Customer Reviews

PORTION SAVVY: THE 30-DAY SMART PLAN FOR EATING WELL

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I always thought I knew how & what to eat. That it was simply a matter of excersicing more to lose weight. I have never been interested in "dieting", most seemed so extreme, and didn't make sense nutrition wise. Nor was I interested in joining Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, the programs don't teach you how to shop, cook or eat for yourself, you have to buy their food. I found this book easy to follow and have lost 25lbs since I read it 9 months ago. It gives you a terrific balance of day to day meal planning, recipes & nutrition information. Now I truely know how much food my body needs to maintain and lose weight. I highly recommend this book for anyone out there who has struggled with their weight. However, like anything you need to be serious about making changes in your habits for it to work. I have never lost this much weight doing anything else. Just try it!

I think this book is good for people who are serious about losing weight. I have always exercised, but I also thought I could eat anything I wanted as well. Portion Savvy has taught me that my body does not need the amount of food that I have been putting into it.I didn't use the recipes because I don't really like a structured eating plan. With the information on snacking, metabolism and portions I have been watching what I eat but also eating my favorite foods (like pizza) in moderation. Most people who read this book will be very motivated to lose weight and keep it off but they have to have control of their eating habits. It is not a miracle plan; it is common sense put together with helpful guidelines.

This book finally made me realize I was overheating and just how much. It's simple and easy to understand. I've lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks and I feel like the other 15 are just around the corner.

The premise of this book--that we are all suffering from "portion distortion"--is right on the money. The "Super Duper Biggie" sized food we get these days at most restaurants (and not just fast-food) is bordering on the absurd--do we really need to consume a package of fries that's the equivalent of 3 whole potatoes?

The best thing about this book (and her other one) is the recipes--they truly are tasty and most are easy to prepare. Unfortunately the diet is overall just way too restrictive and the nutritional guidelines are outdated. Overall it's a very typical low-fat, high carbohydrate diet--they're a dime a dozen these days. And although the author does give lip service to including more whole grains in your diet, she still advocates bagels, bread, pasta, rice, tortillas and other refined starches in the food plan. She also clearly picks and chooses what research she shows to support her way of eating--ignoring the research showing that super low-fat diets do not result in lasting weight loss and can actually lead to increased triglycerides. Current research has shown pretty clearly that increased levels of healthy monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil) are health-promoting (in her defense she does encourage moderate consumption of "fatty fish" such as salmon, but it's not enough to make a difference). These principles of "portion savvy-ness" would be more helpful applied to a more reasonable eating plan (something along the lines of a Mediterranean diet, but with more globally-based menus).

Unless you're very inactive to begin with, you'll be very, very hungry on this diet. I'm a very active man who lifts weights several times a week, plus 3-4 hours of cardio a week and according to her calculations I need 1600 calories a day! Something's wrong there. I could only stay on it for about 3 days before my sanity was stretched to the limit. I was hoping to use this to lose the last 15 or so pounds while eating interesting food... unfortunately it missed the mark.

If you're looking for good recipes to include in your own eating program then this is worth it, but the low-fat, high-carb rhetoric is outdated and difficult to maintain.

I only had 10 pounds to lose but I always struggled with it. This book taught me that there's no use following gimmicky diets- that being in touch with your body's needs and being honest with yourself is vital. I never realized how much I had been eating. It wasn't what combination and what type of food I was reaching for. There's no wrong food as long as you eat only just enough to be satiated and that doesn't mean starvation.

When I read this book, I was thinking, "Yeah, right! This is too easy." Well, I am very overweight (have 100 pounds to lose), so I was willing to try it (especially since it seemed so easy and logical). I decided to try what she said and NOT add exercise just to test the merits of her idea.

Well, I am happy to report that with very little effort and NO STARVING or deprivation, I dropped a dress size over the summer!!

The book comes with pop-outs in the shapes and sizes of certain foods that are unbelievably useful. In a very short time, I was not even able to eat the portions I used to. Also, the author discusses, in detail, body mass index, metabolism, etc., so that you clearly understand the benefit of eating and eating right.

I eat whatever I want as long as it is within a portion or less. I am eating 5-6 small healthy meals and I am now exercising. I tried everything before and nothing worked - BECAUSE DIETS DON'T WORK, BUT CHANGING YOUR LIFESTYLE DOES.

I highly recommend everyone, no matter your size, read this book! It will change your life!

This is a great book! Although I see the point of some of the readers who say it is a bit simplistic, it is actually a very simple principle that most of us -- in our desire to have it (or at least eat it) all have abandoned -- PORTIONS DO COUNT!! After reading through the book I was amazed at how flexible my concept of serving sizes had become -- we are all going through the "supersizing of America" and this book is one way to stop ourselves from getting oversized along with it! It is common sense really, and that is refreshing in a diet book. I would recommend that anyone using this book also familiarize themselves with a calorie counting guide (a great on-line one is available at cyberdiet.com -- check out the fast food portion and despair!!) and a food scale. Best of luck to everyone -- I have lost ten pounds so far and honestly have not felt at all deprived!! 40 to go . . .

My physician husband recently used this book to achieve a 30 lb weight loss in 3 months. This is what he called "Something they never taught me in medical school". We never tried any dieting plan or read any diet books, so we can not really compare this book to others. One thing we do know is the priciples outlined in this book do work. We are lucky to read Wiatt's book as the very first and perhaps the very last diet book we will ever need. It is really about life long behavior change. Highly recommended.

I did this plan and lost 8 pounds in the 30 days WITHOUT exercising. I'm sure I would have lost more if I had exercised. What I like about this plan is that you can eat this way for the rest of your life because there is no gimmick. It allows you to actually live your life. To the reader that wanted something new, I say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sometimes the same-old is the right way.

Most people know that the only key to safe, long-term weight loss is to eat less and exercise more. Sounds easy enough, but I always found it difficult to practice--until I read this book. Unlike most weightloss plans, Portion Savvy will help you determine how much you should eat and what to eat. The best part? You don't even have to count calories--the author has done all of the work for you. You'll learn how to eat REAL food (cereal, bagels, spaghetti, deli sandwiches, even pizza) in the correct-sized portions. If you enjoy cooking, the book includes several weeks worth of recipes that are all excellent. And for those who prefer to dine out, this book will show what to order and how much of it to eat. Highly recommend this book if you are ready to stop dieting and prepared to change your lifestyle.