You on a Diet!

I was excited to get this book. I had seen the two doctors who wrote it (Dr. Michael Roizen & Dr. Mehmet Oz) on the Discovery Channel in a 1 hour special, and what they said and did intrigued me enough that I felt like I should read it.

It has taken me a long time to get through it, much longer than most diet or health books I pick up. I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand the two doctors offer some compelling new information about weight loss, if you can believe that there is anything new, or compelling, about it! On the other hand, the book is written in such an obnoxious manner that it is often hard to cut through the gibberish to glean what that new information is. The book is written in the manner of a "Dummies" or "Idiots" type book, only it's more like a "Dummies" book on steroids, or an "Idiots" book on amphetamines. It comes at your hard and fast and there is just as many glib jibes as there is fact.

On top of that, the two doctors repeatedly tell you diets are no good, they don't work, you should not go on them...then they put you on a diet! The main premise of the "You on a Diet" diet is to "reprogram" you body to eating good and healthy and thereby help it to feel fuller faster, or more normally. Their 14 day "reprogramming" plan will leave you with a waist 2 inches smaller, they say. On day one you are to dump any and all items from your fridge and pantry that contain sugar, saturated fat, trans fat or enriched flours as their first five ingredients. You are then to replace it with (they give you a shopping list and meal plan) more whole foods, whole wheats, high fiber and low fat protein sources. Their meal plan and specific recipes do contain limits and measurements and they admit it amounts to around 1700 calories a day. Sounds like a diet to me.

OK, it IS on the New York Times bestseller list, (but then so is every Ann Coulter book that comes out) so what is so good about it? Two words...waist management. The good doctors reveal that the fatty sack under your abdomen, your omentum, is really the death threat that faces the over weight. They clue us in to two chemicals in our stomach that raise and lower hunger, and how to do with with certain foods. They describe what happens to that extra fat in your body, blood stream and liver, and what it means to you and your health. They tell you to stop worrying about your weight, and start worrying about your waist. Here are some the key things I DID like about the book

• Waist management instead of weight management
• Inflammation and how it attacks our immune system
• The chemicals that control hunger and satiety, ghrelin and leptin
• The importance of the liver in obesity, health and weight-loss
• The detailed activity plan that ANYONE can do.

To sum up my thoughts about the book...annoying to read, but full of new and useful information that may educate and motivate. It lacks the grace and  peacefulness of say "SuperFoods Health Style", it's more like a kids plastic hammer tapping you on the head with every page trying to drive home a point. As long as you don't look to it as anything revolutionary (exercise and eating better are hardly that), and look more of it as a science guide into the fat effects on your body, you will be satisfied and find it well worth the money.

Of course this is just one FatBlogger's opinion, buy it and judge for yourself...and let me know what YOU think.

Comments

[Jane]

I am grateful for your comments regarding the book. I like your 'Readers Digest' version, especially as I don't appreciate wading through endless repetitive nutrition 101 info.
I just finished 5 weeks of Nutrisystem, which included consuming twice the food I would normally eat...some of which I simply didn't enjoy...for a total loss of 4 whole pounds. My meager loss can probably be attributed to the increase in physical activity that I felt was mandated by the spending of real money for the diet food.

I have now decided to try a meal replacement program, so I am using a Soy protein shake to which I add Flax seed oil, psyllium, frozen berries and half a banana.....I will continue the increased activity and see what results I have in 30 days.
Take heart all those who are struggling like me….I like to think that we folks who can look at food and gain weight...are simply a higher order of mankind....after all, if global warming, bird flu or any other cause of an apocalypse, creates a lack of food....we will be the only ones left standing!!!

[Jenne]

I just finished listening to the audiobook version and you're right! It's REALLY annoying! But, it does have some useful information. I'm enjoying far more my next audiobook, which is Mindless Eating. It's by a food psychologist who talks about all the ways we are tricked, by ourselves, the world, and life, into eating more than we think we are.

[karaokekitty]

I saw the special on Discovery and was tempted to buy the book (since I buy every other new fad diet book out there). But I think I'll pass this time. It seems the book is old news - don't eat sugar, eat whole grains, exercise, etc., etc. We all know what to do. I don't know why we feel the need to buy every new book claiming to help us lose weight. I guess we're still in search of the elusive magic pill to shrink away our fat effortlessly!

P.S. Just found your site and love it! I started a similar blog site a while back dedicated to the 101 Reasons I Hate Being Fat (101reasonsihatebeingfat.blogspot.com). I hope you stop by and check it out some time!

Keep up the good work!

[Kris]

Thanks for your intro to that book, I can't decide whether or not I want to read this perspective on how to "reprogram" my body. Just for sharing's sake: I found a good website over at healthybalance.com that has health calculators and free recipes. Enjoy!

[Margaret]

I don't like being talked down to--so I would probably hate it. I need nurturing, hand holding and a positive atmosphere to accomplish anything.

[Denise]

I hate myself for being tempted by whatever the latest diet (or, in this case, "non-diet") craze sweeps the nation. I suppose it's only $20 to find out if I hate it, though. Hmmm.

[Hilly]

I am so glad you posted this; everyone raves about this book and I am only halfway through simply because I could not stand to read lame parts of it!