Customer Reviews

The Rice Diet Solution: The World-Famous Low-Sodium, Good-Carb, Detox Diet for Quick and Lasting Weight Loss

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Years ago, I weighed over 310 pounds and had tried every diet program out there. I bought the original Rice Diet/Duke University diet book, since I could ill-afford to enter the actual program in Durham, N.C. I found that for me, being a vegan, this program was quite easy to follow...though I do believe that if one is not a vegan, it will take some struggle to deal with a meatless menu. I cannot say that I never cheated on the program, because I did grab an occasional piece of chocolate, a cookie, and even some pretzels...but I always erased those infrequent sins from my memory and did not let them defeat me. If you are extremely overweight as I was, of course you will lose a large amount of weight within the first month...since the larger you are, the bigger the initial weight loss will be...and yes, it is mostly fluid. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic ego boost to keep you on the right track. Did I exercise? Hell yes! One can never expect to lose weight or tone by diet alone...no matter which diet you follow. Walking is sufficient. No need to commit yourself initially to a workout plan that befits only the likes of Jennifer Aniston! Be realistic. For me, no, I did not regain any of my weight. I chose to think of the rice diet as a life plan, not a diet, tweaking a bit here and there to keep it real, once I reached my goal weight. I have weighed between 135-140 pounds since 1990. Not only did I lose weight, but my skin is radiant and youthful, and I am healthier than ever. I am 56 years old and on no medications, without any medical problems. Buy it!

My wife and I stumbled upon this book last May and made a commitment to give it a try for one week. We were both overweight to the tune of about 40 pounds each. At first, the diet seemed a challenge because it was so different from our eating habits, but as the first few days went by we both noticed how much happier we were with everything in our life. Much to our great surprise these feelings continued AND we continued to lose weight. Having lost the weight we both marvel at how easy it seemed to be, after many attempts to lose weight via other diets and methods.
I agree with one reviewer that the book is not cross referenced very well and that it is a cumbersome read, but the benefits we got far, far outweighed such a trivial matter.
It is a lifestyle change that works very well for us, having lost most of the weight we wanted to, and are happier as an unexpected benefit. Give it a try for a week and see if you feel better. Perhaps you will experience it the way we have, and your life will be changed forever.

The Rice Diet Solution contains everything that I believe would help turn Americans around -- not only in regards to their weight problems, but also their propensities for mental and physical exhuastion.

Essentially, this book espouses an Eastern lifestyle: lots of meditation, exercise, breathing exercises, and low sodium, whole grain meals. For example, the authors quote liberally from -- and highly recommend -- Zen Buddhist author Thich Nhat Hanh.

On a philosophical level, I would rate the book five stars. But as a cookbook/lifestyle changing work, I'd give it 1 or 2 stars. Here's why:

1. The book is ponderously written, taking forever to make simple points clear. I found myself reading and reading and reading, wondering when the authors would make their point. Too much background information.

2. The recipes listed in the Rice Diet Phases One - Three Weekly Menus are impossible to find in the index -- even the so-called Recipe Index. What they're called in the Weekly Menus, they're not called in the index. Sometimes, not even close. Or at all. Someone should have cross checked to see if there was consistency in recipe names. (Example: I dare anyone to find "Penne Pasta in 'Meat' Sauce" listed on page 185 of the Wednesday Lunch menu in the index in the back of the book.)

3. As my wife pointed out, the amount of food created for just one week of this diet would be so unbelievably wasteful as to fly in the face of the Zen Buddhist way of life. For example: Hardly any recipies are repeated throughout the week. So, in effect, you're creating 2-4 new dishes for every single meal, every single day! Let that sink in a minute. Then imagine the grocery bill, as well as the level of waste involved. Even if the recipes could be cut down, you're still buying enough food to feed an army.

4. The book is exactly what it purports to be: A dieta (Greek for "way of life"). However, distilling millennia of wisdom from the East into a poorly edited diet book is a fool's errand. At best, this book could and should have been a two-volume set. One volume contains nuggets of Zen Buddhist/Eastern philosophy wisdom and examples of what living such a life looks like. The other volume contains recipies in keeping with that lifestyle. Combining the two into one book (a) cheapens everything by packaging it to look like the latest fad diet, and (b) confuses the basics of both. In the end, someone will either read this book to get the Buddhist wisdom, or use the recipes to make meals, working hard to decipher what they're called from page to page and, maybe, lucking out in finding them listed in the back of the book.

Don't get me wrong. I think this book contains powerful, even life-changing, information. But how it's packaged leaves a lot to be desired.

Bottom line: I think adhering to a lifestyle in keeping with the tenets of Zen Buddhism (which is what much of the book is about, anyway) would automatically produce the desired end result: weight loss and healthy bodies and minds. But lumping both together into a book that many will overlook because it looks like the latest fad diet is a dumb move. Maybe the publisher will sell a train load of books that way. But how many people will understand everything espoused by the book?

I can recommend the concept of The Rice Diet Solution. But I have a hard time recommending the book itself.

The Rice Diet Solution makes this excellent program completely accessible and it is working remarkably well for me. I've been sitting on 60 extra pounds for abut 10 years. Fad dieting brought instant but temporary results once I returned to eating 'normal' foods made addictive by sodium, fats and sugar. Once I accomplished the initial cleansing phase of low sodium and no sugar and, most importantly, no processed foods, my addictions vanished and the weight continues to peel off. I lost half of my goal in two months. I now prefer salad to pizza and won't touch meat. I eat three high nutrition, high fiber, fresh meals day, which prohibits hunger and keeps the calories low. The exercise part is easy! I just gave up my car and walk and take public transit. I'm saving money and stopped my daily contributions of packaging and plastic to the landfill. The book is a guideline to a new way of life that continues to nurture my spirit and redefine my presence and participation in the world.

I found this diet by pure accident and since starting I have lost 80lbs. It is not a diet it is a life change, I am healthy, happy and can now enjoy playing with my kids. Following this eating plan has given me my life back!! I would recommend this book and highly recommend the diet, it really works and works as well as the book says.

this book was easy to read, easy to follow. this diet is the direct oposite of the low-carb diet. you eat ALOT of carbs, but almost no protien and very little fat. following a low-carb diet for years this sounded like a dream come true. but after two weeks i never want to eat rice again. i must say it did make me very aware of sodium and how much is in everything we eat. anyone who has sugar problems should stay away from this book also. one day a week you eat nothing but rice and fruit..
If you're the type of person that likes rice, whole grains, beans, fruit and veggies
most of the time...then this diet is for you.

I own the book and I read it. It's very readable and it makes sense. Anyone familiar with Dr. McDougall and or a diet for the rest of your life (key word "life") using WHOLE FOODS knows that this diet works. this isn't a fad diet. they have been helping severly obese people for nearly half a century. this diet should be tried before gastric bypass. It is not easy, but is based on sound nutritional advice. there is morale support online in the Forum. Great program. give it a try

I have not finished reading the book from cover to cover, but I have been following the program and have lost about twenty pounds. The recipes are excellent. I have recommended the publication to my friends. I do believe with this book I can finally lose the weight I have been trying to lose for many years. Also it has helped me keep my blood sugars under control. The price was good too.

My family has been on the Rice Diet (based on this book, not the Durham camp) since mid-June and between the three of us we have lost roughly 140 pounds. I began the diet at 290 and right now I'm at 233..but that's beside the point, really, as I look and feel like an entirely different person. Exercise has been a been part of it as well, I am 24 years old so lifting weights and doing cardio along with the diet have really transformed things.

The most important - and difficult - part of this diet is cutting down on sodium intake. This means that you really can't eat almost anything canned, boxed or bagged. But after about a week on the diet, I promise the results will far outweigh any difficulties you seem to have with the program.

On the Rice Diet, the kinds of foods you eat and the amounts you are allowed mean you HAVE to lose weight...you just have to learn a new way of eating. Good luck and God bless!

In the first few pages you are told everything you need to know to understand the diet part of this plan. Without even finishing the book, I jumped right in and started and immediately started losing weight! It is so simple, easy and FILLING. If you love fresh vegetables and fruit and can curb your sodium intake, you too should see immedialte results. The rest of the book gives you the nutritional explaination of the healthfulness of the plan (as a health care professional this is something important to me) and advice on lifestyle changes such as taking time for yourself. Easy to read and understand and follow.