"The Carb Lovers Diet" by Frances Largeman-Roth

TITLE: "The Carb Lovers Diet"
AUTHOR: Frances Largeman-Roth & Ellen Kunes
DIETY?: somewhat
IE?: somewhat
MY RATING: 4****

First of all, let me say that I didn't read this whole book from cover-to-cover. I mostly skimmed it, reading bits here and there until I got the general gist of things. Reason being, I'm not looking for another "diet", and don't want to fill my head with stuff that might sway me off of my intended path (I'm learning that I tend to chase after too many false leads if I'm not careful).

But, this book is really sound. Sure, you'll still find some diety things inside. But, overall, the authors encourage you to watch your portion sizes, stop eating when you've hit satisfied (not stuffed), and mix-and-match the recipes to suit your tastes and preferences. Not bad, at all.

I liked this one, especially, for two reasons: (1) The recipes that are included all look so very good! For me, I normally find maybe a handful of recipes in "diet" books that I think I might like to try. Everything else either requires me to go out of my way to find the ingredients, or it just seems too far off from what my family and I normally like to eat. This book was different... this one has about 75 recipes, and I think I copied about 30 of them to put in my binder and try at some later date (and, FYI, I've already tried 2 of the recipes since finishing the book yesterday, and they were both yummy!)... And (2) the "success stories" included in this book --complete with pictures-- show women who've lost weight at a realistic pace of only 5-10 pounds in 3 weeks. They aren't super-skinny, and they didn't have drastic results... They are normal women, and their weight loss was slow and steady. That's encouraging, and makes me think that following the advice in this book could truly be a benefit. When the weight comes off more slowly, it is more likely to stay off for good! ;)

The book's main focus is to include more Resistant Starches into your daily eating. There are eleven of them, some of which include: Potatoes (baked or sweet), Peas, Whole Wheat Pasta, Beans & Lentils, Baked Potato Chips!, etc. Yep... you even get to have chips, wine, and chocolate with this one! (I couldn't believe it when I was reading through the sample meal plans and found that one of the snacks was a Reese Peanut Butter Cup! YUM!!!)

The only thing I'm not big on with this book is the fact that you have "phases": Phase 1 is your Kickstart phase where you aim to eat only 1200 calories per day. You would probably have to follow their included 7-day meal plan to get the intended results. And, Phase 2 is your Immersion phase which lasts for 21 days and lets you up your daily calorie intake to 1600 calories. Again, there are 21-days' worth of meal plans included.

You aren't encouraged to give up anything, necessarily -- no food groups are said to be excluded. Mind you, you are technically avoiding "whites" (flour, bread, rice) by CHOOSING to have the whole-wheat versions instead. Very clever of the authors, if you ask me. Not to mention, focusing on the term "Resistant Starch" instead of saying the usual "complex carbs". Tricky-tricky... but effective!

So, yeah. Overall, this is not a bad choice for a plan. Especially if you're a carb-lover, like me! It can easily work with the intuitive-eating method (that I prefer), and just teaches you to make healthier choices, and to cook more of your meals for yourself (note: all of the meals included don't seem to take more than 30-40 minutes to prepare, so there's also the ease-of-use factor to this plan!)

REVIEW: "Dr. Colbert's 'I Can Do This!' Diet" by Dr. Don Colbert

TITLE: "Dr. Colbert's 'I Can Do This!' Diet"
AUTHOR: Dr. Don Colbert
DIETY?: yes
IE?: yes
MY RATING: 3***

While this book often encouraged “mindful eating” — of which I’m a huge fan! — it also highly promoted herbal weight-loss supplements, and recommended giving up all “whites” (flour, sugar, etc). I don’t agree with having to give up anything, unless you have an allergy/sensitivity, or were told by your own physician to do so.
I hated that the author kept promoting his own books and website over and over again. And, I really disliked the push for eating foods “in the right combinations”.

But, the parts about mindful eating — waiting for true, physiological hunger, and watching for your satiety signals, and that sort of thing — were great!

There is a little bit of everything in this book, so it’s not terrible, and I’m sure that it can be really useful to some! I know people who need to stay away from the “whites” as recommended by their doctor, so this might be a book that they can use!

In general, though, this book wasn’t for me.


Rated: C

REVIEW: "The One Day Way" by Chantel Hobbs

TITLE: "The One Day Way"
AUTHOR: Chantel Hobbs
DIETY?: yes
IE?: somewhat
MY RATING: 4****

Based around the principles of Kaizen, or “continuous improvement“ (though the book never specifically says so), Chantel’s plan encourages you to forget about yesterday, not worry about tomorrow, and just focus on TODAY.

Chantel walks you through the process, first encouraging you to change your mindset and demolish the bad habits. Then she helps you to renew your thinking which will help create new, healthier habits.

There are two weeks’ worth of sample menu plans included, as well as some strengthening exercises featuring a medicine ball and resistance band.

A lot of the book includes a repetition of what was already said, but I think that’s just Chantel’s way of making sure that you fully understand the concepts being presented. I love how absolutely uplifting and positive she is!


I liked how simple this program seems to be. While I’m not a fan of specific meal plans and exercise routines (I really prefer to follow my own “plan”), I do think that the idea of just focusing on today is a good one. So, as always, I plan to “take what I loved, and leave the rest“.


Overall, this is a great book, with an awesome premise, and you would not find yourself sorry to have read it.

Rated: B+

REVIEW: "Live a Little!" by Susan Love and Alice Domar

TITLE: "Live a Little!"
AUTHORS: Susan Love & Alice Domar
DIETY?: yes
IE?: somewhat
MY RATING: 4****

This book is based around the fact that most of what we’re told by the media and health industry is just speculation — a better rule of thumb is to follow your own gut instincts in regards to your health.



The one quote I got from the book sums this up nicely: “…understand that no one has total control over their health — then exercise, eat wisely, and manage stress anyway.“


The book looks at 6 key areas of our lives (sleep, stress, exercise, eating, relationships, & health screenings), and debunks the myths surrounding the health “rules” we all know and try — mostly unsuccessfully — to live by. For example: We’re told that we need to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night in order to function properly, avoid weight gain, and live a long life. Well, the authors have looked at all of the studies done, and have concluded that in reality, only YOU know how much your own body REALLY needs… you can trust it to tell you whether or not you’re getting enough sleep. Mind you, the authors also tell you that, based on their findings (from studying the studies done on sleep & health), 7 hours of sleep is a good number to aim for — but it doesn’t have to be “uninterrupted”, as we know that’s not likely to happen for most of us.


The last chapter of the book, “A Pretty Healthy Life, Decade by Decade“, looks at each of the decades of a woman’s life –from their 20s on through to the 70s and beyond– and gives general guidelines on what to do to live a “pretty healthy” life without falling prey to the worries that the media can create (“If you don’t exercise for 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week, you’ll die of decay & rot!“).


Overall, this is a smart book. It really is encouraging to know that, even if you’re only giving it 80% effort most of the time, you’re still going to be “pretty healthy”, and that’s enough. As long as your health habits enable you to enjoy life more — and don’t make you miserable in the process — then you’re doing okay.


Definitely recommended.


Rated: B+

REVIEW: "Denise's Daily Dozen" by Denise Austin

TITLE: "Denise's Daily Dozen"
AUTHOR: Denise Austin
DIETY?: yes
IE?: no
MY RATING: 4****

Denise is so very encouraging, and this book is hugely motivational. I loved how she constantly encourages you to believe in yourself.



You’re given 12 daily exercises you can do for each day of the week, as well as daily meal plans. The exercises don’t seem too crazy, so anyone could probably do them.


My favorite parts of this book were the 12 “Fidget-cizers” (moves you can do to stretch & strengthen while in the kitchen, etc), and the success stories.


While I’ve never before done any of Denise’s workout videos, I’m certainly inspired to seek one out and give it a try! And, for the record, I was stunned to find out that Denise is over 50 yrs old! She sooooo doesn’t look like it! Guess that just goes to show what living such a healthy lifestyle can do for you — and that’s all the more motivating!



Recommended.



Rated: B+



Just a side note: Much as there were pictures of the “Daily Dozen” exercise moves in the book (along with instructions on how to do each move), it would’ve been nice to see a copy of Denise’s “Get Fit Daily Dozen” DVD included in the back of the book.

REVIEW: "The SuperFoods Rx Diet" by Wendy Bazilian & Steven Pratt

TITLE: "The SuperFoods Rx Diet"
AUTHOR: Wendy Bazilian and Steven Pratt
DIETY?: yes
IE?: somewhat
MY RATING: 4****

I found this book online, the other day, while searching for books about healthy eating & the Mediterranean-style of eating. It just so happened that my local library had a copy (at my branch, nonetheless), so I went and picked it up, and started reading it right away. I didn’t intend to read the whole thing, but it was quick and really interesting!

This book has an absolutely fascinating concept as far as a weight loss plan goes… it has the SlimDown, which is two weeks of more strict adherence to get you off to a good start, and then the FlexPlan to loosen things up a bit while still maintaining control. But, the most interesting part was the “Prep & Practice” week you do before the SlimDown. It’s where you start planning what you’ll do in your SlimDown, and you practice some of the meals & exercises. Very cool!

Now, when I talk about “strict adherence” for the SlimDown part, please don’t misunderstand me… this seems different than other diet books I’ve read where you have to give up all sorts of different foods and/or categories of foods. For this, it’s more about adding in the “superfoods”, and making sure you follow the plan. It’s not difficult, nor does it seem like too much.

Some of the “superfoods” listed are: Oats, Blueberries, Soy, Turkey, Oranges, Tomatoes, Broccoli, and Spinach… and a whole slew of “sidekicks” (other foods that are good for you, that you should add into your new plan).

I also liked that you basically make up your own meal plans, based off the SuperFoods categories (there are 3 main ones), and you can pick and choose what works best for you for exercise.

This plan is very flexible, and has some great ideas! The book even promotes listening to your hunger cues, so that was a big plus for me! (I’m a big fan of that!).

While there are still some points of this book that I don’t really agree with, overall I really like the concept, and think it’s a good thing to try out, especially coming into a new year! (the “Prep & Practice” week could be the last week of the year, and then you start the SlimDown come January 1st!)

Recommended. Rated B+

REVIEW: "Fit For My King" by Sheri Rose Shepherd

TITLE: "Fit For My King"
AUTHOR: Sheri Rose Shepherd
DIETY?: yes
IE?: no
MY RATING: 3***

This book sets out a 30-day diet plan where you fast off of the “whites” (flour, sugar, corn, potatoes, etc) and all artificial foods & sweeteners. You also make sure to exercise 5 times a week, and get enough water & rest.

There are 30 days of devotions on topics like anger, self-image, forgiveness, divine appointments, etc. And, the back of the book has a bunch of recipes.

I’m no longer a fan of diets (see here for what I am a fan of), especially ones that ask you to cut stuff out. But, this book would certainly be helpful for some. I definitely recommend this one to those dealing with the eating disorder of bulimia, as Sheri has struggled with this, and she shares about overcoming that in this book.


Rated: B-