The Warrior Diet: Switch on Your Biological Powerhouse For High Energy, Explosive Strength, and a Leaner, Harder Body (Paperback)

by Ori Hofmekler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“In my quest for a lean, muscular body, I have seen practically every diet and suffered through most of them. It is also my business to help others with their fat loss programs. I am supremely skeptical of any eating plan or “diet” book that can’t tell me how and why it works in simple language. Ori Hofmekler’s The Warrior Diet does just this, with a logical, readable approach that provides grounding for his claims and never asks the reader to take a leap of faith. The Warrior Diet can be a very valuable weapon in the personal arsenal of any woman.”
—DC Maxwell, 2-time Women’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, Co-Owner, Maxercise Sports/Fitness Training Center and Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy East

"In a era of decadence, where wants and desires are virtually limitless, Ori's vision recalls an age of warriors, where success meant survival and survival was the only option. A diet of the utmost challenge from which users will reap tremendous benefits."
—John Davies, Olympic and professional sports strength/speed coach

“We’re so convinced that we’ve found 2002’s 25 best (the fastest, easiest, cheapest, and most effective) get-fit solutions, that we are awarding them a prize ... FIRST’S first annual Slimmys for weight-loss excellence. When it comes to diets, we weed the godsends from the gimmicks and give you the very best every issue. But our pick for best of the best? The Slimmy goes to ... The Warrior Diet.”
—First For Women magazine

“Women everywhere are raving about the super-effective ‘warrior’ diet—eating lightly during the day, feasting after dark, and losing weight at record speeds.”
—Woman’s World, November 2002

“Rare in books about food, there is wisdom in the pages of The Warrior Diet ... Ori Hofmekler knows the ... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
“In my quest for a lean, muscular body, I have seen practically every diet and suffered through most of them. It is also my business to help others with their fat loss programs. I am supremely skeptical of any eating plan or “diet” book that can’t tell me how and why it works in simple language. Ori Hofmekler’s The Warrior Diet does just this, with a logical, readable approach that provides grounding for his claims and never asks the reader to take a leap of faith. The Warrior Diet can be a very valuable weapon in the personal arsenal of any woman.”
—DC Maxwell, 2-time Women’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, Co-Owner, Maxercise Sports/Fitness Training Center and Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy East

"In a era of decadence, where wants and desires are virtually limitless, Ori's vision recalls an age of warriors, where success meant survival and survival was the only option. A diet of the utmost challenge from which users will reap tremendous benefits."
—John Davies, Olympic and professional sports strength/speed coach

“We’re so convinced that we’ve found 2002’s 25 best (the fastest, easiest, cheapest, and most effective) get-fit solutions, that we are awarding them a prize ... FIRST’S first annual Slimmys for weight-loss excellence. When it comes to diets, we weed the godsends from the gimmicks and give you the very best every issue. But our pick for best of the best? The Slimmy goes to ... The Warrior Diet.”
—First For Women magazine

“Women everywhere are raving about the super-effective ‘warrior’ diet—eating lightly during the day, feasting after dark, and losing weight at record speeds.”
—Woman’s World, November 2002

“Rare in books about food, there is wisdom in the pages of The Warrior Diet ... Ori Hofmekler knows the techniques, but he shows you a possibility—a platform for living your life as well. The Warrior Diet is a book that talks to all of you—the whole person hidden inside.”
—Udo Erasmus, author of Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill

“The Warrior Diet certainly defies so-called modern nutritional and training dogmas. Having met Ori on several occasions, I can certainly attest that he is the living proof that his system works. He maintains a ripped muscular body year round despite juggling extreme workloads and family life. His take on supplementation is refreshing as he promotes an integrated and timed approach. The Warrior Diet is a must-read for the nutrition and training enthusiast who wishes to expand his horizons.”
—Charles Poliquin, author of The Poliquin Principles and Modern Trends in Strength Training, three-time Olympic Strength Coach

“Ori Hofmekler has his finger on a deep, ancient and very visceral pulse—one that too many of us have all but forgotten. Part warrior-athlete, part philosopherromantic, Ori not only reminds us what this innate, instinctive rhythm is all about, he also shows us how to detect and rekindle it in our own bodies. His program challenges and guides each of us to fully reclaim for ourselves the strength, sinew, energy, and spirit that humans have always been meant to possess.”
—Pilar Gerasimo, Editor in Chief, Experience Life Magazine

“I think of myself as a modern-day warrior: businessman, family man, and competitive athlete. In the two years that I have been following The Warrior Diet, I have enjoyed the predators’ advantage of freedom from the necessity of frequent feedings. I also benefit from the competitive edge of being a fat burning machine. My twelve-year-old son, who is also a competitive athlete, has naturally gravitated toward The Warrior Diet. He is growing up lean, strong, and healthy, unlike many of his peers, many of whom, even in this land of plenty, are overweight and frequently sick.”
—Stephen Maxwell, two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion, Co-Owner, Maxercise Sports/Fitness Training Center and Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy East

“An original, distinctive, and highly satisfying diet plan, The Warrior Diet is meant especially for those who pursue an active lifestyle.”
—Midwest Book Review

"I refuse to graze all day, I have better things to do. I choose The Warrior Diet."
—Pavel Tsatsouline, author of Power to the People! and The Russian Kettlebell
Challenge

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Blue Snake Books; 2 Rev Exp edition (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583942009
• ISBN-13: 978-1583942000
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,494 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One step away from the hunter-gatherer diet, January 22, 2008

By	Dennis Littrell (SoCal) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Many years ago when I was a young man I followed a diet similar to the one recommended here by Ori Hofmekler. It wasn't something that I planned or followed with any kind of rigor. I just more or less fell into it. I would get up in the morning and have coffee and toast with peanut butter and preserves or honey. (Of course Hofmekler's "warrior diet" does not recommend bread during the "undereating" phase.) I would then go most of the rest of the day without eating anything. In the evening I would reward myself with a huge meal. Sometimes I didn't eat that meal until sometime after midnight.

I was never hungry during the undereating phase. As anyone who has ever fasted can tell you, when you have eaten nothing for a while and are burning fat, you experience no hunger. You are serene. I also maintained the same weight for many years following this habit of only eating one large meal a day.

If looked at closely it can be seen that the essence of the warrior diet is mini-fasts and the avoidance of carbohydrates, especially the processed kind. Hofmekler is not entirely rigorous in that recommendation however, allowing one to eat fresh fruits and vegetables or even some protein during the undereating or fasting phase. Notice that this diet is similar to some of the low-carbs diets currently fashionable. Note also that mini-fasting results in a period of time in which the digestive system is given a rest. With no food in the system, the body is forced to burn fat. Fat burns clean, relatively speaking, as Hofmekler explains. This is quite a change from the days when we were taught that fat was the culprit. Today we know that concentrated, processed carbohydrates and such things as corn syrup are what is making America fat and frankly sick.

In essence the warrior diet is a return to the natural diet of humans as it was (per force) practiced in the Pleistocene prior to the rise of agriculture. When one looks at such a diet, which included, small animals, insects, roots, tubers, fruits, vegetables, and the occasional large animal, it is easy to see that it was almost impossible to get fat or at any rate stay fat for any length of time. The two main foods that are making Westerners fat are readily available carbohydrates and an abundance of fats and oils. In the prehistory there were oats and wheat and barley and such, but the seeds were relatively small and to make a meal required a lot of hand processing. I have experimented with some of the natural foods found here in California, acorns, black walnuts, pine nuts, wild oats, wild grapes; and the striking thing I have discovered is just how much time and energy it requires to process these foods. Using hand tools and existing on these foods along with fish and whatever meat I could get, I could never get fat.

So what Hofmekler is recommending is a return to such a way of living. Since the foods for us are readily available with little processing, the time that would have been spent in hand processing should now be spent in fasting (which was the case in the prehistory).

There is an incredible amount of detail in this book as Hofmekler compares his diet to other diets, as he incorporates workouts, food preparation and recipes, and gets specific about all kinds of foods; but the hard kernel of truth here, in my opinion, is simply this: eat less, eat less often, exercise, and avoid denatured foods. Note that "eat less often" implies mini-fasts. Perhaps the biggest mistake we make is to eat from habit, to eat when we are not really hungry. If we always waited until we were ravenous before eating we would both enjoy the food more and be healthier.

I also like the idea of seeing oneself as something other than a couch potato, indoctrinated by corporate interests to a life of relative passivity and constant consumption. So the metaphor of "The Warrior Diet" is welcome in a marketing sense and more appealing (and sexier!) than what I think is more accurate, which is "A Hunter-Gatherer Diet." One of the reasons that Hofmekler uses the term "warrior" is to suggest in a somewhat subliminal way one of his prescriptions, that is to avoid what he considers estrogen-promoting foods such as "processed soy products...conventional produce, meats, poultry, and pork" and other foods. (See e.g., page 154, or better yet his previous book "The Anti-Estrogenic Diet" for the full story.)

By the way, I still practice a one square meal a day diet, although I must confess that I snack a little too much in-between! Hofmekler's book (incidentally in its second edition, which suggests its value) has come along just in time to inspire me to return to a more rigorous practice. This morning as I write this, 15 hours have passed since I ate anything. I am not the slightest bit hungry and this is after walking an hour in the rain and doing some chores. However I will enjoy my coffee and homemade bread soon.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Try The Fast 5 Diet book instead, February 29, 2008

By	Achieve More "Barefootking" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Constant irrational hunger? Never full? Even when you restrict calories, does the fat cling to you for weeks? Have you failed over and over?

This book works. And you feel fully alive.

But it's full of hype and quasi history and fluff. This book is more motivational than informational. A better book is The Fast-5 Diet. It'll take you two hours to read. Then buy the Warrior Diet book for motivation and inspiration.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Return to Instinctual Eating, January 3, 2008

By	M. Harris "Eagle of Thor" (Davis, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I do understand that not everyone will enjoy this diet, or even benefit from it, in my life it has altered my health and energy dramatically. I have tried eating the "clean" bodybuilders diet for the last 2 years to put on size. I have done my cardio, intervals and slow paced mileage. I don't care about that anymore. I want to feel alive, primal, loving, and in tune. And for me this diet is a cornerstone of that lifestyle. I have never felt the need to write a review of a book, this is my first, and it deserves to be read at the least.