I have had these books for a while now. I have tried almost everything in these books as a diet or eating plan. Some actually have beauty tricks and others have workout tips as well .
Courtesy of Good Housekeeping: 7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet!
This is written by the authors of the book, 7 Years Younger
Get slimmer and younger in just 7 short weeks! Banish the wrinkles and the fat with this delicious and – yes! – proven-to-work big time weight loss plan for men and women. It’s built on the foods science shows deliver cutting-edge anti-aging benefits. Adopt this easy-to-follow 7-week plan and you’ll have a leaner body as well as better cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and a healthier heart. Another big anti-aging bonus: Studies reveal many of the foods found on this diet also nourish your skin in a variety of ways that can actually make you look younger.
Along with the 7-week meal plan and fitness program, the diet includes more than 90 recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Throughout, there is abundant advice on overcoming mental hurdles to achieve permanent diet success and ideas on how to personalize the plan to your specific situation by swapping out meals. Lose weight and reverse the signs of aging!
I read this entire book after I had read book #2. It was interesting the difference in the books. Having read at least 100 books in this specific category in 10 years and also been a huge fan and user of Weight Watchers, I have to say that parts of this diet really work and other parts are lacking.
I am disappointed in all the foods that they leave in there. Chemical sugar substitutes that often cause you to crave more sugar are an issue. I personally like agave sweeteners or naturally based sweeteners and choose those items based on that.
I like that it’s based on a low-fat and low-salt diet and features a very colorful array of veggies and fruits so that one has a balanced intake of nutrients. They talk about portion control once as a subject and every other person who lost more than 10 pounds talked about it in some respect. They included exercise but again, it’s as a subject. Why they didn’t talk about instead of grabbing that handful of nuts or a couple of cookies that they didn’t suggest someone have a glass of water and a walk.
What concerns me is that about 1/3 of the participants did lose more than 10 pounds in 7 weeks. The age range was 34 to 62 and the older people lost typically under 10 pounds in 7 weeks. However one man at 62 lost over 20 pounds which tells me that the plan is do-able if you have the drive and commitment to yourself. However I just think the diet has a few tweaks to be made to it and it would be very close to perfect!
Find this book at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble stores & barnesandnoble.com and other major book retailers!
Happy Hormones, Slim Belly by Jorge Cruise
Jorge Cruise is known in the diet segment and his diet is very similar to paleo diets and carb-counting diets. He has written 15+ books in this category skewed to carb-counting, recipes and working out and he’s one of experts in this segment. Once you realize that this is a carb-counting book and that fats, sugar and protein and the three pillars of this diet, then it starts to make sense. It’s about cutting carbs and a ton of sugar. It’s very simple to do this diet but it does mean a serious change in your diet and what’s in your pantry and refrigerator.
This book is clear, well-written and he backs it up with anecdotal evidence and other kinds of information gathered over his years of writing all these books. Two strict days a week and 5 less-strict but still cutting sugar out of your diet. He promises lots of weight loss the first week and 2 pounds a week after that. (And you do lose the weight!! Scout’s honor!!)
What this book starts out with is an explanation on why women lose & gain weight differently than the other sex. PLUS age makes the weight loss harder because how hormones mess with the body (and mind). This book is not just for women but explains why women’s weight often fluctuates and also why it is so hard for them to lose weight. This book is suitable for guys and almost anyone with an insulin issue. Jorge presents a straight-forward diet that is pretty tolerable over a long haul. However this is not just a diet but a lifestyle change. He provides you nuts and bolts information and you can ask him questions via his website, facebook page and other social media platforms. The recipes in the back run the gamut from super-simple to more complex. However if you add in key ingredients over the weeks as you run out of some things and replace with his recommendations, it’s worth the effort.
Jorge Cruise and Dr. Oz talk about belly fat.
Sounds great right? Well there are some negatives. While you have limited carbs and that includesbreads, crackers and fruit, I find that some of the missing nutrients are not well replaced (like fruit!). I did find rice crackers that were gluten-free and I found a rice-based protein drink mix that works for me much better than whey protein. While most of his recipes work out well, one of his big bonus recipes is the Skinny Waffle which I tried to make. It wasn’t hard, did require a lot more ingredients than I thought it should. The biggest problem is that the waffles don’t turn out looking like the video or the photos. The book I got was publisher review copy (as was every book in this review series) and it said for 2 waffles to use 4 eggs. FOUR EGGS and very small amounts of dry ingredients make this a mushy, thick and difficult goo to mix up. I had to use an electric mixer to get this batter to aerate and generate some lift for the waffles. No matter how much time I spent with the electric mixer and the waffle iron was ridiculously hot, the waffles turned out like lead. The texture was all wrong: exceptionally dense, heavy and lacking any flavor. I threw the waffles and batter out and realized that it wasn’t me– it was the recipe.
Other parts of this diet were spot on- except that I don’t normally drink coffee with half and half or drink much in the way of red wine. I made a lot of protein-heavy meals. It’s a lot like a paleo diet but I do miss the crispy crunch of a piece of toast, popcorn and the occasional cracker. If all I had to do all day was cook, I could do this diet in a snap. If you join Jorge’s online coaching forum (which is a bargain at $9 a month for 30 days worth of coaching), you get free tested recipes, coaching and videos. There are LOTS of videos on his youtube channel to help you dig up some fast easy recipes like meals in a mug. His skinny muffin looked amazing. The chocolate cake did too -but not near enough of it. When I want chocolate, I want chocolate! I listened to GMA’s Dr. Richard Bessert discuss this issue about diets and honestly the case he made for a balanced diet of complex carbs the benefits they provide that aren’t easily available in supplements is pretty potent. I stopped following Cruise’s diet because some of the halo effect from the skinny waffle cooking demo I did took the gloss off the plan.
However compared with the 7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet, this diet and this book is a welcome addition to the “real world” of trying to eat within a world that loves bacon, potatoes, tall burgers and brews. While this isn’t a diet for me, it taught me how to look very specifically at labels (which I do already!) and see what the sugar is but also the carbs. I have throttled back my sugar intake even more! Want to give it a go? Buy the book and definitely do not miss out signing up for the email newsletters and his youtube.com channel. Worth the watching and reading!
Better in 7: the Ultimate Seven-Day Guide to a BETTER YOU! by Andrew Ordon, MD. FACS
This is the fastest, easiest diet & anti-aging book I have ever read. Dr. Ordon makes it super easy and cuts to the chase- there are free rides when it comes to anti-aging or losing weight! His book gives you tips for 7 days of weight loss which will get you started on your fitness and healthy living journey. Day 1 is meager diet fare with lots of water, veggies and salad. Nothing he presents here is brand new– except how he puts it together. He gives you a food and beauty regiment that will have your skin looking more rested and less stressed. You will have lost about 5 or so pounds– but only if you don’t cheat!! Please don’t cheat. This is Dr. Ordon at his best when he gives you tips on what to use on face, body and mind to not only detox and wean off the junk in your diet but also the stressors in your life. He’s looking at your life 360 degrees. This book is a fun and interesting read! It’s effective too because you will find that you refer back to it post-vacation and holidays to get back into the rhythm of your life.
Better in 7: The Ultimate Seven-Day Guide to a Better YOU! can be found on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and do check out his facebook page!
Find the books at all the usual places. They are well-worth exploring – check the library if you want to see if you can handle the diet regimens. Then buy one for yourself!
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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I’m still doing 5:2 – which still doesn’t seem to have taken off in the US.
Main enemy is excess of alcohol…I’m so tempted when I am out and about;)
that’s a good question why. Is 5./2 (I don’t completely understand how it works) about 5 days with reasonable restrictions and 2 days with strict food list?
These strategies both sound reasonable…but books and programs are only as good as the people using them. The sugar issue is huge and some are aware of it.
Hey Pam & Fiona.. thanks for this
It’s the sugar issue that has me really on game (or it’s hitting my radar hard) What I don’t get is that there should be a way to curate the sugars that you need (complex carbs) bec protein is hard on kidneys in the long run.. and it’s hard to get balance nutrition without some carbs.
I think that cutting out a lot of junk /processed foods is one way of dealing with it, dealing with more veggies and protein, decreasing the amount of fruits- unless it’s 100% raw. Making sure that nuts have a limit. Just little stuff to make it more workable