Low-Carb Dieting For Dummies

As everyone is stating, this is not a "never eat a carb and lose 30 pounds in 30 days" book. In that sense I agree with other reviews that the title is a misnomer. However, the "Whole Foods" diet the book does cover is indeed heavily focused on controlling carb intake and compared to almost anyone's normal diet, it is very "low carb". I find it very easy to read. Easy to understand. And more focused on healthy eating than any of the "real" low/no-carb books. As such I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to live a healthy, low-carb diet which, btw, will help you lose weight. But I would not recommend this book to anyone looking to drop a ton of weight by eating steak all day.

It was not what I expected. It is a healthy diet as opposed to some carb diets. It would take longer to loose the weight this way. But it would be a diet that could very easily become a healthy lifestyle.

This book goes way beyond low-carb dieting. It should be called low-carb healthy eating for life and it changes the way you think about food. It simply categorizes all foods into either green, yellow, or red light. Green light foods can be eaten without weighing/measuring, etc.and have no limit. The foods that are green light that include carbs are most of your fruits and veggies. Yellow light foods you can eat, but you need to be careful of what kinds and how much. These are the traditional carbs - bread, pastas, beans, starchy fruit (bananas) and veggies (squash and potatoes). You are restricted to 3 servings (1 serving = 15 grams) of those a day. Red light foods should not be eaten. Add in some dairy, fat, and you have very clear guidelines how to eat healthy for the rest of your life with a focus on whole, unprocessed, foods. Some really good recipes are included as is lots of more technical information, if you are interested. But you don't need to even read that to see the common sense behind this plan. It finally puts together all the different diets, pyramids, plans, etc. into something that just makes good sense and is easy to follow.

This is one of the easiest and most sensible diet plans I've ever followed. I feel great, have more energy, and have improved my health. Chauncey has made healthy eating fun and easy!

Chauncey's program encourages dieters to build meals around whole, unprocessed foods. Her "whole foods" plan allows unlimited "Green Light" foods including lean meats, reduced-fat cheeses, and most fruits and vegetables. She doesn't count the carbs in fruits or vegetables (except for those in potatoes, bananas, and a few other "Yellow Light" foods). Chauncey allows 3 servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy per day, and 5 daily servings of carbs (one carb serving having about 15 grams of carbohydrate). She counts only net carbs, first subtracting grams of dietary fiber. The book is packed with helpful information, tips (dining out, fast food, buffet tables, what to do if you've gone off your diet, how to figure out if you need vitamins, etc.) and encouragement. The recipes are not complicated (I've only made a couple). The diet is much more traditional than South Beach, Atkins, and so on, but is still designed to reduce your intake of processed, refined carbs. There's no initial restrictive "induction" phase; there are suggestions for moving gradually towards healthier choices.