Dieting Books

You gotta love the Dummies books that have become so firmly ensconced into American culture that nobody is ever offended by them and actually flock to these books like ants to a lollipop! With over 150 million books in print covering over 900 topics, it should not be surprising to learn that the Dummies books are the world's best-selling reference series of all time with their signature yellow and black covers (They remind me of the old Cliff's Notes books I used to see people using in high school when a book report was due on Shakespeare. Really, it was other people, not me. Honestly. Trust me. Well, maybe once!).

But the latest in this famous series of books is about a subject near and dear to my heart -- low-carb. Can you believe it?! The book is called the Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies and was written by freelance writer, recipe guru, and low-carb lifestyle enthusiast Jan McCracken. You really ought to get to know this engaging woman who will make you laugh at the simplest things while sharing with you the knowledge she has gleaned from her more than a quarter century of cooking experiences.

"Change Your Mind ... Change Your Heart ... Lose Weight for LIFE!" That's the motto McCracken lives by and it is evident throughout this entire book how much she genuinely believes in that.

Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies, like all of the Dummies books, is very easy to read and is designed to come back to time and time again for a refresher on various topics which are conveniently outlined at the beginning of the book. McCracken summarizes what the low-carb lifestyle is all about, how you can incorporate healthy and delicious recipes that are sure to please even your finicky eaters, tips on how to make low-carb living an easy transition, as well as over 100 very unique and absolutely tantalizing low-carb recipes to sink your teeth into while maintaining your weight.

Whether you have been livin' la vida low-carb for years or if you're a low-carb newbie, Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies is sure to have something in it that will useful to you in your low-carb lifestyle. Many of the basic concepts McCracken shares in this book completely dispels most of the rumors and lies about this way of eating that are too often repeated in the media and by so-called health "experts." With a grin and the truth, McCracken shares information that will help people be able to stay on low-carb for the rest of their lives as a permanent change in the way they eat and live. That's the secret to lasting weight loss and McCracken gets it as a 10-year veteran of livin' la vida low-carb.

As a 180-pound low-carb weight loss success story, I am always looking for new and exciting recipes to try to keep my low-carb program fresh and vibrant so it never gets boring (that's another lie the media often tells about low-carb!). Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies contains plenty of recipes to keep you busy for a while. I am always telling people who are on the low-carb lifestyle to try at least one new recipe a week to spice up their menu. McCracken has so many to choose from in this book you'll have a hard time deciding which one to try first!

I like the fact that McCracken advocates exercise as part of your low-carb lifestyle change because it is so important for people who may think they only need to eat foods low in carbohydrates to lose weight. While that is technically accurate, your body craves exercise (as strange as that sounds!) and wants to be moved. It is something that anyone who has been successful at keeping their weight under control will tell you is vital.

However, there is one point I personally disagree with McCracken about and that is portion control on your low-carb plan. She believes you should watch the size of your meal as well as your calories and fat to do low-carb right. While I agree we shouldn't be eating "platefuls of high-fat meats, foods dripping in fatty oils, tons of calories, or lots of highly processed foods" as McCracken writes in her book, I don't think obsessing over the fat grams, calories, or amount of food is necessary when you are livin' la vida low-carb. Throughout my weight loss in 2004 and in my weight maintenance ever since, not once have I paid attention to fat grams, calories, or food portions as part of my method for controlling my weight. Just the carbs. Maybe I'm weird, but doing that has worked wonderfully for me and I'm not about to change that method now.

Much of Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies is filled with all those delicious and easy "real food" (as she calls them) recipes, including gorgeous color photos of many of these dishes. It'll make you wanna jump in the kitchen right away and start cooking all day! McCracken would be proud of you for making that all-important first step in a low-carb journey you will travel on for the rest of your life.

See, even "dummies" can appreciate a low-carb book like Healthy Carb Cookbook For Dummies. Hee hee!

I have been part of the low-carb community for several years, watching the trends and the ups and downs of low carb advocacy. I've always leaned toward a healthy version and moderation. From the beginning I preferred "real food" made healthy, and this delightful book offers a wonderful variety of down to earth and delicious, "real world" recipes. This book is a realistic and humorous guide for living a healthy life for real people. It addresses ease of preparation, economy of effort, consideration of meal budgets, and most importantly abundance of flavor - all with health as the underlying factor. I love every recipe I've tried so far.

As any "Dummies" reader knows, there's more to a "Dummies" cookbook than recipes. And in this book, there are terrific, common sense, and again, realistic, advice, tips and information on how to get the most benefit from living right in this fast-paced world. I also appreciate that the author obviously knows her chops, so to speak. She has done her research and provides information that I have not found readily available about low and healthy carb.

I've been researching and reading about all angles of low carb eating for several years, and this book actually gave me some fresh information, new perspectives and a fun read. If you have any curiosity or interest in low or healthy carb cooking, I highly recommend getting a copy of this book.

This is a great resource for helping any individual improve their dietary intake. It is evidence based, so there is a greater chance that it change past behavior, unlike fad diets. It is applicable for all adults, easy and enjoyable to read, and provides a foundation of knowledge and assessments needed to understand the next steps needed to take to become healthier.
Holly Pope PhD (c) of Public Health

This book has some really great ideas about not only losing weight, but also maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I especially liked the strategies on how to order healthier options at restaurants.

As a parent, I had no idea where to start in terms of my children's nutrition and or researching dietary guidelines. This book is a great start. It also covers information on pregnancy, child athletes, and eating disorders. This is a must, for any parent.

This book is really great! I like it because it addresses my questions as a Vegetarian, but isnt strictly so. It's for everyone. Most of the books out there dont go so far as to tell you about nutrition, and mainly give recipies and are mostly for meat eating diets. My son hates vegetables, and is a picky eater and I found that this book helped me with those issues instead of glossing over it and then providing recipies with veggies and things he wouldnt like anyway. The recipies are really good, and easy to prepare. Healthy and tasty, to boot.
I reccomend this book to anyone, no matter your diet. Its easy to read and very informative. If you have a baby, I would reccomend 'Super Baby Food' by Ruth Yaron to go with this.
These to books are awesome if you want your children and yourself to eat health consiously.

This book has many great recipes that are relatively easy to make. Each recipe has the nutrition facts below. I've made a few recipes from it which tasted good and I plan to try many new recipes from this book.

I always like a recipe that is enjoyable to browse through, and this one is just that. Most of the recipes are side-by-side with photographs which look delectable. I definitely recommend this cookbook!

This cookbook is great for anyone health or heart conscience! It doesn't have a single recipe in it with butter (which is great!) and all of the recipes are easy and delicious without adding unhealthy fat or excessive (always less than 1 tsp) salt for flavor! Highly recommended!

I enjoyed reading this. I'm one of those people who feels unsure about eating a lot of fat, and this book put my mind to rest about fat. There is so much information in this book about nuts, not only about nutrition but where it came from and such. The only thing that would improve Healthy Nuts is adding a few recipes, but they do give ideas for how to use nuts. I read this when I could eat nuts, but now I am allergic. If you're allergic like I am, don't read it- it will only make you depressed knowing what you are missing out on!

The author tells about the healthy benefits of eating "all natural" nuts as a part of everyone's diet. He details how tree nuts and peanuts are a great and provide a satisfying snack and compliment food--that will help you lose weight. I learned the "fat" in nuts is healthy. The "low fat/fat free" free diets make you eat twice as much with half the satisfaction. Great recipies and ideas!

this book is mainly dealing with how magnesium is working in preventing spasm in the coronary arteries and other heart diseases, and what are the diffrences between the aspirin effect compare to the effects of magnesium on the heart.a supplemental plan is offered in this book containing other nutrients as well for the heart.the role in hypertension is also explain,and in general it is shown the role and superiority of magnesium in heart diseases over aspirin

Although it is not commonly known, deficiency of magnesium is a significant risk factor for various forms of heart disease. One of the major causes of heart attacks -- which can occur even in people with ideal cholesterol levels and virtually no arterial blockage -- is a spasm of the muscles surrounding a coronary artery. Deficiency of magnesium is the most common cause of such arterial spasms, and approximately 80% of Americans suffer from some degree of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency can also contribute to cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. And magnesium deficiency is also a major cause of heart irregular heart beats and heart palpitations. (Another deficiency which can cause these symptoms is deficiency of potassium, but magnesium deficiency is generally the more common cause.) Doctors can temporarily stabilize irregular heart beats with injections of a magnesium compound, but they rarely do so except in emergency situations. However, people with an irregular heart beat caused by magnesium deficiency can generally cure the problem simply by taking 500 mg to 1,000 mg of a magnesium supplement daily -- and, in doing so they also help protect themselves from heart attacks and congestive heart failure, as mentioned above.

The preferred form of supplemental magnesium is chelated magnesium because it is readily absorbed by the body and also because other forms of supplemental magnesium may cause diarrhea.

Although the emphasis in this book is on the role of magnesium in maintaining a healthy heart, it should be noted that magnesium can also help prevent headaches and muscular cramps and is a natural relaxant which can help relieve anxiety disorders and counteract stress. Please read this book and be sure that you are getting enough magnesium -- one of the most frequently overlooked nutrients.

Have all his titles.
When an outside question arises, back to the books for clarification.
Really enjoy his style.

excellent book for academic and lay purposes. gives up to date information in an easy to read format. it's exciting reading, has lots of resources mentioned and details beneficial, practical health information.

My skin looks great and I've lost inches and cellulite...something I never thought could happen!

This book was a fun, quick read. Dr. Hershberg's style was simple, open and conversational and, did I mention, the diet absolutely works. I am a thirty year old fit woman, who exercises daily, and was always frustrated that I could not slide myself out of my size eight pants despite my best attempts at a healthy diet. After reading Dr. H's book, I am proudly fourteen pounds lighter, my skin is tighter, and I'm now a size four. Her tips and tricks work!

On Dr. Hershberg's diet, I learned that eating healthy is actually easy and satisfying (I wasn't even hungry!) and I KNOW I will stay on it for the rest of my life. It is not only a diet, it is a program for a healthy, positive lifestyle and best of all it condones splurging. Read this book: you will lose weight and love life a little more.

I've always read review, but I have never wrote a review. I purchased this book over two weeks ago. The book is great and an easy read. The author and Doctor used practical approaches to getting healthy and fit. I've been on this diet for two weeks and I love it. My skin is improve. I've lost weight and inches. I'm truly motivated to keep going. I hope this helps. I recommend buy the book and try the diet.

I own both of the High Fit - Low Fat cookbooks (regular and vegetarian). The books are good for both novice and experienced chefs. Although I own many cookbooks, I do the majority of my cooking from the High Fit - Low Fat recipes. The recipes call for healthy ingredients. The recipes are created in such a way that my family can't tell the healthy version from the less-than-healthy version, except that mine tastes better! Cooking has never been so easy or nutritious. (The cookbooks make great gifts too, I bought 10 as gifts for family members)!

I own both of the High Fit - Low Fat cookbooks (regular and vegetarian). The books are good for both novice and experienced chefs. Although I own many cookbooks, I do the majority of my cooking from the High Fit - Low Fat recipes.

The recipes call for healthy ingredients. The recipes are created in such a way that my family can't tell the healthy version from the less-than-healthy version, except that mine tastes better. Cooking has never been so easy and nutritious.

The cookbooks make great gifts too (I bought 10 as gifts for family members)!

I bought this book in 1988 - and I still have it on my shelf fifteen years later! It's the authors own personal story about her weight loss and in the end she tells you there is no magic cure - you just have to find your own path. BUT DO IT!

great, very honest and motaving. The author comes from an obesce family and talks about the supr dangers of being overweight. by being chronically obese they were prone to many illnesses they might have avoided otherwise. diets don,t work. must learn new eating habits. no forbidden foods only inapporiate amounts of food. you don't have to eat breakfast, learn to rely on your stomach to tell you when to eat. people respond to food like laboatory rats;when the food is laced in front of them they eat it whether they are hungry or not. gives actual guidelines and steps to be successful. very positive book.