Rating:  Summary: I can relate Review: I feel I can relate to the author, Mr. Arlin. I have been eating raw foods for a year now, and there was a phase where I lost about 50 or 60 lbs of "muscle". My cooked bodyfat was about 6%, but my energy and stamina were horrible, and my anger and ego controlled my life. I switched to raw foods and became emaciated. When I read "Raw Power", I started adding more fats and greens and it made a world of difference. I was able to put on about 25 lbs. of muscle. My endurance is at an all time high, so is my energy. Now I'm not the least bit angry anymore. I'm currently 6'2", 188 lbs, 100% raw. My lifetime goal is 230 lbs. One day I'll achieve it. I'm 23 years old. I have time. Maybe one day we'll lift together.
Rating:  Summary: For veterans of the weights, naw... Review: I have read Steve Arlin's "Raw Power" two or three times now. As a struggling "rawist" I find some parts to be helpful, and even inspirational. Other parts I find to be a bit self-aggrandizing, and not to functional.Bottom line, if you are new to Raw Foodism, and want to lift weights, then-aside from the workouts being way to long- read it and get some ideas. I would suggest other works for a better grasp of weight lifting in, and of itself. If you are a weight lifting veteran, and have been around the gym awhile, as so many have already stated, you won't be too impressed. For you stick with what you are doing, and phase in the raw food diet as you go.
Rating:  Summary: For veterans of the weights, naw... Review: I have read Steve Arlin's "Raw Power" two or three times now. As a struggling "rawist" I find some parts to be helpful, and even inspirational. Other parts I find to be a bit self-aggrandizing, and not to functional. Bottom line, if you are new to Raw Foodism, and want to lift weights, then-aside from the workouts being way to long- read it and get some ideas. I would suggest other works for a better grasp of weight lifting in, and of itself. If you are a weight lifting veteran, and have been around the gym awhile, as so many have already stated, you won't be too impressed. For you stick with what you are doing, and phase in the raw food diet as you go.
Rating:  Summary: Recipes are good, but it lacks substance Review: I have read tons of nutrition books. I found this book helpful for the recipes (blended drinks) and it is really for the beginner only. It lacks real substance and is an extremely easy read (2 hours). Very few really new concepts except if you are brand new to raw food and healthy living. For the body building segment - go get a book on body building - not this,
Rating:  Summary: Powerful info Review: I like this book a lot. Mr. Arlin is strong and it shows. He is extremely vibrant. That's what I want too. Highly recommended.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing Review: I must concur with some of the previous reviewers. As a weightlifter in the early stages of converting to raw foodism, I purchased this book in the hope that it would have much more detail in this one specific area than the other raw food books I've read. I wish I had skimmed it a little better in the store, first. The book does contain some useful information, and the author's enthusiasm may be a turn-on for some (and a turn-off for others), but the same information is better stated in other sources and for me the writing style came across as more of an advertisement for the author's business than anything else. The claims are not well supported by biological explanations (a trend that is unfortunately quite common in books on raw food in general). However, I don't mean to imply that the author is wrong--simply that there could have been more background provided to substantiate the author's statements. On the positive side, I happen to agree with the author on most of his judgements (for example, that many "scientific" studies are often directed by biased entities and must therefore be disregarded). I think he scores on the fresh, naturalistic, positive attitude that he obviously possesses himself and encourages in others. And from personal experience this attitude, and the corresponding health benefits, can be powerful stuff when one adheres to the raw foods diet. It's just that a better overall explanation of the whole can be found in other sources.
Rating:  Summary: It's a Glorified Catalog Review: I waited for this book for months, upon receiving my copy I eagerly read it in one sitting, only to be disappointed. The Author catalogs and promotes his company's products throughout the book. And strongly recommends books written by his partner 'David Wolfe'. Both raw-fooders since 1995! To sum up the contents in this book. Raw Food is good for you, he lost a lot of weight when he went raw, After initial weight loss on raw diet, Stephen COULD NOT put on any weight for 2 years. Until he learned how to trick his body, by slowing down his metabolism (eating a heavy meal late in the day). The rest of the book is fillers. In his other book 'Natures First Law', Stephen says that every animal on this earth can live on one food only ("Donkey gets everything from a blade of grass"). Yet he has failed to mention any single food for us Humans (he strongly recommends his company's bottled products instead). What is the rest of the book? 1. A Lengthy Question and Answer session from his website (http://www.rawfood.com/interviewsa1.html) 2. Recipies by his wife that do not claim to be Strength Builders. 3. A Catalog for his Business. 4. Workouts.
Rating:  Summary: Has no substance, very poorly written... Review: I've been an avid bodybuilder for years. Granted, I've recently considered switching to Raw Dieting to become 100% "Natural" as the book suggests, I found this book to be of little value. The objective I had in purchasing this book was to gain knowledge of what foods to eat, protein and carb content, tips of combining foods, facts to support findings, how the body works in conjunction with switching to this type of diet. I found nothing of substance. Instead, I found many very opinionated and dumbfounded comparisons to analogies which that of a middle school child could have come up with without substantial scientific backing. There was honestly, very little in terms of how the body works in conjunction with the foods eaten, and looking at the author, I'm sorry to say, but he looks big but not at all like someone who lifts weights nor someone that looks like they even have alot of muscle under the fatty layers. He just looks big and smooth. You would think in forming a book of this nature, he would present his physique a little more appropriately and provide more substantial backing to his theories which are lacking. I've read many many books on raw dieting and this is one of the poorest written. The book is just a big catalog of products and supplements that you can find on their website at Nature's First Law. Not worth the money, very little facts and alot of advertising and useless analogies. If you presented the content in this book to someone you were trying to convince to go raw, you may as well stand in a circuis and have everyone laught at you. You are better off buying a detailed raw cook book which provides background on tasty foods and cooking methods to help you in your quest for size and raw foodism....one such book I would personally recommend from an actual Raw Food Chef is: Living Cuisine by Renee Loux or The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon which provides enough information on how to gain weight for the avid bodybuilder or athelete. I've learned more about nutrition in the beginning chapters of the two books mentioned above than I did with Raw Power 3rd Edition. They teach you about sprouting, details about the food categories, origins of, how to fuse the dishes together, talks about health and other vibrant factors that are detrimental to the way you nourish and build your body with solid backing and sound cultural research.
Rating:  Summary: Has no substance, very poorly written... Review: I've been an avid bodybuilder for years. Granted, I've recently considered switching to Raw Dieting to become 100% "Natural" as the book suggests, I found this book to be of little value. The objective I had in purchasing this book was to gain knowledge of what foods to eat, protein and carb content, tips of combining foods, facts to support findings, how the body works in conjunction with switching to this type of diet. I found nothing of substance. Instead, I found many very opinionated and dumbfounded comparisons to analogies which that of a middle school child could have come up with without substantial scientific backing. There was honestly, very little in terms of how the body works in conjunction with the foods eaten, and looking at the author, I'm sorry to say, but he looks big but not at all like someone who lifts weights nor someone that looks like they even have alot of muscle under the fatty layers. He just looks big and smooth. You would think in forming a book of this nature, he would present his physique a little more appropriately and provide more substantial backing to his theories which are lacking. I've read many many books on raw dieting and this is one of the poorest written. The book is just a big catalog of products and supplements that you can find on their website at Nature's First Law. Not worth the money, very little facts and alot of advertising and useless analogies. If you presented the content in this book to someone you were trying to convince to go raw, you may as well stand in a circuis and have everyone laught at you. You are better off buying a detailed raw cook book which provides background on tasty foods and cooking methods to help you in your quest for size and raw foodism....one such book I would personally recommend from an actual Raw Food Chef is: Living Cuisine by Renee Loux or The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon which provides enough information on how to gain weight for the avid bodybuilder or athelete. I've learned more about nutrition in the beginning chapters of the two books mentioned above than I did with Raw Power 3rd Edition. They teach you about sprouting, details about the food categories, origins of, how to fuse the dishes together, talks about health and other vibrant factors that are detrimental to the way you nourish and build your body with solid backing and sound cultural research.
Rating:  Summary: A Bit Mixed Up Review: It was refreshing that this book was not so extreme as the "Natures First Law" book, of which Steve Arlin is a co-author. However, this book is not sure what it wants to be. Is it a recipe book? Is it a tips-for-eating-raw book? Is it a bodybuilding book? I think the book tries to be all these things, but unfortunately, with such a short length, it can't possibly achieve this. That said, there are some positive aspects to this book, and I'm glad I read it. I would recommend this book to someone who has already read several other raw-food-related books, and is seeking more information. The author does share some good insights and tips on eating a raw diet. He has been raw for several years, and he does have some good stuff to share. His wife also provides a lot of great recipes (but why is she not credited on the cover of the book?). If you're looking for an exercise program or information specific to body building techniques, you are not going to find much of that here.
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