You On A DietJuly 26, 2008 I found this book to be invaluable. Although I have finished reading it, I keep it close for reference. Now I finally understand why I have such a tummy and I'm getting rid of it!
Neanderthal I'm not!July 25, 2008 3 out of 8 found this review helpful
The premise of this book is intriguing - if we would only eat like our caveman ancestors, we wouldn't have the weight problems that are so common these days. However, the authors show a complete ignorance of what our ancestors actually ate, so as far as I'm concerned, the book starts out on the wrong foot.(It wasn't easy being a caveman, you know. They had really short life spans for a reason). Who has time to "forage" for every meal they eat? No red meat, no sugar, no processed flour, etc. Lots of walnuts, fish, and some chicken. Some of the ingredients they use with their menus would be difficult for me to find in my area. So why is this diet book any different from anyone else's? It has some cutesy drawings, I'll give them that. But the constant attempts to be funny really got on my nerves. Then comes all the science - dozens of terms for different enzymes and parts of our digestive systems - hey, I'm not that up on science. After about 10 pages of it, I was totally confused. I just want to lose some weight, guys, not get a Bachelor's Degree in biology! It really boils down to doing the same thing all other diets will tell you to do - don't eat any processed foods, get lots of excersize, drink lots of water. The kicker to this book is that the authors state you will love losing weight so much on their plan, you will never go back to eating the way you did before. Yeah, right.
Easy Read Great InfoJuly 24, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was a very easy read and is very logical. I have learned a lot from it and putting it into my families daily meal plan. It's hard to start choosing different things when you run a lot but I have learned a lot. I am going to start re-reading it to see if there is anything else I can pick up. Dr Oz is very smart and teaches you what your body does with food and energy. Very interesting.
You on a Diet - hardcoverJuly 22, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Easy read...informational with a humorous twist. A sensible plan you can really follow for the long term.
The book fibs a little, but makes weight loss possible for us mere mortals.July 16, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is more a review of the diet itself rather than the book as a work of literature.
I liked what they authors proposed for a few reasons:
- walking 30 minutes a day was doable for me, since I already do that 2 to 3 times a week.
- they make allowance for the fact that most people will slip up and eat naughty food sometimes- you are allowed to forgive yourself.
- measuring fat loss through your belt notches is practical.
- I've taken up eating natural food like apples and dried fruit, and nuts so at least I will have less trans fat encrusted arteries.
- It sounds much more achieveable to do muscle work just 20 minutes once or twice a week. Before, it was people telling me to do at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours each time- man, I HATE THE GYM! I have trouble staying more than 50 minutes. Ok, I know the book is simply telling me what I want to hear, rather than what I need to hear, but it keeps me motivated to return to the gym at least and not skip gym weeks at a time.
It's nice how they give some information about your own biology too.
One thing I did note was a slight fib.
They say there is no calorie counting. But there actually is. In the second half of the book, they write about your base metabolic calorie usage, and how certain activities will use up such and such, and eating certain foods will give you such and such calories. So sure, you DO need to know this (it means what you eat is more important than the actual exercise), but still- liar liar pants on fire boys!
Over the last 4 weeks my scales have shown a weight loss of almost 1kg. Quite slow (I want 10 kg loss a day guys!) but I am fitter, and it is constant and I think I can maintain this rate of activity and diet. ANd this is the main thing that I like.
It's been 3 months since I started implimenting this book. I've had a hard time staying away from the McD's stuff, but have been using xenical- stops some fat absorbtion. I have been exercising daily- walks 30-60 min almost every day. Have upped the intensity a notch by jogging a few hundred metres, then doing a 50-100m sprint. I will repeat this a few times over 30-45 min.
Muscles? Well, jogging and sprints have had corresponding increases in calf and thigh size. I've gone to the gym a few times. Not Arnie-like yet.
I've also been eating fruit daily. I admit I slipped in this area before June.
