The Schwarzbein Principle
By Diana Schwarzbein, MD & Nancy Deville
Copyright 1999
350 pages
I read this book on a recommendation from Colleen at Loose Leaf Notes in one of my comments and on a recommendation from a non-blogging friend.
I received a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble for Christmas and used it to buy this book and a follow-up to it called The Program. I have not yet read that book.
This book makes a lot of sense, more than most I have read, and I actually understood it. I generally cannot comprehend diet books - some brain defect or something has them leaving me going huh? every time I read one.
But I understood this one. The diet involved is very similar to Atkins ... but not. The focus is on fewer carbs and more protein. Women should have 60 grams of protein, which I thought was a lot.
I don't eat a lot of meat so I suspect this is part of my problem. I went on a low-fat diet this summer at the behest of my doctor and gained 10 pounds. It was like an all-carb diet. The weight gain halted when I stopped dieting and just started eating whatever I wanted, but now I need to lose that weight plus the rest I was trying to lose to begin with.
I will continue to read The Program and in the meantime I will make changes to my diet and see what happens. I am pretty sure if I'd just stop drinking soda it would make a difference, and many days I don't drink soda, but some days I drink as a many as three. Those are not often, though, and generally indicative of a *really* bad day. And they're caffeine free sodas, at that. Just not sugar free.
I have already recommended this book to several people. Even if I don't follow the diet, and I hope to, this is a good book to read if you're interested in your health.
4.5 stars
I've become convinced that different diets work for different bodies.
ReplyDeleteGreat! Keep us posted. This way of eating helps with my CFS too. I discovered it by trial and error on my own and then when my husband was reading the book, I said, "That's how I HAVE to eat."
ReplyDeleteI am finding the lack of carbs (I just mispelled that as crabs, I suspect a Freudian slip there), a little difficult; I am pretty sure I am addicted to sugar. But I'm giving it a go.
ReplyDeleteHow does this diet differ from South Beach or Sugar Busters? Can you eat absolutely no carbs? If so, how is it different from Atkins? Guess I could look it up, but thought you might have a quick answer. Hope by now your body's adjusted and that you're not craving carbs so much.
ReplyDeleteJune - it differs from Atkins in that allows more carbs; it differs from South Beach in that it doesn't want you eating any processed foods at all; it prohibits a lot of things allowed on other diets, like certain cheeses, for instance, and bacon with nitrates in them.
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