Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and ... (ISBN 0316829455)

lifesaver:
I obtained the copy of this book in the summer of 2008.I was reading it for a few weeks, some chapters only once, some of them numerous times. It made sense. I have to admit, I was pushed in this direction before, by herbalists, ayurvedic doctors, detox/cleansing advisers, but in this book everything was spelled out, everything was chewed down for me.Lots of instructions and directions, less guidelines. This doc doesn't leave to much of the gray zone. On Avg.27'09 I started it, after visiting my doctor, and getting pretty ugly picture of my near future, without to much hope for the far future. Cholesterol of, triglycerides of, sugar borderline. Weight, let not use scale, but BMI 46.9 Morbidly obese. Doc, I am glad we had that talk. It wasn't to much fun first few weeks, lots of bloating, cramping. In times I was avoiding to eat, just to prevent further bloating. But, since day two I start filing difference. I slept better. Second week I was able to take full breath, third week walking become easier.Few more interesting improvements happened in the following weeks.By week 6 I felt so good that I decided to stick with program for indefinitely. I was finally feeling good and not hungry. I have to much energy. Even I walk on the job, I can't get tired. My feet may hurt, but 30 minutes later I am ready for more. Night before thanksgiving I went to gym and renew my membership. By Christmas just walking on the treadmill wasn't enough so, I had to start jogging. 30-45 sec. at the time, with 1-2 min. walk as a break. Two miles, most days of the week. December 4th I had checkup with my doc. Her assistant asked me if I felt good, she was worried that I might be sick. I felt great. My lab work come god, except for the good cholesterol, that has to be improved through exercise. As I discussed with my Doctor, I achieved better results with this way of eating, than what I could expect to achieve with a surgery for the weight loss. And, let me point it, without surgery. She is considering lowering of my medication for high blood pressure. Yes, I presented my doctor with a copy of the Eat to Live. She can help more people than I can do. But, since then, the only present somebody can receive from me is the copy of this book. Yesterday, my BMI was 34.8 Still morbidly obese, but, more then 1/4 of me is gone, and I hope to lose another quarter, I hope to become a half of men I use to be. Four months and one week in the program, I am a happy camper. And I am still loosing, thou now 2-3 pounds a week, but I am not a saint, I go out and have not favorable choices(rarely), when I travel I even eat in the fast food places, but less and best available choice. When I am a guest in somebody's home, I eat favorable food a lot, and not favorable, I share with somebody. I'll have a glass of Merlot, or two. My two miles footing/jogging will cover for that. What do I know about reviewing a book? Not much. But I "know" that this is the way to eat. I feel better today then in my 20's, and the only regret I have, is that I found this book now, instead of 30 years ago. I am still grateful for knowledge I received from this book. In the way, I am pushy for this "health management system", suggesting my friends with weight and weight related problems to buy the book and give it a honest try. Everybody has to decide for them self. As Dr. Fuhrman mentioned in the book, my health is my responsibility, not my doctor's, not anybody's else. Did you notice, nobody teach us (or lets say, rarely) how to do most important things in the life. For the purpose of how to eat, this book should be a manual for the mandatory subject in the school. Just my opinion.

Try It:
It's a tough diet to follow long term, but I encourage everyone to give it a try at least once, if only to learn how your body feels when it's properly fueled. You may even rid yourself of a chronic ailment. Before trying ETL, I had periodic, moderate-to-severe asthmatic reactions to dust (mites). A couple weeks into the ETL program, I started coughing up phlegm, which was odd because I had no cold symptoms of any kind. I felt great, in fact. The "productive coughing" continued for a a few more weeks before abating. Almost 3 years later, even having returned to a omnivore diet, I haven't had a single asthma attack since. I was never a believer in the whole "detox" concept, but that's clearly what happened.

Not practical:
While it is correct to state that this book was soundly based and contained lots of useful and informative information, it would not be correct to state that this book presented any type of lifestyle change that could be maintained for a long term realistic goal.

Good nutritional approach; bad recipes:
Over a year ago, I started keeping a vegan diet, based on the mounting evidence of the healthfulness of plant-based nutrition. Consequently, following the fairly strict guidelines laid out in this book was not as difficult for me as it might be for people who are transitioning from a more typical American diet. The data appear to be solid and though the writing is a bit repetitive and cheerleader-y overall it *is* intelligent and motivating. The dietary guidelines are very simple and I must say I am rarely hungry and the weight has been fairly easy to lose (I was going for 10 pounds). The hardest part is that I am a complete foodie (and--as my partner says--a "cookie") and so finding nonfat and no-salt ways to add flavor to my cooking has been the biggest challenge. Unfortunately, I find many of the recipes in Eat to Live to be pretty bad, with little flavor and even less texture. The food one eats should be the best advertisement for a diet--not the main drawback. So my advice is to buy this book for the valuable diet and information but use other resources(such as Real Daily Food cookbook or the blog fatreevegan) for recipes that you can adapt.

BUY IT AND YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!:
This book will help everyone and is worth every penny. It will change your life. I am eating better and its been 3 days & I have lost 3 lbs and I am not hungry, ever! I went from 174lbs to 171lbs! I am drinking water. No More Diet Soda or Coffee! I am so excited about the lots of fruits and veggies I am eating and the fact that I lost so weight this fast that I had to publish this review now. I even feel better! I know the weight will continue to fall off as I will continue to follow the program.