Rating: 
Summary: ATKINS/PROTEIN POWER RIP OFF
Review: I was excited about reading this book but I have to agree with many of the other readers that is is an Atkins rip off! I really found this diet to be almost identical to the Protein Power plan by Dr.& Dr. Eades who published their book in 1996. If you are new to the low carb diet scene, you may find this book helpful. But to anyone who has low carb experience DON'T your money on this - there isn't really much new information here in regards to low carb dieting.
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Summary: Not For Me
Review: I know many will disagree with my review. That's O.K., If this diet is working for you, Cool, keep going! I had been very curious about this diet because of all the media hype, so I purchased it last night, looked through it a bit... and will be returning it today. I have many problems with this diet 1. That it seemed more like a cookbook than anything. The encouragement factor and online community that I found with Atkin's, is lacking in the South Beach Diet plan. 2. I found the Dr. makes too big of a deal over what you CANNOT eat, instead of what you can, and for me that is very discouraging. 3. It seems to be just another of the "medical establishment" type "Doctor Diets". 4. Regardless of being "good" or "bad" carbs, there are just too many of them for me. I feel when you are trying to loose weight and start eating so many carbs, so soon after the strict first "phase", it triggers a reverse response to want the bad ones, well at least it works that way for me. 5. Who has time for making all the recipes and the measuring? Heck, you might as well do weight watchers. 6. The fact that he encourages use of high carb skim milk and fat-free cheeses. I really believe these are far worse than a small amount of a good-tasting high quality cheese and a bit of cream, because of the added chemicals. We all know it tastes like crap (sorry, but no other word would suffice) and when melted, if you can get it to, it stretches and squeeks like a wet rubber band, which means you will be more apt to stray to a full fat verison to satisfy your cravings. 7. It seems the only fat you can have are oils, "MMMM!!", she says sarcastically. 8. The limited use of tomatoes, which makes up so many things I love to eat. 9. He says it is "not a low carb diet", but truly it is! In my opinion, that is just a clever marketing ploy to get away from being pegged as another "Atkins alternative". Although it is not as low carb as Atkins, it is much lower than most low fat diets. This diet WOULD be great for vegetarians who need to loose a few, because it encourages the use of soy milks, cheeses and faux meats, which is a nice change from time to time. This is the one reason I rated it two stars. I know alot of hay has been made about "The Atkins Diet", but it works for me. I just modified mine by using lean ground sirloin, severly limiting bacon and other high fat and processed meats, sticking to fish, chicken, and turkey. I also limit my use of cream, use an organic cholesterol-lowering margerine, with no trans-fatty acids or hydrogentaed oils (albeit I still have a couple of pats of butter from time to time, I keep it in the freezer!), use healthy oils like canola and EVOO, incorporate egg substitutes on many days, which I actually like better, and use small amounts of high quality cheeses like parmesan reggiano or a good English cheddar. I even use very high fiber whole grain torilla wraps, buns and breads in very small amounts and I am doing extremely well. I find I have the choice to choose low fat, high fat or a combination of the two. I have many more options with Atkins than with South Beach. Lastly, it seems to be all about marketing: Look at the beautiful shiny ocean blue cover, you almost want to dive right in! It is too reliant on the glamorous South Beach "image". A place where people SEEM to take an over-abundance of pride in their vanity (not that it is bad to care about yourself, but, man , please!), so I guess they thought that would play psychologically. "If I use THIS diet, then I will look like that svelt South Beach "la-di-da's" I see portrayed on TV!!!" ...Well, perhaps I am just a bit too cynical : )
Rating: 
Summary: Who needs a book?
Review: Just eat less, and get more exercise! This isn't rocket science, people!
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Summary: overly hyped, water weight is all that is lost at first
Review: this book has many fabuolus ideas, but the water weight you loss initially comes back easily if you slip with the carb elimination, which is fine for a bit, but so unhealthy. My wife and i had severe headaches on this diet and don't recommend it.
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Summary: Come on people!
Review: If you were to get someone to perform open heart surgery, would you get a dietitian or a cardiologist? Probably a cardiologist, right? If you were going to find someone to adequately evaluate your diet, would you pick the dietitian or the cardiologist? If you chose the former, please don't buy this book. People who buy this book make me want to bash my head into the wall. Speaking as a dietitian, the only thing this book is good for is correcting uneven furniture, or maybe starting a nice yule tide fire. If you got this book for Christmas, please return it, but not before . . . [chastising] the person who got it for you. There's a reason why people inside the nutrition community don't write these books, only morons with catchy titles and degrees not dealing with nutrition. And if you disagree with me, you're wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: This book does not tell you how to diet
Review: This book in no way tells you how to diet-it explains in great detail how you can live. My husband and I have been following the guidelines in the book (you notice the word diet is not in this sentence)and together we have lost close to 60 pounds since sept. We go out to dinner a couple of times a week and do not have any trouble following the guidelines.As a Nurse Practitioner,I constantly am asked for nutrition advise. This is the first set of guidelines that I feel comfortable using. It is so easy and I don't have to measure anything. We have gotten to the point in our house where we miss our salads when we don't have them.My husband no longer needs his BP meds and I no longer get cramps in my legs and I no longer have swollen ankles. I often reccomend this plan to women who are menopausal,many of my patients in the 50ish age group are having much luck with this plan.You may feel slightly "funny" the first couple of days and I can't even explain how,but within a week you will see a difference.With the holidays,we have gone seriously off the plan but neither one of us have gained an ounce. Jan 1 we are back to plan. The first 70 pages are crucial reading.They expalin in detail why the plan works.It makes such sense that I realized why all those diets I have been on never worked. good luck.
Rating: 
Summary: Unrestrictive, relatively healthy way to diet
Review: Well, it's finally in print. A diet book that isn't too restrictive, and it's relatively healthy. I'm certainly no advocate of the Atkins Diet, and diets like the Raw Food Diet, and the Alkaline Diet can be far too restrictive for most people to be able to deal with effectively. The South Beach diet is about as healthy as a diet can get while still allowing certain processed, and devitalized foods into your body. Of course, only fresh foods, organic if possible are recommended on this diet, but there's different variations you can come up with to make the diet work for you. That's why I would recommend this book to someone who doesn't want to give up meat, or some of the foods they like to eat on a daily basis. I'd have to say if a reader can't follow this South Beach diet with any success, perhaps you should start looking at Self-Help books and tapes instead. Wayne Dyer does some fine work in that field. Check him out if you feel cheated and restricted on the South Beach diet.
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Summary: Lost 55 lbs in 10 weeks - easy to stick to
Review: I am amused by these readers who ask how do you stick to this plan. Obviously, those people haven't tried the plan (correctly) or they would know how to stick to it. I am down 55 lbs in 10 weeks and lost 8 waistline inches. Sticking to this plan was/is easy because it makes you feel full. No hunger pains. I had increased energy, something that never happened with other diets. Typically I felt tired, hungry and irritable. Not so with The South Beach Diet. This programis good for you too. Must less restrictive than Atkins and delivers the same fast results. Also, like Atkins the weight lost is actually fat loss, not muscle and water as is so typical of other diets. And I didn't have to take dangerous ephedrine or other diet aids. The South Beach Diet is the ideal diet program. Sure worked for me.
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Summary: Avoid the bad carbs
Review: 20 years ago I was a puggy teenager but then I read a book by Dr Robert Haas "Eat to Win". I do not think it was the best advice with current data but it gave the best one piece of advice you can have in dieting. Avoid simple sugar especially sucrose( I even avoided ketchup). I am actually tempted to even write my own book on a simple idea. If one part of your body cannot deal well with a certain "food" then what makes you think any other part of your body can? I noticed that I never had plaque on my teeth or bad breath when I cut out sugar for about a year. I also dropped body fat under 10 percent. It seemed as if simple carb foods immediatly caused havoc. If your teeth are not prepared for sugar what makes us think our digestive system can deal with it? So if you eat something and notice plaque or a coating on your tonque you probably are dealing with a food that will cause wieght gain and diabetes as well if it is continued. Does it not bother anyone that we need to use a special chemical just to keep our teeth aka flouride? Is it just too obvious? If you will notice bread does the same thing. I have not always followed my own advice but when I pay attention to that simple concept I go back to a normal wieght. I spend about 5 years being about 25 pounds over until I rembered to cut out simple carbs.These days however I do not have as much pasta but rather some fruit( go light on the bananas etc) and vegetables.This book seems like it is on that track.
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Summary: This didn't work for me. I found THE Pathway to weightloss
Review: This is like the other diets that I stuck to for a while and seemed to work, then I fell off the wagon and was angry at myself for my lack of willpower.
I found the answer in the "The Pathway" by Laurel Mellin. I've lost 15 lbs in 4 months and am still going strong. Not only have I lost weight, I'm also using fewer external solutions such as overspending, watching tv, eating chocolate, and ignoring the clutter in my house. I have more energy, vibrancy, intimacy, and balance. I'm learing the skills to deal with emotional upheaval, everyday trials, and permanently changing my brain to replace powerless negative thoughts with positive and powerful phrases.
The Pathway program is a big commitment, but if I add up all the time spent on diets that did not last - it's worth it for a permanant solution. Most other people using the program have lost even more weight into their second year. Following the "Pathway" is my best Christmas gift and New Year's Resolution.
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