to pretty silly.
For example she tells how embarrased one of her patients, Amber, was when she told her date to order dinner for her and then left to use the restroom when he ordered. When she returned she complimented him on his choice of the salmon only to be told it was not salmon but was a very rare, expensive wild Arctic char fish. "Amber was mortified and for the rest of the evening said very little to avoid making any other faux pas". Seems to me that a grown women who is "mortified" by mistaking one fish for another needs a little head examination..not a weight loss doctor.
Dr.Klauer also suggests you reach for the very fine quality food items and avoid processed foods. I am fine with this but as an example she would have you reach for the "20 gram presentation of Caviar Tsar Imperial Beluga" instead of the lumpfish from a tin. When I took a peek at prices for the Imperial Beluga..well lets just say that at $175 for a 50gram serving, most of us will be sticking with Chicken of the Sea tuna.

Dr. Klauer makes the case for avoiding processed foods and also encourages you to add more calcium to your diet. She says many of her patients enjoy Viactiv calcium chews. Main ingredient in the chews, corn syrup. Second ingredient, high fructose corn syrup. Not a good choice for one avoiding faux foods.

The 268 page book includes recipes such as Lauren's Marinated Tuna, Black Soybean Salsa with Cod, Greek Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Tahini Salad, Baked Pears with Walnuts and Figs and Yogurt Cheesecake. Her preference would be you use organic eggs, fresh herbs and spices and and whole wheat flour when called for. It should be noted that splenda is used instead of sugar in the recipes.

The back of the book lists resources including mercury levels in fish, also restaurants and shops in New York where you can purchase high quality foods and there is reference section.

Bottomline..good overall information but unreasonably strict diet for the short or long haul no matter how much money you have.

I am very impressed with this book in regards to how simple it is to understand what the doctor is writing about when she is describing the human body and nutrition. Usually, I am so turned off by the medical jargon of how our bodies work and how nutrition plays a part in that...however, I was able to fully comprehend and plow through everything this author wrote (notice I did not say it was an enjoyable task...I wanted to skip forward to the diet part, but I am glad I didn't).

Now, as for the plan. The reason I gave this book only 4 stars is because the author does advocate giving up certain foods such as bread and dried pasta. Yes, this is a high-protein diet and carbs are restricted, even though the author never comes right out and says this.

The author suggests that you put forth a plan of action for losing weight, which includes exercising at least an hour per day and adhering to her minimum amount of calcium per day (note that you have to space out your consumption of calcium during the day due to our bodies natural tendency to only absorb a maximum of 500 mg at any one time...a little tidbit explained in the nutritional section, so please read it!). All processed foods are OUT. The author advises you to purge your fridge and cupboard of anything processed and anything that has ingredients you cannot pronounce. She also advises you to throw out all dried herbs and use only fresh herbs. Costly, yes. However, according to the author, your health is worth the added expense.

All in all, this book was a great read for me and I will be incorporating the plan into my lifestyle. The author's tone is friendly, authoritative and encouraging without being too overbearing. Anyone who has read and enjoyed books on the French lifestyle (i.e. Fat Fallacy, FWDGF, etc) will find that this book fits nicely into their library - it will even put to use those yogurt machines we all purchased after reading French Women Don't Get Fat!

First and foremost, despite the fad title, I love the diet proposed in Jana Klauer's "How the Rich Get Thin." Not only does it make perfect sense, but after eating on this plan for two weeks, I can successfully report that I have indeed lost weight as benchmarked by the near perfect fit of my favorite pair of `weight-testing' jeans.

After a few years of attempting the other Dr. "Klauer's" (Clower's) French diet, where slow eating small portions and no snacking supposedly add up to more pleasure and a smaller waistline, I found this Park Avenue Dr. Klauer's phase 1 diet to be flush with good choices (of course only real food prevails here-no processed foods allowed) that more than adequately satisfied both my nutritional needs and food satiety for the day. Plus, a strategy actually exists that takes into account what we know about nutrition today; instead of epitomizing the clueless American merely observing the French who apparently luck out on their eating alternatives, Klauer tells you why certain combinations will work for you and provides menus that allow you to accomplish your goal with greater understanding that hopefully will offer no-brainer, non-weight increasing options while you are in the maintenance phase.

Yes, some of the reviews have deemed this plan to be stringent and some of the food ideas exorbitantly expensive, but I think you need to judge that and the results for yourself and simply substitute less lavish food selections. A three day "jump-start" kicks off the diet with the objective of driving your metabolism into high gear while shedding some of the bloat and maintaining muscle mass. An all-important hour's worth of exercise performed before eating breakfast gets your body moving even if you are only willing or able to walk. Strictly high protein, this three days of omega-3 eggs, low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, canned tuna, fresh grilled or baked fish, salad, water, green tea and raw vegetables will ready your body for the longer "Get It Done" Phase 1 of the Diet.

Until you are within 5 to 7 pounds of your goal weight, Phase 1 expands the food selections found in the Jump-Start without any nutritional deprivation. A daily quotient of food includes the three basic meals with the addition of two snacks-one actually providing something more substantial than a cup of green tea. For example, breakfast consists of a complete meal -- berries, eggs and low-fat cheese, coffee or tea with low-fat milk if desired. A mesclun salad with balsamic vinaigrette and 4 grilled shrimp provides an adequate lunch followed by a mid-afternoon snack of mozzarella, basil and tomato salad. Dinner includes 4 to 5 ounces of grilled fish, served with salad and asparagus and finished with a dessert of low-fat yogurt spiked with cinnamon and Splenda. (Caveat: Forego the Splenda. The author's recommendation of Splenda as an engineered sugar substitute sets this reviewer's teeth on edge as this is a relatively new product and thereby unproven as safe.) Prior to bedtime two calcium citrate capsules insure at least 1200 mg of calcium absorption on a daily basis.

The author goes into such great length discussing the merits of including calcium in the form of dairy to each meal that at times I wondered if she was being funded by the American Dairy Association. I checked on her data with my own health care provider and yes, it seems that not only does added calcium in this format help to lower blood pressure and reduces cancer risk; it helps one dieting to lose weight on a significantly higher percentage level than one might expect.

Note that during phase 1 of the diet, one's protein choices are limited to fish, low-fat dairy and omega-3 eggs. When goal weight nears fruition, the introduction of other good food choices becomes paramount on a weekly basis. Week 1 substitutes some chicken, turkey and meat for the fish. Week 2 adds a piece of fruit to the mid-afternoon snack. Legumes make their reappearance in week 3 as do sweet potatoes in week 4. Week 5 reintroduces nuts - always a bone of contention with me as I love them so, but don't feel that they help me maintain my weight----Klauer provides a nice sidebar which explains the nuts per calories ration. During week 6 complex carbs like whole grains and breads may be included 2 to 3 times a week. A modicum of wine can be included only after achieving goal weight.

Klauer rounds out the dieting plan by including information-rich chapters on the drug-weight connection, exercise, stress relief, and anti-aging nutrition and finishes with nearly 70 pages of recipes, on-line organic food sources and Manhattan restaurant suggestions just in case you find yourself powering your way through the Big Apple.

Bottom line: Forget the title, the Park Avenue shmaltz and the suggestions to indulge in caviar at $200 an ounce. Follow the plan and constantly refer to the sidebars which will fill your head and stomach with good sense options that will keep your food choices from getting boring. Recommended to anyone who wants to lose weight using the most effective and sensible plan out there at any age.

The differences in this book and others that I have read is obvious. Yes, most of the information she has is readily accessible all over the internet, but who wants to go find it all. She keeps the information short and tells us only what we really need to know about the studies and the nutrition. I love that you can follow the meal plans easily without really having to measure out each thing obsessively. I have been on this plan (I am not calling it a diet) for 4 weeks and lost 20 pounds! The better part is that I have not been able to excersize very much, but my energy level is so increased and I am not hungry in between meal and snacks. I also like that you can learn these easy meals and if you prefer some over others you can mix and match easily. The biggest thing is that I know I am eating such healthy foods and I hope that this will help me live a longer, healthier life. I travel a lot and I have been able to get all my meals in restaurants that follow this plan.

UPDATE!: I have now been following Dr. Klaur's plan for 3 months and have lost 40 pounds and 4 clothes sizes. I feel great!

ANOTHER UPDATE: Ilost 60 pounds and have kept it off. It has been one year since I started following the plan in this bood.

When I was growing up in Upstate New York, I was skinny. I hated being thin and could pump iron and eat all day to no avail. Then, I grew up. I aged. By my mid-twenties I had packed on 40 pounds (over my college years). While people still thought I was thin, I wasn't. I should have been happy, but I noticed that carrying this extra weight around was wearing my joints and me out. I could exercise and lose weight, but barely walk because of the shin splints (from running).

While I read a bunch, this is my first review of any book on Amazon. I feel so positively about this author, this book and my desire to help friends, I am urging you to change your life style, as I was able to do working with this book's approach.

It's not just our lives that depend on boomers changing their habits, it's our nation's health. Klauer's book, put plainly, works. It's well-written and interesting. You will find yourself marking pages that you want to re-read to keep yourself on-track.

Maybe others have written more scientifically and elegantly, but this book makes common sense (her notions of sodium and calcium, dairy and protein). So what if there is nothing new, books are written and published every day that are a particular author's take on a subject.

Maybe the Manhattan references will bug you. Listen, I live in the country. Regardless of our addresses or income levels, we must be willing to change and change permanently to see results. My results?

I started the diet on March 9, 2006. Five months months later, I had lost 25.5 pounds. That sounds exact, but when I get up in the morning (for the last several weeks) and read the same numbers on the scale, I know that something has been accomplished by someone with someone's else help.

Oh yeah, I exercise, but not nearly as much as I used to when I was much heavier and trying to stay in good shape. I don't have to. I regularly exercise, but it is not ardous-need-a-nap-afterwards work. It's fun. My joints feel better than they have in many, many years, and I can run again. And, I have long left behind my junk food cravings.

If your stuck, willing to commit to a change in life style, want a huge accomplishment to write about in your journal, or simply know it for yourself, this book worked for me. I can't wait to see my doctor's face when I visit for my annual check-up, and personally I am interested in what my blood chemistry will look like.

I purchased this book in response to a write up in The Dallas Morning News. I am totally stunned at the results! The jump start (first three days) is designed to enable one to lose a dress size during that time frame and is amazing. Two weeks ago, I was a size eight and I'm unbelievably in a pair of size four slacks that I have had for 7 years and couldn't manage to ever squeeze back into! I cannot begin to explain how incredible it feels to be in my old clothes without looking like a sausage! Yes, this does require exercise and I've been excercising with a friend in a boot camp style regime and pilates. I've also followed most suggestions in the book. I've eliminated all breads and pastas and rices and processed foods from my diet. This is truly amazing...if you're willing to put some effort into it.

As a health professional, I have seen many, many diets come and go. The information in this book should not be viewed as a quick fix, but rather a blueprint on how to eat for optimal health and wellness. Dr. Klauer has a clear and concise focus on what needs to be done to lose the weight. She truly tells it like it is. Throughout the book, Dr. Klauer not only stresses high quality proteins and colorful fruits and vegetables, but also calcium, which is quite often negected by other "diets". I have used The Stop! Watch! Method to curb my own cravings more than once; it really works! Also, as a New York City resident and health and fitness professional, I have worked with some of Dr. Klauer's patients. The ones that have stuck to her diet and exercise plan have made amazing transformations to their bodies that have changed the quality of their lives. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to lose weight, and wants advice they can trust.

This is quite a good book. It's an honest look at a no gimick way of losing weight, which if you are disciplined enough to stick to, then you will get results. It's a high protein and low carb diet (which can be a challenge to stick to) from a trained physician who knows her stuff. She'll teach you how to manage cravings, enforce the need to exercise for 1 full hour a day (also a challenge if you're pushed for time) and how calcium increases your metabolism. There are 2 phases that this goes through. Get It Done (first phase) and Maintenance (slowly adding back a little amount of carbs). She'll also give you recipes as well as a list of stores to buy some of the mentioned foods (this pertains to New Yorkers so the rest of us might hunt a while).

Overall, I don't think she alerts us to anything very new, but she reinforces what we should already know and do, and maybe this time it will sink in with more people and if you are determined enough, I think this method can and will truely work for you.

Like many women, I have lost weight many, many times, but keeping it off has been difficult. In January, I went back to my popular meeting type weight loss program, but this time I started to read everything I could on the topic and incorporated many of the ideas I learned on my own with my program. I've enjoyed a lot of success and sense strongly that this time the weight is going to stay off.

Some of the information I learned on my own is similar to what is outlined in Klauer's book, so almost by accident I have been following her program to a large extent. Don't hesitate to purchase this book if, like me, you are an avid weight loss reader. Klauer provides plenty of new information and is very motivating.

Almost instantly, the weight started to come off rather nicely, my energy level improved and best of all...my appetite seems in check. I lost twenty pounds and have almost effortlessly kept it off. New information to me however, was the idea of exercising every day. While losing weight, I exercised three days at the gym and did light walking on the two alternate days. Lately, I have only been going to the gym, three days a week, but might bump it up to four. I do not eat as much dairly as suggested in the book, but I'm considering increasing my consumption per the author's suggestion. I'm not sure if daily exercise is needed and would be concerned that some people might become dismayed/over tired if they worked that hard. My own doctor suggested that a good workout at the gym four times a week is sufficient.

As a side note: some of the things I have been doing mentioned in the book include: a calcium supplement multiple times a day, I drink mineral water often, I eat a lot of salad with very low fat dressing, I keep my fruit intake to a minimum, I eat a lot of vegetables, I don't eat bread or similar complex carbs, I eat good quality protein at most meals. Like I mentioned above, one major difference in my case is that I don't exercise daily, but I exercise regularly and burn as many calories as possible in the time I've set aside to do so.

I should add that since buying How the Rich Get Thin....I have lost two additional pounds. This was just from making a few minor changes in my eating routine, based on the author's advice. I also found her to be very motivating and uplifting.

Bottom line: This is an excellent book with solid information that just might inspire you...and that's a large part of the battle right there.

Yes, another diet book. This one attempts to slim America by sharing the "secrets" that have worked for this Park Avenue diet doctor and her clients.

The only problem: There's nothing new or "secret" here, and we all know that socialites drink like fish, smoke like chimneys, and frequent the plastic surgeon's office so often they should have frequent flier miles.

Eat smaller portions. Push away the bread basket. Drink water instead of alcohol. Get 60 minutes of exercise a day. Sound familiar?

I also had a problem with the "Manhattan is the center of the universe" attitude that Klauer adopted. You know, there are other states outside of New York, and we don't all have access to Central Park and NYC restaurants.

All in all, it's not a BAD book. There's just nothing new. And nothing that's going to turn you into SJP overnight.