Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off! is a solid, easy-to-read nutrition book for those who want to get off the dieting merry-go-round. The author, a registered dietitian, health educator and clinician, breaks down every type of fad from the popular Paleo diet (eat like your ancestors) to the Blood Type diet (eat foods according to your blood type) to the latest craze, the 5:2 diet (intermittent fasting). She also weighs in on more sensible plans, such as Weight Watchers, offering practical ways to assess which programs might be most helpful.
By essentially housing all the fad diets under one roof, the author allows readers to see for themselves the absurdity of some of these “quick loss plans.” Jessica Alba wore two corsets night and day for three months to shed her baby pounds. “It was sweaty, but it was worth it,” she reported. Matthew McConaughey lost 38 pounds for his role in Dallas Buyers’ Club. His diet: two egg whites and a Diet Coke in the morning, a piece of chicken and another Diet Coke later in the day. “Not surprisingly, he notes that he was ‘always hungry and irritable.’’’
The author argues against fad diets, but isn’t necessarily against weight-loss programs that lead to healthy lifelong choices. Her style is friendly and approachable, whether giving tips on how to read nutrition labels or ideas for making changes (for example, she notes that putting half of a restaurant meal in a doggie bag at the beginning, rather than end, of the meal will put it out of sight and mind – and result in welcome leftovers).
If there’s a quibble with the book, it’s that it needed a tighter edit to eliminate unnecessary wordiness. Still, this is a valuable basic resource for those who want to improve their eating habits. Readers will have plenty of tools to put down the Doritos, get off the couch, and start making small steps toward healthy eating.
Also available as an ebook.
