I DON'T REALLY LIKE SHORT TERM DIETS
937513
I DON'T REALLY LIKE SHORT TERM DIETS AND HERE IS A BETTER PLAN -

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THIS IS TWO SMALL CHAPTERS EXTRACTED, IS VERY EASY AND CAN ACT AS A SIMPLE GUIDELINE FOR
YOU TO BUILD YOUR OWN EVERYDAY EATING AROUND.

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4799716
My wife saw this author on AM Northwest in Portland Oregon and thought we should try it.  I lasted one day.  The food is completely different from what I normally eat.  No where could I find how to compute the number of calories I could eat in a day.  The food is very granular and gets under
my partial plate.  Frankly if you cut back on calories, you will lose weight no matter what the diet.  I added up the calories for the recipes he listed for a day and it came to about 1300. I lose 26 pounds in two years on the FASTDIET and have kept it off.  For me, it is a much better diet choice.
1141198
The book contains a few different, simple diet plans.  I didn't find the plans to be very well balanced, though.  Even though I'm Gluten-Free, I believe there were a lot of vital ingredients omitted from them.  There is also no reason to avoid lower carb grains, even while dieting, as all grains do not contain gluten and are nutrient dense.  If, as some diets require, you do choose to go grain free, then replacements should be made for those grains.  A good replacement is beans, lentils and legumes.  Nuts, to some degree, can also  help replace the flours and some of the cooking requirements.  These diets might be OK short term, but I wouldn't advise them for long term follow-through.  They're a short fix and not well thought out eating plans that you can adhere to long term.  The best dietary plans, are the ones you can incorporate into your lifestyle and continue.  But, the book does has good information on Detoxing and if you Choose to go Grain Free, it Guides you Through That.  It also, of course, is Gluten-Free and Covers a Wide Variety of Health Issues and the Supposed Causes.  Most of the recipes are super and have readily available ingredients.  Occasionally, the ingredients were listed in "Grams" and that wasn't nessasary.  I saw that some reviewers were impressed by the recipes.  Alas, I was not.  I found nothing new or impressive about them.  Even though I wanted to love this cookbook, I just didn't feel it.  Thank you for reading.
3247699
I thought I was going to love this, but found that there were way too many recipes that relied on very specific processed foods.  I don't love eating many processed foods, and wish that she would have stuck to whole foods.  I also found that some of the recipes were super low calorie and unrealistic for a meal unless you plan to snack a lot throughout your day.  It's not the way I like to eat so while I'm sure her recipes are good for some people, they aren't good for me.
4124417
I am eating these peanuts a little at a time to same some for later and my doctor does not want me to eat very many a dat
516003
This diet does indeed work; the problem is it is SUPER strict.  Yes you will eat quite a bit of food, but the problem lies with the restrictions.  I must say I am extremely picky, and certain phases maybe only had two or three things I could eat in each category.  That meant I would be eating the exact same meals and snacks for each day of the phases during the whole 28 days.

I successfully completed a week and a half and I DID lose 8 pounds. So I cant say that this diet doesnt work.  But in actuality, I would much rather eat the things that I love and continue to go to the gym.  There are some things I will continue to use from this book.  For example, eating every three to four hours, drinking the allocated amount of water, and eating breakfast in the first 30 minutes I wake up. But all of the shopping, money, and planning that this diet requires isn't for me.
3644029
Like most diets out there it may work if you follow it but it's not practical for the picky eaters.  Of the list of foods there are very few I personally eat so it was a waste of money for me.
4453787
I love the meal plans, but don't agree with all the low fat/nonfat and artificial sweeteners included in this diet. (and neither does my doc)  Your brain needs healthy fats, so I am adding those in.  I am super annoyed with the index...nothing I look up is on the page the index says, so I end up flipping through the book to find what I want.
3282984
I was super excited about this diet bit the reality was it was too difficult and time intensive. There's a few recipes I really enjoyed (tofu black bean hash & eggplant parm are yum!) but the cook time of 30 minutes was not accurate. I also found it so difficult to find things to eat at resturants. I did lose about 8 lbs in 2 weeks but gained double after stopping. I find learning portion size much better long term solution.
3436863
I am a huge fan of Hungry Girl and have several of her cookbooks.  I love that her recipes are simple and use ingredients that a normal person would have on hand.  However,  I found the Hungry Girl diet rather repetitive and restrictive, which (as I have discovered from decades of experience) is NOT conducive to long-term weight loss. I may use some of the recipes in this book, but feel that I could not actually follow this diet for a month.  Sorry, Lisa--try again.
1874118
It wasn't that this book didn't have good recipes, they sounded pretty good.  And if I needed to replace my current cravings and sweet tooth permanantly then this book would be good for you.

But after reading the basics of Ketogenics, I realized that I didn't really need a recipe book to replace what I was currently eating.  I was more trying to change my eating habits.  I'm always active, but love eating.  I know my diet could be less junky and more healthy, with the occasional treat.
2733469
I've been looking for a diet plan that won't affect my grocery bill, doesn't take forever to see results, and help me change the way I cook/eat and I think this is it. I noticed my belly was a lot flatter and lost 7 lbs within my first week; which motivated me to keep on going.
I've tried P90X workout with their diet plan and it worked but I'm a mom with a busy life so I couldn't keep it up for long term. With 17 day diet, if you follow the plan, you won't starve and it will change the way you eat. It reintroduced me to eating veggies, fruits, and yogurts again. I recently went to a dinner event and I found myself eating more vegetables than meats on my plate. I noticed that I'm looking for healthy substitutes to put in my cooking and I will never go back to piling my favorite fattening foods on my plate when I go out to eat again. I just want to lose 20 lbs and I'm getting there. Most diet programs work but they are not practical for long term and won't change the way you cook at home or eat throughout your life...BUT THIS ONE DOES...seriously.
2530398
I don't totally buy into this program. Common sense in choosing healthy foods and eating reasonable portions would net the same rules.
3020009
It sounds like a great diet, I wish I could do it.  I tried to follow it and ended up with anxiety.  Before this I never even knew what anxiety felt like.  I stopped the diet and have not been able to get rid of the anxiety.  I would never again try another high protein diet.  If you start this diet and start feeling jitteriness stop the diet right away.  The anxiety is better but not completely resolved.
894359
I wish I was in the study then I could have others make the meals for me!  So far, I have added a few of the premises of the book to my diet, like no simple carbs, lots of beans, and lots of vegetables sauteed in olive oil.  But I am extremely daunted by the "diet plan" and am very bummed that I can not do it.  For example, there is a "Chicken Thigh" recipe early on.  I don't like dark meat.  So what do I do?  The book says substitution is okay, but there are many times when I would have to substitute and the diet plan becomes useless.  And many times if you are listed to have something for dinner, the book makes it easier by having leftovers in the next day.  I literally will need to retool every meal, and pretty much just build the proper pantry (a positive is that this is addressed directly).  I am also not happy that some of the things referenced in the book aren't in the book, like shopping lists.  There are 25 pages of shopping lists online.  Great if you don't buy the book, but I'd want the shopping list in the book for reference.  I also don't understand the tracker that is included.

Right now, I am psyched about trying to apply the percentages listed for each phase, and add foods that are recommended and remove foods that are banned, but I'm not sure how reasonable this plan is for anyone with a full-time job and with aversions to particular foods.  I can see that this might have a market at a weight loss retreat or somewhere others prepare meals for you.

I will post an update if I get a chance, to see if my modified version is working for me.  So far, I do feel better by cutting out bread and other simple carbs, but not sure it was worth buying to book to find out something that is promoted many places.

Note that I could have removed another star because the book reads very confusingly; there are many "My Story" blurbs included, many with small weight losses (10 - 20 lbs.).  I don't think most people who have 10 - 20 lbs. to lose will be seeking out a diet book.
4070360
The recipes are pretty good but I am not sure I will try them I got it because I wanted to read more on this type of diet. If this is a diet that you need to live by or want to do it will work good for you.
1344574
I think he went overboard on the scare tactics here. I love the South Beach diet as it works for me and now it seems like Paleo follows in its steps.  Food is just another addiction.