ROBERT HAAS
1 Changing the way to think about eating.
Dieting is a huge business where everyone touting something has "the answer." So does anyone have it? Yes and no. Some diets work for some people, for a while, and some don't. Often it's not easy to follow through with any diet plan, so we keep searching. Or we just give up and accept our unhealthy situation.
If you want to change your thinking and focus on how you perform rather that how you look, Haas has a great plan to follow. This book, along with his previous book (Eat To Win)(although less up to date), offers an invaluable guide on why our minds and bodies behave the way they do given our exercise habits and the food we eat. Haas focuses on objective research in the field of peak performance and has a strong track record of working with champion athletes. With his research, it's easy to debunk most other "trendy" diets. The beauty of "eating to perform" is that you'll automatically get all the other health benefits of moderate exercise and intelligent eating.
2 You can't find the products !!!
I found the book very interesting and very detailed. But he refuses to be a fan of the glycemic index, but uses a lot of their arguments to verify his own diet. I read the Glucose Revolution at the same time and find very similar statements in both books. But the greatest fault in this book lies in the problem that you can't find the products he uses for his drinks anywhere, at least not with Twinlab, as he mentiones. The products are discontinued for the most part. So I don't know how all the other readers can sing the highest praises when it is so hard to accomplish one of the most important parts of the diet. A interesting book, but hard to follow. The Glucose Revolution is as scientifically proven, but easier to follow in every day life.
3 Eat to win for Permanent Weight loss
I cannot begin to tell you how much this book has helped me. I have been on a ton of "diets", this one works it really does. The food is really good, and I didn't feel hungry or deprived. I have lost almost 40 lbs. since January 6, and I feel so much better. The unlimited salad and veggies is also a help. If you feel sluggish overweight and tired of being that way, please get this book and try it for the 28 days. It is wonderful.
4 A diet you can actually function on
I am a heavier than average long distance runner. Although I run between 50 and 60 miles a week on average, I still have struggled to keep my weight where it should be. I have tried the high protein diets but found they didn't leave me enough energy to actually train, let alone race. This diet encourages you to eat the carbohydrates you need to lead an active lifestyle. His explanation of glycogen stores is one of the best and easiest to understand that I have read (distance runners are obsessed with glycogen stores). If you are physically active and looking for a diet that works with your lifestyle, this one is a keeper.
5 A Great Diet!
Finally, a diet that makes sense and helps you manage what you eat without retooling your lifestyle. It didn't make me tired or leave me feeling hungry, and within a week I started to feel lighter! The recipes are great too.
6 Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!
After going on AD NAUSEAUM for the better part of the first 4 chapters (at which point I stopped reading) on the perils and pitfalls of low-calorie diets, low-fat diets, and particularly high-protein diets, what does this book recommend? A low-calorie, low-fat, AND high-protein diet! The author writes " . . . nutrition relies on the interplay of many compounds in foods; scientists CANNOT yet re-create the complexity in a capsule or drink. Functional foods CANNOT supplant the nutritional completeness of whole, natural foods." Yet,after having said this, the author recommends that you replace animal proteins with these new functional foods! Although he states that low-fat diets fail because human have an innate desire for fats, he recommends a low-fat(25%) diet. Tally up the calories in any of his three sample menus and you will quickly see that this is a low-calorie diet as well. He also claims that 25-50-25 is the Ultimate Ratio for weight-loss and muscle building, but 15-60-25 is the Ultimate Ratio for weight maintenance and athletic performance. Shouldn't there really be just one ULTIMATE ratio? Also he suggests that you burn just 200 additional calories a day in physical activity. Hmmm, wouldn't that alone lead to a calorie deficit and weight-loss? What's "revolutionary" about this diet? It's all been said before. But how does raking competitive diet plans over the coals, so to speak, in any way prove the validity of this program? Frankly, why not just state what the program is and be done with it!
7 Too much like his other books
This book seemed to repeat many of the same ideas and thoughts Mr. Haas talked about in his previous books. It has some interesting ideas, but lacked originality. It was hard to get through the entire book without yawning.
8 It works, and it's so easy to follow
The "Ultimate Ratio" of protein, carbohydrates and fat advocated in this book makes weight and fat loss almost effortless. Planning the right ratio of what to eat is as easy as selecting an item from each food group (listed in a handy chart) for each meal (and snacks). This plan even allows for cheating and eating at fast food restaurants! There are recipes in the back of the book for quick nutritious meals that are tasty and don't leave me feeling hungry or deprived. Not only is this an easy fat/weight loss plan, I am also eating my way to good health and high energy. I can really see results with this plan and I don't feel like I am on a diet!
9 refreshing and motivating
After searching many diet/health books to use to start a weight loss program, this one was immediately interesting - and somewhat different. Haas writes in an intelligent way and motivates with his clear explanations. I have never used the supplements he recommends but I am interested in pursuing them and trying his suggestions.
