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257 of 267 people found the following review helpful. Over the last 2 months, I have lost over 40 pounds in fat. I have gone from 220 lbs to 180 lbs. In addition, I am walking 90 minutes a day or jogging 4 miles a day along with a variety of other activities. Essentially, I’ve changed my lifestyle, both in terms of diet, supplementation, and exercise. A large part of this weight loss and lifestyle change I attribute to many of the strategies I adopted by watching Dr. Perricone’s PBS special, followed up with, of course, completely absorbing the information contained in Dr. Perricone’s book, “The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet”. BOOK SUMMARY: Dr. Perricone starts in PART i by making his case to you the reader, for the “Inflammation-Fat Connection”, laying down basic principles that establish micro-inflammation as the root cause of the problem, and obesity simply a side-effect to this problem, along with various other aging ailments. He establishes that his strategy to deal with weight loss, is by dealing with micro-inflammation, the root cause, through diet, exercise (and other lifestyle changes), and supplementation. By attacking micro-inflammation, you not only achieve success with the battle of obesity, you also achieve success on a variety of other aging fronts. Essentially, Dr. Perricone presents this argument as an anti-aging program, focusing on weight loss as the emphasis for this book. In PART II, the core of Dr. Perricone’s book, he presents his 3 step program: Food, Supplements, and Lifestyle. In Step One, 10 specific food groups are presented to focus on, and these groups will surprise you. This is not a rehashing of the government food triangle by any stretch. The foods range from wild Alaskan Salmon, to Avocado and Acai, to Spices, Red Chile Peppers, and Yogurt. Each section provides a description of the food “supergroup”, the factors that contribute to weight loss, the top choices, and the runner-up choices. In Step Two, Dr. Perricone provides his top 12 nutritional supplements that contribute to the reduction of micro-inflammation, the reduction of insulin resistance, the balancing of blood glucose, etc. Each section lists and describes each supplement, along with tips, and dosage recommendations. Step Three, describes the lifestyle changes to be implemented, including the benefits of exercise, fact sheets, safety tips, etc. Part iii is called “THE PLAN”, and this is where Dr. Perricone provides his 14 day weight loss diet. This section attempts to bring together the information from Part 1 and Part 2 with a sample program for weight loss. Various tips, suggestions, and reminders introduce the plan, followed with a rigid 14 day regimin, an ecclectic recipe section, a thorough Appendix that covers dieting questions, a complete Resource Guide, References, and Index. PROS: 1. EXPERTISE This is not an ordinary dieting book. Dr. Perricone is a leading researcher on the subject of anti-aging, and his theories, approaches, and research represents the cutting edge of modern thought on the subject. Every claim he makes, is backed by thoroughly researched scientific data. His reference section speaks volumes. Not one claim is made in this book, without completely documented case studies from reputable resources and noted scientific peer journals. If you are interested or curious on the subject of aging, when Dr. Perricone speaks, you should listen. 2. APPROACHABLE This book is completely approachable. Dr. Perricone gives you 10 food groups, and 12 supplements to learn. That’s basically it. The solution is elegant in design. You read the section on the food or supplement you’re interested in, and learn not only what it is, but WHY it is important to your weight loss goals, what it does to your body physiologically, and what studies prove its positive properties. 3. COMPLIMENTARY This book compliments all approaches to weight loss. It is not really just a diet. Moreso, it is a strategy. Dr. Perricone takes weight loss from a different point of view. Tackle the inflammation problem, and the weight will come off. Various foods, supplements, and lifestyle changes approach this objective in a synergistic fashion. This means that each positive thing you do, compliments all of the other positive things you are doing with your body. Each anti-inflammatory, each antioxidant, each metabolic or thermogenic enhancement in your diet or lifestyle, works with all the other changes you are making to yourself. So, Dr. Perricone is not reinventing the wheel. He is simply presenting some basic food and lifestyle change recommendations, with modern science to back up his reasons why these changes are good for you. You can implement this strategy on its own, or, use it in conjunction with other diets or programs that appeal to you. Dr. Perricone is simply teaching you, the reader, 10 foods, 12 supplements, and an anti-inflammatory lifestyle that you can focus on in order to make your body the youngest and healthiest it can be. CONS: 1. RIGID DIET To be honest, I actually think the first two parts of this book are amazing, but the diet is seriously lacking in approachability, usability, and flexibility. I was surprised that Dr. Perricone, who clearly spent a tremendous amount of time organizing his data for the first two parts, sort of dropped the ball on the last part. The diet is really nothing more than a 14 day sample menu. 2. NOT USER FRIENDLY: The recipes are fabulous, and the food suggestions are useful in seeing how one person might incorporate the Food and Supplement suggestions, but the diet isn’t really very user-friendly. You can choose to follow the rigid 14 day plan if you wish, however, most of us don’t work like that in terms of going to the store, making choices, cooking food, eating it, and in some way, continuing on with our lives. Most of us don’t have the time or energy to spend making plans to follow a rigid 14 day menu. I would have preferred more in Part 3, of what we got from Part 1 and 2 of this book. 3. MISSING DIETING BASICS IN PART 3: in PART 3, I would have liked to have seen Dr. Perricone focus on more dieting strategy in this section, perhaps going back to dieting basics such as portion control, food balance, calorie controls, etc. The 14 day diet works great as a SAMPLE, but not as a template. In this, the book leaves me wanting more. MY TIPS: Here is a list of some things that I think you’ll find useful, that I can provide as someone who has actually used and implemented many of the resources from “The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet”: 1. It’s true that Dr. Perricone sells his own supplements, but he never suggests in this book that you are required, or need, to go through him for your needs. Every supplement is available from your local health food or vitamin store. 2. Don’t “dive in” tommorow and make massive changes to your diet and lifestyle. Take it one step at a time, changing perhaps one or two things a day. Overdoing it is a mistake. Start with a basic vitamin, adopt and emphasize one or two food groups in your daily diet. When I started, for example, I began to use vitamins, and 2 or 3 antioxidants, along with creating a dinner menu that focused on barley, beans, veggies, and salad. After a few days, I introduced more foods, and more supplements, so as not to overwhelm my body or my psyche. Taking a “one change a day” approach seemed to work very well for me. 3. Learn the reasons “WHY” modern anti-aging scientific research points to the benefits of each food or supplement Don’t just learn what each one is. Dr. Perricone gives you substantive reasons for changing your diet with 10 specific food groups, and supplementing with 12 specific products. 4. This is not a magic bullet. This is a book that you add to your library of knowledge. Detractors will tell you that Dr. Perricone is simply re-hashing the glycemic index, or overstating that you should “eat naturally”. For those that say Dr. Perricone’s information is “nothing new”, I’d just simply point out that of course it isn’t. This is not a fad diet. Dr. Perricone is providing meaningful backbone to an anti-aging growing body of science. He is providing us with an approachable guide to some specific, easily accessible items in the grocery store and at the health food store, that can make a deep impact on our lives. It is backed by countless research studies, peer journals, and good, hard science, with a thorough, well documented reference section that points any researcher to the already established body of knowledge out there in the scientific community. No, this is not a new, innovative way to lose weight. Instead, Dr. Perricone is organizing this information in an approachable format. Use this information with your other resources. Don’t think of it as a dieters bible. Think of it as a textbook in your ongoing studies of your own body. SUMMARY: Like I said in the beginning, I’ve lost over 40 pounds in 2 months. I’ve made many changes, of course, to my lifestyle, that accounts for this weight loss. But every night, while eating dinner, I am perusing through “The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet”, learning something new about the things I’m doing to my body, that are positive, and why I am becoming leaner and younger each day. Every clove of raw garlic I eat, every ALA and Astaxanthin supplement I take, is making a difference, 60 days later. There is a glow to my skin, an improvement in my daily living, a decrease in my waist line. Dr. Perricone is not the only reason why I’ve lost this weight, but what I give him is Kudus for providing me with strategy, reasons, and backbone to making life-long anti-aging changes which have clearly made a direct impact on my life. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book, and make it an integral part of your home library. 110 of 114 people found the following review helpful. One such person in the year 2006 is Dr. Nicholas Perricone. Although he is a board-certified dermatologist, he stumbled upon something in his research of complexion problems that even startled him. He found that there was invisible, undetectable layer of inflammation occuring beneath the surface of our skin that was causing our bodies to literally fall apart. One of the results of this inflammation, Dr. Perricone quickly found, was the body’s inability to get rid of stored fat. That’s the underlying basis for The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet. Although his previous books on wrinkles and complexion problems have been instant bestsellers, Dr. Perricone wanted to devote one book solely to the topic of weight loss to help the tens of millions of people who carry around excessive amounts of weight. For fans of Dr. Perricone, some of the concepts in this book will be familiar to you. But whether you have read his books before or if this is your first time, I have no doubt that you will be able to apply The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet principles to your own life. Ever since I lost my weight by livin’ la vida low-carb, I am always apprehensive about any new diet book that I pick up. Actually, I wasn’t sure what I would read in Dr. Perricone’s book. But imagine my surprise when I noticed much of his weight loss advice matched up perfectly with what I was already doing as part of my low-carb lifestyle: 1. Eat more good fats, especially ones found in fish. 2. Increase your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids. 3. Stay away from sugar, starch and white flour. 4. Consume berries. 5. Cook with extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil. 6. Add fiber to your diet with seeds and nuts. 7. Protein-up your body to keep your hunger satisfied. 8. Exercise 30-45 minutes per day. 9. Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. 10. Eat sugar-free chocolate made with real cocoa butter. But the more I read through The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet, I realized that there were areas of my diet that could stand to change and this book convicted me of my need to make a few subtle changes. For example, Dr. Perricone encourages people to eat more fish, specifically Wild Alaskan Salmon. This is a naturally low-carb food and would be an excellent frequent addition to my healthy low-carb lifestyle. He also urges readers to use stevia or erithyrtol more in place of sugar and other sugar alternatives. Dr. Perricone is adamantly against using aspartame. There was something else that intrigued me in this book. The concept of eating your protein first, then your fiber, and finally your sugar — in that order! I had never thought about this before now, but you can actually slow the rate that your body begins absorbing and using the sugars in the foods you eat if you load up on the protein and fiber first. I hope Dr. Perricone or somebody will conduct a study on the effect of this food order on the body. The experiment could compare the results of weight loss efforts of people participants eating the exact same meals except one group eats the protein first, another group eats the fiber first and the last group eats the sugar first. Which one would lose the most weight? I’d love to know the answer to that question, but I suppose Dr. Perricone would be opposed to people eating the sugar first since it increases inflammation and causes the blood sugar to quickly rise. That’s an important lesson The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet teaches you. Let me warn you — this book can get technical in some places, but Dr. Perricone attempts to break it down step-by-step to keep it from going completely over your head. He gently explains various terms and provides real-life examples of people he has helped lose weight using his 14-Day diet plan. There are many supplements that Dr. Perricone believes people should be taking to give them the essential vitamins and minerals that their bodies need to function at their best. He calls these “superstar supplements” and also suggests ten categories of “supergroup foods” to minimize inflammation so you will be on the road to weight loss success. The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet is a unique theory in the battle of the bulge and should be in the collection of anyone and everyone who wishes to keep their weight under control for life. If you apply the Perricone principles, which are surprisingly compatible for people doing low-carb, then you will be able to lose weight, keep it off, look and feel younger than you ever thought possible, and exude with energy beyond your wildest dreams. A 2-week meal plan and delicious recipes are located in the back of the book to get you started on the right foot. There’s little wonder why The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet has followed it predecessors to the top of the bestseller charts. It is scientifically-proven to work and Dr. Perricone believes it can help anyone. Even YOU! 75 of 77 people found the following review helpful. |
An invaluable, approachable resource to any diet
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