Rating: Summary: Highly recommended and long awaited! Review: I turned 30 last year and to my dismay, suddenly all my old dieting tricks no longer worked. I always considered myself a healthy eater, never indulging very much in foods that I knew were bad for me. However, my weight continued to creep up (20 pounds over my goal) and would not budge. I never embraced the Atkins diet because so many people abused it and misunderstood it (skipping on bread but eating high fat foods without understanding the health risks involved). The South Beach diet while, addressing some of the same issues, was very different in its overall message promoting instead LOW CARBOHYDRATE, LOW FAT, WHOLE FOODS, and LEAN PROTEINS. So I tried it. After reading this book and following the plan suggested I lost 8 pounds in the first two weeks as promised. The weight continues to melt off, almost without any effort at this point (into phase two and up to 11 pounds off- pounds that would not budge for months). I'm ashamed to admit it, but I rarely exercise and yet I'm still losing weight and have dropped a pant size. I feel great. Friends are trying it with great success as well. Thank you Dr. Agatston!
Rating: Summary: it's been working for me Review: I have been on the diet for about three months now, and have lost 25 lbs. It works well for me, as a busy working person, to be able to have a breakfast I make ahead of time and grab a salad at lunch, and pick and choose from menu options. I was really strict for the first two weeks, and have stayed fairly strict since, but have by no means followed it religiously. Cravings disappear after a couple days, just like the book says. After the first few weeks, I wanted to add exercise to my diet, because if just changing my eating habits worked this well, imagine what kind of transformation my body would be capable of if I also worked out a few times a week! It's really paying off, as I have dropped 2 dress sizes. I agree that the editing could be improved. Over all, though, I recommend this diet highly.
Rating: Summary: A poor Atkins imitation Review: I'm glad I borrowed it from the library! This author basically plagarizes most of Atkins work. That wouldn't be so bad if he didn't also take a shot at Dr. Atkins and totally misrepresent the Atkins lifestyle. Shameful, in my opinion since he says basically the same things, except not nearly as well. He also attempts to make his diet a lower fat version of Atkins, no doubt to make his book more appealing and more acceptable to the medical establishment and the many people who remain convinced that dietary fat is evil. I gave this book 2 stars instead of one because it has a few good recipes in it. However, as others have stated, the editing is awful, the advice is inconsistent and it is just not written very well. If you are really intersted in lowering your carb intake for better health, get "Atkins New Diet Revolution" or "Atkins for Life" which is more moderate. Dr. Atkins is the one that did all the work and took all the heat for years when he was the lone voice against the high carb mania that has made this country number one in obesity in the world. His books remain the most informative and best written. The rest, including this one, are just poor imitations. If you are going to spend your money, get the real thing.
Rating: Summary: Low-Carb with Low-Fat Principles Review: The South Beach Diet is a good option for those who are convinced dietary fat is evil and makes you fat. While those of us who know low-carb eating know this is not true, some just cannot believe they really can eat fat and lose weight. Dr. Agatston misrepresents the Atkins diet in the hope to convince those reading his book his plan is better - there really was no need to do this at all since his plan has sufficient differences to distinguish itself from Atkins without the unnecessary and incorrect assessments of Atkins that he provides. Editorially the book has its flaws - tomatoes, for instance are on the "banned" list in Phase I, yet appear on the menus. Moving into Phase II fruits are to be slowly re-introduced, yet appear on the menu extensively. While these are "minor" editing problems, they can confuse readers. If you get this book, also read the website that is available and has more information. Lastly, keep in mind this plan - if you follow the menus provided - is extremely low-calorie....low enough that most people will go into "starvation mode" following it if they are not careful. While many will assert that this plan isn't about counting anything, but eating by portion size - the menus provided DO provide portions and when adding up the calories suggested each day, it's a measely 900 to 1200 calories! For most people this spells starvation mode and in a couple of weeks of starvation mode, weight loss stops.
Rating: Summary: ANOTHER BOGUS DIET Review: if you buy this book you are throwing your money away -what is the use in getting this book? you probably would say ( to lose weight)- this isnt a healthy way to lose weight and isnt a solution to permanent weight loss. it makes me angry that the authors can come up with this bogus nonsense and sell all these books with thier diffrent opinions on how to lose weight when thier way isnt even healthy. I lost almost 18 pounds the past 1 month and about 13 days and i didnt do it by going on one of these stupid diets- i did it the real way and the healthiest way - eat low fat and healthy foods ( including carbohydrates ) and exercise for an hour a day or 5 days a week at least for one hour with an aerobic excercise that gets your heart going. - THATS ALL YOU NEED PEOPLE - its as simple as that. its just the fact that you cant just say you want it , u have to do it - once your to the point that you really want it and are willing to make a commitment to exercise and eating healthy low fat-low calorie you will get the results but you will never succeed long term on these crazy diets or just wanting to get a quick fix. if you want the weight to come off quicker just exercise longer and eat healthy - that means all food groups and normal exercise - trust me u will lose weight and as for this book its b.s.- its another fad. P.s.- I got the answer to weight loss right here for ya - eat 1 or 2 low fat lean cusine meals every day and you can have snacks like fruit or vegetable and dip/cereal/egg/etc.. dont eat before you go to bed and exercise daily or at least 5 days a week for an hour on a tredmill- THERE YOUR SOLUTION- U WONT FIND IT IN THIS BOOK.
Rating: Summary: Isn't this Sugar Busters with a new title? Review: Seems to me that this is nothing but Sugar Busters under a new name...
Rating: Summary: Let's stop wasting our money Review: This book is terrible. Listen, I understand that a lot of people want to lose weight, I can even stand to lose a little weight but please don't waste your time on this book. It is problematic in every area. The menu is impossible to follow and most of the food is disgusting. Besides most people work 40 hours a week and have families and it's impossible to cook for every meal. Plus it's not fair to deprive yourself of the food that you love. Keep eating it, just less. One good solution that has worked for me is supplements. Supplement your snacks by using any EMS product or go by a juicer. I can't stand the taste of most vegetables but grinding vegetables into juice tastes amazing and I can definitely see results. A much superior book is Bill Phillips' "Body for Life." Yes, that book changed my life forever. It's the only weight loss book that doesn't condescend and understands some of our lack of knowledge about fitness. If you want to lose those carbs, then just go with the Atkins' Diet or get some advice from your doctor. Please don't waste your money on this book. You don't deserve to be discouraged and lied to by a con artist. Which is what this Arthur Agatston is. I believe that anyone who has succeeded on this diet will go back to old habits. This diet isn't something I can imagine following for the rest of my life. It's just too gross for that. Eating healthy and looking great shouldn't be our quick destination but a journey we should all welcome into our lives.
Rating: Summary: It Does Work Review: I've tried many diets over the years, stopping eating, Weight Watchers, Soup Diet, Cabbage Diet, Hospital Diet, and the Atkins Diet. All had one big problem, they were very hard to stick to, I felt like I was starving myself and the results weren't satisfying. Atkins was torture. Its my opinion that we all have different body types and different metabolisms so we all react differently to different diets. On the South Beach, I've lost 33 pounds in almost four months. Cutting Carbs, Sugar and reducing Fat, have worked for me following the South Beach plan. I don't find myself hungry between meals, find that I don't miss the carbs, in fact when I eat carbs I get tired, they sap the strength right out of me. I don't have cravings, I'm eating normal size, healthy meals, and I enjoy whats happened to my body since I started. I also find that when I eat out with family, friends and co-workers that I can always find something on the menu to have, I'm not limited. My goal weight loss was 50 pounds and I'm well on my way. This diet may not be for everyone, but for me, its been fantastic.
Rating: Summary: What Body Type Are You? Review: I think a very important part that is missing from the reviews is that no really goes into painting the differences in body type. You need to understand the heavier/out of shape you are, the more likely you will lose a lot of weight. Losing weight however is not the bottome line. A lot of people assoicate losing weight with feeling better about themselves. This book should teach you how to feel better about yourself while boosting energy (which means for you motivation to work out), lowered sugar levels (which means for you less naps or episodes of sleepiness), decreased risk of diabetes and cardiovasular problems (perhaps the greatest benefit of all), and what about learining the differences between both good and bad foods. Going to the italian pastry shop will never be the same---maybe because you learned something from reading this. Read this or Atkins---you are bound to have the results I have listed. The key here is that you need to believe in something. Take it to the bank and convince yourself you are going to do it to see it through. I am in shape and lost only a few pounds, but I am not tired, and my energy has soured. Before reading this, I was going to the gym about 6 times a week. Now I can continue a much more intense regimen and for someone like myself, you can beneift from it by becomoing more tone. I consider myself to be in excellent shape before this and this diet really helped me, maybe becasue I wasn't obsessed with losing the weight. However a few pounds for an in shape me, may mean losing a lot for an out of shape you. We can all benefit from the book. The writings can be confusing, but use what you have learned and apply it. That is the key in life anyway isn't it? Learning then applying.
Rating: Summary: Here we go again... Review: As other reveiwers have stated, this is basically the Atkins diet revisited. Those who think this diet is superior to Atkins because it allows complex carb intake, haven't fully read the Atkins plan. This diet is bascially the same as Atkins, just marketed a little more classily. Like Atkins, this diet advertises (mostly on the web) that you can lose weight without exercise! Maybe, but are you truly building a better body (by losing fat and gaining muscle) that way or just losing weight? For a truly comprehensive diet & EXERCISE program, I would recommend Body-for-Life by Bill Phillips. No gimmicks here! You are going to have work hard and eat right. No cutting carbs in the first two weeks to "maximize" weight loss. Just sensible eating and exercise--ALL THE TIME!
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