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Summary: Correcting Reader from Belleair, FL
Review: Reading Fit for Life in 1996 saved my life. In just one day of following the diet I overcame six and a half years of depression and anxiety attacks.I eat a 100% raw food diet. And I've studied nutrtion extensively. Even before I was a raw foodist. In fact I teach people all around the world about the raw food diet or something similar to Natural Hygiene on my websites and through my lectures. Where I believe the other reviewer is incorrect is his assumption as to why the reason for the weight loss. I lost weight on this diet while eating massive amounts of fruit, plus vegetables, seeds and nuts. I ate the same amount of calories or more than before. In one month I lost 15 pounds. Weight loss was not even a goal of mine. In fact at one point in I switched my raw diet to be about 80% calories from raw fatty foods and I stayed at my same weight. I still ate as much as I wanted and never was hungry. It's the cooking and the processing that makes people gain weight. I've discovered that the amount of calories is not the key issue. In fact I made sure to eat plenty of fruit because I wanted to have enough energy throughout the day. On this kind of diet you have to eat more weight by volume because raw foods have lots of water in them. But at first you also need to maintain the same amount of calories. That means you have to stretch your stomach because you are used eating foods that are dehydrated and very concentrated in calories. But once your body has cleaned up inside your body will start to operate more efficiently. Then you won't need to consume as many calories. The reason so many people are overweight is because the cooked and processed foods they eat are toxic and not natural to the human diet. Our bodies are very intelligent and store toxins away from our vital organs in our fat cells. So most people are not just gaining fat but gaining toxins. When you eat raw fruits and vegetables in properly combined fashions you won't be storing those toxins. Then your body will start to detoxify and you will naturally lose weight. I've met hundreds of people who went on this diet and every single one of them lost weight. It works 100% of the time. I have yet to meet an obese 100% raw foodist. Fit for Life doesn't necessarily recommend going 100% raw, but I lost weight even without doing it all the way. This is a great book with many studies referenced. It helps people with scientific thinking to question their current thinking on nutrition. I don't think every piece of information in the book is completely true. But it is mostly on the right track. You have to read many books on raw food nutrition and speak with people who have done it to get a more complete picture. Fit for Life 2 is also an excellent book.
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Summary: reader from san diago is correct it is pseudoscience
Review: Fit helped me change my life. HOWEVER, later in life, when I learned more about nutrition, I realized that why the Diamonds have the only Ph.D. in their field is becuase it their premises and reasoning behind the entire Fit for Life is false. People lose weight on this program because they eat massive amounts of water based foods and limit the high calorie concentrated foods. The Diamonds would have you belive fat is caused from food rotting in your stomach but veggies and fruits dont rott therefore do not turn into fat. This is false. If you're ok with the ends..meaning losing weight, justifying the false means, by all means belive what is in this book. However, as for the sceintific accuracy of how the body processes food and how it is outlined in this book, it is absolutely false. The only benefit you'll get from this book is eating more fruits and veggie. I can not recommend this book because of its inate flaws despite how many people it has helped.
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Summary: This book is a life changer - for the better.
Review: First off, regarding the anonymous comment claiming this book is pseudo-science: The commenter CLEARLY did not try out any of the the suggestions put forth in this book, because it doesn't take more than about a month of practicing the Fit for Life philosophy before you notice enough benefit from doing so that you'd never go back to your old ways without regret. I've been practicing by the philosophy of this book for 2, going on 3, years now, and I've NEVER been healthier. This coming to you from someone who has been quite keen on diet and exercise for many years prior to reading this book. I thought I already was as healthy as can be. I've trained under professional weight-lifting trainers, practiced yoga, and done cardiovascular exercise throughout my adult life, along with eating healthy, and yet reading this book has STILL caused me to reap better health than I've ever had before! This is also coming from someone who did not use this book to "lose weight" -- which so many people think is the only important factor of health. I've never been overweight - and indeed I gained 20 pounds of solid muscle while practicing the precepts of this book! (And working out, of course -- which is part of the Fit for Life mentality). After practicing the eating habits recommended by this book, I find I now have more energy, get out of bed easier in the morning, have a better disposition, improved digestion, less gas, and my bowel movements have never been so healthy. (As odd as that may sound, it's a very important thing.) The focus of this book is on how improperly combining your food will lead to digestive disorders and drain your energy you could otherwise be using. In addition, improperly combining foods you eat in a single meal slowly poisons your body over the years. The authors lay forth why this occurs -- WHICH IS NOT PSEUDO-SCIENCE, AND I HAVE VERIFIED EACH OF THESE FACTS BY READING PHYSIOLOGY BOOKS SINCE. (I went looking shortly after reading this book -- the claims were so shocking that I just had to know if they were true). The authors also lay out clear and simple means of understanding how to combine foods properly without suffering such unwanted results. If you try these methods, you will IMMEDIATELY feel the difference. I have many friends who have solved major digestive issues by living the Fit for Life mentality. But it's much more than even just good for digestion. I honestly feel just aweful (physically) on days when I break the rules for proper food combining. Throughout my whole life I had many "off" days when I just felt no good, but never figured that there was such a correlation between what foods I ate together in a single meal, and my feeling no good that day. But now I clearly recognize the correlation. The evidence of this book is clear once you practice the philosophy set forth. But if you're one of those people who just read about great ideas that you never try out for yourself, you sure aren't going to get anything from this book, or any other. (That line is just for you, Mr. PseudoScience.) ;) This book is an excellent book I highly recommend to all my loved family and friends. This book should be read by anyone seeking better health, of any age. If you have your children read this book, they will likely benefit throughout their entire lives from it. The only things you need to know about the book in advance are: * There is a corrected mistake which is later addressed in one of the following books, regarding the healthiness of sunlight (The book was written in the mid-eighties where we were just beginning to come to scientific conclusions regarding the increasing risk to skin cancer due to the deterioration of our atmosphere...) and... * That the book was marketed towards people who want to lose weight, because that was the only thing back then selling health books, but it's soooooooo much more than just being about losing weight. It's packed with enlightening information that will change the way you look at things forever. This book is a paradigm shift of knowledge and practice of living, eating, and hygeine. It will push your brain to new places. I'm not kidding. Every single friend of mine who has read the book has reaped great benefits from it. And they all look at things differently now.
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Summary: A "psuedo-science" to sell books - not based in fact!
Review: Yes, it's true if you eat lots of fruit and vegetables you'll probably lose weight, but not because of any of the ridiculous medical "facts" cited in this book. This book is so off-the-wall inane that it's hard to believe so many people are falling for it....
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Summary: More than a Diet Book-A Book for Natural Health
Review: I have found that Harvey Diamond's work was a masterpiece. It truly gets you back to eating low on the food chain and naturally healthy. His work is more than a diet book, it is a way of life. I recommend it to anymore who is sincerely interested in keeping themselves fit.
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Summary: A Truly Life Changing Book
Review: After struggling with weight problem for 20 years, this book really help me to re-gain my fitness and health. Thank you, Mr. Diamonds.
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Summary: Fit For Life
Review: I loved this book and keep searching for more from the authors. I followed the plan (more or less) for 6 weeks and lost 8 pounds. I have more energy and feel better than I ever have felt.Just think if I left out the more or less where I could go with this! It just makes sense when you think about it.
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Summary: An EXCELLENT way to get healthy if you stick with it!
Review: Well, I've heard that a lot of "experts" hate this book. This would be those same overweight unhealthy experts who have been guiding the diets of this overweight unhealthy country. I followed this plan and when I started I was 283 pounds. I went down to 216 in less than 5 months! Then I moved in with my girlfriend who refused to even consider following the plan so I started eating like her... BIG MISTAKE! Over the past 2 years I regained all the weight I lost PLUS 40 pounds more. I'm going back to a more natural way of eating, following the principles in Fit For Life. This time I intend to stick to it no matter how much my girlfriend wants to poison HERSELF. I can't blame anyone for myself for giving up the healthy lifestyle I was leading. I can't say enough how much better I felt when I was following the principles outlined in Fit For Life, I KNOW it works. Some of the scientific principles outlined are a bit hazy, but I don't really CARE what the principles are as long as >I< feel healthy and can be a healthy weight! Every criticizm I've seen of this plan was along the lines of "the scientific theories don't make sense but it seems to work". Well you know what? We don't have to understand all the reasons WHY we feel healthier and lose weight on a "Fit For Life" lifestyle, it's enough that we DO! Buy this book, STICK TO IT! If you don't stick with it and go back to eating in a foul unhealthful way do not be surprised when you find yourself right back where you started.
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Summary: This is my favourite book! =)
Review: This is the best book I ever read and I have been living the "fit for life" way for a long time! I used to have allergies, stomach cramps (esp. after eating protein and carbohydrates in one meal), backpain (read Dr. N. Walkers "Colon Health") and other problems...! Now I have so much energy, a slim body...I just feel sooo great! I was a vegan before I read this book the first time and I was NOT living very healthy (yes, french fries are vegan...ha)! I don't think it is as hard to follow as some people might think...just try little by little and have a cookie if you really feel like it every once in a while! (I bet you HAVE the willpower if you try!!!) They don't want you to give up meat, milk etc. overnight...they just want you to know everything about it! =) Oh, and if you have the time to read some more - get "Fit for life II" and some books by Walker, Shelton...and others listed in the back of the book! It might help you break the one or other habit to know everything you can know about it!
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Summary: The best start for a healthy lifestyle
Review: This book changed my life. It was the first health book I ever read, and to find so much vital data, explained so simply and down-to-Earth was truly amazing. The book really explains how you can improve your overall health by making a few simple changes in your eating habits, and believe me, if you are willing to try, you will be too pleased to go back to your old habits! The best part is that you can do this whethere you are a stay-at-home-mom or a busy executive, the changes are so simple that you can make them even if you are always in a hurry or if you eat out most of the time. And what will you get? More energy, like A LOT MORE, and a better functioning immune system, for starters. I am 25 years old and very healthy, but this book still helped me change my life for the better, so I am sure a lot of people who have more physical problems can be helped by reading and applying the principles in this book, too!
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