Customer Reviews

Neris and India's Idiot Proof Diet Cookbook

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is incredible! I'm on Day 10 of this eating plan and have lost 9 pounds! It truly is amazing. I've lost 40-lbs. up to now on the less-calories & less-fat approach but this way of eating is SO much less painless--once I got over the awful craving for breads, pasta, chips, etc. I'm just thrilled with the initial results. The first few days were pretty rough from carb cravings but once I got over that hump it's been very doable. I eat loads more veggies than I ever have and everything I eat is fresh. Nothing processed/altered--which is different from my other plan. I highly recommend this if you've "hit the wall" with your current diet. I feel SO MUCH better--no afternoon sluggishness and I wake up not feeling tired. India and Neris are a hoot and I love their daily entries for; it really helped me to read those. A+ and THANK YOU NERIS & INDIA!!! --A grateful reader.

Neris and India are the Trinny and Susannah (of What Not to Wear fame) of dieting. This book could have easily been called "What Not to Weigh," and it is more of a dieting companion than an actual plan. The Idiot-Proof Diet is basically a low-carb diet with a slight spin and some really wonderful recipes (sadly too few of them) thrown in.

The humorous, self-effacing tone is engaging and the journal-style entries truly make the reader want to join Neris and India on their day-to-day ups-and-downs of trying to lose weight - which they successfully accomplish. There are lots of great and useful tips, too. This book is basically for weight loss support, and it successfully fulfills that mission in an utterly charming way rarely found in other diet books.

This is definitely a book that appeals to women. I don't think men would identify with it at all, but of course the subtitle lays that out.

I read this book in 2 days from front to cover! I love it and I felt like they knew me all too well! There is many funny moments, many aha moments and lots of inspirations. This is unlike any other "diet" book i have ever read. I plan on starting this type of eating on monday. It makes so much sense to me as I am a carb whore! I am also a nurse and I bought all the supplements with no hesitation and I agree with this type of eating as to be healthy. I love eating fresh foods, organic foods and regular fat foods not fat free or light as they are not healthy for you at all.

If you are stuck in a rut, and the scale keeps going in the wrong direction, read this book. It is entertaining and they give lots of resources and web sites for things. What do yo have to lose, it is worth the 2 shirt days of reading, trust me!

I am half way through the book and going to start my journey tomorrow, to a new lifestyle. However, I want to comment on this book now and will check back in later. These women are hilarious and I could read this book as a novel and laugh out loud, even if I weren't going to follow the plan.
I have seen some comments that there are not enough recipes in the book, this is somewhat true, however I don't think it is a bad thing. The recipes are fantastic, basic and a great guideline for the follower to make changes and try new variations. This is a diet book, not a cookbook. The first thing I did was pull my "Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cookbook" off the counter and flag everything I can make, and was amazed at how much I found.

Another reason I love these women is that they know the important things in life.....there is no alcohol in the first 2 weeks, however, if you want to stay on phase 1 longer, they let you drink!!! Also, beware of the F-bombs, you may not want to get this book for grandma, or maybe you do, because you have a cool grandma!

I highly recommend this book and will be checking back in later.

Bests!

I spent about 19 years going from slim and svelte to corpulent and colossal. Over the last few years I made a few half-hearted attempts at changing, either dieting or exercising for a week or two before throwing in the towel. I read all kinds of diet and exercise journals and spent a ton of (wasted) money on them.

This book is different.

First of all it is written by two people who have not only been obese and battled through the change, but they are willing to share not only the 'before' pictures but the trials and tribulations of the journey (including the failures).

Secondly it spends the first few chapters just getting to the point of WHY and HOW they got fat (and helping the reader to do the same). It gives some of the lies they told themselves (some of which were the same as mine), including avoiding photos/full length mirrors to avoid being confronted with their overweight bodies.

The perfect diet (IMO) is:

1. The one that works for YOU.
2. The one YOU can live with for the rest of your life.

It's not about dieting, as I've found out, it is about changing your "Way of Eating" and lifestyle - forever.

The Authors: The book is very blunt and straight to the point - which it NEEDS to be - if you can't handle being honest and blunt with yourself then you won't like India's writing. She is extremely blunt. Someone in another review called her "snarky", which I guess if you can't handle bluntness you might think that.

Neris on the other hand has a harder time coming to grips with her weight loss goals, getting motivated and staying motivated. There are quite a few of us who have 'dieted' who can relate to that. Throwing in the towel, giving up, feeling overwhelmed. It happens to a lot of people. I appreciated seeing that very human side of her and reading about her getting beyond it.

I give this book five stars and recommend it to everyone. Even if you do not feel that low carb is right for you as a diet, this is a recommended read just for the first few chapters. Even in the later chapters they tell you that if you skipped over those first few chapters you need to go back and read them.

This plan was simple and straight forward, I like that. My only issue was having to give up fruit. I lost some weight and feel pretty darn good!

This book is incredible! I'm on Day 10 of this eating plan and have lost 9 pounds! It truly is amazing. I've lost 40-lbs. on the less-calories & less-fat approach but this way of eating is SO much less painless--once I got over bad craving breads, pasta, etc.. I'm just thrilled. The first few days were pretty rough from carb cravings but once I got over that hump it's been very doable. I eat loads more veggies than I ever have and everything I eat fresh. Nothing processed/altered. I highly recommend this if you've "hit the wall" with your current diet. I feel so much better--no afternoon sluggishness and I wake up not feeling tired. India and Neris are a hoot and I love their daily entries for; it really helped me to read those. A+ and THANK YOU NERIS & INDIA!!! --A grateful reader.

I bought this book on my kindle, and I would recommend getting the real deal paper format. You will want to refer back & forth quite a bit, and make notes that do not fit the Kindle format.
The beginning diet is like Atkins, South Beach, The Zone,
so if you have one of those, go get it out and save some money.
This diet is done in phases as the above diets, and you will be cutting out sugar also - ALL SUGAR, so if you have SugarBusters book, don't need this one. What it basically comes down to is an eating change for life.
Low Carb - and eating fresh organic non processed food. High Protein,
lean meat,poulty, fish; lots of veggies, drinking tons of water, enough to float an ARK, and making a lifesyle change.
Nothing really new here huh?
however, if you are amassing a "diet library", like I have, go for it!

This is really a great book. Well written, humorous and you feel that they understand exactly what you go through, unlike other diet book authors! Only problem I had was with the measurements for ingredients. I need the American translation. But I loved it! Great book!

Reviewed by Vicky Burkholder
on 07/08/2008

I've read a lot of diet books. This is the first one written by someone who actually followed the diet. Neris and India are not dieticians, health experts, doctors, or any other expert on losing weight. What they are, is two women who were overweight and tried multiple diets until they found something that worked for them. What they came up with is basically a modified Atkins/South Beach diet that puts you through a heavy carb detox the first two weeks.

The language is frank - sometimes a little too frank (if you're opposed to the "f" word, skip a couple pages), but you don't doubt their sincerity. They are honest about their struggles and about how hard it is to lose weight. In the diet portion of the book, they are also honest about how they felt each day of the diet, including constipation, cravings, and generally feeling like crap. But they did lose weight - nearly 140 pounds between the two of them.

I have to admit reading this book was almost as entertaining as reading a novel. It is honest and pulls no punches. If I have any issues with it, they are because of the printing and some of the language. The language is noted above. Though realistic, it is disconcerting. The other issue is the colorization of the pages. The print is normal size black print but the pages are anything but normal white. They range from off white to dark gray. The darker the pages, the harder they are to read. Eyestrain is a definite possibility while attempting to read, especially when light is less than optimal. The publisher should pay less attention to cute marketing ploys and more attention to readability.

So, if you want a realistic book based on low or no-carb diet, and you've got excellent eyesight, this is a definite book for you. It will tell you what's going on and help you through the worst days to a new you. But as with any diet book, be sure to check with your doctor before trying anything.