Rating: 
Summary: Save your $ for groceries
Review: Basically Ori Hofmekler touches some controversial topics in "The Warrior Diet" such as stubborn fat, the layers of fat around the waistline and under the pecs, fat that refuses to disappear no matter what you do. But the Warrior Diet does NOT necessarily help to lose stubborn fat AND maintain a lean muscular body.
Fact is that this eating regimen will make you look EMACIATED in the long run.
And it is not recommendable to bodybuilders or people who exercise regularly. Also its alleged anti aging effect is more than questionable. Hofmekler has some good points but ignores too many facts about modern nutrition.
Also I have not found any hint as to whether he is a certified nutrition expert. His bio states that he worked as a cartoonist.
I cannot recommend this diet as it had me lose muscle and strenght. Also the claims about increased sex drive and "romantic" passion are ludicrous.
Rating: 
Summary: Lean-n-Mean
Review: I came across this title on the Dragon Door website where I had ordered a set of kettlebells (see The Russian Kettlebell Challenge by Pavel Tsatsouline). After doing a little background research about the Warrior Diet book and its author, I decided to order it from Amazon.com.I followed the diet along with following a system of workouts based on static weightlifting (i.e., deadlifts, standing presses) and ballistic lifting (clean and jerks, snatches), as well as aerobic training. As for the diet itself, it is revolutionary to our modern dietary "philosophy", which in my way of thinking, says: "I would rather be comfortable than be truly alive." It was not so much the name "Warrior Diet" as it was the philosophy behind it that inspired me to practice it. In short, the author encourages the reader to strive for a state of physical and mental toughness, the foundation of which is built on our most basic function- eating. During the day, one eats small amounts of fruits and vegetables (with a little protein). At night, one can eat until s/he is satisfied. Over a period of two months, I've lost only 8 lbs. (from 175 to 167), but, much to my wife's delight, I have regained musculature that I haven't seen in twenty years. Even more, my concentration has greatly improved and I don't get the afternoon blahs like I did under my old (conventional) rules of eating. To top it off, I think my attitude is changing. I am an engineer, and more like Dilbert than I care to admit. However, since I've been going without food during the day and eating like a horse at night, I've turned into a real horse's $$$ at work. Not in a bad way- I still have my job- but I find myself speaking up to defend good ideas and tearing up bad ones. In other words, I don't go with the flow anymore. Is this due to the diet or merely psychological? I don't have a clue, but in light of the other benefits, I'll keep practicing the Warrior Diet. And I don't care if you find this review helpful or not.
Rating:
Summary: Started the diet a month ago...........
Review: I happened to pick up this book at a barnes & noble and have been following basic principles of the diet for about 5 weeks now.....
I have to say that most of the time I seem to be more focused and I have lost inches and look much leaner, though I seem to be about the same on the scale.....I've seen some of the negative reviews and I can only address them by saying that you have to incorporate this diet into a way that works for you. For instance I eat my big meal during the late afternoon insead of the evening as Hofmekler suggests, I don't do his exercises, take his supplements and yes I do agree that he's trying to hawk his own products! I find that his diet will work much better if u do eat a good deal of raw veggies during the undereating phase.
My main problem seem to be that certain things could be explained a little bit better and I seem to be able eat less and less during my "Main" meal. I think that if u follow this diet you will begin to crave more natural foods instinctively though.......
Still I think this is a great diet with wonderful results, I'm eating a lot more healthier, I feel a lot more energy, my mind seems a lot sharper these days, I'm leaner........
I think u have to use it and work it into your life in a natural way, but it's the results from it that will make you want to continue it.
In fact I'm recommending it overwelmingly to all my friends!
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST DIET EVER.
Review: i have been doing bodybuilding for since i was 18 , around
21 i was at a peak of 185lbs. of soild mass at a height of 5'6.
i was drinking five 1,000 calorie shakes a day ,not including meals.i also took andro, creatine and other vitamins.
i felt trapped by all th eating and meals.
i had no life.
so i quit. two years later , right here right now..i am on the warrior diet. it all makes sense to me.
the thing is, you really need to do it for at least three
months.
six, if you really want to notice results.
and it is a suitible lifetime diet.
i did my research on fasting and the anabolic properties
and hormone release of over eating and excersize
and i can say that everything he is talking about is valid.
i myself, take no supplements , except for predigested
protein pills and a high potency vitamin .
i do 600 push ups a day along with 5 sets of crunches
and five sets of the military press followed by hitting the
heavy bag, i am totally ripped beyond belief.
and i owe it to the warrior diet.
i think ori serves as an awesome representive of how
man used to look like in the olden days in his pictures.
he's rough around the edges and rugged.mean looking almost.
i totally recommend everyone this book who considers
a new approah to dieting or getting in shape.
why would anyone not wanna do it?
where else can you have the freedom of piggying out at night time and still become strong and lean.
if you do try it , you must at least give it an honest try.
at least three months-six if you wanan see eevn more results,
you will become convinced of it's true potency!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Well... This diet is fantastic
Review: i made a review on this diet about a year ago. I dont know how to remove it, so ill add a positive review. It turns out i was doing the diet totally wrong and that is why i was losing muscular mass. I am currently following this diet and i am much leaner. Heres a tip to maximize weight loss: Before your "meal" make sure you do ANY kind of workout to promote digestion and anabolism. It really helps. The thing this book didnt touch on isa that you need to work out before your meal or it is possible the food will just turn into fat.
Rating: 
Summary: Far from perfect, but not bad at all
Review: I stuck with this diet for 16 months before going back to the "Fit for Life" diet. Ori gives a logical regimen for daily consumption. Basicly during the day you do not eat anything (if you must, you can eat berries or a few other items) and upon the evening can eat many meals as long as they are protein based, and have a high water content. This diet is not far from Diamonds "Fit for Life" which is geared towards living a long healthy life, as opposed to the Warrior diet which is based more on "getting cut" (Lean) and being more alert due to the hunger. On the Warrior Diet I lost close to 14 pounds of fat, however, I also lost close to 12 pounds of muscle. This is a diet strategy for those who want to be lean, and don't mind losing some muscle, and it's not a bad read either.
Rating:
Summary: Response to the reader from Oregon
Review: I understand your concerns about TWD not being so good for building muscle mass, but I think there's a few points you should consider. Firstly, Hofmekler makes it clear that the book is intended to go for the lean, ripped look as opposed to the hulking giant look. That being said, building muscle on TWD would be very easy to do, if you modify the program slightly, as Hofmekler himself suggests you do if that is your goal. To build muscle you want to reduce catabolism(muscle breakdown) and increase anabolism(muscle synthesis), which are both processes that are constantly operating simultaneously in your body. To reduce catabolism, all you have to do is make sure that you have a minimum amount of amino acids circulating in your blood. Even if your calorie intake is low, you won't lose muscle if your circulating amino acid level is high(at least in the short term). This is exactly what TWD would recommend for the undereating phase(just eat small amounts of lean protein all day). And to increase anabolism, you need to make sure that you significantly elevate your circulating amino acid level(well above that required to stave off catabolism) both after a workout and while you sleep, which would be accomplished by TWD's overeating phase at night. Overall, I think TWD is good for building muscle, and at the same time it will make you lose fat because it guarantees you many hours of fat-burning hormones circulating throughout your body during the day. Insulin is the primary hormone responsible for this, but it is widely misunderstood. Insulin stops lipolysis(fat-burning), so you want to minimize insulin if you want to get rid of your body's excess fat(just like Atkins and South Beach recommend). But insulin is not entirely bad. In fact, your body cannot significantly increase anabolism without insulin. Insulin is the critical limiting factor for building muscle. That's why you want to increase insulin immediately after a workout and get some amino acids to those muscles. Insulin is like a turbocharger that accelerates the delivery of amino acids to your muscles after a workout(check out "Nutrient Timing" by John Ivy, or "Optimal Muscle Performance and Recovery" by Ed Burke). So you want to eat both carbs and protein after working out, in order to stimulate insulin and raise your circulating amino acid level. TWD takes care of all these concerns by minimizing insulin during the day, and maximizing it after your workout. Fat-burning by day, and muscle-building by night!
Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary and thought provoking, BUT....
Review: Ori Hofmekler (former editor/publisher of Mind and Muscle Power magazine. Man, I LOVED that magazine!) definitely has alot of guts for writing a diet book such as this, giving controversial advice concerning meal frequency and portion sizes! The main theme is this: undereat or fast during the day, keeping blood sugar levels low and eating only very small amounts of food, like vege/fruit juice, protein, whole fruits/veges. This cycle of the diet (which occurs on a daily basis) serves as the detoxification mode. Your body is cleansing, you are working off fat stores, and brain function/creativity/instinctual drives should be increased positively. Workouts with weights and cardio should be done on an empty stomach, where fat burning is highly increased due to a 'fasted mode'. Then in the evening, you 'overeat' on lean proteins, veges, salad, etc. I highly enjoy Ori's creative ideas and the historical twist he puts in the book regarding ancient warriors and Greeks, and the diet did have some success for me, when I was strict with it. The diet is extremely convenient for students as well, who don't have the time to mess with frequent meals. But, beware, don't think that you can overeat at night on anything you want, Ori is very clear that the overeating faze is for healthy foods only! Also, I don't believe that if your goal is to gain alot of muscle that this particular diet is for you...more for people that are interested in the 'lean' look.
Rating: 
Summary: the worst of all gimmick diets
Review: Ori Hofmekler's book is full of dubious scientific explainations. some just outright *don't make sense* he says that as long as you fast during the day, you can binge at night with no caloric resrictions. any nutritionist will tell you that in order to lose weight, you must cut back on calories in some way. of course calories aren't the whole picture, but there is a huge difference between fasting during the day and then eating 100 calories as opposed to 3,000. He also says that low carb diets will decrease the amount of HGH that you produce, inducing an acidic-type of environment in your body. this may not be impossible, but you are much more likely to suffer HGH deficiency by following a high carb diet. he also claims that The Zone by barry sears falls into the category of high protien/low carb. this is not true as Dr. Sears advocates the consumption of more carbs per meal than protien. There is also the matter of what this diet can do to your digestive tract and stomach. i couldn't stay on this diet for more than a week because the constant shrinking and forceful stretching out of my stomach was unbearable on my sensitive stomach. he also claims that his diet is the perfect way to become big at the same time that you burn fat. If you try this diet, you will find it hard to gain muscle at all because you need a steady intake of protien throughout the day. the author might look great in the books pic's but i think we can just chalk that up to exercise and good genes. I think that if someone were to lose weight on this diet, it would only be because they are not used to binging so severely at night so they would actually just be fasting during the day and eating moderately at night.
Rating:
Summary: Not so much a 'diet' as much as an eating style
Review: This approach to eating actually works. I started using it, almost accidentally, last March, before I ever head of or read the book, and lost an unneeded 40 pounds. Several of the caustic reviews are almost nonsensical in the criticisms they level at the concept. Any approach to managing one's weight, muscle mass and body fat content requires management of total caloric intake, as well as the proportions of carbohydrates and protein in the diet, agressive hydration, AND vigorous exercise. That is really all that the author recommends. I am not enamoured with catchy titles - Warrior Diet, South Beach Diet, Atkins Diet - responsible eating doesn't need a name. Expensive, proprietary supplements are equally silly. But, the concepts the author recommends, including nightime 'overeating' coupled with daytime fasting, are as physiologically valid, and effective as other approaches, and simply do not lead to 'eating disorders', renal problems, or any of the (very unlikely) other negative outcomes predicted in several of the somewhat fanciful reviews. The book and the concept deserve scutiny if you are seriously interested in a potentially helpful approach to managing your eating and health.
|
