Fit for Life

Rating:
Summary: What? Are people still buying this baloney?
Review: I read this book 14 years ago, well before its laughable "scientific" assertions could be dismissed after a few minutes of Internet research. But this thing is still selling, and selling well? Good grief. Come on, try Googling "food combining scientific basis" before wasting your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: not based on fact
Review: While there is nothing inherently wrong with the general recommendations of this book: eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and stay away from animal fats, the concept of food combining has absolutely no base in science. The (not educated in nutrition or other health fields) authors' main argument for food combining is that some foods need acidic conditions to digest and others basic conditions and you shouldn't mix these two, otherwise the stomach/digestive system will get confused and bloated. In (simplified) truth, acidic digestion happens in the stomach and basic digestion happens in the intestine. The enzymes used to break down proteins and carbohydratess in the stomach prefer acidic conditions and the enzymes used to break down fats and some proteins in the intestines prefer basic conditions. Mixing these types of foods is just fine, which is we are all still alive and (mostly) unbloated.

However, if you are looking to lose weight and need a "plan" this one will probably work and as it emphasizes plant products it is probably a healthier way of eating than many other fad diets.

Rating:
Summary: I'm actually finally losing weight!!!
Review: Today is my 5th day following this plan and I have lost almost a pound per day!!! This is incredible! I'm actually doing better than the book tells you to do because I don't eat concentrated foods. Not often anyhow. I eat just fruits till noon and then after thatI eat only veggies and space it about 2 hours apart. I eat an afternoon snack like almonds or some type of nut just to hold me off till supper time and I have 1 serving of sugar busters icecream every day. I am really losing by just spaceing all my meals about 2-3 hours apart and eating foods that are easy for my body to digest and at the same time get the nutrition I need. Every once in a while I'll eat some type of meat, but no more than a couple times a week. I don't eat any junkfood anymore and I am really hoping that this will be the answer to not only help me lose all the weight I have to lose, but to help me with my fertility problems. I have unexplained fertility and I want to help heal myself throuht a good diet and I honestly feel THIS IS IT!!! The only trouble I have on this plan is sometimes I get a little hungry and know I still have to wait till a certain time to eat and trying to get used to eating my veggies raw. I never really liked Carrots, but I am little by little trying to make myself like the taste. Now, I'm actually starting to like it. I steam my broccoli for 10 mintues and enjoy that as well. All I have to really say is that this way of eating works!!

Rating:
Summary: Sounds like a really good plan to follow.
Review: Today is my fifth day and it gets easier each day. I also just started walking to help me tone up and maybe lose a little faster. This is the easiest and quickest way I've ever been able to lose weight. I've been eating natural foods for a month now, but this plan helps to tell me when to eat what and I'm losing quicker than before! So, I'm really excited! I've lost 18 pounds so far in 1 month!!! ...

Rating:
Summary: Not a diet - just a healthy way to eat
Review: Fit for Life made a huge impact on my lifestyle. I lost weight, in a healthy way - because I was eating healthy. I wasn't skipping meals or taking diet supplements, just combining my foods according to the "Fit for Life" plan and eating at the right times. Results were almost immediate - not just loss of weight, but how I felt.

I'd also like to point out that the authors explain their ideas to be theoretical, not scientifically proven. I had a few people debate the theories in this book but the bottom line for me was that it worked, I felt great and it made sense to me. Meat and dairy are discouraged for good reasons. People asked me how I was getting my protein since I had cut back on my meat intake. There are other sources of protein....soy, nuts, some vegetables...things that I was eating a lot more of. And it's a proven fact that dairy is very difficult for your digestive system to break down. There are other sources of calcium as well. Take my advice, if you commit to this plan, it will not fail you. You'll be glad you did. And it's not a diet that you should stop once you've reached your goal weight; it's a new way of eating.

Rating:
Summary: Menopause experience
Review: I also had great results when I was in my 30's with Fit for Life. But trying it again in menopause, I've found it very difficult. I just can't feel good eating just fruit in the morning. After a few days of it, I start feeling really bad. What experience have others in menopause had with Fit for Life?

Rating:
Summary: Back on FFL
Review: I first went on FFL in 1989 and loved it. I lost 30 pounds with very little effort, had tons of energy and wish I never got off track. Over the years I have regained the lost weight and then some. I am trying to follow FFL but am not sure if I am not succeeding because of less than perfect days, or if it does not work so well during menopause. Has anyone else had a similar problem? Overall I think the program is great. You just have to think about what you can have and not what you cannot.

Rating:
Summary: Science quacks
Review: I too read and practiced Fit for Life several years ago, and found myself losing much weight quickly-too quickly. I now know I lost lean body mass because I was not assimilating enough protein and fat to rebuild cells so the building materials were being taken from existing muscle. This book, although seductive in its mantra of returning to a totally natural state, is not based upon any science at all. None of the theories propogated by the Diamonds concerning food combining have any CLINICAL basis in fact, and a high-school level understanding of human physioliogy and cellular transport blows holes in their reasoning. This is a diet which consumes all of your time and energy, and leaves you either fat and bloated from consuming food willy-nilly out of frustration, or skeletal and weak from insufficient amounts of protein.

Rating:
Summary: Natural Hygiene for dummies!
Review: Well, nobody is a dummy, but for those of us who want to know about nutrients, how food breaks down in the body, it is all laid out in Fit for Life in an easy to understand language!

Harvey Diamond shows the approach to the Natural Hygiene system in an informal, non-judgmental way. All of the pertinent information is clear, concise and well footnoted.

Diamond explains many key points such as the three different body cycles, the reason why eating a traditional breakfast is detrimental, easy to understand and follow food combining and the reasoning behind high consumption of FRESH fruits and vegetables.

Although the typical natural hygienist doesn't really eat animal products, Diamond doesn't make the reader feel like a big loser for it. Although, he does outline the facts about what animal products really do in the human body.

The second part of the book is a months' worth of menu planning ideas and included recipes along with a list for shopping ideas. Some of the recipes have meat, dairy or too much fat for myself (I'm already a high raw vegetarian), but the concept is so easy to grasp, that it's simple for me to make meals for my family who isn't vegetarian.

To the skeptics of food combining, I offer this: People who don't think food combining is true or makes a difference, really don't know any better. I know this as the more I clean up my diet and eat simple, unprocessed foods, the less I can tolerate so many combined foods in one meal. I know of many people who eat simply who cannot tolerate it as well. When I used to eat the Standard American Diet, I never noticed any difference because my system had become very accustomed to it, however I had other symptoms such as lethergy, sickness, gas, irritability, etc.

Also, a note about fruit acidity. Yes, fruit IS acidic on it's own, but the point Diamond makes, is that it turns alkaline in the body. Processed foods, meats, and dairy are alkaline on their own, but when eaten turns acid in the body.

This book is excellent...understand that it was written almost 20 years ago, so many statistics and such has changed. It would be great to see a revision advising a lower fat intake.

Anyone looking to lose weight and gain health permanently should read this book!

Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Total Hokum!
Review: After scrolling through the customer reviews, my greatest surprise was the large number that were favorable. I'd ascribe that to gullibility - or possibly the power of suggestion. I say this because the authors' "scientific" assertions about how the body functions and the how foods are digested are laughable at best. Perhaps the unaccredited shool where Harvey Diamond earned his PHD in nutritional science stopped doing medical research after the 15th century. My own experience with this diet (yes, I was gullible enough myself to give it a try a few years ago) was quite different from those I see in some of the other reviews. I seemed to be hungry most of the time, and I finally gave it up after I began to feel weak and light-headed.
I believe that a vegetarian diet or diets including meat can be healthy. But if you want to know about diets, listen to somebody who knows what they're talking about - not these quacks.