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186 of 201 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Metabolism B CAN Be Solved With A Low-Carb Diet, But Why Remove Fat And Add Back In Carbs?, September 26, 2009
This review is from: The Metabolism Miracle: 3 Easy Steps to Regain Control of Your Weight . . . Permanently (Hardcover)
When you prominently use such a strong superlative word like "miracle" within the title of a diet book, then you had better be confident in your ability to deliver the goods. Registered dietitian Diane Kress has done her homework and identified a unique issue that inflicts upwards of 60 percent of the population and many of them don't even know it. It's called Metabolism B and requires a way of eating that isn't exactly embraced by the nutritional gatekeepers of our day.
How many of us have gone on diet after diet for years without ever keeping off any weight that has been lost? I've done it way too many times to count, but Kress explains that for some people it may not be our fault that we have struggled so much. And the unsightly belly fat is the worst all the while walking around too tired to exercise, hungry almost constantly, and wondering if this is the best life has to offer you. It's a depressing state that nobody should endure.
People with Metabolism B are different because we (yes, I'm one of them!) cannot eat an excessive amount of carbohydrate without packing on the pounds. Kress is also a Met B, so she understands the struggle just like we do and has developed an effective plan for combatting this once and for all. It's not calories in, calories out, it's not eating disgusting low-fat and fat-free foods, and it most certainly is not mustering up the willpower. There's a three-step process outlined in this book that give you all the tools you need to lose weight and keep it off for good!
Basically, you go through eight weeks of what Kress calls "Carb Rehab" as a means for giving your pancreas a chance to slow down on insulin production, heal and detoxify your liver, and allow fat cells to begin shrinking. You do this through an intense low-carbohydrate nutritional plan which will produce weight loss, improved health markers with your cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, and energy like you've never experienced before! Sample menus and food ideas are included in the book.
My only concern with what Kress shares in this book is her insistence on using "lean" meats, egg whites, low-fat cheese, and such. It's almost as if the registered dietitian in her won't allow her to see there are health benefits to consuming the fats contained in these foods as a regular part of the low-carb regimen for people with Met B. While Kress appreciates the work people like Dr. Atkins have done to promote low-carb principles to the public, she believes their ideas are antiquated since there has been so much research to come out in recent years. Unfortunately, I think she cherry picks the science that makes her case regarding saturated fat and isn't acknowledging the wealth of fresh new data that is out there.
The second part of the plan includes an eight-week or more "Transition...To Carbs" where "healthy carbohydrates" are added back into the diet to "gently restart your rested pancreas and liver." This was an odd change of gears since Kress has already identified that over half of people are walking around with an aversion to carbs. So what exactly is "healthy" about them that you need to put them back into your diet again? She says the carbs aren't the culprit, but it's their Met B condition that needed to get back into balance again. Eating the "low-impact carbohydrate" (I'll assume is low-glycemic load) is what will make that happen. But I think this is a recipe for falling prey to the carb creep that so often befuddles low-carb dieters.
The final phase is the "Lifetime Weight Maintenance" plan that adds even MORE carbohydrates into the diet along with the low-fat foods I previously mentioned as well as a few "treats" here and there. This is where you are supposed to live for the rest of your life, but how does this differ from any other high-carb, low-fat plan out there? What about people like me who are so sensitive to carbohydrate that they cannot tolerate more than 30-50g carbs daily? How does plan help lose weight and then keep it off forever adding back in carbohydrate no matter what their "impact" is?
As much I love the concept of Metabolism B and the low-carb solution that it offers people who are afflicted by it, I think Kress is still somewhat stuck on the idea that fat is somehow bad for you and carbohydrates play a necessary role in metabolism. Neither is true and that's unfortunate. Her insistence on things like eating every few hours, drinking lots of water, exercising 30 minutes a day for five days a week, and other typical dogmatic diet dictates shows she still hasn't caught on to what the latest studies are showing and is relying on her nutritional education to still guide her. I think she is on to something good, but it's not quite all the way there yet.
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136 of 150 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is a miracle!, May 8, 2009
This review is from: The Metabolism Miracle: 3 Easy Steps to Regain Control of Your Weight . . . Permanently (Hardcover)
For years I tried all kinds of diets saying to myself they should work if I really follow the rules, but they didn't. I thought I failed. Yet deep down I knew there was more to it. I'm not that lazy, yet the scale said otherwise. Then I learned about The Metabolism Miracle...and it is a miracle. In very clear language Diane Kress explains why my physiology doesn't fit the mold of all those other diets. She tells me why I am different and why those other diets will never work for me; something I knew but didn't understand. And it's backed up by fact based on Diane's research and physiology of the human body. A lot this has been known for a long time, yet no one has put the puzzle together like Diane has before. The book is full of information on how my body's metabolism works. The book explains each phase of the program in easy to follow steps and how your body will react to each step and it's full of data supporting each phase. In reading the book it seemed like there was an answer to each possible question - what if I slip (there's a plan to get back on track); what types of foods can I eat (not only are there sample menus, there are pages and pages of recipes); what do I do if I go out to eat; etc, etc. The book will be a reference book for me for years to come. I really am excited that I've found where I belong.
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72 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Metabolism Diversity, July 17, 2009
This review is from: The Metabolism Miracle: 3 Easy Steps to Regain Control of Your Weight . . . Permanently (Hardcover)
All you have to do is look around to realize that people are different. If you're a pear, you gain weight in the hips and thighs. If you're an apple, you gain weight around the middle. I know someone (the husband of one of my friends) who first gains weight in his face! The fact is while we can be classified into general categories, we are all really quite different from one another in every way, including our metabolisms.
It should be no surprise to anyone that metabolisms come in different models. Many of you have friends or family members who can eat whatever they want and maintain a healthy weight, while you may have been fighting your weight your entire life.
For example, take my sister and me. No one in the world is as genetically close to me as my sister. Same mother, same father, same height, same eye color, same hair color, and only 15 months apart. That's about where the similarities stop. I'm a pear; Cindy's an apple. I'm 58 years old with no signs of diabetes or prediabetes, while at 57 Cindy has been trying to manage her type 2 diabetes for nearly 20 years. So close genetically and yet so different.
I didn't buy this book for me ... I bought it for my sister, but I have been reading it so I can help her. I now know why we are so different ... I have Metabolism A; Cindy has Metabolism B. If you have a roll around the middle and gain weight easily, you may have Metabolism B like my sister. If you do, you need to order this book today!
Diane Kress, who struggled with her own Metabolism B, has come up with a three step program which will teach you how to live a life in harmony with your own unique metabolism.
Step One is carb rehab. You need rehab because carbs cause your pancreas to overreact and to release excess insulin to handle the rise in blood glucose. Your brain then gives you the signal to load up on more carbs in order to quickly raise the blood glucose. You are going to have to go through rehab to break this cycle.
Step Two is transition, a healthy path to carbs. Once you have completed Step One, your overactive pancreas has rested, your liver is functioning better, and your Metabolism B is ready to be reprogrammed to process carbs normally.
Step Three gives you the tools to keep the weight off for a lifetime. First you will identify your carb range, and then learn which carbs you can eat and how far apart to space your allotted servings. In this chapter, you'll find all the tools you need to continue your success ... charts, lists, and even tips on what to do when you slip up.
You may have Metabolism A, like me, but chances are you know someone with Metabolism B. About 45% of the population is afflicted with Metabolism B. When you see a young slender body with a small roll around the middle, you are probably looking at a person whose future includes weight-related health issues due to Metabolism B. While The Metabolism Miracle can help anyone, those with Metabolism B will benefit most. What I like best about the book is that it appeals to vegetarians and vegans, as well as those who eat meat. Many books appeal to one or the other, but not both. I also love the real-life stories of people who have been helped by Diane. I highly recommend this book to anyone who personally is struggling with excess weight, especially around the middle, or who wants to help someone else in that predicament.
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