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137 of 147 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great basic nutrition advice, October 18, 2007
Most of this book's recommendations are familiar to me now that I've been reading and experimenting with healthy cookbooks for a while. It's a bit more stringent on the no-fat requirement than I'm used to, but it's all about good carbs, good fats, and combining carbs with lean protein to keep us feeling full. Where Agatston's South Beach Diet recommends three meals with careful snacking between, Ms. Reno replaces that with five or six small meals spaced throughout the day.
So what's new? What makes The Eat-Clean Diet a worthwhile addition to the stacks of diet books and healthy eating books already out there?
For one, it includes great lists of pantry goods, produce, etc. with which to fill your cupboards and refrigerator. It makes it easier to get into the swing of having enough yummy, healthy food around to keep you full and satisfied. For those people who don't yet understand all the information out there on processed sugars, saturated fats, etc., it introduces those concepts in nice, easy language aimed at your average person.
Tosca's cheerleading excitement and enthusiasm, while a bit jarring at first if you aren't into that sort of thing, is actually pretty infectious after a while, perhaps because it's tempered with helpful information as well as personal experience and doesn't feel empty.
About a third of the way into the book I realized why the book cover so closely resembles fad diet books. Tosca includes several stories of people approaching her wanting to know her "secret" to looking incredibly fit over 40 (lest you think she's one of those easily-skinny people, she lost the weight by getting fit and changing her eating habits just like the rest of us need to). These people inevitably believe there's some sort of magic pill, or a particular food they should eat or avoid (ie, a fad diet they should follow), and have difficulty believing the key is simply to eat the right foods.
Given her loathing of fad diets, I believe she deliberately wanted the book designed so that all these people who are looking for quick answers would pick up her book instead, and finally hear the things they really need to hear. After all, the people she most wants to reach are those who have been misled into thinking that fad diets are good.
One of the things that sets this book apart is the recipes. I admit that while her ideas are great, I found myself dubiously eying the pictured plates of raw veggies with no dressing and the like. I was afraid that her recipes would be similar---healthy, but lacking in any real appealing flavor.
Then we tried a recipe for parchment-baked fish that was absolutely delicious! The flavors came together perfectly in one of those recipes that's somehow more than the sum of its parts. (And I'm not the biggest fish fan in the world, particularly white-fleshed fish.) While this book doesn't include a huge number of recipes, it certainly gives you plenty of ideas, and it also includes two full-week menus from morning to night to get you started.
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52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just a diet, September 30, 2007
This book has changed my life!
I have lost 65 pounds in the last 2 years, but I hit a plateau about 6 months ago. My boyfriend is a personal trainer and heard about this book- he brought it home and things haven't been the same since!
We cleared out our kitchen and bought all fresh food- our refrigerator is now always full of fruit, veggies, and the many meals I make.
We ate low fat but, after reading this book, realized that "low fat" does not mean "healthy". The stuff we were eating was processed and the ingredient lists were FULL of unpronouceable words. We were eating crap! Low fat, but crap none the less!
Don't get me wrong- this is not easy at first. It's a little expensive at the beginning- getting pretty much all new food for the kitchen adds up, but once you have the basics the cost drops dramatically! We also noticed that we are saving a LOT of money by not eating out as much. We didn't realize how much we were spending on take-out!
I had a hard time at first 'cooking'. The stuff I made before was processed, instant stuff- frozen stir frys and such. It was quite an adjustment cooking real meals from scratch. My boyfriend works 2 jobs and I work LONG hours every day as a 911 operator. It was very difficult to find time to cook, but now its a routine and I don't even think of it as a chore. Come to find out... I LOVE to cook. Who knew?! I cook now on my days off- I make enough meals (usually 3-5 different dishes) to last a week and we take our little coolers full of food to work and eat throughout the day. It makes it really easy and takes the guesswork out of it. Now we never have the problem of "there's nothing to eat" at our house! We have also found that fresh, homemade food tastes a LOT better than what we used to eat. Both of us agree that the stuff we used to love just doesn't taste good anymore- it tastes fake. We don't even want to eat out like we used to because it doesn't taste right!
I am finally leaning out after my long plateau and my boyfriend (who had a fantastic physique anyway) is looking better than ever! I feel great, have more energy, and have not been sick ONCE since beginning this plan. This coming from the girl that used to catch EVERY bug that went around. I guess my immune system has been boosted by eating such fresh, healthy, nutrient dense food. It's been pretty nice! We do, however, have a "cheat day" once a week. Where before cheat day would be a pizza or something like that, now it basically means a dessert. Neither of us have any desire to gorge ourselves on greasy food. Our tastes have changed quite dramatically.
We are looking to get married and start a family within the next year. I am SO glad we made this change in our lives. I'll feel much better having a baby knowing that it will grow up with good, healthy eating habits. Hopefully he/she will be healthy and not have to deal with the weight issues that I did growing up. We will be eating like this forever- even after I make my weight goal. This really is not a "diet", it's a lifestyle. This is how people SHOULD be eating- the good stuff that God gave us, not man-made "convenience" food. This is not just for people that want to lose weight- it's for anyone that wants to make a positive change in their life and wants to be healthier.
I have read a lot of these reviews and a common theme among the mediocre-negative reviews is that it's "hard". Yes, it is... at first. If you stick it out for 2-3 weeks and force yourself to just make it work, you will find that it becomes a LOT easier. A *LOT* easier. You just have to stick with it and make a commitment- a commitment to yourself to be heatlhier and happier.
I can't recommend this book enough!
PS: I saw some people write that they want something to make them lose weight NOW. Well, this will help you to lose weight at a safe pace. Throw exercise in there and you're on your way. Remember, it took a LONG time to put the weight on, so you can't expect it to come off overnight (I am living proof). Fitness is a journey, not a destination.
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61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A difficult restrictive diet plan., May 9, 2008
The Eat-Clean Diet: Fast Fat-Loss That Lasts Forever! sounded to me like a perfect diet book. Before I even saw the book I googled author Tosca Reno, who at 46 is a fitness model, writes a column for Oxygen magazine, has written several books, and looks fabulous. Reno's story is remarkable.
Born in Ontario, Reno was raised in a healthy eating home. Lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables - very little sugar and processed foods. She was fine through high school, but found in college that the more that was going on in her life the worse her eating habits became, and they stayed that way through the birth of her three daughters. Suddenly at 40 Reno weighed over 200 pounds and needed to get her life back under control. So she began Eating Clean and exercising, lost the weight, and as she puts it, "I got the body I thought only "Hard Bodies" could own."
This sounds good so far, and the claims on the book's cover sound even better: "Fast FAT LOSS that lasts forever!" "Never go hungry." "Eat the foods you LOVE!" And my personal favorite, "The ONLY sure way to FAST HEALTHY FAT LOSS!"
Laid out like a magazine with lots of bright color, sidebars, and photos, I found The Eat-Clean Diet very appealing until I really started reading. I am of the opinion that restrictive diets do not work, since most of us do not have the wherewithal to stick with such programs long term. I also believe that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat what we love in reasonable portions with a bit more balance. In other words, eat less!
Reno's plan focuses on fresh produce, fresh whole grains, fresh lean protein, lots of exercise, and supplements. While the diet is certainly not bad for you, it is not new and most people will find it restrictive. When I hear "Eat the Foods you LOVE!" I think pizza and ice cream, not flax seed, millet, and All-Bran®. And here in the Caribbean I cannot always get these foods. For two weeks we had no brown rice in the store, so it wasn't even an option.
Reno exercises five or six days per week with a lot of aggressive weight training. Again, most people do not want to do this. Exercise needs to happen, but again one needs to meet people where they are and allow them to slowly gain a comfort level with the gym and exercising. Regarding supplements, she advises such unproven additions as creatine and MSM, which I question the need for.
This diet obviously worked for Tosca Reno and she is her own best testimonial. But do not be tricked into thinking this is an easy-to-handle non-restrictive diet plan. Expect to be hunting down groceries, carrying food with you just in case there is no clean food available, constantly ordering "off the menu" in restaurants, and spending a lot on supplements.
And trust me as a fitness professional, there are other ways to healthy weight loss!
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