Customer Reviews

The Schwarzbein Principle, The Program: Losing Weight the Healthy Way

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Imagine a world where you no longer view it through weight or food obsession eyes. I have entered such a world because of the steps to good health presented in The Schwarzbein Program. This was not an overnight success for me. I practiced and practiced the steps, mastering them one at a time, one day at a time, on my own unique schedule. I have learned the palate can change over time adjusting to being without sugar and man made carbohydrates. I never thought I could live without bread, ice cream or cake. I proved myself wrong. In fact I am living a fuller, healthier and rested life without these foods. I no longer over exercise and I pay attention to my stress, because I know I am the most important person in my life. And, without my health I can not add to the lives of others around me.

When I began my journey I did gain weight, 15 pounds, because my system was so damaged from years of sugar addiction and starvation dieting. And, even though I was gaining weight, I felt appreciably better. Encouraged by feeling healthier, a year and half later just of few of the miraculous changes are, I have currently lost 20 pounds, my skin is luminescent, the mental fog has disappeared, my painful menstruation is nonexistence and my emotional life is calmer. I am feeling free in my own body.

I was brave enough to walk away from conventional dieting wisdom and courageous to venture into the unknown, to trust a woman who had the clinical background to support her hypothesis about the correct way the body needs to be fed. I promise you, this is it; this program will end your suffering.

I highly suggest you find a nutritionist or a doctor who is familiar with her work to help you with the program. As I believe you will need a partner to guide you with the changes you will need to make and advise you on using the correct supplementation your body may need.

Think about what your life will look like tomorrow when food and weight is no longer the enemy. I have been given this opportunity to find out and it better than anything I imagined.

I have been a low-carber through the Somersizing program for a very long time. My husband was the one really---who wanted to incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into our diets. We were quite concerned about gaining weight back at accelerated speeds. (Anyone who has done Atkins knows what I mean by that). We gave the Schwarzbein Principle--The Program one week to see how we felt. We added back whole grains in moderation, potatoes, yams, brown rice and other starches. We also added back more fruits, remembering to eat them in combination with proteins and fats. We both got on the scale this morning. My husband has lost 5 lbs and I have lost 3 lbs. in just one week. This is an extremely balanced approach that we are enjoying immensely.

The one thing that I found lacking in following the Schwarzbein Principle was not being able to have the support from an on-line support group, such as a message board. I kept hoping to find one on Dr. Schwarzbein's website, to no avail.

I finally found a good Schwarzbein support group at the following link. Hope to see you there.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/

Under the "Daily Low-Carb Support" area, you will find the Schwarzbein Principle option.

This is an excellent program and has helped me to feel better and lose weight on a diet I can maintain. It combines the best of low carb diets with lots of vegetables and some healthy carbs like fruits and grains. The cookbook is also excellent. I read The Program first and thought it was great until I realized I was not sure what to eat and what to avoid. Then I got The Schwarzbein Principle and found it MUCH easier to read and implement. I do not think there is much else to gain from reading The Program except some of the information on exercise and specialty diets (like gluten-free). However, the diets are downloadable for free on her website. I found The Program somewhat confusing and The Principle much more clear and concise.

I've been trying to loose some weight and get healthier for so long. This book was suggested to me by my Dr. I tried it and it really works. I have lost 17 pounds in 2 months, and it wasn't even that tough. It all has to do with watching the type of carbs that you eat and keeping a balance with protein.

For anyone that has had a problem getting to a healthy weight and staying there, I highly suggest this book. Read it and see what you think. The author explains it well and her cookbook is also great for new recipes and suggested foods to enjoy. It really works and you will feel better and become healthier in the process.

This book was the first time I found a structure that would work for me to eat right, destress and get healthy. It works! I have gone from being tired all the time and not being able to exercise to doing moderate exercise and depression has lifted. Have also lost 15 lbs in a little over 2 months. I still can't sleep through the night as she suggests but am working on it.

For anyone who wants to understand our bodies and how to heal them and lose weight I highly recommend this book.

Schwarzbein Principle-The Program is the first book of the three that I picked up and I later found that it is a summation of both books one and two. I believe that, although this is her third book, it was for the best that I read this one first since I was then able to decide whether the approach as a whole suited me. I decided that I very much want to change my lifestyle including my eating habits, exercise, stress and hormone levels.

This was not a new decision; I have tried several diets over the last 21 years (low fat and calorie, high protein and low carb, and variations of the two, as well as just eating when I feel hungry). On two I lost more than 25 pounds and on two I lost more than 50 pounds but none kept the weight off for more than 2 to 6 years. I gained back the weight plus more when I went off the diet because I could not sustain the diet. During the diets I had cravings, felt tired, felt deprived and depressed and kept it up anyway until it was obvious (contrary to what professionals said) that it was not getting better. I have several health problems that did not change when I lost weight including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, fibromyalgia and hypothyroidism. The doctors said that they would improve significantly with exercise and weight loss but they did not.

I went through bariatric surgery five years ago and slowly lost 60 pounds over one year. My body was resistant at first, which the doctor said was rare and so I was told that I would need to exercise and try to eat protein more. I was very tired at first but kept up with walking and stretching and eventually the endorphin rush that I had never heard of before felt good and I thought, "Wow, I must be doing it right this time!" But I had to exercise more and more to reach my goal weight because it wasn't coming off anymore. The weight didn't go down and neither did my dress sizes. I was still overweight but an average size 14 and pretty content with that. So a trainer started me on weight lifting (with the reason that more muscle means more energy your body burns) and it was cool, felt achy at first then the burn was good and my weight shifted to muscle and dress size to 12 then stopped. However, I had to exercise more and lift more to keep getting that endorphin rush until I hit a plateau and couldn't figure out how to turn it around. Then I started falling down the hill; no more energetic feeling, just more tired feelings.

After two years of regular exercise I was just as tired, if not more so than before I started exercising. Various health pros advised me to exercise more (I was finally up to 2 hours a day of cardio and weight lifting) but I became more tired and mentally foggy. Other pros said to cut back on exercise, so I did but my body did not recover. Various health professionals advised me to eat more protein, drink more water, take some anti-depressants, take some stimulants, and take anti-anxiety meds and sleeping pills to help with coming down. It did not help. Over a 6 month period I gave up again on what I thought was my most successful attempt (this was two years ago) because I was somewhat toned and an average size after a lifetime of morbid obesity. I was in more pain and self-medicated with alcohol and prescription drugs that did not help. I gained 50 pounds in the next 4 months, an unprecedented experience for me. I was so disappointed and no one could explain it to me.

Seven months ago I went to try another diet, a popular, somewhat balanced "calories in have to equal calories out" plan to lose weight because the weight gain scared me. But for the first time in my life, I did not lose anything at all (during 6 weeks on the plan) even with the gastric bypass surgery. My body had apparently become so imbalanced or immune or something that I could not seem to lose weight and continued to gain it. Last month I weighed 20 pounds more than before my surgery. Now, I just try to eat balanced meals and I am looking to return my health to me. Doctors still cannot seem to help my fatigue, fibromyalgia, flare up of arthritis, flare-up of asthma or my mental fog. Nothing works and they cannot even explain why.

Then the other day I picked up Schwarzbein's Program and it explained how dieting damages your metabolism. It proposed an explanation for why my body reacted the way it did and continues to do. I knew that dieting damages your metabolism but I did not know that it could potentially account for all of my other health problems. (I also had no idea how to fix it and neither did any health professional I've come into contact with, they all seem to be advising me to continue to damage it.) The Schwarzbein Principle offers a plan to repair my metabolism and hormonal imbalances. This is more important to me right now than weight loss. This plan does not promise quick and easy weight loss, it promises to promote overall health. Any weight loss is secondary but very possible if the body needs this to become healthy.

At this point, if being healthy and feeling good or just normal physically means gaining a few pounds first, I would gladly bear it. I would rather be morbidly obese than continue to feel like a zombie that has constant low-level pain and irritability. My concern is wasting hundreds to thousands of dollars yet again and returning to worse health than before, but I feel I have to keep trying because I want to feel good. I am not doing this to look like a model but to feel healthy and really live like a normal person---sleep through the night, feel enough energy to easily get out of bed, eat because I like food, feel excited about the day ahead of me, have enough energy and optimism to meet the challenges of my work and be able to walk around without aches in my joints, pain in my fingers, and so much more.

I do not want to leap into another diet without believing in it and believing that it will work. I have trusted health professionals too many times because I wanted to believe that they were right. However, it turned out that they did not know what they were talking about. They do not seem to know how to have a healthy body and lose weight through food. The U.S. guidelines for eating just changed again, you know.

But I do want to be healthy and so I will take a chance but I want it to be a calculated risk and be a good consumer. That means reading up on a plan and seeing if it makes sense, which is difficult to do even if you are a health professional because, overall, they still don't know how to lose weight or live a healthy lifestyle. I have decided do my best and so I started investigating Schwarzbein's plan by reading her third book first, The Program.

Schwarzbein's plan has five steps for a healthy life and does NOT focus on quick weight loss. You may not lose weight at all on this diet, may even gain it, especially if you are the body composition you should be. If, however, your hormones are imbalanced then some weight gain is likely to occur (i.e. with thinner chronic dieters) but it will be followed by loss if your body needs it. Schwarzbein feels that quick weight loss is dangerous and will not support it (I admire her for not selling out her patients for money when the general public thinks thin means healthy and it does not). She advocates a five step plan for overall health and wellness:

1) Addresses nutrition in the form of balanced meals
2) Manages stress and sleep
3) Avoiding toxic chemicals (e.g. nicotine and sugar and additives)
4) Sensible exercise
5) Hormone replacement therapy (to help repair damaged metabolism)

This book (The Schwarzbein Principle: The Program) condenses what is in books two and three and offers the materials together here. Book one (The Schwarzbein Principle) explains more in detail about the carbohydrate-insulin connection and the rationale underlying a diet balancing protein first, followed by complex carbohydrates, non-starchy vegetables and good fats. Book two (The Transition) goes into more details about the 5-step plan itself and the connection between hormones and metabolism. This is the reason I decided to buy book two but not book one. I felt I had heard enough about insulin and carbohydrates, especially since my family has diabetics who have shared this information with me.


I read book two to find out more about the premises underlying the plan regarding repairing the metabolism because I believe this is the cornerstone of her program. (And it is obvious to me that mine is damaged.) Yes, as another reviewer complained, the details can become technical and confusing for anyone without a basic familiarity with the physiology of the human body, particularly the endocrine system. I have that basic knowledge from classes completed during my education, working toward a doctorate in psychology. However, even if you find it difficult, I do believe it is important to slog through it. It also helps that summaries are provided at the end of each chapter. It is of paramount importance that consumers have access to this information so that fitness gurus like Schwarzbein can be held accountable for offering diet plans and lifestyle plans that actually going to promote health to the public. It is also important that people like you and me can make informed decisions about which health plan to follow. It often seems to me like it's about choosing the lesser of certain evils since I haven't met a single plan that worked long-term for health or weight loss. Maybe this one will.

So, with that in mind...book 2 goes into detail about how hormones regulate the metabolic system and how those hormones are made from protein and "good" fats. (Remember, complex carbohydrates ARE necessary in this diet, but in balance as they are needed to energize the body and brain). Therefore, proteins, certain fats and complex carbs are necessary (not a certain number of calories) for the production of hormones, which affect processes including thinking, using up/building fats, building/breaking down muscle, sleeping, moods and much more. They mediate the immune system too. Reading this book is building my confidence in the validity and integrity of the Schwarzbein plan as a whole and the nutrition plan in particular. However, it seems that the hormones and vitamins are expensive and that they may require seeing a health professional who is knowledgeable about such things. An endocrinologist who is open to new ideas would be good.

Schwarzbein's web site is set up and seems pretty good. However, the test offered for checking some hormone levels is apparently not available now or in the foreseeable future. That's lame! However, you can guess based on your symptoms which of four metabolism styles you have and this indicates which vitamins you should take to help repair your metabolism/hormonal imbalance. If you suspect that you have any other deficiencies such as thyroid problems, sex hormone imbalances or similar conditions that require prescriptions then you should see an endocrinologist or gynecologist who is patient-friendly, I plan to do this. Schwarzbein's site offers referrals to health professionals who are familiar with her program but do not endorse any of these persons. I contacted a nutritionist who wanted to charge me $3 per minute for a four hour phone call where he would provide me with advice about nutrition and supplements. (Isn't that what I read in the book?) I would still need to pay for vitamins and see one of the above doctors anyway. I was at once irate and amazed that he actually thought I would pay for such a service. It sounds like a rip-off to me! I think that Schwarzbein's people should be more careful about the providers they promote/refer and they should offer patients the opportunity to give feedback about the providers.

I would love to visit a bulletin, chat room or listserv on the Schwarzbein Principle. I feel I need support, answers to questions and more feedback about the pitfalls and successes. I like hearing about other people's stories toward becoming more healthy (some of these are in book 2), both successes and setbacks. I would like a forum for advice. For instance, I don't like to cook and I miss carbs. Any ideas out there for such a thing?

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend reading the Schwarzbein Principle: The Program first to get the basics. If you want to find out more and believe you have an insulin-carbohydrate problem such as diabetes or sugar addictions then read book one entitled, Schwarzbein Principle, to find out more about this component. If, like me, you want to find out more about the premises underlying the claims that this plan repairs your endocrine system and related metabolism, read book two entitled, The Schwarzbein Principle II: The Transition. The first half shares such information and the second half shares more details about how to change your habits gradually through the five step program. In one section she offers 4 general plans which correspond with four different types of metabolic systems (This is dependent upon the amount of damage you have already done to your body.) and breaks down the five steps (e.g. nutrition, stress, exercise, toxins and hormones) further.

Balance in life sounds logical to me and so does this plan so far. I am crossing my fingers that this plan will truly repair my damaged metabolism and endocrine system overall. Luck to you! I hope this information helps someone with his or her decision. Also, I would love to hear stories about successes or setbacks from people on this program so please, send me an e-mail.

mcfynnan@aol.com

This should be purchased with the cookbook as well. I use the books to help with health related issues such as Adrenal Fatigue & Peri-menopause symptoms. Don't use anymore diet pills!!! Go heatlthy!

In terms of the overall message that this book provides and the supplemental information that Schwarzbein readers will need in order to implement her program, I give this book five stars. Anyone who reads her first book will want to have this book, as it goes into more detail about how to implement her plan, as well as sample meal ideas and lists of snack combos for those who are getting tired of nuts and cheese every day. You could get by with just this book if you wanted to start the Schwarzbein Principle Program (SPP). However, if you would like more in-depth information on her research, case studies, and scientific explanations on the foundations of her principles, read her first book too.

However, I could not give this book five stars. I swear to God this book must have been edited by a high school freshman. I picked up a used copy (dated 2004) and I hope they've re-released it since then and cleaned it up. The final third of the book had a lot of typos and grammatical errors like misused apostrophes (it means POSSESSION NOT PLURAL!), font size inconsistencies in breakout lists, even numbered lists were styled inconsistently. My husband got tired of hearing me mutter "Geeze what the hell.." each time I found another error. I was seriously tempted to highlight all of the errors and mail the book back to the publishing company. It was completely unprofessional.

The overall organization of the book was also not done very well; several sections of the book could have been combined and organized better. The presentation layout that they chose required an inordinate amount of duplication; there are parts where whole paragraphs and pages have just been copied and pasted between the sections. Some sections get over-explained, while other sections are under-explained. Throughout the first part of the book, 15 grams of carbs are emphasized; when you get to the sample meal plans you suddenly have pages of 20 gram portioned meals and snacks, as well as 25 and 15 grams, low glycemic index, low saturated fat... and it is not very well explained who should be following what. I guess I will have to re-read that whole section. Your eyes do tend to glaze over a bit when you're reading the same information (sometimes word-for-word) for the third+ time.

My complaints about the book won't deter me from following the program, but I was already convinced by her first book before I picked this one up. For some of you, reading her first book may help you if you find the presentation in this book to be too much of a put-off. When you read her first book, just skip the section on implementing the plan and read this book instead, as the information and strategies in this book are more updated and some of what she says has changed (e.g. quantities of saturated fat that are acceptable).

As an avid reader of health and wellness books I looked forward to getting this book. However, I found this book to be trite and shallow. Not nearly enough detail to be beneficial and a constant reiteration of the same text over and over from chapter to chapter. The author mentions many complex topics, conditions and supplements in a very high overview manner. If you haven't read her earlier works and/or don't have a good understanding of the endocrine system and the effects of hormones on the body you will not gain much from this volume.