Diet Books

I generally do not admit that I am obese and have been for most of my life nor do I write reviews. I do not think of myself as having an eating disorder as I am definitely not anorexic nor am I bulimic. However, I noticed that binge eating was included so I purchased this book.

Having read it from cover to cover, I would recommend it to anyone with weight issues. At a time when the news reinforces guilt in regards to obesity, this book does just the opposite. The author is compassionate and obviously knowledgeable. She examines the issues behind the eating (or non-eating) without blame and many of her points resonated for me. I was left feeling I could find an easier way to deal with life. That it would take work and committment but not dieting or will power.

It's been nearly two months since my first reading and I have found myself continuing to think about why I am eating and what I might do about why I am eating or, at least, instead of eating. I'd like to thank Susan Schulherr and let her know I'll be looking forward to another book.

This impressive book is a comprehensive resource for anyone, laypersons and professionals alike, interested in eating disorders. The book is organized and written beautifully, and is a cornucopia of facts, suggestions, and hope for recovery. Reading the book is like taking a graduate course in Eating Disorders! I recommend it without qualification.

If you're suffering from an eating disorder, care about someone who is, or even happen to be a mental health professional like myself, who'd like a state of the art sense of what's happening in the world of eating disorders, you've come across a gem of a book. Extremely comprehensive, practical, realistic, user friendly & hopeful, this book is a real find. The only thing that doesn't feel right about it is the words "for Dummies" in the title. Although she's wonderfully clear & easy to understand, the author is no dummy. And anyone who appreciates the wisdom of years of experience & even handed presentation of helpful information, as well as the wealth of resources, is no dummy. One of the many great aspects of the book is it's consciously designed so you don't have to read it from cover to cover, you can easily pick & choose what is of interest to you & feel like you've gotten exactly what you wanted from the book. If you could only select one book on eating disorders, this would be the one to choose.

This book is not only filled with practical down-to-earth wisdom on steps to take if you or a loved one suffers from an eating disorder, but the author makes us smile and laugh in the process. For example, she compares the person with an eating disorder to a magician--"who gets us to look over here" (at the food behaviors and fixations) "when the real action is over there" (with the difficult emotions or life problems the ED person vainly attempts to soothe or solve with food). Or, "it takes a village to create and eating disorder"--the author's way of introducing us to the cultural forces encouraging women and more and more men to become thinner and thinner contributing to the rising toll of eating disorders. Or, "what happened to make us think being thin is naturally superior?" Great question!

The author helps us visualize recovery as a process of integrating balanced eating without 'forbidden foods' or food restriction diets, attention to enjoyable exercise and your body's own set-point, and avoiding the mental minefield of thoughts like "everything will be better when I'm thin". She's not afraid to tell us that willpower "never works with eating disorder symptoms".

As a pychotherapist who often encounters eating issues in my practice, I wholeheartedly recommend Ms. Schulherr's book to anyone who wants to find hope for recovery from an eating disorder, and also to professionals in the field who would like a comprehensive guide to eating disorder symptoms, and treatment options.

Gail Woods LCSW, LMFT

What a superb and greatly needed book this is !! Ms Schulherr has written a complete, comprehensive, thoughtful and incredibly well organized explanation and exploration of eating disorders. Her book is easy to read and anticipates every possible question one might have about all aspects of eating disorders. Although she is direct and does not soft pedal the facts, she also presents her information in a form that is digestable (no pun intended) and useable. The serious scholarship employed in writing this book is evident. Clearly, an enormous amount of research and experience went in to writing it. Yet, it is human and reassuring; you feel Ms Schulherr is holding your hand and walking you through your reading. This book is a must for anyone with concerns about eating disorders or who is concerned about someone who might be struggling with one.

A compilation of essays that are both touching and so real, you'll swear you wrote some yourself. Not just for those with eating disorders or even issues; it's for all women that have ever struggled with their body image and weight. I wish I had had this book when I was a teen because it really lets you see that so many of us are just the same when it comes to the love/hate relationship we have with food.

This book discusses frankly the truth about eating disorders and women, from the voices of those who suffer from them. There is no censorship--specific foods are mentioned, sexuality, etc. No holds barred. Several lesbians are writing in the book, as well as straight women, so all suffering can pick it up and relate. Highly recommended!

Leslea Newman is an amazing writer who put out an ad asking for stories, essays, poems, etc. that describe women and their relationships with food. The writings she received were written from all aspects of "food issues": from the woman who occassionally eats too much, to the woman who is in the depths of anorexia. It will make you laugh, cry, and then laugh again. A MUST READ!

An instructive and highly entertaining anthology about women's relationships to their bodies and food. In poetry, fiction and nonfiction, these authors explore what it means to be a woman in today's society. Some of the authors suffer, or have suffered from anorexia or bulimia, some are overweight, and some are simply "obsessed" with food and eating, but all in some ways have an eating "disorder," and an uneasy relationship with their bodies. The themes range from the difficulty of resisting mint cookies to a debutante's mother tucking a feather into her daughter's purse so that she may use it to vomit. Food in various guises is "my friend, my therapist, my lover, my confidant, my medic and ultimately my greatest enemy," as one woman writes. The perspectives are tough, tender, satirical, passionate and affectionate. The book is dedicated "For hungry women everywhere."

This is a book about anxiety, heartbreak, obsession, and eventually, resolution. The text is a compilation of over ninety essays, stories, and poems, some very good, and some not so good. The book is not specifically about the experience of fat women, but rather the experience of women with eating disorders. The editor states in the forward that women would rather tell what intimate things transpire in their bedrooms than divulge what really goes on in their kitchens. She goes on to say that for all the media attention given to eating disorders recently, no one actually talks about what women do with food. This book definitely talks about it in intimate detail. When I delved into the book, it was with the assumption that these stories would include some elements of eventual acceptance, of coming to terms with food. This wasn't the case until about page 200. the first five sections of the text were so steeped in the obsession - either the obsession to eat, or the obsession not to eat -that I found I could only read for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and then I'd have to lay the book down. It was, quite frankly, depressing. I might even say that on some level, it was demoralizing. I found myself less and less interested in finishing the book, but I pushed on nonetheless. Happily, the book did reach a place of resolution. Sections with subtitles like "I Wear my Stretch Marks Like a Banner" and "Letting Food Off the Hook" contained the stories, essays, and poems I wanted to read: stories of acceptance of oneself as is. Stories that were worth reading. In "Are You Thin Yet?", author Jennifer Semple Siegel writes, "In essence, I have thrown out all the old diet rules. After all, generally speaking, people who are naturally slender and have a positive self-image don't put themselves through a lifetime of agony over food. And now, neither will I." Another gem came from Marianne Banks, in "A Fat Dyke Tells All." She writes: "Finally I realize that my size and what I eat have nothing to do with contentment, intelligence, humor, creativity, sexual desire or desirability. Curiously, once I accepted myself and food, all of those increased. Letting food off the hook, I extended myself the same courtesy. No longer do I allow what I eat to create my power. I stopped using food's presence or absence as a gauge to measure my self-worth. Food is just something to eat." These and the other thirty plus authors and poets whose work appears at the back of the book are well worth reading. The preceding sections of works? I recommend them only to the reader who doesn't mind being enveloped in obsession and misery. For everyone else, start reading at page 200.Terry Lawler Early

Love the book- bought 8 more similar titles. Replaced all the cholesterol-laden, fat-dripping, high calorie cookbooks I used for years. Great CookBook. Easy - Tasty - Healthy, oh my! MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES - THESE ARE SECRETS YOU NEED TO HAVE!

Love the book- bought 8 more similar titles. Replaced all the cholesterol-laden, fat-dripping, high calorie cookbooks I used for years. Great CookBook. Easy - Tasty - Healthy, on my! I RENTED THIS FROM LOCAL LIBRARY - DID NOT WANT TO GIVE IT BACK- HAD TO BUY MY OWN.

This book was very instrumental in helping my husband and I lose 45lbs and 70lbs, respectively. The recipes don't take any more time or any more equipment than regular meals and they explain what they are replacing and why. The tips are fantastic and many of these dishes can be made ahead of time and reheat well. My favorite pleasure is the strawberry frozen yogurt (made directly in your food processor and ready to eat!)

I've barely gotten into the book and I'm already impressed. The book is organized by course, salad, soup, pizza/pasta, etc. Each tip is accompanied by at least one recipe. There's a lot of great ideas I never thought of. Some are pretty standard, like using evaporated milk to substitute for cream, but she also suggests using roasted eggplant or garlic to replace a lot of the fat in recipes. I'm not really working on getting rid of all the fat in our diet, but my husband and I are trying to replace a lot of the animal and dairy products with more veggies. Cutting out dairy alone has helped me lose almost 20 pounds. But even if you're a confirmed dairy/meat eater, there's still lots of ways to cut the fat in this book. I really recommend it.

This book is jam-packed with 100 creative techniques to cut fat,along with 200 easy-to-follow recipes for everything from soup to nuts, including chocolate cheesecake. You carnivores out there will appreciate that this guide doesn't declare red meat off-limits, and includes a variety of healthy ways to serve beef, lamb, poultry, or pork dishes.

I have been tired for most of my life. In college they used to prefix my name with "fall asleep as soon as she sits down girl". After numerous blood tests, a doctor finally reccommended nutrition. Pam's book really helped me understand the causes of my fatigue. I can't say I am full of energy now, but I am much more energetic than ever before and I have lost five pounds to boot! Thanks, Pam.

Pam Smith has once again done a great job! The book explained so well what the pros and cons for every trend diet and how these do not work. I, myself am a living testimony of that. I look forward to staying and keeping on a steady track to achieve my maximum health level. The Diet Trap lists out the meals, snacks and even a shopping list of all that our bodies need. A great book with wonderful effects.

I am so happy to have this book. I searched for a way to fight that dragging feeling that I always got around 3pm--while sitting in my cubicle. The Energy Edge is the answer---And I don't even have to take any pills!

It seems like everyone is tired and stressed these days. I certainly was, that's before I read this book! What a difference it's made in my life. Now I sleep well at night, and stay awake all day long. No more mid-afternoon sleepiness! The greatest thing about this book is that it's so simple and easy to use. Thanks, Pam Smith, for your book.

This book was so full of information for an easy to follow plan for your diet and your life! I couldn't put it down! I wanted to know more! I wanted to get up to practice what I was reading and she was right. No frills, just practical information you can use. I knew she was a Christian and I could tell the influence on her book. Very balanced and enlightening!

For those who love the aroma, taste, and challenge of cajun cuisine but want to eliminate its correlation with the human waistline, this book will be a welcome addition to the culinary library. It is packed full of hints for preparation and of course many excellent recipes. It is quite common in low-cal cookbooks that the flavor and texture get sacrificed in the quest to maintain the hourglass shape, and to some extent this is true here. But the author/chef has done a good job of preserving the bare essentials of the Cajun cooking experience. Recipe recommendations: 1. Seafood gumbo. 2. Shrimp Salad 3. Crabmeat Casserole 4. Shrimp and Crabmet Jambalaya 5. Shrimp Creole 6. Blackened Catfish 7. Cajun Catfish 8. Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. 9. Blackened Chicken Breast 10. Cajun-Style Chili 11. Blackened Pork Chop 12. Blackened Lamb Chop 13. Sweet Potatoes with Orange 14. Dirty Rice 15. Cajun Couche-Couche 16. Jalapeno Cornbread

I first bought this book about 4 years ago. I used the recipes for dinner parties, and my guests loved the food (of course I did, too)! I loaned the book out several times, didn't get it back the last time, and now I am ordering it again. The recipes are authentic Cajun, easy, and delicious. Shrimp etouffe and shrimp Creole are our favorites.

Enola Prudhomme's Low Fat Cajun Cooking is not only filled with fantastic recipes. It includes nutritional information on every meal, basic cooking tips for low fat cooking, and cooking techniques for all cooks. This is a fantastic recipe book as well as a necessary reference in my home!

A clinical dietician recommended this book to me and I love it. She let me borrow it and now I am ordering it as a result. Great recipes. Really like Enola Prudhomme's introduction and how the book came to be.

Low Calorie Cajun Cooking started in Enola Prudhomme's restaurant. She had been making lower-calorie recipies there for family, but the menu contained none of them. When some patrons inquired, she tried putting one or two of them on the menu and met with great success. Today, half of the menu features these "heart smart" recipies. The crawfish etouffee is marvelous!

This is (by far) the best Prescription Drug guide I've seen. The pros: I do agree with the other customers who said it was easier to read than the PDR. More comprehensive than the PDR. More organized than the PDR, etc. The con: I am a patient who takes many, many drugs. Unfortunately some of them are rare drugs which aren't used for many people such as "Trental" or "Clindamycin." These drugs are listed, but they note that: "This profile has been shortened to make room for more widely used medicines." I understand the book is well over a 1000 pages, but having shortened reviews of meds wasn't the most pleasing thing.--I do need complete info for these particular drugs and was not able to get it from this guide. I did not see this problem with the PDR. On the Whole: What I do like about this book the most is that everything about it is very logical. The saving space bit is understandable, but if you're taking many rare drugs and need complete info. on them, I'd reccommend browsing the book before buying it/or buying the PDR instead.

I worked in a bookstore for many years, and one of the luxuries of that job was being able to order and compare every available book in several reference categories. The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs is far and away the best of the dozen or so paperback references to prescription medications. It is faster and easier to use than the PDR (which costs $50+), and the information for each drug is presented in the same sequence, making it easier to compare dosage instructions, side effects, drug combinations to avoid, etc. To stay current with your medications, it is worth buying the new edition every year.

I have been buying this book for years. It's better than anything else I've tried. It's easier to read than the PDR. It's much more comprehensive than other books, software programs or information on the internet. In addition to full enformation for each drug it has numerous tables of drug interactions and various types of side effects. A must-have in your home.

This is the lay person's version of the PDR (physician's desk reference). It covers all of the details and and new drugs. It is very user friendly. If you take any kind of prescription drugs it is indispensable.

This reference book is complete, easy to read. Lists side effects, what the drug is used for, etc. For the layperson and the medical professional.

nice photos easy reading . i can say that a lot of work is being done and this book shows it every time i read it!

An excellent guide to using essential oils for cosmetic and therapeutic purposes. Beautifully designed book with no fluff, commercialism or overdone botanical details. Yet another winner from Neal's Yard Remedies.

this is the 3rd copy of this book that i am puchasing. i keep loaning it out, and nor getting it back. it is a wealth of knowledge. i have used this book for curing just about any ailment. i highly recommend it.

My avocation is making herbal medicines and cosmetics. This is one of the few reference books I cannot live without - ragged from constant consultation. The descriptions of the essential oils are thorough and quite useful, without being overly technical. The chart in the back of ailments and the oils that can be used to treat them is particularly helpful. The psychological profiles of the oils are also interesting, but not overstated. This book would be suitable for people new to essential oils and their properties as well as an appropriate tool for those who are more knowledgeable.

Easy to read and understand, Susan Curtis, has a wonderous understanding of holitic therapies. Essential Oils by Curtis gives the basics on aromatherapy (ie. how essential oils work, storage and care, blending, base oils etc.) along with a detailed discription of 42 essential oils. Each essential oil has informaton on its orgin, therapeutic properties, method of extraction, psychological profile and its' most common use. Paper quality and photographs add to the quality of this book, as well as, a table of "method of application" listed on each essential oil.

We all know that diets don't work--that is, people don't lose weight and keep it off permanently. So what does? Caring for the body you have and embracing your natural weight and shape! Author Annie Kay's unique background as both a registered dietitian and a registered yoga teacher allows her to illuminate a balanced, realistic approach to getting to the weight that is best for you.

Using the power of yoga and meditation, you can train your mind to think clearly, calmly and kindly in order to make lasting changes that will enhance your health and total well-being. I particulary like how the philosophy and practice of yoga and other relaxation techniques as they apply to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight are "demystified" and made accessible to anyone. If you're new to yoga or have always wanted to try it, Every Bite is Divine includes clearly-described exercises with accompanying diagrams.

Excellent! We are what we eat, plus so much more. I applaud Annie Kay for going the next step, beyond food itself. As a registered dietitian, I enjoyed the way her book, "Every Bite is Divine" relates eating with yoga and breathing through awareness and mindfulness. After all, it's our choices and our responsibility, what and how much we put into our mouth. The step-by-step exercises and yoga instructions offer people an opportunity to begin the journey of mindfulness, in eating and overall behavior change. Annie offers tools to lose and maintain a healthier, comfortable weight in an enjoyable and realistic manner.

As a Registered Dietitian and fellow yogini, I couldn't help but feel right at home with Annie B. Kay's book Every Bite is Divine. The book is much more than just a book on nutrition or yoga.

Kay gives you the information you need to learn to love yourself -- body and spirit. There are 29 exercises to enable you to enhance all aspects of your life. They start with intention and end with journaling on specific topics. Sprinkled in between are yoga exercises, meditations and more. Information on healthy eating and lifestyle is approachable.

Reading and absorbing this book is like having your own dietitian and registered yoga teacher at your disposal. If you don't live near Annie B. Kay (and most of us don't) you'll want this book next to your bed to step on to the path to a happy, healthy life, along with the map to stay there. The gems you uncover are yours to keep.

by Jill Nussinow, MS, RD author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment

Every Bite is Divine is definitely not just another diet book. This one uses the tenets of yoga to explore the journey of life change rather than endure another diet with lists of foods to eat and avoid. Every Bite is Divine will help you learn balance and self-acceptance. Read and be inspired by the personal stories and examples of others in the book. You already know what moderation is, but with Annie Kay's compassionate voice, you'll actually learn how to practice moderation. These yoga techniques will guide you in becoming a mindful eater. I will definitely use some of these exercises and concepts with patients in my own practice.

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/07)

Every day we are bombarded with unhealthy and confusing messages by the media. In one moment we are seeing ads for unhealthy fast food, the next we are being taught that to be popular we have to be skinny. The author, Annie B. Kay, tells us that, "We each have a perfect and natural shape." If we learn to take care of ourselves properly we will be able to accept our unique and healthy body. She feels that we can find our true self by using yoga and other methods of relaxation.

As a teenager, Ms. Kay developed an unhealthy attitude towards her body and food. She became bulimic so that she could eat whatever she wanted and stay thin. Even when she became a clinician in the field of nutrition, she continued to struggle with her weight and eating. Knowing that she overcame these obstacles made me feel like she has more compassion for her readers because she has personally experienced these issues.

Ms. Kay writes about how you can reconnect to yourself and get healthier and happier by caring for yourself compassionately. Cycling through bouts of binge eating and depression does not help us find out who we really are. Ms. Kay discovered that yoga helped her to rediscover and reconnect with her authentic self. It taught her how to be in her body. To help us achieve these goals she provides us with exercises. These exercises involve a lot of self-exploration. There are also yoga exercises with diagrams to demonstrate how the position should be done.

I think that "Every Bite is Divine" is a great book with which to start off the New Year. I learned a lot about myself while I was reading it and answering the questions that were put there for introspection. I found that Ms. Kay's thoughts don't just pertain to health and physical fitness; I can also see where her ideas carry over into other areas of my life, such as my finances. I really enjoyed an exercise that she includes that is titled: "Steps to Successful Lifestyle Manifestation." I highly recommend that the reader completes this exercise. I really look forward to the positive changes that I see happening from reading "Every Bite is Divine."

The Everything Total Fitness Book is for people who want to begin a fitness program and don't know where to start. The book is basic, sensible and easy to understand. It's focus is on fitness as a lifestyle, rather than dieting or weight loss.

While the book does provide a good introduction to fitness, you may want to supplement it with one or two other beginning fitness books to get all the information you need (I recommend "Barnes & Noble Basics: Getting in Shape" as a 2nd read).

TETFB breaks down and explains all the components of a good fitness program. It focuses on cardio, strength training, flexibility, sleep, and even stress reduction. I found Chapter 4: The Principles of Exercise to be especially helpful. It focused on using the "FITT" principle and finding your aerobic target zones in order to set goals and make the most out of exercise. Chapter 7: Strength Training explains how to determine the amount of weight, frequency, and duration that is best for each individual. This was also very helpful.

If you need help in choosing the right fitness activities, Author Ellen Karper provides detailed descriptions of the most popular exercise activities, along with the equipment you'll need, and safety tips.

The nutrition section is a primer in how to eat healthy. I didn't find it as helpful as the fitness section. That's not to say it didn't provide important information. It does. I just found it to be a little confusing and technical at times. There's got to be an easier way to find out your nutritional needs without all that math work and measuring!

There is also a chapter that many people will find helpful. It's for people with special needs such as pregnant women, diabetics, and older people. Although I didn't need this section, I appreciate that they didn't leave anyone out. Thumbs up for that.

Finally there is a short chapter on injury prevention and care.

Overall I would recommend this book to beginners. It covers the basics well, is easy to read, and was helpful in beginning my own fitness program.

America's obsession with beauty did a number on my perspective about fitness. The ads and fad diets and health publications that insinuate you're somehow less of a human being if you don't have a six-pack of abs, that you're lazy if you're overweight. The constant allusions to the idea that being overweight makes you a loser (you'll never get a date, people won't respect you, etc, ad nauseam).

All that made me embittered to the whole subject of fitness, and it essentially became my second "F" word. This negative perspective had years to grow into resentment. "Does nothing matter about me except the way I look?" I'd think in frustration. At that point I could have won the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes consecutively and I still would have been depressed because I didn't have washboard abs.

It was a double-edged sword, for while I resented myself for being out of shape on one hand, on the other I resented the "health nuts" even more and would sooner have my arm torn off by rabid dogs than do a push-up. Because then I'd be conforming to "their" demands and "they" would win.

All that changed when I read this book. I was feeling increasingly lethargic in my daily life and decided to borrow this book from the library. I was skeptical from page one, and as I started reading I began to think, "ok. Tell my why fitness is so important."

And it did exactly that.

While other resources I've read recited a litany of incredibly shallow reasons to set fitness goals ("you'll look better," "You'll have better performance in bed," etc), this book did none of that. It listed clearly and concisely, in plain English, exactly why fitness is so important in daily life. Never once did I feel condescended and I never got the impression that my intelligence was being insulted. One line from the book that really won me over is as follows:

"You will improve your appearance through regular exercise, but more importantly, you will improve your body's ability to do more with less effort, and that feels great!"

Those three words, "but more importantly," single-handedly separated this book from all the other ego-driven, self-indulgent, fad-inducing, shallow fitness media out there. The author made me realize that there is so much more to fitness than a washboard stomach or counting calories like an obsessive-compulsive madman. It is conductive to improving all areas of one's life.

The illustrations in this book also stuck out in my mind. Where every other book, magazine, and video I've seen showcased perfect models (the "this could be you if you buy into our product/fad" thing), this book's little cartoons feature average Joes exercising, seemingly for the sheer enjoyment of the activity. I found that highly motivating. That, combined with this book's down-to-Earth presentation dispelled the notion that one should strive to become some kind of Fitness God, but rather to feel better and be happy.

"The Everything Total Fitness Book" is a real eye-opener, and it showed me just how important a healthy lifestyle is. Armed with this book, I am certain I can construct a new lifestyle that is conductive to producing an energized feeling of wellness and satisfaction with my life. I've borrowed this book 4 times in a row, and I doubt the library will ever see this volume again until I get around to buying my very own copy.

I was looking for a guide that would not only inspire me to return to working out, but would give me all of the information about how often to work out, what to do when, how to know when I'm training hard enough, etc. The Everything Total Workout Book was better than any of the other books on this subject I could find. The writer seemed very knowledgeable, and while some of the sidebar anecdotes are corny, the information presented was all useful. I am now energized to work out, and feel confident that I can develop a plan for continued fitness. Highly recommended.

This book contains all of the information you need to know to become and stay fit, especially if you are like me and only just starting to become fit. I especially like the detailed information on heart rate zones and designing a fitness program for yourself.

I was delighted to find the "Everything Total Fitness Book" because I could not get excited about any of the other fitness resources I had found. It seems that every fitness book I looked at fell into one of two categories: (1) some fad diet/exercise program with a stern looking, very buff person on the cover or (2) some hippy-dippy nonsense about "refocusing energy" or "fitness chakras" etc. Besides, if you're like me, you're not interested in losing weight OR in putting on 50 lbs of straight bicep muscle, you just want to keep in shape and improve your diet... Well, that's this book. The great thing about "Everything..." is that it approaches the subject assuming nothing about you or your fitness agenda -- therefore, the book begins with the very basics of nutrition and exercise and goes from there. The author's unassuming, straightforward approach is very refreshing in that it presents the information matter-of-factly and in a manner that is easily accessible to those who know little about the subject. Also, in addition to being comprehensive with respect to what you put into and what you do with your body, it tries to take into account situations that might fall outside the norm assumed by most of the book (e.g., pregnancy, diabetes, osteoperosis, etc.)

So, if you're like me and are interested in fitness (as opposed to "dieting" or "weight training") then this is an excellent book to get you started off with improving your lifestyle.

We highly recommend The Evolution Diet, but recommend the updated and revised Second Edition over this one.

I learned a lot- not just about the diet but about how my body works in general. I concentrate on breathing more and with that and appropriating my diet for certain activities and times of the day (this books is big on when to eat, not just what to eat), I've lost 10 pounds already and I just got the book. It feels really good!

I have to say that as far as "diet" books go- this is the best one out there. A lot of the books just talk about how much weight people have "lost" and what have you, but this one actually explains how the body works and you can understand how you're losing weight. Every time I pick it up I learn something completely new. It's pretty brief, however. I think there needs to be a second edition with about 100 more pages.

This catchy phrase was a quote by one Evolution Dieter as reported in the section called "Appropriate Your Diet." It is a perfect explanation of this common-sense diet that challenges the reader to deny cultural and physical influences and return to a healthier, more natural style of eating.

The premise is simple: eat the way our bodies were designed to eat. To do this, we must know a little about the human body and what it needs to function properly. The author explains this without getting bogged down with scientific terms and equations. We must also know how our culture influences our diets, in large part so that we can know how not to eat. Morse shows us what a `culture-less diet' would look like and then shows us how such a program can be followed.

The Evolution Diet excels where similar historical diets fail in that it emphasizes not only what to eat, but when and how to eat those foods. For instance, if we're preparing for bed, there is no reason to eat a large bowl of ice cream and chocolate syrup. That kind of food is designed to energize and if one eats it before bedtime, sleep will most likely be hindered. Eat that before working out if you have to eat it at all. At night, eat a hearty steak that is designed to rebuild exhausted muscles and bones, a process that consequently makes you tired. Throughout the day, keep the metabolism going (and avoid falling asleep at work) with low sugar, high fiber ("LoS Hi-Fi") foods like crackers, grains, or some vegetables. In short: "food for work, food for play, and food for the rest of the day."

It's a formula that just makes sense and, after a few weeks of eating this way, makes you wonder how in the world you used to eat five strawberry waffles and syrup before sitting in front of a TV all day.

I have a pretty good diet so I've never really been interested in diet books. I picked up the Evolution Diet because it promised to be more than just a way to lose a few pounds. It didn't let me down.

I found the Evolution Diet to be filled with bite-sized nuggets of fascinating material that kept me inspired to live healthy and laughing throughout. Of course, there are the typical easy-to-use concepts for weight watchers, but I think the main benefit of this book is the wisdom the author offers on what the body is, how the body responds to the foods we eat, what makes us eat what we eat, and good reasons for making your own diet a healthy one. More than a diet book, The Evolution Diet is a complete and still brief tour of the cognizant, healthy lifestyle.