Eating For Life
by Bill Phillips
|
List Price: Our Price: $17.80 You Save: $17.20 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $7.46 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Eating For Life
Book Review: FINALLY -- takes the guesswork ouf of BFL nutrition!
Summary: 5 Stars
Bill Phillips did a great job in putting together full meals so that the new user doesn't have to try and figure it out or get in a rut of boring meals. He continues to keep it VERY SIMPLE so as not to overwhelm folks with calorie counting so that they get discouraged and give up. I think this book is long overdue, especially for those who want to understand how to cook healthy, delicious meals, not only for themselves, but for their entire family. There are even recipes like Chicken Tenders that your kids will love.
I expected the recipes to suck, but actually, I've tried about 10 of them and they are REALLY good!
He continues to talk "portions" but gives an actual weight or measure so that you can better understand what a portion is. (I remember trying to get a potato the size of my fist and the thing was HUGE -- probably TWICE the size of what I needed!)
The recipes take the guesswork out of figuring out the right ratio of carbs:protein:fats. (But if you happen to be a freak like me and DO want the average nutrition stats, they are available at www.eatingforlife.com for those who own the book.)
My favorite part is the Meal Plans at the back of the book that give you an EXACT mix and match grid to help you plan your meals for the entire week.
It is also important to remember that exercise is an important part of any healthy program. If you want a BandAid fix, do one of the popular diet plans and then gain it all back when you go off. If you want a permanent change or want to transform your body, you'll change your mind and make some gradual, important lifestyle choices and this book is a BFL recipe for success. Thousands of people have done it and so can you! ...
Now, get off yer hiney and start liftin'! :)
Book Review: Eat for Heart Disease and Death
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is an excellent example of writing a book about diet based on what people want to hear. The author obviously has NO KNOWLEDGE whatsoever of what is good and bad for you, as per what scientific studies show. The China Study (the biggest nutritional investigation ever undertaken on Earth, and a book available here) was headed by the Dr. Campbell, the Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and involved Oxford University and thousands of researchers investigating the health differences between different villages in China which had distinctly (but sometimes subtly different diet in each.) The finding were a linear progression that showed the more meat you eat the more heart attacks, strokes and cancer you get. This is THE definitive major study in the world, but if you'd like to see what thousands of other studies show, you can read the layman friendly read called "Eat TO Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman who's read over 60,000 scientific articles over the years, researching what is and isn't good for your health.
This book is bunk, advocating eating meat, chicken, ham, turkey, and cheesecake, all of which are some of the most health destructive foods on the planet. Avoid this book like the diseases following its diet will cause ! ! ! BTW, in the short term, one may feel more energetic or healthier on this poor diet, but in the long run you will still get all the debilitating diseases that we blame on aging but are really due to diet. And I know whereof I speak, as I'm a Physician myself, and have spent decades researching diet and nutrition, and the best summary book I've ever seen is Eat to Live, definitely NOT Eat for Life !
Book Review: Bad recipes, not so bad ideas
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this cookbook because I really do want to adopt a body for life lifestyle so that I can more easily maintain my weight. The cookbook is, well, pretty bad. The recipes are filled with processed foods (so far from clean eating), and half the book is Bill rewriting his BFL eating scheme and Myoplex shake "recipes."
What is beyond comprehension is the pictures. They are so gross! Bill has plenty of capital to pay a chef and photographer, but the pictures look like food poured out of army ration kits.
That all being said, I will use the book. I have an extremely limited imagination when it comes to cooking, and after stirfry and meatloaf, I come up empty. I'll use the book for it's simple ideas, I.e. "oh! chicken kabobs. I could eat that;" or "oh! chili. I could eat that." But, I'll convert all the recipes so that they are clean.
So, I'd say this book is worth about $14 to me. If you are on a challenge or have a very limited imagination like me, it might be worth it to buy a used copy. However, if it already occurred to you to eat chicken fajitas or chicken, broccoli and rice, then the book may not help you. A much superior cookbook is Tosca Reno's The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook: Great-Tasting Recipes That Keep You Lean. Not all the recipes in it are BFL-portioned, but it gives you a great foundation of clean and healthy things to make. And it is so much more worth the price that Eating For Life.
Book Review: Brilliant if a little hokey
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, the opening chapter was a bit hokey, but I guess the railing against the Fat Food Frenzy is deserved. Bill Phillips makes a major point though - you can make healthy and delicious meals in a short amount of time (he goes overboard here - fast food really is faster, don't try to convince us that it's not). But I think the real strength of the book is that it truly presents a way of "eating for life". Frankly, those Atkins dieters are off their rocker. You're telling me I can't drink a glass of orange juice in the morning? Those diets eventually end in a massive ingestion of carbs and failure.Here's what I like about the book: the recipes are great and easy to make. For example, the turkey meatloaf contains oatmeal and egg whites. It is disgustingly healthy and yet it tastes delicious. I really can live with this. The recipes are balanced and varied at the same time. Chicken enchiladas with cheese - awesome. To top it all off, you get one day off to eat anything you want.
I think the brilliance of the book is that all these years I've been looking for SOMETHING that doesn't require ridiculous sacrifice: no carbs, no fat, no sugar, etc. Stupid. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can eat this way 6 days a week, knowing that there's one day to indulge. The key is that it's all mental -- knowing that you don't have to "start" a diet on a Monday. You want a way of eating that is a seamless transition and where you can be in control. This book does that - highly recommended.
Book Review: Couldn't have done it without this
Summary: 5 Stars
When it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle, I am the type that needed to find a structured program. Bill Phillips Body for Life program was EXACTLY the instruction that I needed. This cookbook was absolutely essential to me meeting my goals (from 195 to 175 in twelve weeks).
I won't tell you the twelve weeks was easy, but Eating for Life cookbook helped immensly. Each Sunday, I planned out the weeks meals and went shopping. Twelve straight Sunday's to the grocery store. This book has some lousy recipes, but my wife and I found at least 15 of the dinner recipes to be in our rotation, as well as a few breakfasts and lunches. Just good, simple recipes that anyone is capable of making.
I want to be a witness that you do not have to buy the shakes and bars to do this. The cookbook provides many snack ideas if you are not wanting to drink the shakes. Personally, I hated the milkshakes, but did eat one of the Myoplex bars for my afternoon snack each day. Also, the free day is no joke. I ate freely whatever I pleased one day a week. Honestly, as the weeks went on, I didn't want to "pig out" on my free days. But I wouldn't hesitate to eat fast food, pizza, ice cream, whatever. I earned it.
The key to all of this is to PLAN both your workouts and meals each week. This book will bring you some variety for some very good meals each week, and I would recommend it to anyone who is realistic about wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle.