The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution [Hardcover]

Robert Pritikin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2000

The facts: "Low-fat" and "fat-free" processed foods are a major contributor to America's weight problem. Gimmicky calorie-counting diets leave you feeling hungry. Yo-yo dieting is devastating to your body. And strict dietary regimens never, ever last. Now, the world's premiere name in health and nutrition introduces a scientifically proven strategy for losing 2 to 7 pounds a weekand keeping it off. "If you focus on selecting foods with low calorie density, and worry less about how much of them you're eating," says Robert Pritikin, "you'll lose weight without ever feeling hungryand you'll look and feel great. That's the key to the success of the calorie-density solution." To date, this revolutionary approach has only been available to participants in Pritikin Longevity Center programs. Now, you can put all the experts of the Pritikin Center to work for you. Includes charts of calorie-density levels in common foods. Provides more than 50 delicious recipes and an a! rray of easy-to-follow menu plans. Debunks popular fad diets.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After years of ultra-low-fat eating schemes, high-protein plans, and fad diets, a new diet mentality is dawning. Diet gurus are preaching what many nutrition experts have suspected all along: calories count.

The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution is one example of the new camp of sensible weight-loss plans. Follow the plan and you should lose weight, feel satisfied, and improve your overall health. Plus, the plan is straightforward and easy to use. The Pritikin Principle is based on learning the caloric density of foods (the number of calories in a given weight of food) and eating meals with a low caloric density. You don't need to count calories; just choose meals with a low caloric density. An extensive Caloric Density Index, restaurant guide, flexible meal plans, and more than 50 recipes show you how to lower the caloric concentration of meals without going hungry. Exercise tips, health information, and success stories are also included. Written by Robert Pritikin, director of the renowned Pritikin Longevity Center and son of founder Nathan Pritikin, along with a team of registered dietitians, The Pritikin Principle is filled with practical, sound advice you can live with for life. --Ellen Albertson

From the Publisher

From one of the world's premiere authorities on health and wellbeing, here is a scientifically-proven strategy for losing weight, feeling more energetic, and preventing - or even reversing - major illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. The Pritikin Principle will show you how to choose and combine foods with a low concentration of calories, so you can fill up on less food and drop excess pounds easily and permanently.

* Plan three full meals - and two snacks - every day, and lose 2-7 pounds a week * Use the Pritikin Calorie Index to select low-calorie density foods in grocery stores and restaurants * Learn how combining some foods actually reduces their overall calorie density * Try more then 50 delicious recipes, all used and tested at the Pritikin Longevity Center

Put an end to yo-yo weight loss and gimmicky fad diets. With THE PRITIKIN PRINCIPLE, you can achieve your goals in a completely healthy, manageable way - once and for all.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Time Life Education; illustrated edition edition (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0737016167
• ISBN-13: 978-0737016161
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,008,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 144 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Pritikin Diet Expanded, April 5, 2000

By 

Burdy "Karms" (North Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution (Hardcover)

If your a fan of the Pritikin diet, you will like The Pritikin Principle. However, it does not differ much from the typical Pritikin Diet except that it adds the new Calorie Density Guides(based on a pound of food for calculations). What this guide does lack, however, is directions for calculating calorie density on all the foods NOT listed in this book (which are a lot). It does include a guide for making better choices at restaurants. However, the author tells you to limit animal protein intake to 3 to 4 ounces per day, yet almost every restaurant choice for lunch and dinner includes an animal protein choice (a few vegetarian choices are included). Dairy products, fats, and ALL processed grain products, including breads, are restricted. The basic idea is that you fill up on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The author stresses that in order to loss weight, you have to create a calorie deficeit, preferrably through reducing calories and increasing exercise.

Like former Pritikin diets, this diet plan is rather stringent and would be difficult for those who frequent restaurants to follow in order to lose 7 pounds per week as advertised on the cover. Volumetrics by Barbara Rolls offfers a similar, less restricted diet plan based on energy (calorie) density per gram. Also, she tells you how to calculate the energy density for any food, which is extremely helpful. Both books are based on lifestyle changes rather than short-term diets. Robert Pritikin's The Pritikin Principle is easier to read, but I believe Barbara Rolls' Volumetrics would be much easier to follow, especially over a lifetime.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read - easy to live with!, August 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution (Hardcover)

I picked up this book three weeks ago after reading an article about it in the Readers Digest. Everything in the book made so much sense to me. Following the program, I lost 10 pounds in the first two days and have taken off 22 pounds in the first three weeks. My ankles no longer swell from retained water, and I have dropped a complete pant size. I still have a lot to lose, but this program is so easy to follow that I don't think staying on it will be any problem at all!

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent-A practical way to lose weight, March 26, 2000

By 

Nick D. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution (Hardcover)

I picked up this book five days ago and read through it that night. In the last four days I have lost close of four pounds and it has been easy. Simply followed suggestion to add more vegetable and water based foods to my diet. Now fill up on salads and soups or a vegetable dish. Then use a smaller amount of a meat and/or starch that is healthly made. Never feel hungry. I found that I really need to each every two hours though. Nice to know that I don't have to feel hungry. I have also taken up running although Pritikan says all you have to do is walk. Really a life saver.