You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management by Mehmet C. Oz, Michael F. Roizen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
Book Review: Elisa Zied, registered dietitian, freelance writer, and author
Summary: 4 Stars
As a registered dietitian, I often approach diet books with some skepticism, as I have found many popular ones to be too gimmicky, too extreme, nutritionally imbalanced, or too unrealistic to be followed over the long-haul. Imagine my surprise when I read You on a Diet. As Drs. Roizen and Oz have done in the past, here they have managed to simplify science and draw attention to the health perils of having too much body fat (especially in the abdominal region) in a witty, warm, encouraging, positive, and entertaining way. They explain in simple, easy to understand language how to reprogram your body to support healthful weight loss. Along the way, they encourage people to consume more protein, fiber, and healthful unsaturated fats, and less saturated fats, trans fats, and sugar, all of which can certainly support weight management efforts and have heart-health and other benefits as well.
Too many diet books preach quick fixes and ask you to forego too many foods in pursuit of a thinner physique; instead, this book takes a very positive approach, shows people what to consume more of, supports regular physical activity, and encourages people to set realistic goals--instead of striving for model-thinness, it asks people to aim simply to lose some inches from their guts which can improve not only their physical appearance but their health as well. Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is its light and encouraging tone, not to mention the illustrations which make it an easy and enjoyable read.
Having lost more than 25 pounds myself, and having maintained a healthy body weight for more than 10 years, I know first hand how tough it is to lose weight. For me it was a slow, gradual process that took years. I would have found this book quite useful about 15 years ago (before I became a registered dietitian) when I started to change my eating and fitness habits, and now am happy to have a popular diet book to recommend to clients and the lay public.
Although calorie counting is not emphasized in the book, my experience shows that when you embark on weight loss, you need to first know where you're starting from in terms of calories; also, knowing something about the calorie content of the foods and beverages you consume can help you when you hit a plateau and your weight seems to stall at a certain level despite your continued efforts to lose weight. And while the menu plans and recipes in this book seem sound and do-able, they include few low-fat dairy foods and other non-dairy sources of calcium which may make it tough for many to meet their calcium and/or vitamin D needs without supplementation. Also, because the menu plans do not include many of the foods people in America commonly consume, such as refined foods including pizza and pasta, and snack/dessert type foods (many of which are admittedly low in nutrients and high in calories), following these plans to the letter may make people feel that they are in fact on a "diet" and that they have to eat very differently than they normally do to lose weight. This can make following the program a challenge over the long-term.
Overall, You on a Diet can be a useful resource and motivator, and can be quite helpful resource for those who are tired of extreme dieting and want to start living as they pursue a healthier weight. This book makes a great bookshelf addition for anyone who is willing to take the time to learn how the body works to improve their overall eating habits, get more fit, and lose weight for life.
Book Review: A Shout heard around Rooftops!
Summary: 5 Stars
My review for "You on a Diet" will be short and sweet (metaphorically, not calorically!). I am guilty of experimenting with every diet known to man, woman, and child.
Weight has been lost by me in most countries in the world. Subsequently, It has been recaptured in every city, town, (ok, at least most of them) and state in the United States of America.
Sinatra said it best in song (forgive my faulty paraphrasing): I have been up and down and big all around, each time I found myself flat on my face, I picked myself up and got back on a diet!
Now, not in a shy way, (after each meal) I can shout from rooftops: No more! No more! No more! Since discovering, reading, and following the exquisite game plan in this delicious book (no, I did not eat it), the weight is gone and has not returned.
Others have told me I have a gleam in my eyes and a certain spring in my step. And, best of all -- a smaller waist size! This review is over (all this talk about food has made me hungry!). Buy the book, lose the weight, and shout it from the rooftops!
Reginald V. Johnson, author, "How To Be Happy, Successful And Rich"
Book Review: A "Gotcha" book
Summary: 2 Stars
I got caught, did you? Oprah puts them on her show and everyone believes this is the bible and the truth. All they're doing is telling you to diet, watch what you eat, and exercise, BUT, the main thing they tell you, "be afraid." If yu're overweight and this doesn't wotk, you need surgery, according to them. Typical Doctor fear-driven advice. Don't buy this, or the other "You" books unless you want the same kind of deception Trudeau gave you. Their fear tactics are sly and insidious. I saw the Oprah show where Oz aske dher if she had cancer wouldn't she want surgery right away. She said YES. Not me. I've had it with gus like this capitalizing on people's fear. Go to A. Weil, or R. M. Gangi. Learn about your body in a truthful, loving way, and you'll not only lose weight, you won't be afraid to be imperfect.Book Review: NOTHING NEW...IT'S STILL COUNTING CALORIES & EXERCISING!
Summary: 1 Stars
It still amounts to counting calories and exercising, so what's new? This new book is informative about how the body works and which foods to eliminate, but really that's about it! Nothing new from the standpoint of losing weight! If you want a weight loss program that not only causes weight loss, BUT KEEPS IT OFF, look up LET'S DO LUNCH (letsdolunch)...you eat until you're full whenever you're hungry, and Let's Do Lunch eliminates all of your cravings, while you're eating all the healthy starchy carbs you want, along with all the lean red meat and sweetest fresh fruits and fruit smoothies you want, and without counting calories, carbs, points or anything else.Book Review: You'll finish the book, but will you lose weight?
Summary: 4 Stars
As a doctor myself, I can say that there is some great information in these pages- a lot about fat and the detriment that it's causing in our culture. Some doctors like to suggest cures to symptoms instead of cures for the problem and it appears that these gentleman may be doing just that. The gimmicky (and funny) "waist management" technique is interesting and fairly unique from what I've seen, but it can be seen as just a diversion. Maybe people who are obese need a diversion and need to stop thinking about food, but it's my experience that people need to focus on how they were designed (we were designed to constantly eat) and then cater to that by eating the right types of foods at certain times. Roizen and Mehmet's humorous approach reminds me of one of my favorite diet/nutrition books, "The Evolution Diet," which makes learning about the body entertaining as well as informative. Perhaps the author(s) of the You On a Diet could have focused more on the appropriation of one's diet as Evolution does, but it appears that people can really be helped with these techniques and that's the main goal- a fitter world.