Lose Weight the Smart Low-Carb Way . 200 High-Flavor Recipes and a 7-Step Plan to Stay Slim Forever

I bought this book and gave it away to someone that is doing Weight Watchers. This book is NOT a low carb book. In fact some of the recipes call for sugar. If you are on Weight Watchers or some other low fat diet and want to cut down on carbs a little then maybe youll like it. I gave it only 1 star because of the very misleading title. Anyone who has read Atkins, Protein Power, South Beach or any other low carb book should be aware that this book does NOT follow the guidelines for any of these diets.

I picked up this book because of Rodales reputation for excellence. However, this ones a real disappointment. The recipes are not low-carb and the nutritional data doesnt add up correctly for many of them. And, its hardly smart - since when is half a bagel a smart choice Or half a cookie And who can eat half Thats like giving half a cigarette to a chain smoker and calling it a smart choice. No- pass on this one. There are so many really good choices now, that purchasing this one would not be very smart. I would suggest Dr. Atkins and the Drs. Eades programs, that are backed by research, clinical documentation and a great track record for success.

Ive been looking for a low-carb diet that I can actually stick with past 90 days. One that doesnt require me to run to Whole Foods or a specialty grocer every other day to get some arcane ingredient. Ive investigated Atkins, both pro and con, its ok but I have serious questions about sustainability. I cant figure out the new age mumbo-jumbo on The Zones website. I just want a lower carb, not fanatically low but lower, diet that I can stick with using normal, easy-to-find and cheap ingredients. THIS IS IT.

Ive read all the reviews, I guess you either love it or hate it. It seems from my research and experience with Atkins followers that Atkins is quicker, and better for flash weight loss. But if youre willing to take the slow road and are in this for the long haul, I highly recommend this book. Contrary to the more militant Atkins Addicts, there is a middle road between Induction and Binging.

Common sense, sustainable, real-world, few special ingredients. Thats what I was looking for. And I found it with this book.

When I first saw the title with the words smart low-carb I had hopes that this book wouldnt disappoint, as so many others have. Well, hooray. It didnt. This is one of the best diet books Ive read and I have a bookshelf full of them. The book is well written and plenty lucid and the suggestions are sensible. The authors tell you straight out that portion size is important and that calories count. you cant gorge yourself and expect to lose weight. Ive tried some of the recipes and they are tremendously delicious. The book is a keeper.

This book is all about intelligent low-carb choices to trim excess sugars (and fats and calories) out of your diet. It is not--thank God.--a high-maintenance program that you will fall off of at the first opportunity. If you want tasty low-carb recipes, sensible guidelines to low-carb living, and well-written facts on how this kind of lifestyle works, this is the book to get. I agree that Prevention could have made better editorial choices (pancakes on the cover is really stupid), but theyre no worse than what you see in every issue of a diet magazine (showing a photo of a huge chunk of cake when the recipes nutritional analysis calls for a razor-thin slice).

This book is not for low-carb eat a slice of bread and die fanatics . If you are a sensible type, disregard the hateful reviews, consider the sources, and give this book a try. I did and lost 25 pounds in two months.

While still villified by some in the medical community and particularly by the low fat gurus, low carbohydrate diets are proving to be successful and healthy. The problem for me, as one who has used the Atkins guidelines is that low carbohydrate diets are BORING.. To maintain a state of ketosis requires a daily carbohydrate intake of between 20-30 grams. The list of Atkins approved foods is limited at best. Certainly, it is great to be able to eat all of the meat and eggs that you want, but lets face it, bacon and eggs for breakfast gets old very quickly. Green veggies are great and low in carbohydrates, but I love carrots and it is a real sacrifice to give up all root vegetables. Fruit too, is pretty much disdained by Atkins and this too, adds to the tedium of the dietary repertoire.

So along comes Lose Weight the Smart Low-Carb Way, which articulates a seven step approach to losing weight. To my absolute delight, the first two steps say to eat more grains and eat more veggies and fruit. To be sure, the remaining steps focus on sensible choices (lean meats, smaller portions, avoiding trigger foods)and all of a sudden, what for me has been a short-term diet is now a reasonable and easy-to-maintain lifestyle. By the time you have reached page 79,(and you might want to re-read pp. 1-79), you will have a thorough understanding of why a low-carb diet works, how to get started, and how to make the program work for your lifestyle and tastes. The authors will give you lots of tips for food selection and substitution.

The bulk of this book is dedicated to cooking low carbohydrate meals. You may note that the recipes employ a liberal use of spices and herbs to enhance the flavor. This of course allows you to tailor the dish to suit your tastes. Most of the ingredients are readily available and preparation time is minimal. Nutritional information is provided with each recipe and for diabetics, diet exchanges are also itemized. Many beautiful photos of recipes are included and there are success stories printed throughout. The index is very well laid out and you will find it easy to use.

Overall, I like this book. There are some recipes that are high in carbohydrates and should be used sparingly, but for the most part, this is a book that will help you to shift your current eating habits to a healthy low-carbohydrate lifestyle. I dont think of this as a diet anymore....it tastes too good...

Apparently eating Smart low carb means eating four pancakes with blueberry syrup. Sorry, but that would send me into a diabetic coma (even though the recipe was for low carb pancakes in the book). There are recipes for muffins, breads, pancakes, sweet desserts and so on... definitely NOT low carb fare. Pancakes on the cover should tell you something right there...

Most servings of these things are well over 20 grams of carbs, and I saw several well into the 30s (one recipe had 37 grams of carbs per serving)--if you add everything up to make a meal youll definitely be way over any low-carb limits. This is nothing more than a run-of-the-mill diet book with some low-carb verbage to make it more marketable in these days when lower carb ways of eating are in vogue. Any reduction in carbohydrates is due to smaller servings of higher-carbohydrate foods, not exactly new information, huh

My main beef with this diet book (its NOT a cookbook, by the way) is that the information is not new. The glycemic index information, which is what most of their claims are based on, is over 10 years old and is in nearly every single diet book these days.

Also, the before and after pictures do not add evidence for this way of eating. I could only tell a difference in one of the people (out of maybe 8-10 pictured), although they all supposedly lost (and kept off) sizeable amounts of weight (most 30 pounds or more). If their stories are real I applaud their accomplishments, but honestly, I suspect that these testimonials are not accurate. I understand that not everyone wants to or even can look like a fitness model, but you would expect to be able to tell *some* difference after losing 30+ pounds.

Some of the recipes in this book do look interesting (and I DID try a few)--like the meat and vegetable ones, but for an overall low-carb diet book, keep looking. For the recipe section I was really wanting a celebration of naturally low-carb foods (lean meats, fibrous vegetables, low-glycemic fruits) and practical advice for daily low-carb living, but instead I got recipes for foods that make me want to go on a binge. This is NOT a book for someone who is a carb junkie looking for practical advice (which would include me).

As an accomplished amateur chef, I find that a much better book for interesting low-carb cuisine is Deborah Chuds The Gourmet Prescription. The focus there is on beautiful, fresh, naturally lower carb foods.

I think it is irresponsible for the authors to market this book as low carb. As a diet, this may work for some people, but do not be fooled--if you lose weight on this its because youre eating low calorie (not low-CARB). I have no beef with low-calorie diets--they work for some, but not for me.

On the positive side, this book does encourage people to eat healthier fats and focus on better choices for carbohydrates. While the grains they advocate do indeed rate low on the glycemic index (GI), unfortunately the processing and added sugars necessary to make the recipes for the breads, etc... significantly *increases* their GI. The focus should be on *whole foods* not small portions of highly processed goodies. But I guess its better than eating refined white flour and white sugar products. From what Ive seen, this usually works for people who are significantly overweight and eating SO poorly that any positive change in their diets will bring about some weight loss--but not enough to bring them into the healthy range... but for those of us who only need to lose 20-30 pounds this isnt enough.

Since this book pretends to be something its so obviously not (low carb) I must give it one star.

Typical of publications from the Prevention magazine staff, Lose Weight the Smart Low-Carb Way takes into consideration the latest medical research to create a diet that helps you lose weight the healthy way. Unlike other low-carb diets like Atkins, it doesnt go to extremes. It doesnt recommend you go into a state of ketosis (the bodys alternate way of getting energy when it doesnt have enough carbs), but rather, it advocates somewhat reduced carbs and choosing less harmful types of carbs.

Authors Bettina Newman and David Joachim first explain the whys behind low-carb dieting. I found particularly useful a section which addresses common concerns about low-carb diets such as whether the diet will have a detrimental effect on cholesterol levels. Newman and Joachim dont load you down with a bunch of theory on your bodys metabolic response to this or that. In fact, theory and diet plan make up only about 20pct. of the book, and some of the 20pct. are personal triumph stories and diet menus for various calorie ranges. The majority of the book is recipes.

They then outline the diet plan. Although they start out with the basic principles which can be used alone, for those who do better watching grams and calories, more specific diet recommendations involving calorie counts and grams are provided. A simple calculation based on how active you are tells you how many calories you should aim for. For those who cant make the switch the book encourages a slow weaning from our previous eating habits, as even making one little change like not eating sugar can cause weight loss. Sprinkled throughout the book (including in the recipes section, so make sure you go through every page) there are valuable tips such as how to recognize alternate names for sugar (hidden sugar).

The recipes so far range from good to very good. Ive made about 4 or 5, and I plan to make all the ones Ive tried so far again. They are very easy to make, so they fit into a busy lifestyle. One I prepared took much less time than I thought, so I had to take a break and play computer games with the extra time I had allotted for cooking dinner. Most use very common ingredients or have substitutions suggested for more exotic ingredients.

Since I already ate largely the way it says to when I got the book, I cant attest to losing so many pounds which were a direct effect of this books diet. When I did switch to eating this way, however, a small amount of weight mysteriously disappeared without any effort (Im about average weightwise, so I wouldnt expect much more), even though I was eating more oils. I also stopped snacking constantly, and my blood profile improved immensely.

Those of you who get this book as their first diet book will be lucky. I had to read several diet and health books, consider the information, and combine the best pointers from each to come up with essentially what Lose Weight the Smart Low-Carb Way advocates. If you want to lose weight or ever just eat healthier and are feel fad dieting is not for you, give this book a try. It is a reasonable diet plan which people can stick to, based on the latest medical research.

Newman and Joachim explain the science behind a low-carb success and why low-carb does not mean no-carb, but rather the right sort of carbohydrates those with a low glycemic index. Unlike many other low-carb diets, this one promotes not high-fat and refined sugars but unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, moderate amounts of lean protein, adequate fiber and the key elements of calorie control. The authors provide a low-carb pyramid of suggested eating proportions and begin with a seven-step weight loss program that promotes eating whole grains, controlling portion size and getting exercise. Each recipe (supported by a seven-day eating plan) includes a chart indicating the number of calories, diet values and diet exchanges. These are easy, basic dishes from the Hearty Country Vegetable Soup to the Lamb Chops with Olives. While many recipes are nicely spiced (such as the Turkey Drumstick Curry and Curried Chicken with Coconut), some, such as the Baked Cod with Lemon and Olive Oil, can be bland. These simple recipes are interspersed with time-saving and flavor tip sidebars and include more than 90 full-color photographs.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

This healthy low-carb cookbook/health book is for everyone who loves great-tasting food and wants to look and feel good for life. Its a unique offering that delivers inspiration, motivation, solid science, and sinfully delicious food.--Ann Louise Gittleman, N.D., C.N.S., M.S., author of The Fat Flush Plan and Eat Fat, Lose Weight

Finally a cookbook that combines all of the good principles of lowering carbohydrates in your diet (and none of the bad ones), without sacrificing a drop of flavor. The recipes are mouthwatering, delicious, and best of all, they take advantage of the best, freshest foods without reliance on prepackaged diet foods or fake foods. Good information about keeping yourself trim and healthy for life.--Robyn Webb, author of Express Lane Diabetic Cooking and The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible


Review

This healthy low-carb cookbook/health book is for everyone who loves great-tasting food and wants to look and feel good for life. Its a unique offering that delivers inspiration, motivation, solid science, and sinfully delicious food.--Ann Louise Gittleman, N.D., C.N.S., M.S., author of The Fat Flush Plan and Eat Fat, Lose Weight

Finally a cookbook that combines all of the good principles of lowering carbohydrates in your diet (and none of the bad ones), without sacrificing a drop of flavor. The recipes are mouthwatering, delicious, and best of all, they take advantage of the best, freshest foods without reliance on prepackaged diet foods or fake foods. Good information about keeping yourself trim and healthy for life.--Robyn Webb, author of Express Lane Diabetic Cooking and The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible


Book Description

From Atkins to The Zone, low-carbohydrate diets have taken the country by storm. But despite their popularity, they have a downside.

Many require that you give up virtually all carbohydrates-- not only favorites like bread and pasta, but healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Such low-carb diets are nutritionally unsound, alarmingly low in calories and nutrients, and dangerously high in heart-harming fat.

But breakthrough research into how and why low-carb diets work convinced Bettina Newman, R.D., that limiting the intake of carbohydrates can lead to safe, healthy weight loss-- if its done right. Teaming up with Prevention magazine, Americas premier health magazine, Bettina developed this moderate, nutritionally sound low-carb approach to weight loss.

Packed with delicious recipes, this book doesnt ask you to eliminate carbohydrates completely. Nor does it foolishly recommend feasting on pork rinds and butter, as some low-carb diets do.

What it does is to offer up a simple, seven-step plan for shedding excess pounds the smart, healthy low-carb way-- along with 200 flavorful low-carb recipes for snacks, sandwiches, easy one-dish dinners, even desserts.

In short, theres a low-carbohydrate eating plan that works in the real world. It allows you many of your favorite foods, like pasta, grains, and potatoes. It contains adequate calories, so you dont experience hunger pangs or miss out on important nutrients. And it isnt dangerously high in fat, so you wont increase your risk of developing heart disease.

Nor will you miss out on taste. One look at the recipes-- Chocolate Hazelnut Flourless Cake, Whole Grain Pancakes with Berry Cream Syrup, Pesto Chicken Sandwich with Roasted Peppers-- will convince you of that. And youll love the inspiring, real-life stories of people who lost weight the smart low-carb way and have kept it off for as long as 15 years.

Youll also find.

* Six weight-loss plans for every need-- choose the calorie and carb levels that are right for you
* Insider tips on mastering a low-carb diet
* A cheat sheet for stocking the smart low-carb kitchen
* How to conquer the dreaded weight-loss plateau
* The Smart Low-Carb Food Pyramid
* Time-savers and flavor-boosting tips with recipes
* Smart low-carb food substitutions
* Seven days of slimming menus


From the Inside Flap

Lose Weight The Smart Low-Carb Way

From Atkins to The Zone, low-carbohydrate diets have taken the country by storm. But despite their popularity, they have a downside.

Many require that you give up virtually all carbohydrates-- not only favorites like bread and pasta, but healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Such low-carb diets are nutritionally unsound, alarmingly low in calories and nutrients, and dangerously high in heart-harming fat.

But breakthrough research into how and why low-carb diets work convinced Bettina Newman, R.D., that limiting the intake of carbohydrates can lead to safe, healthy weight loss-- if its done right. Teaming up with Prevention magazine, Americas premier health magazine, Bettina developed this moderate, nutritionally sound low-carb approach to weight loss.

Packed with delicious recipes, this book doesnt ask you to eliminate carbohydrates completely. Nor does it foolishly recommend feasting on pork rinds and butter, as some low-carb diets do.

What it does is to offer up a simple, seven-step plan for shedding excess pounds the smart, healthy low-carb way-- along with 200 flavorful low-carb recipes for snacks, sandwiches, easy one-dish dinners, even desserts.

In short, theres a low-carbohydrate eating plan that works in the real world. It allows you many of your favorite foods, like pasta, grains, and potatoes. It contains adequate calories, so you dont experience hunger pangs or miss out on important nutrients. And it isnt dangerously high in fat, so you wont increase your risk of developing heart disease.

Nor will you miss out on taste. One look at the recipes-- Chocolate Hazelnut Flourless Cake, Whole Grain Pancakes with Berry Cream Syrup, Pesto Chicken Sandwich with Roasted Peppers-- will convince you of that. And youll love the inspiring, real-life stories of people who lost weight the smart low-carb way and have kept it off for as long as 15 years.

Youll also find.

* Six weight-loss plans for every need-- choose the calorie and carb levels that are right for you
* Insider tips on mastering a low-carb diet
* A cheat sheet for stocking the smart low-carb kitchen
* How to conquer the dreaded weight-loss plateau
* The Smart Low-Carb Food Pyramid
* Time-savers and flavor-boosting tips with recipes
* Smart low-carb food substitutions
* Seven days of slimming menus

Bettina Newman is a registered dietitian with more than 30 years experience in weight management. She is the former corporate dietitian for Palm Springs Weight Loss Centers and Trim Life Weight Loss in Virginia. In 1990, she founded Nutrition Dynamics, Inc., for the purpose of disseminating cutting-edge nutrition information to the public. Bettina lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

David Joachim is a cookbook editor and author and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He is the editor of Steven Raichlens Healthy Latin Cooking, which won a 1999 James Beard Award. David lives with his family in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.


From the Back Cover

The most popular diet plan made safe, easy, healthy-- and delicious.

I did it.

Slim when she met her future husband, Becky Cleveland began to gain weight soon after her wedding. Two kids later, her weight had climbed to 208 pounds. Horrified, Becky tried diet after diet. Some worked-- for a time. But the weight always crept back.

With the help of a nutritionist friend, Becky started a low-carb plan that included some fruits, vegetables, and whole grains-- and found that she wasnt hungry. She also started to take regular walks and long bicycle rides.

Becky now weighs 145 pounds, slips into size 10 jeans, and continues to eat the low-carb way. Its second nature for me now, she says. I have more energy and am in better physical and mental shape than I can ever recall. And I get more compliments now than when I was younger.

This healthy low-carb cookbook/health book is for everyone who loves great-tasting food and wants to look and feel good for life. Its a unique offering that delivers inspiration, motivation, solid science, and sinfully delicious food.--Ann Louise Gittleman, N.D., C.N.S., M.S., author of The Fat Flush Plan and Eat Fat, Lose Weight

Finally a cookbook that combines all of the good principles of lowering carbohydrates in your diet (and none of the bad ones), without sacrificing a drop of flavor. The recipes are mouthwatering, delicious, and best of all, they take advantage of the best, freshest foods without reliance on prepackaged diet foods or fake foods. Good information about keeping yourself trim and healthy for life.--Robyn Webb, author of Express Lane Diabetic Cooking and The Diabetes Food and Nutrition Bible


About the Author

Bettina Newman is a registered dietitian with more than 30 years experience in weight management. She is the former corporate dietitian for Palm Springs Weight Loss Centers and Trim Life Weight Loss in Virginia. In 1990, she founded Nutrition Dynamics, Inc., for the purpose of disseminating cutting-edge nutrition information to the public. Bettina lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

David Joachim is a cookbook editor and author and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He is the editor of Steven Raichlens Healthy Latin Cooking, which won a 1999 James Beard Award. David lives with his family in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.