The Pritikin Weight Loss Breakthrough: 5 Easy Steps to Outsmart Your Fat Instinct (Paperback)

~ Robert Pritikin (Author) "Susan, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of two, is married, has a successful career as a graphic designer, and has gained twenty extra pounds that she can't..." (more)
Key Phrases: fat instinct, health instinct, jalapeño chili pepper, Pritikin Program, Better Still, Mexican Pimas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pity poor Robert Pritikin: his father Nathan, who almost died of heart disease in the 1950s but saved himself with his famous low-fat diet, was extraordinarily disciplined. He could eat a dinner of brown rice and then go for a run. Robert, on the other hand, craved cheeseburgers and just wanted to hang out on the couch. It turns out that Robert had the "fat instinct," a natural, evolution-favored tendency to eat calorically dense foods and conserve energy. How he beats that instinct--and how you can, too--is the heart of his Breakthrough. The book shows how to eat until you're full several times a day; enjoy the food you're eating; use exercise to create cravings for nutrient-rich, carbohydrate-based foods; and stay on the program even if you're traveling or out with friends at a restaurant. The Pritikin Weight Loss Breakthrough is the answer to all the anticarbohydrate, pro-protein and pro-fat books out there, citing legitimate research to defend its positions and offering dozens of recipes to help facilitate the plan. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Pritikin, son of the founder of the Pritikin Longevity CenterR, explains why diet programs fail. Working with the center's scientists and doctors, he found that humans have a genetic predisposition?a fat instinct?that kicks in any time we diet, deciding that we are going through a famine and thereby causing our metabolic rate to slow down. We therefore conserve calories and crave fat. To counter this instinct, Pritikin offers menus that are divided into three categories: better, better still, and best. Unfortunately, the recipes are not up to the appetizing standards of previous Pritikin books, and some of the directions are confusing to follow. Purchase only if Pritikin books have a large following in your library.
-?Connie Weaver, Bosler Free Lib., Carlisle, Pa.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Signet (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451195728
• ISBN-13: 978-0451195722
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,761 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent theory but not enough details on diet & exercise, February 5, 2000

By	Wu Wei (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

"Breakthrough" contains a new rationale for the Pritikin program called the "fat instinct". Pritikin explains what that concept means, then shows how his theory explains why the modern (western) diet causes illnesses which people who eat "traditional" diets do not have, why other weight-loss plans fail, and why the Pritikin program works. Pritikin then spends some time defending his position on carbohydrates. The practical result of all this is a chapter on behaviors which can be used to "outsmart the fat instinct". This is followed by a too-short explanation of how to follow the Pritikin program, and then a recipe section.

This book does a great job of motivating the reader, explaining why the Pritikin program is necessary, and it gives new information about the behaviors necessary for dieting. However, "Breakthrough" does not give a detailed explanation of what the Pritikin diet and exercise program is. The Program is explained in one short chapter with a brief description of exercise methods earlier in the book.

I strongly recommend that anyone interested in the Pritikin program also purchase the book "The New Pritikin Program", which spends over 400 pages discussing things which "Breakthrough" just mentions in passing. Even though "Breakthrough" is the newer book, "The New Pritikin Program" remains the definitive explanation of what the Pritikin Program is.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent facts to support a non-hungry diet, July 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pritikin Weight Loss Breakthrough: Five Easy Steps to Outsmart Your Fat Instinct (Hardcover)

My husband and I read this book prior to attending the Pritikin Center in Santa Monica on the advice of his endocrinologist. We served three dinner parties entirely from this book and did not tell the participants they were actually dieting - in each case the dinners received rave reviews. Not only that after attending the Pritikin Center my husband has lost over 10lb and I have lost over 8lb using recipes similar to the ones in this book.

The tricks to eating are explained - first you must never go hungry - so its not a difficult thing to be on the Pritikin Program. Then you should try to eat 5 little meals a day. Then you should always start the meal with veggies - soup or salad - and put veggies on the plate first - before the meat.

This book is for rational people that believe in studies and supporting evidence for a healthy diet and exercise-based lifestyle. It helps if you have a buddy to read it with and put it into practice. Its even better if you can afford the time and the money to go to the Pritikin program and see what a plate of veggies really looks like.

This is a book that can be read and reread. It is particularly appropriate for diabetics and heart attack victims. Pritikin has helped lots of people get off their medications and avoid bypass surgery, although in our case it came too late for my husband to avoid surgery. Its best to try the program when you have a family history of heart disease or diabetes and you are not yet very ill - maybe your symptoms are just that you like to eat all the bread in the bread basket. This book also helps chocoholics and other fat eaters understand why they like their food and how with exercise they can start to prefer carbohydrates over fatty morsels.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but flawed recipes, June 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pritikin Weight Loss Breakthrough: Five Easy Steps to Outsmart Your Fat Instinct (Hardcover)

I have been through the 2-week Pritikin program in Santa Monica, so I'm pretty familiar with this lifestyle and have followed it for years. So I haven't read the text part of this book, but bought it for some new recipes. I have made two of them so far, and while I think they are (or can be) good, they are badly written. The quantities are huge and instructions confusing or incomplete. It's a shame because the chefs at the centers are very good and have some unbelievable recipes.