This program is similar to Mastering the Zone and Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution. The authors exploit the resurgence of the high-protein mentality. They claim that carbohydrates (sugars) are the cause for the obesity epidemic and insulin resistance in the United States. Therefore, by eliminating carbohydrates, they claim one will not overeat foods high in sugar and become insulin resistant, and weight loss will ensue.

As with this book's high-protein diet competitors, they choose carbohydrates as the foods to eliminate in order to reduce calories. No one argues that foods low in nutrition while high in calories (protein, fats and/ or carbohydrates), such as most desserts, are the best foods to eliminate when trying reduce unwanted fat stores. But to lump these foods in with all the healthy foods that contain carbohydrates is a crime.** If, indeed, your calories go down by removing carbohydrates, then weight loss will ensue and insulin sensitivity can return for discouraged individuals.

The Downside

The deception here is brilliant because an increase in body fat can lead to insulin resistance (IR). Therefore, lowering body fat with any method can reverse IR.

They make you believe that your carbohydrate intake (not weight gain) leads to the IR and that starts the increase in body fat. By removing carbohydrates, the calories decline, and succinctly body weight, leading to a reversal of IR. The authors win because you lost weight and became insulin sensitive again, but you lose because once you grow tired of protein and are starved for carbohydrates, you will rebound with a vengeance.**

The American Dietetic Association analyzed the recipes recommended by the book and found that each menu averaged a mere 1,200 calories a day. This is an unrealistic restriction on food intake that cannot be maintained. Keep in mind that weight loss itself reduces the disease symptoms of obesity; not necessarily the method in which one achieves it.

**The bottom line is that this food plan is not the best way to lower your food intake unless you are strictly throwing out junk food. You must maintain a healthy balance of good carbohydrates within a caloric allotment that promotes a healthy and desired level of body fat. It is not such a matter of what you eat, but how much you eat.