How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss

Dr. Greger knows what the scientific studies say about weight loss and he's spilling the beans!!! He also makes his books highly enjoyable to read because he knows how to amuse with witty humor. I was laughing already when reading the introduction. The laughs continued throughout the book at enjoyable intervals. I knew I was really going to learn a lot more about how to lose weight than any other book could teach me. The first part of the book discusses surgery, diet supplements and other quick weight-loss solutions and their consequences! Is there a better way? Is there hope for us all in this obesity epidemic? Dr. Greger has done the research for us and he knows the truth about how difficult it is to lose weight. He is fighting for anyone who is overweight and wants to lose weight more permanently. Some of the questions this book answers include: What spice helps you lose weight when you eat it daily? What time of day should you exercise for maximum fat loss? (This has helped me the most!) What specific food should you eat if you want to live longer and be slimmer? Should you skip any meals? What does the research say about fasting? Which cinnamon should you eat and which should you avoid? No author has influenced my eating habits this year more than Dr. Greger! His logical explanations work well to encourage a healthier lifestyle! At the end of the book there is a list of all the things to do to guarantee your weight loss success. One idea has been lifechanging for me. I have an easy way to fit in an hour of walking each day. With all the choices you have for reading diet books that only work if you follow them exactly and all the time, why not give this book a try! It is much easier to follow the daily activities this book suggests that help you look your best and keep it that way. I found some easy things to do daily and some food items to add into my diet. I do think non religious meditation and yoga are preferable so you don't have to change your whole belief system to benefit. I have found these two activities reduce my anxiety and pain in my body. Dr. Greger recommends one of them however and has some interesting information on the other! Today I also got the cookbook that goes with this book because it has recipes Dr. Greger mentions in this book that sound so good. He's really also a really creative and original cook. I trust the health advice by this doctor because he is backed by science and lives what he recommends. I'm happier, healthier and more grateful for having found his wonderful healing books. The advice works!!!! ~The Rebecca Review P.S. Since reading all the main How Not To books I've lost weight and seem to have figured something out because I do not lose weight easily! This book has helped me greatly! My nurse was really impressed that I'd lost ten pounds!

How Not to Diet contains about 570 pages of both common-sense and unconventional diet advice. You may be tempted to skip to the end to read Dr. Greger's Twenty One Tweaks. However, the bulk of the book contains WAY more than what is suggested in the final chapter. I spent 20 years working in an industry related to weight loss. We busted myths and searched for healthy ways to lose and maintain weight loss. I don't ever recall finding a single resource as comprehensive as How Not to Diet by Dr. Greger. The book sheds light on how our struggles with weight resulted in a convoluted and deceptive industry, as well as a healthcare field that has failed us. And it teaches us how to resolve our weight problems and reach a healthy goal with a natural and sound approach. How Not to Diet includes a lot of common-sense advice, which we would all expect from Dr. Greger. But the book also includes information on some rather interesting ideas that seem a little crazy to me, such as sleeping with your body tilted head-down about 6 degrees. This is just one of the Twenty One Tweaks found at the end of the book that can contribute to lasting weight loss. Some seem a little odd to me, but by this point, I know that Dr. Greger's recommendations come after careful research and everything is evidence-based. I pay attention to Dr. Greger. Everything he publishes, every video he produces, it's all based on scientific data. He cites everything so we can check out the proof ourselves and not just take his word for it. That's why I trust his book on weight loss. Dr Greger busts all the myths about dieting. He proves why crazy fads like the Keto diet are dangerous in the long term. Why you can't buy weight loss in a bottle. Beyond the list of things we can't do, we learn much more about what we CAN do. And everything is within reach and easier than we thought. Maybe someday we will all sleep with our footboards slightly elevated. Who knows. In the meantime, this book will help open our eyes to healthy, sound ways to lose weight and keep the weight off forever. It will teach us how to view the diet industry from a new angle because we know their claims can't be trusted. How to eat more food and lose more weight at the same time. How to choose every food more carefully. And so on. The book is long, but the techniques are easier than ever.

Dr. Greater is the real deal. He doesn't tell you what you have to do or try to make you feel guilty if you reject his advice. But neither does he treat you as as a child who isn't capable of hearing the truth. Processed "food" is engineered to be addicting. It does not exist to nourish your body, which is supposed to be the reason we eat, it exists to taste good so that we continue to be good customers. Our bodies are not designed to be carnivores OR omnivores, since omnivores also have to have the abilities of carnivores. We don't have claws, teeth, or the speed to catch prey. Our teeth, digestive acid, and alimentary canal are those of herbivores. Yes, we can eat fish, meat, dairy and milk, but so could bunnies. They wouldn't be healthy bunnies, however. But Dr. Greger doesn't go into that in this book. He does, however, discuss the numerous studies that show the negative effects of eating processed foods and animal products have on our bodies and how consuming them makes it much more difficult to lose weight. (The fact that avoiding these same foods ALSO extends not only our lifespans but also our "health" spans is a happy byproduct.) The number one take away from this book? Eat more fruits and vegetables, especially those that are grown above ground, intact grains, and pulses. Avoid processed foods (yeah, that includes olive oil) and animal products. But he gives you more than that. He has some of the best advice I've ever read on how to break old habits and how to establish new ones. He also discusses what herbs and spices have been shown to increase your metabolism or decrease your appetite. He also discusses how and when to drink water for a metabolic boost. There is an almost overwhelming amount of information. Have I found this information to be helpful, and effective? YES. Does it promise to help you lose 20 pounds in 7 days? No. Is this book for everyone? Sadly, no. If you are not committed to making major changes in the way you eat, and then continuing them after you have lost the weight you want lose, don't waste your money. Any diet, whether it's a gimmicky one or not, will have you regaining the weight you lost, and perhaps then some, once you stop it. The beauty of Dr. Greger's recommendations is that you can follow them without becoming physically hungry, and the cravings for the foods that made you gain weight in the first place will diminish. (Trust me on that one.) In addition, you can continue on this plan eating a variety of food that will give you the best chance at avoiding problems with your cardiovascular system, a variety of cancers, and arthritis and dementia, or at least postponing problems until later in life. If you are ready to make some major changes in your life to lose weight and then continue on with them to maintain a healthy lifestyle, then this may be the book for you. PS to KETO fans who may want to rebut me here. Yes, you can lose a lot of weight fast eating that way. I've done it. But to maintain that loss you have to continue on KETO, which means not getting enough fiber and the phytonutrients and antioxodants found only in plants. Yes, whole plant food eaters will have to take a B12. But animals do not make B12; it is made by bacteria that animals eat. You can get B12 from pill instead of having to eat bacteria-laden food or eating animals. I also take an omega 3 supplement, extracted from the same source where fish get their omega 3: algae. Omega 3 has not been shown to reduce cardiovascular events but may protect brain health. If you are young enough, you can probably produce enough of you own Omega 3 from foods like walnuts and flaxseeds. I do not have to take a vitamin pill, however, which KETO adherents should, depending on how strictly they follow KETO. And the lack of protein in a varied whole plant food diet has long been disproved. An excess of animal protein, on the other hand, is likely to be responsible for the explosion of kidney failure we see in the US. And the high consumption of animal products (especially dairy) may be responsible for the explosion of diabetes that we are seeing in many places in the world.

This book is a summary of what you should do (low added fat, low added sugar, high in water, vegetable and most of all-- satiating) and what you should not perhaps do (bariatric surgery and drugs.) Dr. Greger identifies 21 factors that contribute to healthy eating and potential weight loss. Is there any truth to this list? I found the introduction of the book very revealing and it squares with a lot of what I observed about American food in the last two decades in particular. He talks about additives, toxins, overly large servings, added sugars and fats in processed foods. We lived for a while overseas and we found the food, when we came back to live in the US, to taste, well, awful. There was a chemical taste. It didn't satisfy and I put on quite a few pounds but I sure didn't enjoy it. Was I at fault or is it our food? My doctor in Germany (a naturopath) counseled to make sure to eat a lot of vegetables and hydrating foods. She noted that cells have a fluid layer around them (interstitial fluid, to be exact) that bathes every cell in needed nutrients and also has those "antioxidants" to protect the cells like a defense system against small molecules that wreak havoc on individual cells. This is one reason to "stay hydrated." Dr. Gerger's list of things to do food includes many of the ELEMENTS of trend diets (lower sugar, high plant-based foods) but seeks to systematize that scattered information and instead of a fad (no carbs! get keto! plant based ONLY!) he takes a combined approach to find what you should be eating from the vast array of human foods to stay healthy and...this is most important. satiated. Because if you are hungry all the time, or at inopportune times, you will eat things that sabotage your weight and your health. In particular, I verified some of his statements on a trip to Spain last year. I noticed the food in Spain was extremely fresh and extremely local. We bought foods at the outdoor market for a cooking class. Restaurants featured locally produced meats, fish and vegetables. I was pretty busy running around and on some days, I actually only ate a tiny breakfast and one regular meal---and I was NOT hungry. The food was so clean and healthy, the body KNEW it got what it needed. I think there is a great deal of sensible advice in this book and it can become a way of life and enjoying your meals rather than obsessing over carb count or glaring at every nutritional label as if it is a skull and crossbones. If you buy one book on health this year, I think this should be the book.

The book is great but Amazon carelessly wrapped it in plastic with adhesive stuck to the jacket. Removing the plastic ruined the jacket.

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Greger and his science-backed _How Not to Die_, the complementary cookbook, and his Nutrition Facts website, and so I eagerly pre-ordered this new book. At 570 pages (and that's just of content!), I haven't had the chance to read it all, but I'm a fair way in. As always, Dr. Greger's writing is interesting and fun, and _How Not to Diet_ is as much of a page-turner as his previous book. As he explains in the Preface and Introduction, Dr. Greger's goal was to look into all of the existing research about dieting and distill it down into a presentation of the best techniques that will help with weight loss and that are scientifically proven. He explains that the "goal was to give you every possible tweak and technique we could find to build the optimal weight-control solution from the ground up." To that end, the book is broken up into four major sections: * An outline/explanation of the growing obesity problem in America * An exploration of what works best for fat loss * An investigation of how the present diets measure up to the best strategies for sustainable weight loss * A deep-dive into the best weight-loss boosters so you can create your own "portfolio of techniques" Dr. Greger covers hot topics like intermittent fasting, and also ones I've never heard of before like chronobiology, which is how our bodies are affected by diurnal and seasonal cycles. He also covers information about types of exercise, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in order to make recommendations not only about how to lose weight, but how to stay healthy. If you're familiar with his Daily Dozen (the twelve foods we should be eating every day), there isn't quite something comparable here, but he does provide a lot of information about health-sustaining foods (like green tea, turmeric, etc.) so as to encourage readers to incorporate more of those foods into their daily eating. In lieu of providing a list of references at the end of the book, there is a QR code you can scan on your phone that will take you to links for each reference source. While I miss being able to look back at the references while I read (I'm an academic [i.,e., nerd ;-) ] and take pleasure in looking at the sources used), I like that the online references contain links to the primary articles. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Dr. Greger is a modern-day icon in the world of healthy eating. The work that he's doing has helped thousands of people adopt healthier ways of eating, and this book is another great book to add to your library if you're interested in learning more about the science behind health. Happy reading!

Loved the book, especially the first half which explains how our highly processed, food-like products have brought us to where we are today. I was moved to tears by his careful explanations of the obesity trend, as I have seen so many children of the sixties & seventies grow into ever more obese adults, & witnessed their endless struggles to regain their good health. We must make food production & consumption great again, if we are to win our war against the present torrent of unhealthy foods & the deadly diseases they cause. Dr. Greger’s first book detailed the major diseases caused by poor diets, and presented his “Daily Dozen” way of eating - very simple, easy to understand & follow, and very effective. This second book focuses on the science available regarding weight loss, but his primary point is to FOLLOW THE WFPB WAY OF EATING. While the 21 tweaks described in the book are interesting & may be fun to try, the basic plan for good health —- including a healthy weight —- is to eat whole, plant-based foods, as laid out in his first book. Both of Dr. Greger’s books provide a wealth of helpful, fascinating, scientifically solid information. Both his website and his free app also provide the information in various formats, so that his findings are *freely* available to all. If you’re not a book reader, try the videos! If you are too impatient for a short video, download the *free* “Daily Dozen” app —- it’s colorful & fun, a brilliantly simple tool to help you adopt the WFPB lifestyle. Dr. Greger is a genius and a saint and a great teacher, and his work is so important to anyone who wants to get healthy or stay healthy. Highly, highly recommended.

I loved Dr. Greger’s first book, How Not to Die. It really changed my life by making me understand how many ways whole plant foods benefit the body and fight disease. So I pre-ordered How Not to Diet as soon as it was announced. It did not disappoint. All the science is there. Unlike gimmicky diet books, Dr. Greger doesn’t cherry-pick small, stand-alone studies to support a trendy theory or a product line that he wants to sell. He compares the aggregate findings of many scientific studies before sharing any conclusions. In this book, he explains WITH RESEARCH, why certain trendy diets, such as Keto, are NOT healthy, even though some people may lose weight on them. He explains many things we can do to improve our overall health while also losing body fat. Surprise! You don’t need to buy any trendy products, packaged foods or protein shakes! Just by sticking to real, fresh, whole foods—including plenty of whole grain carbs— we can greatly improve not only our physical appearances, but the health of our bodies and the length of our lives. And if you do that, you don’t even need to buy this book. But if you want to read WHY, and be inspired by all the amazing ways that humble ingredients like beans, grains,fruits, vinegar and spices make our bodies stronger and healthier, then I think you’ll find this book is definitely worth the price. Side note... Dr. Greger donates all the profits for his books. That’s how you know he isn’t just trying to push a product line or profit from the latest trend. He also has a website, Nutritionfacts dot org, where he shares videos that cover some of the same topics without cost.

Giving brief about anything and everything related to health will help everyone and all the information is emanating from the research studies makes it more exciting and informative.

This is not a fad diet or marketing ploy. Dr. Greger is a dedicated doctor and scientist that cuts through all the bull and gives ONLY scientifically researched FACTS about nutrition and how our bodies gain or lose weight (and get sick or well). I have been reading this and using the free app for about 10 days. It is really about ADDING more of the GOOD foods that are known to reduce inflammation, weight gain and disease. I lost 7 pounds of my 12 pound goal so far. But more importantly, I understand a great deal more about my body, nutrition, and the limitations and dangers of dieting, and the scams that are so popular and costly. Dr. Greger gives all the money from the sale of his books to charity and doesn't sell supplements or other products. His work is an act of love and medical integrity. I have given a dozen copies of his other great book, "How Not to Die" to loved ones with various chronic diseases. The book is equally well-documented and literally gives the information needed to avoid or reverse the 10 most common causes of death in the USA! It is incredible. I also highly recommend Dr. Greger's website: NutritionFacts.org where, for FREE, he provides only science-based videos and articles on just about every food and every disease. The database is a phenomenal resource for anyone who wants trustworthy and often entertaining answers to medical questions and who wants to make sound nutritional choices in their lives. Dr. Gregor deserves a Nobel Prize for medicine. I am deeply grateful for his tireless efforts to educate and cannot recommend him and his staff highly enough.

This book wasn't necessary. All of this info can be found in his first book which was phenomenal.

Livro excelente. Vale o tempo dispendido. É difícil manter uma rotina saudável, ainda mais com tantas "facilidades" por aí. Se conseguir seguir, sucesso garantido.

The only book you need to forge your own opinion on the never ending field on nutrition. The detailed in the theory And in the practicality of a diet!