Customer Reviews

The Wall Street Diet: The Surprisingly Simple Weight Loss Plan for Hardworking People Who Don't Have Time to Diet

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If you are someone with a "Wall Street" lifestyle, i.e., you work long hours, spend a lot of time in hotels and planes, wine and dine clients, etc., then you may have just found your success Bible for weight loss. This book takes a very realistic look at the daily life of a "mover and shaker," and provides practical information on how you can work weight loss into your crammed schedule without spending hours in the kitchen or in the gym or missing out on important client lunch meetings or work receptions.

I used to be one of these so-called "movers and shakers" (I didn't feel like much of a mover or shaker, however!). I pulled many all-nighters, spent weeks in hotels, and most days looked forward to taking breaks from work to eat fabulous dinners delivered from great restaurants and billed to the "client." During that time I was persistently tired, certainly too busy and lethargic to work out, and I gained 10-15 pounds over the course of a year or so.

I wish I had had The Wall Street Diet then. One interesting aspect of this diet - and one that I would suggest might be the key to its success - is that it does not focus on exercise first. Instead, it asks you to analyze your eating habits to determine if you are a Controlled Eater (CE) or a Clean Plate Club (CPC) eater, and then it gives you practical tips for how to mazimize your eating plan to work with and not against your eating type and to reduce your calorie intake without too much pain. After all, losing weight is just math - 3,500 calories = 1 pound.

And that math is what Heather Bauer uses to focus first on diet and later on exercise. It can take an hour or two to burn off 500 calories, but 500 calories can be consumed in but a few moments. For someone who has limited time, controlling calories is a more efficient manner of losing weight than working off the weight. Plus, as Ms. Bauer recognizes, if you tell someone on Wall Street that they have to spend an hour or two in the gym every day, they may get frustrated very quickly when their schedule causes them to miss a few gym visits and throw the entire diet out the window.

Recognizing that Wall Street types cannot spend hours in the kitchen and eat only homemade, calorie-restricted foods, the author provides a wealth of information about what foods to eat at common fast food chains and other restaurants, what is best to order at various types of restaurants (e.g., steak houses) or takeout options (e.g., Chinese), on airplanes (and what to bring with you as snacks on flights), and also tips for how to get over jet lag, ways to get exercise while traveling, etc. I think this information is incredibly useful for ANYONE, not just those on "Wall Street," and I plan on using this information to help guide me to healthier choices every day.

Finally, it is important to note that Ms. Bauer does not completely disregard the importance of exercise. Rather, she says start with the diet, and then gradually work exercise into your busy schedule as best as you can. She offers examples of good exercise schedules (starting with 3, 20 minute cardio sessions a week), tips for workout videos, "fun" options that don't seem like "work" and that allow for family participation (Nintendo Wii), and good alternatives for frequent travelers (such as iTrain). Again, realistic rather than intimidating.

All-in-all, I think this is a very doable plan that will actually work - and work because it is something that people with full schedules and hectic lifestyles can follow and stick to. For those who are not on "Wall Street," I think the information in this book could also be very useful, particularly the analysis of the two types of eaters (CE and CPC). I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in losing weight without having weight loss take over their life. 5 stars.

My husband is a lawyer who travels constantly. He's been needing to lose weight for a few years now but I've never had any hope of getting him to follow a diet. I saw this book mentioned in the newspaper and it's the first one I thought he might really use. And it seems to be working. As soon as he saw that he doesn't have to totally give up a drink and that he doesn't have to follow a daily "plan" - something he never would or could do - he was eager to give it a try. He's only just started but he's already having some success and I am really happy. I think this is a great book for someone who wants to lose weight but is unable to follow menu plans. I also like the very practical tips about restaurants and fast food and buffets - situations that have always been hard for him.

The Wall Street Diet is an amazing book written by Heather Bauer. I lost weight on this plan over two years ago and have never gained any weight back. I've been on diets my whole life, but Heather taught me the strategies in this book so that I now live my life, and never gain weight. There are so many important tips in this book to first loose your weight and then never return to how you ate before. While loosing my weight, I never felt cheated or that I was on a diet. My friends never knew I was dieting because I went out with them just like before, but now I had a secret weapon. Sometimes I would get the menu ahead and now just what I would order. It was great and her words continue to ring in my ear. Bravo Heather, The Wall Street Diet, is a way to change people's lives foreverWALL STREET DIET, THE: The Surprisingly Simple Weight Loss Plan for Hardworking People Who Don't Have Time to Diet

Heather Bauer's Wall Street Diet is the first thing that's really worked for me, and I've tried them all....I lost 25 pounds in 10 months. I am a 'slow loser' and Heather kept me focused and directed, constantly encouraging me with information about how weight loss really works, and new foods to try or strategies for eating in non-standard situations. I never felt deprived and she got me through my sugar cravings and helped me re-group when the best laid plans fell apart.
Her book is brilliant, and I am so happy to have it to refer to. It's like having her right with me... Her voice really came through and it's fun to see the things we talked about in her office referred to on the page. I recommend this book unreservedly. For those of us who are overscheduled, overstressed and overweight...The Wall Street Diet is the answer!
Kate R.

I had dinner last night with a friend who is a partner in a major Washington, DC, consulting firm. She said that every day her diet plans are undermined by business lunches and buffets. Once sabotaged, she surrenders the day. I told her about The Wall Street Diet - in fact, I am buying her a copy of Heather Bauer's book - because it is as if it were written for her personally - and for me - and for anyone whose life is fast, furious, and filled with temptations.

The Wall Street Diet guides professional people to think strategically about their eating and health, as they do about most other facets of their lives. And it provides the tools to do so without awkward excuses and obsessive focus. Bauer's prescription takes social and professional settings into account, allows its followers to drink wine or other beverages, includes cereals and yogurt and foods that would be prohibited on low-carb diets, and provides an amazing breadth of information about food choices in particular settings, like specific airports and restaurants.

I have lost ten pounds, and hope to lose more; but the beauty of the Wall Street Diet is that I have no sense of deprivation or boredom. I can do this indefinitely.

I found Heather's great book at an airport June 20, 2008 and lost 28 pounds by Thanksgiving and kept it off through the Holidays. I work full time, go to law school at night and have 3 children, 2 at home. The book let's you live your life, not your diet and lose weight and keep it off. I love the foods she recommends and they consistenly help me make good food choices. I also learned some additional fitness and exercise tips that kept me motivated in this arena as well. I've tried them all, Atkins, Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem and nothing is this easy and successful to work for busy people.

I just finished reading Heather's book and realize she has uncovered the secret to losing weight. It's not fad eating,not counting carbs, protien or fats. She discusses why we eat and has made it very simple. I realize I am CPCer. She has great insight into diets and why they work and don't work. READ HER BOOK

I own tons of "diet" books. This really recognizes the challenges many of us have and has sensible solutions for them. I saw my own behaviors documented here (good & bad)!
This is the first book that addresses them rather than the "eat 6 meals a day..blah blah.." I am a clean plate eater. I also eat things repetitively as a way to curb my bad habits.. Now she has not only given them a name and a plan but ways to manage my slip ups. Thank you Heather!

You're a hard-working corporate professional who has a terrific job and earns a great salary. You climbed to the top fast and plan to stay there. You know what you must do to lose weight. Despite your best efforts, however, you cannot attain this goal. So why can't an intelligent, goal-oriented individual lose weight? Every aspect of your corporate lifestyle routinely conspires against your weight-loss plans, undermining them at every turn. You face daily daunting eating choices: jelly doughnuts at the office, lavish meals with clients, plus regular cocktail parties with high-calorie alcoholic beverages and tasty goodies on sticks. But don't despair. Dietician Heather Bauer offers the robust Wall Street Diet plan tailored to your fat-inducing corporate lifestyle. If you are one of the corporate types who can button up million-dollar business deals but not their own pants, getAbstract recommends Bauer's intelligent strategies to overcome your daily diet challenges. This smart and sensible book will enable you to attain your weight-loss goals with the same verve you bring to your corporate career.