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Summary: A very livable weight control program for people of any age
Review: This book is a follow-on to the Hellers' earlier Carbohydrate Addicts Diet. This one is much clearer than the earlier book, and despite the title, it's a good plan for adults of any age. What the Hellers outline is less a diet than a treatment plan for people who feel like they have no willpower or find themselves constantly snacking or heading back to the fridge an hour or two after a full meal. Guess what, folks? It ain't willpower, it's your body's inability to properly handle a steady diet of starches and sweets. The Hellers are swimming in the same pond as Atkins, Barry Sears and the Eades, but their program is far more livable than any of the other low-carb diets. I've been following it for 3+ years and am maintaining a 97 pound weight loss -- and best of all, I feel normal around food for the first time in my life. It works, guys!
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Summary: This book really works.
Review: My results so far: after 7 months I've dropped 55lbs. The book explains how appetite is stimulated and how insulin works in the body and reacts when we eat carbohydrates. Knowing this I am now able to control my appetite and my consumption of carbohydrates. I feel I am finally in control of this very powerful drug addiction... food!
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Summary: This book is an easy read and well laid out.
Review: I was skeptical of this book at first so I checked it out from the local library. Ony after experiencing tremendous success did I decide to purchase it. The book is easy to read and well laid out. The material prompts many questions which are answered in due time if the reader is patient. The only qualm I have with the book is that the relationship that hyperinsulinemia has on the body is presented in too simplistic of a manner. For some this may be okay but to a lifelong skeptic like myself I prefer to know all the details.
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Summary: A good plan, but needs easier and more varied recipes.
Review: The Hellers have written an updated version of their earlier work, The Carboyhdrate Addict's Diet. This book has newer findings about which vegetables are craving-reducing, as well as a modified daily eating plan. It continues their argument that for many people, carbohydrates trigger an addictive response that leads to weight gain and insulin resistance. The arguments they make are compelling as well as well-documented. The only thing they lack is epidemiological studies to back up their contentions.The main complaint I have with this book is the recipes. They are limited, especially the breakfast choices, and often are bland and rely on salt and pepper as the main seasoning ingredients. Perhaps they could work with a nutritionist and a chef to develop a companion book that is devoted to recipes and menu plans. I find that many of the recipes are time-consuming. There needs to be a list of quick snacks and shortcuts for the busy working family.
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Summary: Freedom at last!
Review: I'm 41 years old and never knew just how addicted I was to carbohydrates. I have been given the ammunition to become free of the cravings forever. This is a wonderful book for people who want to understand the reasons for addiction, and understand the path to normal eating.
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Summary: I changed my way of eating
Review: I found the book I needed to reach my goal in weight. It was right to the point and it explained what I needed to know. It gave me a decision and it did not tell me what to do, the fact is it made me choose what I want. It said it was all up to me and how I wanted to feel and look. I love the comments from other people, I felt they was sincere in their feelings about the program. thank you for your help in reaching a goal... God Bless
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Summary: very readable, leaves somes questions unanswered. but works
Review: Although there is much to read before you get to the actual "diet", it is very different and well worthwhile. For each one of us who has dieted many times in the past, and previously was successful, but no longer seems to lose weight, this book offers both insight and hope. Some questions remain because portions are undefined, and left to us, but they all have to be equal portions on the plate. I'm not starved or craving carbohydrates, and after 2 weeks hope this will be my diet for a life time.
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Summary: Finally, sugary fatty snacks aren't holding me prisoner!
Review: I'm finally free of the tyranny of food obsession! I had read in the Heller's book that this would happen and I thought "Yeah right, maybe for others but not for me." Well, I started the program a week ago and after a couple of difficult days, the cravings and food obsessions were gone. It is truely unbelievable. I look forward to my reward meal, but do not obsess about it. I find I can prepare my 2 year old's lunch without "snitching", can survive a birthday cake at the office, and even cook my reward meal without "tasting" during the prep time. There is certainly a psychological component to the weight control process. We all eat sometimes for reasons other than hunger. But without the incessent cravings, I am more able to sit with my feelings and decide whether or not I am hungry or is it something else at play. I bought this book when I was pregnant with my 2nd child last September, but just now got up the courage to try it. WOW! Of course I want to loose weight and feel certain that I will, but I will continue to eat this way regardless, just to be free of the cravings and food obsession. I already feel better about myself and more willing to accept myself the way I am, knowing that my cravings and bingings were not my fault. THANK YOU DRS. HELLER!
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Summary: FREEDOM from food obsession!
Review: This way of eating takes cravings and the desire to overeat completely away!
I hear ignorant remarks about this diet quite a lot, and I used to even make some of them myself. But this is the first way of eating in which stopping and satiety is a reality. It skips the middle man which tells me to count the calories or fat grams or even carb grams, and just lets the FOOD do its job: satisfying hunger, and keeping me satisfied. Imagine walking into a coffee shop and seeing all kinds of baked goods, and being the kind of person who used to say "I only get to choose ONE?", and turning into the kind of person who *technically* and realistically does not even WANT one! That is me now, and I never imagined it could be true.
The basic premise is this: You eat about 2 craving-reducing meals per day. They are called "Complementary Meals". You select your foods from a list of allowed foods.
Your third meal, called the "Reward Meal" (or RM) is an otherwise low-carbohydrate meal, but you are also allowed a controlled serving of foods not on the list. You can choose either healthy carbohydrates like beets, zucchini, yams, oranges, wild rice, blueberries. Or if the mood strikes you, you can choose a piece of cake or a cookie or two, or a piece of chocolate, but it must be in balance with the rest of the meal. Because this diet works so well, I often find myself choosing the "good carbs", and less frequently indulging in a piece of chocolate.
This is an excellent diet because it keeps the dietary recommendations realistic. You're not forbidden from having a treat or two, AND, unlike popular belief, the RM is not a carb binge in which you eat a giant pot of macaroni and cheese or something like that. It simply allows you a serving of whatever you are missing.
There are a few things I don't like about the diet, but they are rather trivial.
The first is the name of the meal in which a serving of carbohydrates is allowed: "Reward meal". I don't like the setup of food being a reward for good behaviour. I reward myself in other ways, be it an hour or two of peace and quiet, or a cup of tea with a friend.
The second is that North America, sadly, is a continent in which finding "clean" foods is not a convenience, and you're pretty much forced to cook your own meals for almost everything. But the trade-off makes it worth it.
And lastly, often it's awkward in social settings where we're encouraged to indulge in "snack foods" and there is next to nothing CM-allowed. But again, the trade off is worth it. I always just sip my tea or bottle of water and smile and chat.
Give the book an honest try. There are no forbidden foods in the diet. It's all about when and how they are eaten, and followed exactly, your body "gets it" and you stop babysitting cravings.
People who don't understand or acknowledge the existence of an addiction to certain types of food simply have not been there. Food is a "substance" which interacts with the body. It's actually the whole point of food. That's why doctors recommend different types of diets for different types of diseases, because they recognize how certain types of foods interact with a person's individual body chemistry.
If I were to say to an alcoholic "Oh just cut down and be sensible about it!", I'd be told where to go, and called ignorant and rude. And rightly so. Hopefully there will come a time when the existence of addictions to certain types of FOOD will be taken just as seriously.
I am thankful to the Hellers for stepping outside the box and addressing what, for many, is a very shameful and embarrassing problem, and for working on finding ANSWERS! I've been on this plan for years as it's the only way of eating which keeps me "clean and sober".
And like the title of my review says. It is freedom! Food was formerly holding me hostage. Food used to be something I obsessed about, whether I was on a "diet" or not. Now, I literally forget about food for hours at a time. That is because instead of finding ways to starve myself, I have found better ways to nourish myself. It's nice to be like normal people and be able to say "No thanks, I'm not hungry right now". It's a luxury to feel normal.
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Summary: The God Sent Book
Review: I'd been trying everything that had diet on it and nothing helped me. I was watching the Oprah show and the 2 authors of this book was on it.It was if God had guided me to watch this program.I started this program without any hestitation and immediately I began to see results.
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I encourage anyone who has tried everything else to trust this book because if I can overcome my eating habits, anyone on the face of this earth can.
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