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66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spoil Yourself Thin!, May 24, 2004
This review is from: The Martini Diet: The Self-Indulgent Way to a Thinner, More Fabulous You! (Hardcover)
Don't be fooled by the title, "The Martini Diet" by Jennifer "Gin" Sander, is not a version of the drinking man's diet. Instead it's a truly delcious way to lose weight!
The Martini Diet consists of 3 very simple rules: Rule #1 - Eat only the very best. Rule #2 - Eat somewhat less of the very best and Rule #3 - Eat the very best only at mealtimes (ie no snacking). According to Gin if you follow these rules the pounds will drop.
Personally I have tried a number of methods to lose the baby weight I gained (and baby is 14) from questionable supplements to lo-fat foods to food combining to Weight Watchers. I would get very hyped on these plans only to discover that none of it worked LONG TERM. You see, I like my comforts and that includes chocolate, wine, good bread, etc. So I just couldn't stick to programs that didn't include these goodies or that encouraged eating fake foods that made my appetite increase!
Gin's book teaches balancing pleasure with moderation. If you give up the fake, tacky foods like processed cheese whiz, and diet nutrition bars and lo-fat fake cookies etc. and if you eat real food in modest portions and don't snack much if at all, you can lose weight. And you will LOVE the process.
My dinner last night was a simple piece of grilled chicken, corn on the cob (no, you dont have to give up starches..just eat them in modest portions) and asparagus. Washed down with a glass of zin and chased by a piece of rich dark chocolate. What could be better?
I love Gin's book because of the refreshing way she writes. She entreats you to become a food snob and turn your nose up at the twinkies and boxed scalloped potatoes. You are too good for that. I love the way Gin tells you to treasure yourself and indulge in the very best.
However, there are a few things that bothered me about the book. The first is though Gin implores you to eat "REAL FOOD" she confesses she has a penchant for Slim-fast. Though Gin tells you to "LOVE YOUR FOOD" she then shares that she enjoys Slim-fast because, "it gets that morning meal out of the way". Huh? What happened to enjoying your food? She also includes recipes at the back of the book and a few include questionable ingredients like soda pop.
Despite the few inconsistencies, I give the book top ratings because of the core message. Gin's message is to "Spoil Yourself Thin". This will help you get out of the weight loss means depriviation and punishment mode. She suggests you treat yourself to the best food. When you get a craving, pamper yourself by beautifying yourself instead of eating. You participate in exercise you love instead of killing yourself at workouts you hate.
By now you may be wondering why the title, "The Martini Diet". This is because Gin suggests you indulge each day in a glass of wine or martini for the health benefits and pure enjoyment. She also gives simple techniques to figure out your portions sizes by using a martini glass. Nifty!
Gin admits she is not a scientist or doctor. She is just sharing what works for her. So if you read around the inconsistencies and stick to the core of what she is sharing you will have fun with the book. Gin wants you to enjoy your life and losing weight can be a pleasure if you follow her tips.
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Food, Food, Food -- Girls, You So Deserve It!, August 20, 2004
This review is from: The Martini Diet: The Self-Indulgent Way to a Thinner, More Fabulous You! (Hardcover)
What wonderful lifestyle books have come out this past year! All of them eschew either the old dieting axioms of counting calories or the newer dieting crazes which call for a complete removal of an entire food group, be it fat or carbohydrates, and actually celebrate the enjoyment of eating FOOD. What a delicious concept: living life passionately. Advocating the same message of Arbor's lovely "Joie De Vivre", a luscious account of the French lifestyle and "The Fat Fallacy" by Will Clower, an easy-to-read scientifically founded entreaty asking Americans to embrace real food rather than ingest convenience faux food alternatives, Author "Gin" Jennifer Basye Sander writes a fun book bulleted with interesting insights and hints on how to lavishly eat yourself thin. Understandably, Gin's role model is Julia Child, the queen of cream, whose long and well-lived life is a testament to all that Gin extols in "The Martini Diet": moderation and food snobbery of the highest and most decadent level. If your idea of dinner is a delectable soup followed by a course of succulently cooked roast chicken smothered with a wine-based sauce and surrounded by fresh vegetables and finished with a glass of vino and a small chocolate dessert, then by all means, read on, Gin will teach you how to enjoy all this and lose weight at the same time. No more measuring or arranging your plate to ressemble an annoying food clock; no more skipping the potatoes and the rice or passing on high priced olive oil and vinagrette dressings.
Gin's rules are easy enough to follow. She suggests eating only the best a la the French and their famous French Paradox, eating slightly less of the best, meaning no more supersized, wow-look-at-all-the-food-I-got-at-the-all-you-can-eat-buffet-for $5.99, and eating the best only at mealtimes, where snacks don't count as meals, they simply don't exist. Common un-American sense that embraces the slow-food movement and pushes aside fast food and its convenience as treating yourself with much less than you deserve. Think like a queen, eat like one and look like a princess.
With these concepts under your belt, her advice for avoiding the typical American feed troughs is simple and amusing to read--she calls it her Cinnabon Avoidance and in true Proustian style relates a familiar and deadly temptation--that succulent aroma wafting through the airport and the sight of those wonderfully gooey cinnamon buns that are sized like a mini-birthday cake instead of a typically sized muffin. Her practical tips include using everything under the sun, including breath and tooth whitening strips to get the thought of snacking on treats out of your mind; overall her comments border on breezy, wise-cracker funny and have you head nodding in agreement.
Admirably, unlike other lifestyle authors, Gin labels the popular style icons---Jackie O. and her ilk---as TOO SKINNY, commenting on their diets of consomme and lettuce as way too boring and restrictive. HOORAY for GIN! Im with you girl--I'd much rather be a size 8 and healthy--with the curves I was born to have!
Bottom line: this book is FUN and SAVVY. Its message doesn't only pertain to food, Gin discusses clothing and exercise with the same lavish approach. Buy well and look well. Partake in activities you love and you'll never skip a "workout" again. Why spin when you can ride a bike in the countryside? For a different perspective of the same concepts, pick up Clower's "The Fat Fallacy" and Arbor's magnificent "Joie De Vivre." Read all three with a glass of wine and a square of 70% dark chocolate and forget about the scale because you have satisfied all your cravings---in moderation.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Takes the "Diet" Out of Weight Loss, June 9, 2004
This review is from: The Martini Diet: The Self-Indulgent Way to a Thinner, More Fabulous You! (Hardcover)
Instead of advocating any particular type of diet for weight loss, "Gin" Sanders recommends a fun, painless way to lose those unwanted pounds. Her simple method involves three steps:
1) Eating only the best
2) Eating slightly less of the best, and
3) Eating the best only at mealtimes. Her method makes losing seem effortless, and yes, even indulgent. Also, dieters learn to respect/accept themselves RIGHT NOW, even before the pounds come off. And lastly, there are those great martinis to enjoy... Reviewer: Linda Painchaud
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