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Rating: 
Summary: What?
Review: 800 calories for a low fat muffin? Ridiculous!
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Summary: One that finally worked for me!
Review: Dr. Shapiro's book is excellent and realistic. It shows you how to eat. He opens up your eyes to the amount of calories one easily eats in a day. I strongly recommend this book to dieters.
Rating:
Summary: What?
Review: I bought this book back in December 2002 to read when I was bummed about my weight. I found the examples enlightening and simple to understand. I was also pleased to read the stories of other folks with my problems.Since then I've lost 55 lbs. Bottom line - it didn't loose the 55 lbs for me (exercise in combination did) but it sure helped me get on the right path.
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Summary: Not a diet book
Review: I have been looking for exactly the information in this book for some time. I seem to be constantly eating, yet constantly hungry. I also avoid diet fads, because I'm very active and am afraid that diets will harm my performance in my favorite sports. When I feel hungry, I get tired, cranky, and can even get almost dizzy. That's why I eat constantly! However, this book showed me what to eat so I feel full but reduce my overall calories. Since I began using Dr. Shapiro's program, I feel better and have control of my appetite. My athletic performance has not faltered. And I lost weight. I only have one problem with this book. Many of the examples are excellent. For example, if you have a sweet tooth and love ice cream, the pictures show you that you can eat many more popsicles than ice cream for the same calories. That's great for people who have a sweet tooth. However, the book is almost entirely lacking in good substitutes for people like me who crave cheese and dairy.
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Summary: VISUAL APPEAL!
Review: I have read more weight loss books and tried just about every diet! I actually have no problems with this one! Before I eat one of my children's cookies, I think about what I'm doing. That is the whole concept of this book. Dr. Shapiro wants to make you aware of what foods you are choosing and why! The most helpful thing to me, is the list of things to help stock your kitchen. They are items that are not difficult to live with even if you love junk food!! It was also any easy reading book, it didn't assume you were a rocket scientist, just a person wanting to lose weight and feel better!! The pictures are worth a thousand words or should I say calories! BUT they make you hungry!!!
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Summary: Picture Perfect Diet is based on INCLUSION not EXCLUSION
Review: In his PICTURE PERFECT WEIGHT LOSS, Dr. Shapiro notes that diets based on the restriction of essential food groups are unhealthy. According to Dr. Shapiro, a better way to help people lose weight and keep it off is to teach sensible food selection. His approach is a visual one. In page after page of PICTURE PERFECT WEIGHT LOSS, attractive photographs of bagels, candy, sandwiches, and soups display comparative calorie counts. It becomes obvious, for example, that one serving of quiche Lorraine, with 450 calories and plenty of saturated fat, is not going to be as filling or as nutritious as a dinner of fish, new potatoes, green beans, and diced tomatoes. Some readers have noted that meat is notably absent and conclude the book is heavy on the use of soy products and vegetarianism. Actually, meat is shown in the photos only they are the higher calorie less healthy choice. Fish and beans are shown frequently as a good protein choice. No Gimmick! With the exception of meats (for which Shapiro substitutes lighter, healthier soy-based deli meats and burgers, beans and seafood) the PICTURE PERFECT diet is based on inclusion not exclusion. If you want chocolate, eat chocolate, Shapiro advises-but do it sensibly. You could have three frozen fudge bars, for example, for 90 calories, or 1 reduced-fat chocolate cookie for the same calories. Which would you prefer? Shapiro's book includes a shopping list so you won't be caught short. He even teaches you how to shop, noting that since foods are packaged to make you want to eat them, you'll need to resist the visual cues that goad: "Buy me! Eat me!" Dr. Shapiro seems to be saying that to lose weight it's not necessary to eat less. You could eat the same amount or more with the healthier low calorie choices of foods you like. The color food comparisions empower the reader to make the choice and not feel deprived. In emphasizing just this kind of food awareness, Shapiro drives home a very important message: Train your eyes to differentiate high-calorie junk from light, nutrient-dense foods, and you'll start eating right-automatically, without exerting mental effort or unreliable willpower. Dr. Shapiro's diet also promotes exercise and emotional well-being. Shapiro's PICTURE PERFECT approach is nutritionally superior to very low-carb diets that can be very hard to maintain and risky to heart health. In addition, it requires little in the way of deprivation.
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Summary: A Revelation of Common Sense.
Review: It's about time that someone put some common sense into eating. Dr. Shapiro does just that. He shows us with pictures and words that losing weight doesn't mean starving to death and doesn't mean giving up eating well both in quality and quanity. Common sense may tell you a lot of what Dr. Shapiro presents here (like, eat more fruit and vegitables and grain products such as breads). but he has taken the leg work out of determining what foods to eat. As he tells us, there are no bad foods. But, he shows how we can make choices that will fill us up, keep us healthy and help us shed the pounds without fads, starvation and chronic weight loss/weight gain cycles. This book is an eye openner to anyone wanting to loose weight or just eat healthier. A revelation of common sense.
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Summary: Neither fish nor fowl
Review: It's not quite the Atkins Diet, it's not quite the Zone Diet. I don't know quite what to think of it other than some of the pictures were pretty startling showing the calories in a cup of cashews compared with a bunch of pineapples and some such other items. But it didn't help me lose any weight. I will admit, however, that I'll stay away from cashews.
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Summary: An excellent investment
Review: My weight has been an issue since I was a child. As I approached 40 I was beginning to think that the only semblance of peace of mind I'd ever attain was to surrender to bingeing and ultimately to obesity, like my mother. Then I stumbled across this book. I've read a pile of weight loss books. Geneen Roth, Susan Powter, the Carbohydrate folks. Nothing has ever helped me like this book has. The pictures are convincing, though, I think, occasionally deceptive. But the message is clear. When you want to eat, eat! Dr. Shapiro simply helps you find ways to eat abundantly, shave calories and end up with a healthier over-all diet. I found his work arounds for a chocolate binge totally liberating. There are many new (to me) ideas about how to satisfy your hunger without piling on the calories. I also found the "anytime" list totally enlightening. I'm telling you, this is going to reframe the way that you've thought about weight management! I've tossed out my scale. My pants are getting loose. I'm not obsessing about getting my weight down... I'm being more mindful, interested to find my choices trending to healthier more nutritious foods. The emphasis is knowing that I am choosing. Some people knock the book because he leans towards vegetarianism. I'd say he's just showing the low calorie choices. It's up to you if you want to follow them or not. I only wish he had a practice on the West Coast!
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Summary: Dazzled... at first
Review: When I first bought the book, I could not put it down and read it cover to cover. It was fascinating, beautifully done, and the concept unique, fresh and interesting. The calorie information, photos, and "choices" were awesome. I loved seeing how much Chinese food one could consume and promptly went and ordered that menu at a local restaurant!
Dr. Shapiro is a chiropractor, not an M.D. or Ph.D. His explanations of the "other diet programs", especially Atkins were weak, like he doesn't really understand the theory.
I wish people well who try Dr. Shapiro's approach. However, I don't think most Americans will eat cheeseless, veggie pizzas, and tofu burgers instead of "the real thing"... or can give up bagels, meat and chicken. I think portion control is more realistic. I highly recommend it as an inspirational reference book, and I'm glad I have it on my bookshelf.
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