Customer Reviews

The Way to Eat: A Six-Step Path to Lifelong Weight Control

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Review for Amazon

Healthy U of Delmarva recently selected The Way to Eat as the book we would use for our "Let's all read the same health book" program and also, this book won our $1000 award for the Best Lifestyles Improvement Book. If you're considering buying The Way to Eat, you might enjoy knowin what went into selecting this book out of all the hundreds of diet and exercise books that are out there.

For a start, we were a little skeptical about all the currently popular diet books. We are aware of studies that show that even though virtually all of the popular diet books will enable you to lose weight initially, a year after starting their diet, you'll almost certainly have gained all the weight back and then some. We wanted a book that would give readers the best chance at long term, healthy weight control, and that meant the book we selected would have to be one that took into account the kinds of diets that actually work long term. What you're about to read isn't the biggest reason we chose the Way to Eat but we were impressed by the fact that this book is based on a review of literally thousands of long term studies on which diets really work.

In addition to wanting a book that had the best chance of achieving what it aimed at, we were also looking for a book that is scientifically sound, one that was written by someone with true medical and scientific credentials. Dr. Katz is a medical doctor, a scientist, and a professor at the Yale University Medical School. He wrote the technical book on nutrition that your doctor may be using as a reference book.

The book we selected also had to pass yet another screen, once our committee of librarians and physicians were satisfied that the book would be reliable and scientifically sound: the book would have to be written in a popular style. Dr. Katz writes the nutrition column for Oprah's O Magazine, so he has experience writing in a popular style. Our county librarians agreed that The Way to Eat was written in a clear, accessible and reader-friendly style.

We recommended The Way to Eat to the 156,000 people in the Tri-County area that Healthy U serves because it scored the highest among the dozens of books that our local librarians and physicians reviewed. They felt that it had the greatest chance of helping people improve their lifestyles, that the author had credentials that they would trust, and that it was written in a people-friendly style.

If you want a book that can make a difference in your health and your family's health as well, Healthy U of Delmarva recommends this book. Why not use this book for your area's "Let's all read the same book" program? E-mail me and I'll tell you how we did it.

I wanted to lose about 10-15 lbs. Everyone I knew (thin people overall)were suddenly doing the no-carb thing. But as someone who has never been on and never wants to go on a diet I could not get myself to accept that grains are my downfall and meat is the answer. I was leary of trying to, quote, trick my body into thinking it is starving, during an induction period that was being recommended by the other diets. I wanted a diet that would be heart healthy long-term and that I would want to share as a way of life with my children. I believe that the no-carb folk are motivated by the quick results of the induction period, not as much due to restricted carbs as restricted calories. My sister wouldn't eat a single grape the first few weeks.

But they are a convincing lot and I decided to take out a few of the popular diet books from the library and decide my path to a healthier/leaner life at leisure. The clear winner was The Way to Eat. It provides the motivation to break the bad habits (sugars, bad carbs, too few veggies, junk food). It acknowledged the existence of bad carbs and without blacking the name of all carbs. In fact it differntiates the good, bad or ugly in all the food groups with it's recommendations. The diet (and its presentation in the book)is balanced, positive, and backed by the bulk of professional studies over the course of years. A fun read, it made getting on track easy and delicious. So now, with the right foods on my shelves, I have returned all the books to the library's shelves and am here on Amazon.com to purchase my own copy of Dr. Katz's book. And I plan to share it with my no-carb crowd!

Note to the reviewer a few down who complains that the reveiws are from CT and MD: your e-mail was so not helpful...it had nothing whatever to do with the content of the book! Some free advice: grow up, stop being a nudge, and read the book before you comment.

The Way To Eat is a superb book by nutritionist and preventive specialist Dr. David Katz. He explains in clear terms how we have gotten into the present epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease (our bodies are originally adapted for intensive physical activity in a setting of constant food scarcity), and why binging and weight gain are natural outcomes (in our new high-fat high-calorie low activity environment). Katz then dispenses with both guilt as well as fad diets, explaining how we can alter our eating habits to suit the modern environment. Simple and intelligent food choices (including how to read and really understand "Nutrition Facts" product labeling), healthful snacking, and providing children with healthful early eating habits serve as major points of emphasis in this outstanding guide. The Way To Eat is a major achievement in the nutrition field. I have already begun recommending it to patients and their families, and readers everywhere will be richly rewarded when they embrace Dr. Katz's insightful, enjoyable, and common sense advice.

The Way to Eat by Dr. David Katz is by far one of the most complete guides to understanding the importance of eating healthy. Trite but true, eating healthy equals good overall health. Katz focuses more on skill acquisition rather than food deprivation, which only leads to gorging to fill the food void left after withholding our beloved food cravings. The book provides numerous ways to have your cake and eat it too, without the unwanted side effects of weight gain and guilt. Dr. Katz has a witty writing style that appeals to the intellectual and the average Joe. Several sections of the book are especially useful, The "Then/Now" approach takes us back to the origin of some of our food instincts. Armed with this knowledge empowers us to understand our food foibles. Label reading does not sound to exciting until you see how the correct interpretation of label information can contribute to success rather failure. Another gem in the book is related to the vignettes of successful people who have been where many of us are and had the ah hah experience that set them on the right track, gives you the feeling that there is hope. Finally, the book has something for everyone. It may not be gut riveting info but it's the healthiest reading that I have had in a while.

The Way to Eat has changed my life. I had already lost over 100 pounds, but was not as healthy nor fit as I would like to be. His method of eating has taken me to the next fitness level and has improved my health. His method really is the way to eat; as our bodies were designed and intended.

As he says, the way we are living today in the fast food/junk food culture is like a polar bear trying to live in the desert--it just doesn't work!

As someone who has been on more 'diets' than there are characters enough to mention, please allow me to crow about this book. No, it is not a 'diet' book.. It is a book about your DIET. That is, the food that enters your body on a daily basis, be it good, bad, or ugly. Dr. Katz taps into our deep-darks here, folks. He lays it on the line and finally explains why it is that we have such difficulties as a population with the growing epidemic of obesity. There are tips and hints on what to eat for weight loss and maintenance, but mostly it is the why behind out eating patterns. This book was recommended by a psychologist and I will be sending him a care package for such a wonderful gift. Being able to tap into the psyche where these food issues live is powerful. Being able to control them before they control you is priceless. If there were only more than five stars to rank this.

If you're a parent, I particularly recommend The Way to Eat. It is not a diet book, but it is an informative book about the way we all should be eating for our health and prevention of disease and obesity. I'm an elementary school administrator, and the information on how to pack nutritious lunches for your children is very worthwhile. Dr. Katz has campained in his children's school for better nutrition and overall health, and he has five school-aged children of his own. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him recently, and was impressed with his deepth of knowledge about the importance of helping our children develop good eating habits.

In "The Way to Eat", Dr. Katz takes a refreshingly honest approach to weight control. With so many conflicting theories about the best way to lose weight, I have found myself losing nothing but interest! This book clears up the confusion and provides a realistic, straightforward plan for achieving weight goals without compromising health (physical and emotional!). I recommend this book to anyone interested in giving up on too-good-to-be-true diets and getting real about what works. This book is showing me the way!

Dr. Katz shows that having a healthier lifestyle does not have to mean bland foods and a degree in math to figure out calories and fat. Dr. Katz proposes ways to eat better without denying yourself all the things you enjoy. There are substitutes and there is gradualism. Both can ease you into better health. He a;sp includes shortcuts for determining whether foods are good for you. Fruits and vegetables and exercise are the way to go, not fad diets and the kind of self-denial that leads to failure and guilt. The great thing about the program is that weight loss is not the goal, health is. The weight loss comes naturally as you follow Dr. Katz's ideas about the way to eat.

As a clinician treating patients struggling to control their weight, I applaud Dr. Katz for his insightful, practical, and compassionate guide to lifelong fitness and healthy living. Gimmick-free, The Way to Eat tells it like it is, offering no quick fixes, but rather a long-term solution. I have and will shamelessly borrow much from Katz's insights in helping my patients.