[.ca] Protein Power: The High-Protein/Low-Carbohydrate Way to ... (ISBN 0553380788)

From Amazon.com:
If smoked salmon and cream cheese omelets, sautéed jumbo shrimp, and double-patty burgers suit your palate, belly up to the Protein Power diet: "Not a high protein diet" but "an adequate protein diet." Doctors Michael R. and Mary Dan Eades make a persuasive case in favor of "the diet we were meant to eat." Similar to Dr. Robert Atkins's New Diet Revolution, the authors cite insulin as the main culprit in weight gain and expound the benefits of a diet extremely low in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, which are changed into sugar during digestion, stimulate the body to store fat, making weight loss virtually impossible. The most revolutionary idea put forth in Protein Power is that the fat you eat has very little bearing on the fat you gain: in other words, we aren't what we eat after all. Researchers have found that eating larger portions of protein in conjunction with severely reduced portions of carbohydrates causes people to burn the excess fat stored in their bodies. Protein Power is packed with helpful charts and formulas, so you can estimate your body-fat percentage and your ideal weight for your particular body composition. There are worksheets to calculate your protein need and carbohydrate and protein equivalency charts, as well as charts that allow you to track your fat and weight loss. But this book is not all grams and percentages: it also shows you what a day of eating on this diet would look like and includes sample menus and 70 pages of recipes. If you've been starving yourself for years and just can't seem to lose weight, this may be the diet for you. --Jhana Bach

AMAZING:
I have lost 50 pounds on this diet over a year and I feel simply amazing. My serum cholesterol/lipid levels are incredible. (LDL: 89, triglycerides: 84, down more than a hundred points from the days when I ate high-carb, whole grain and low protein.) I cannot adequately emphasize how thoroughly it has changed my life and my health for the better. Major myths about this plan and low carb eating in general: -It is not true that you will overload your kidneys and liver and get stinky breath. -It is not true that it is "just like Atkins" (it departs from Atkins on many significant points--the most obvious of which is that there is no induction of ketosis. Ketosis, although not considered a danger to someone with healthy kidneys, is totally irrelevant. Carb intake is not quite as restrictive as on Atkins.) -This is not a "diet" so much as a sustainable and healthy nutritional approach. -It is not a "fad diet." People have been eating low carb for CENTURIES. (How odd that these cultures which eat low carb tend to be healthier and have less CVD than those who do not, hmm?) -Eating low carb does not mean you sit around noshing on bacon, meat, cheese and pork rinds all day. (The only difference between the way I eat and the way the standard American eats: my plate does not have french fries soaked in trans fats and a piece of bread around my burger. If I should choose to eat a burger, I will have a whopping side of healthy vegetables and nuts and I will *not* chase it with carbonated sugar-water.) -People who eat low carb are not necessarily constipated all the time (on this plan fiber is theoretically unlimited. With all the veggies, fruits and nuts, etc. I venture that low carb people eat MORE fiber than most.) -Eating low carb does not mean you automatically eat more fat. -Even if your fat intake goes up, as long as it is healthy fat, it is not that big a deal because dietary fat is not the boogeyman they wanted us to believe in the 80s and 90s--sugar is! Eating fat does not make you fat. -Eating low carb will not make you feel weak and dizzy all the time. (If you feel weak and ill during the early phases, be sure to re-read the chapter on potassium. Many people get discouraged because as the body begins to flush, potassium is flushed along with a lot of "water weight" and they complain of weakness or dizziness that may or may not go away after they settle into the plan. Adding a supplement or potassium-based salt substitute will often cure the problem!) -The weight one loses on this plan over time is *NOT* all water weight. I am now 50 lbs lighter than I was when I started. I guarantee that was not 50 lbs of water. -This plan does not work solely because it is calorie restrictive and for no other reason. (I tried calorie restriction for years--it never worked. All calories are not created equal--calories from various sources will make your body respond differently physiologically as they are burned. If I try a calorie restrictive approach, I have to eat fewer than 1000 calories in order to lose. On this way of eating, I can eat up to 3000 and still lose.) -This way of eating will not necessarily raise your serum cholesterol-more often than not, it LOWERS LDL and raises HDL. -This is not a "High Protein Diet." The figures in this book for minimal protein intake are not that far from standard RDA recommendations! However, this book does emphasize ADEQUATE protein as necessary for maintaining physical health and for losing weight. People (especially doctors) who crusade against low carb eating have a reality check in the mail. For what its worth, my doctor is now on the Protein power plan herself. She was nervous at first, but is now one of its most outspoken defenders. I am so grateful for this book.

Just perfect:
With this great diet and exercise I've lost 60 lbs. It's got formulas to compute how much protein you should eat. you get plenty of choices for carbs and fat too. Even fruit, also, butter, cheese, cream and olive oil. It is more balanced and healthful than most low carb plans so you don't get bored at all. Unlike Atkins where you just eat protein till you feel full and have alittle salad and a small selection of veggies for your carbs. I used atkins a while back to lose a few lbs. but started getting dizzy and very crabby. Yes I lost a few pounds and almost lost some friends. That never happened on The Protein Power Plan. 6 month after starting the Protein Power Plan I had a complete blood workup. My Doctor actually called me on the phone and said, "Whatever You're doing, keep on doing it." he said, "I wish my levels looked like this! Everything is just perfect." Lots of scientific stuff to read in the beginning of the book but I went straight to the diet formulas and read the science behind it in my leisure. It was Very interesting. I just ordered the Comfort Foods book they wrote. I look forward to that because they use "real" foods and not packaged mixes that you have to buy especially for that recipe. You gotta love that! Most of the other plans have their own private mixes that you have to buy. With this Diet and a good exercise program and good multi-vitamin I lost 60 lbs. of fat in one year while gaining lean body mass/muscle and strength. Excellent!

Oh no, not another fad diet!:
I'm a curious, open minded person willing to try new things. I was skeptical about the amazing claims of the Eades--anything that sounds too good to be true probably is. I don't have any health problems but would like to lose about twenty pounds. Protein Power made that sound simple. So I gave it a good try. After just two days my head was swimming and I was constantly nauseous. I felt light headed and weak. A friend said this was because my body was turning from a carb burning engine to a fat burning engine, so good news. The problem was it never went away. I felt weak as a kitten. Yes, my food cravings did go away, but that was because I was sick to my stomach. I couldn't face another plate of fatty, greasy eggs, meat, oily fish or cheese. And after a week and a half of this ordeal I put myself through, I hadn't lost any weight. Common sense prevailed. I was feeling bad because I was eating a poorly balanced diet. I thus ended my experiment with Protein Power, and returned to a healthy balanced diet, and back to my usual good health. I am still working on that twenty pounds, but I'm doing it through sensible portion size and exercise. By the way, I'm also blood type O. I don't believe blood types have anything to do with dietary needs--there is nothing in nature that would indicate such a need. Also, the anecdote at the end about the Egyptians is false. Beware also that meat and cheese do spike insulin levels--it is a myth that they do not.

Looks more like a text book!:
Not very pratical unless you are harcore into a diet. I would reccomend The South Beach Diet instead.

Excellent plan for most:
The Protein Power plan is very effective and healthy, however, it is not for the hardcore carb-aholic. It contains a bit too many carbs for those who are addicted and super sensitive to carbs. While on Protein Power we found that our cravings for carbs never completely dissapeared (only thing that worked for us was Atkins). So, if you are a hardcore carb addict I would recommend the Atkins Diet. But for the average person wishing to live the low carb way Protein Power is an excellent choice.