David Zinczenko | Ted Spiker
A portable companion to the larger
Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life, this friendly little guide fulfills several purposes. First,
The Abs Diet Eat Right Every Time Guide condenses the "power foods" recommended by the diet--a nutritionally sound mix of lean proteins, whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruit and monounsaturated fats--into easy-to-read lists that will help with daily purchasing habits. Second, a number of "Abs Diet Endorsements" are included to help you make proper food choices, even if you're grabbing lunch from a vending machine or food court. Lastly, it offers up a tidy handful of new recipes for wraps, snacks and smoothies along with a short-n-sweet workout. In other words, it supplies everything you need from a diet book to manage the diet on a day-to-day basis.
The casual hanging-with-the-boys style could be your favorite thing about it, or what drives you crazy. Phrases like "Skipping breakfast is like arguing with the cops; there's absolutely nothing good that can come out of it" can either help reinforce the basics or just make you want to get far, far away from the rest of the jokes, such as, "Oatmeal is the Bo Derek of your pantry--it's a perfect 10".
The ultimate goal is uncovering your own six pack, and benefits like lower blood pressure seem less important than waist size. There's something to be said for to-the-point surface goals, but your attitude about image will likely determine your attitude about the book's usefulness. --Jill Lightner
1 This is the book I'm recommending to my patients and why...
There are a few things that all my patients who lose weight and KEEP IT OFF have in common (all made pracitcal by following the instructions in this book). I'll list a few of them below (I specialize in metabolism, endocrinology (hormones), and sexual function and have treated several thousand patients for weight loss):
1. They don't count calories for very long. Maybe as an educational exercise but eventually the maintenance plan must be easier.
2. They spread their calories out over the day (most American's eat most of their food after about 2pm...a recipe for obesity)
3. They don't go hungry. they may experience hunger but usually eat as much as they want when they do feel hunger (not whatever they want). Most people don't do well with daily, persistent, hunger.
4. They eat at least 5 times a day (small, frequent meals avoid hunger and fat storage by keeping insulin levels low).
5. They get adequate exercise. This is more important than the diet. If you follow the instructions in this hand guide (better I think than the hardback book version of the diet) you'd be walking somewhere between 20 to 25 miles per week. Unfortunately, that's about what's required for most people (not starting but working up to). That's about 30 to 60 minutes per day depending on whether you walk or jog or something in between. Most won't make time...hence 70% obesity in this country.
You'll find a few more tips listed on my review of the original hard-back version of the book. This is the diet of choice for now. No one does it perfectly. But, persist with increasing walking about 10% per week and keep learning more about application of the diet and you will eventually find your best weight.
--Charles Runels, MD
Author of "Anytime...for as Long as You Want: Strength, Genius, Libido, & Erection by Integrative Sex Transmutation (A 15-Day Course for Men to Improve Life and Sex)
2 Not bad for the price
If you've read "The Abs Diet," then you can easily skip this book. However, for the low price, this is a handy little reference that will help you stay on track. If it costed more than $10, I would say skip it. But for the price, I'd recommend it as great way to stay focused on your fitness goals.
3 Very Helpful
I almost did not buy this book because the reviews I read said it didn't have much info in it. I totally disagree - it has more info on exactly what food to eat while doing this way of eating. I certainly recommend it!
4 a way to live
as a single person, i finally found recipes that i follow, that
make sense, and are simpple. i feel like i have a new life. no
need to pound down 3 burritos or 2 star burgers on the way home.
i did not read the first book and found this one to be all i need.
5 Too much repetition
I had high hopes for this book based on how much I loved the first one. But when I was done reading it I kept thinking "This is it?"
I was actually expecting more recipes but if you buy the first book and understand the nutrition plan, then there are better books available that have more recipes and follow the Powerfoods guidelines.
This second book also repeats a lot of the same information from the first book, which didn't make sense since you'd expect to have read the first one before picking this one up.
I'm still happy with the Abs Diet. I've had good success with it but this book leaves a sour taste in my mouth because it seems more like a marketing scheme than anything else. The first reviewer commented on this and mentioned that you can't expect to get results like the winner of the Men's Health Abs Diet contest. A couple weeks ago it was announced that the winner didn't even stick to the program to get his results so this second book makes me suspicious about the author's intentions.
6 All the book you need ...
I loved this edition, as I want or need to read the origins of the diet, how dieting works, etc. etc. If you need that, might not be the book for you.
What I was REALLY after was more about the specifics on meal ideas, recipes, exercises, etc. Understanding the acronym of what ABS DIET stood for is nice (, but needed more practical ideas of how to apply them. That is typically what is lacking in the first releases of the main books on these subjects.
I travel a lot, and keep this in my briefcase as a quick reference of the foods you should eat at particular restaurants (even broken out by niche and name), or the "lesser of two evils".
I especially enjoyed the examples of how to survive the holiday dinners (what to eat, what not to eat), super bowl parties, etc.
p.s. Amazing way to approach eating, eating every two hours. Eat good food, and there is a lot of it. I highly recommend it.
7 Awesome Recipes!
I read the first Abs Diet and had good success with it, so I got this one for the recipes since I wanted more meal options than they had in the first one. So far, I've tried 6 or 7 of them and so far they're all great. Lots of recipes (all easy) for meals, smoothies, snacks, restaurants, with good nutritional advice. Tons of info about eating, especially for the price!
8 Nothing New Here
I bought the second book assuming it would be just as insightful as the first but I was extremely disappointed. I lost 30 pounds with the help of the first book but I wish I had waited for the Eat Right Every Time Guide to arrive in a bookstore so that I could have thumbed through it first and then put it back on the shelf. There's virtually no new information presented that's not covered in the first book. The limited new material should have been included in the first book and you can find all kinds of new recipe ideas online for free. Like the one reviewer here commented, the information on meal choices at restaurants is based on common sense and you don't need to tote around this book to help make a decision. It's the first book that is necessary to educate you on how to eat healthy and make informed decisions. I certainly wouldn't recommend this book unless you can actually pick it up in a bookstore and browse through it first.
9 An Informative portable SUPPLEMENT!
First, if you have a choice between the hardcover OR softcover of this supplement (I'm not sure there is a choice anyway)...get the softcover...the book is small in size, low priced and, therefore, portable...
Second, this is NOT a diet...it is a common sense, researched based, way to live and eat healthier...
Ok, this book is NOT meant to be THE "Abs Diet" resource but A resource which is a PORTABLE supplement to the original book. Judged for what it was meant to be it is an excellent resource. Interestingly while I didn't buy the first book I've been following nearly all of its philosophy for three months and I've lost 25 pounds (215 to 190)...(I'm a long time subscriber to "Men's Health" which basically outlines this philosophy in each edition)...and with no anguish associated with the other so called "successful" diet programs such as Atkins which really aren't successful in the long run (research based)...this program is meant to be realistic and permanent...and I have absolutely loved what I've learned about food AND what I eat...
As for this supplement, it was exactly what I needed to focus my efforts and the sections on the travesties and/or health risks of High Fructose Corn Syrup & trans-fat should be required reading for all parents and politicians. (Just as an aside, I remember seeing Bill Maher being laughed at by conservatives on his HBO show for saying that high fructose corn syrup was a greater health threat to our nation than drugs...he was absolutely correct...just take a look at the connection between when our nation became obese and when HFCS was widely introduced into our food system...take a look at the resulting costs to our health care system...once again, the conservatives miss the point and misdirect limited resources to solve the wrong problem...but, dang nab it, it sure makes us all FEEL like we're accomplishing something doesn't it?!).
Bottom line...this book can be a very nice portable resource for those who understand the Abs "Diet" and for those who would like to be introduced to its core philosophy. Enjoy!
10 First Book a Necessity, This One Isn't
I received both the Abs Diet and the Eat Right Every Time Guide as a gift. I found the first book to be very valuable, jam packed with information on the Abs Diet program including exercise, nutrition, comparison programs, etc.
However, there didn't seem to be much content in the Eat Right Every Time Guide that was original. It offers more recipes but once you're familiar with the "Powerfoods" philosophy then you can adapt most any meal to the program and the recipes in here were pretty basic. The recommendations about which meals to eat when dining out were pretty easy to figure out based on common sense and I don't see myself eating at most of these restaurants anyway because of the nutritional pitfalls that exist there to begin with.
I'm hanging on to the Eat Right Every Time Guide because it was a gift but I wouldn't have purchased it on my own. If you're interested in the Abs Diet then you definitely need the first book, but save your money on this second one and use it instead to by some protein powder. I think Men's Health was looking for a way to promote the Abs Diet program for the New Year by releasing this booklet and the next Abs Diet contest at the time that everyone is gung ho with resolutions to get back into shape.
I have had great success with the Abs Diet and following the principles in the first book. Their forums provide a great support mechanism for the books and the people going through the Program. The only pitfall is that Men's Health is a business and their marketing strategies can be misleading and deceiving when promoting the Program through their web site and the Abs Diet contest. You cannot expect to read these books, follow the program, and get results such as the ones displayed on their web site or in the winner of their contests.
