The Black Diet Doctor's Solution For Black Women

Rating:
Summary: A diet for us...
Review: As women, a lot of us are always worried about our weight and losing a pound or two here and there. In a lot of cases, we try fad diets, pills, and even go to our doctors for advice and counseling on how to lose weight. However, THE BLACK DIET DOCTOR'S SOLUTION FOR BLACK WOMEN informs us that not every physician is capable of truly treating black women when it comes to weight loss. They give an example of weight being like hair and that though we're all born with a certain type, that type is what determines which beauty salon we go into. It makes perfect sense right?

Well, actually it does and authors Robert S. Beale, Jr and Lisa M. Beale do an exemplary job of breaking down the causes of obesity in black women and what can be done to avoid it, fix it, and get back on the track of living healthy lives. Through their program of "eating to lose" and then "eating to maintain" they have created various programs based upon your current weight to help you lose weight. They also teach how to set milestones, incorporate your lifestyle in the program, and add recipes and exercises to assist with the weight loss.

The style of writing was my favorite part of the book. I didn't spend major time in dietary mumbo-jumbo trying to figure out what X or Y meant. Everything was written in a manner in which I could easily relate and understand and make it one that I would recommend to others. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to taking the next step -- actually following one of the programs for myself to truly test out their theory.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Almost but not quite
Review: When I first saw the title of this book and idea behind it, I was very excited and couldn't wait to get it. I read most of the book that same day. It was refreshing to read about things that I may be doing wrong and how they may be the cause as to why I am not losing weight. As the other reviewer mentioned the book has a section called the "Diet Salon" in which comparisons are made with our bodies/genetics and our hair. Talks a lot about how the information given to us by the media really don't apply to us. This was the introduction section of the book and from this section, I felt the book was very promising, but my optimism started to fade as I read on.

In some ways, I question weight loss being a black/white issue. I may be able to follow on the exercising, but in reading the book, I really found nothing substantiating that a white woman couldn't follow this very same diet and get the same result. I mean WHY would this work for me? From reading the book, I can't tell why this is different from any other diet book generically written for ANY woman. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess I was looking for more detail and explanation on why this is specifically a diet for Black women. I'm still not convinced.

Now, getting to the meal plans. I like his ideas on "Eating to Lose" then moving on to "Eating to Maintain". It certainly gives you the feeling of not having to be on a "DIET" your whole life, however, the diet is meager to say the least. There is a HUGE list of Do Not Eat and a very small list of what I can eat. Also, it aggravated me that there were very few recipes in the book and those that were there were not appetizing. However, I realize that their couldn't be much choices with the limited selection which leads me to my next gripe: Why couldn't he give more direction on things to put together for breakfast? Somewhere in the book he said something to the effect that it would be a challenge on our parts to make up a breakfast. ???? I would have liked to have some suggestions on this. C'mon, he has been helping black women lose weight for 30 years, he should have tons of ideas and recipes. The entire beginning of the book is telling us how the mainstream diets are not right for us and that we should follow his suggestions, however he really doesn't given any direction on how to get started with the meal plans. I finished the book thinking that everyday for breakfast I have to eat a fruit salad.

Also, I felt that the diet assumes that most black women don't work out. While this may be true, I felt a little insulted. I may be heavier than I would like, but I work out regularly and I enjoy it. He says to work out a MAXIMUM of 15 minutes 3 times per week and even says that this is not necessary. Tell me what in the world will that do???? That barely does anything for your cardiovascular system let alone for weight loss. He claims that the heavier workouts are not right for us, but gives 1 paragraph of information as to why it is not good for us. I would have liked more. While the doctor may have done much to help thousands of black women, I am not so sure that he will be helpful to this black woman. I am sure that he is very good at what he does, but maybe it wasn't conveyed very well in a book.

I went to his site, and while the site does not indicate it, I found elsewhere that the dear Dr. was killed in a car accident the end of last year. I wanted to call and ask some questions, and while his staff is still available, I guess I will have to figure it out for myself. I may try the diet, but with the poor selection and lack of direction, I really think it would be a tough one to follow. I certainly appreciate when black Dr.'s and Nutritionist use their expertise to the benefit of their own race, but I must say that I feel this one missed the mark.