The Fast Metabolism Diet - A Book Review


I'm still considering trying this diet.  It's just so strict, and 28 days..  These are some of the resources I have been looking at, and below is my goodreads review of the book.

One bloggers experience with the diet

Another Bloggers experience with the diet

A Pinterest board that shows some of the recipes/food choices

Daily Health Post article - page 1 seems encouraging, but make sure you read page 2 as well



My GoodReads Review
I can't figure out how to rate this book. Do I rate it purely on writing, or on content? And how would I rate the content, the diet, without trying it to see how it works? I'm at a loss.

The first half of this book reads a lot like an infomercial. You'll read about clients who have been angry - yes "angry" - at her "because this was so easy", and you'll read about how this is not a diet, and about how much food you get to eat, etc.

It sounds great. A little too good to be true. 

And then you get to the actual diet. Which "isn't a diet!", but eliminates all corn, wheat (only sprouted breads & tortillas 2 days a week) dairy, caffeine (not even decaf coffee or tea is allowed) refined sugar, and most fats. That, to me, is a diet. For 28 days, no yogurt, no cheese, no coffee. Definitely no desserts, ice cream, not even a hamburger at a cook out - that is a diet. It made me a little angry, after all of the hype, to read how difficult this diet will be to follow. Although she states over and over that all of these ingredients can easily be found in any grocery store, that is definitely not true in my area. I will have to visit a health food store for items like almond butter, and sprouted bread. But, to be fair, my local grocery store has horse and buggy parking and the entire store is smaller than the entrance area of some super wal-marts.

I googled the diet and found a couple of blogs where women have tried it, and apparently it does work. Other sites have stated that of course it works, it is an extremely low calorie, low fat, diet. Quite a few have tried the diet, lost up to 10lbs the first week, but then quit the second week because it was so restrictive. That is my fear, that it is just way too restrictive for 28 days.

The exercise is just as regimented. I've been running 3 times a week, this program allows running only two days a week, day one and day two - phase 1 of the diet. On days 2 & 3 strength training only, and days 4-7 yoga or meditation only. I'm nervous that I would lose the progress I have made with my lung capacity and running on that schedule. It also eliminates all flexibility. Currently if I have to switch my run days around do to weather, or our schedule, it's no big deal - but on this plan, if it's thunder storming on Monday and Tuesday, or the kids schedules get in my way, I either have to find a treadmill or skip my run for the week and substitute some other cardio exercise. That concerns me almost as much as the restrictive food choices. But I DO need to add more strength training, I've known that for awhile. 

The facts and science seem sound, although I have not researched them to be sure they are accurate, they make a lot of sense. The three phases each week allow for a lot of variety. The diet is do-abe, it's just not as easy as she hyped it up to be in the first few chapters.

With all of my reservations, the book still just makes enough sense to make me want to try it. I think I will ease myself into it first. Rather than starting the full diet straight off, I will try a week of making sure I drink that much water (half your body weight) eating every 3-4 hours (at least 5 times a day)making sure I eat within 30 minutes of waking up, and for the first week I will try her specific breakfast recipes. I'm not expecting the drastic results that her diet offers, but those are sound principles that I should have been following all along anyway.

She is honest that this is like a medical treatment, and you have to treat it as such. If a dr told me I had to follow a specific therapy after a surgery, I would do it, no matter how difficult. In theory. In reality, I tend to follow the drs instructions only about half as long as they prescribed them for, and that is why I doubt my ability to follow 28 days of this diet as well. 


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