The Fiber35 Diet: Nature's Weight Loss Secret Paperback – Illustrated, February 12, 2008

I got this book because I have tried and tried with The Sonoma and South Beach Diets and finally decided that what I was doing could be defined as insanity; "doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result". Those diets, along with other higher protein and lower carb diets, never fit me or my lifestyle. I kept telling myself that I needed to make a change and kept trying to force myself to make changes. The problem was (is) that it never felt like anything I could do for a lifetime.Years ago I did a low-fat diet and I lost weight easily and kept it off easily for about 5 years. I exercised a lot and was in the best shape of my life. I began to gain a little weight and instead of looking at my program and tweaking it I let myself gain 15 or more pounds before decided to stop and take a look at my diet. At about that time there was a lot of buzz about how low fat diets don't work . . . ironically, I believed it even though it had worked for me and for 5 years!For the next 6 years I bounced back and forth between The Zone, Atkins, South Beach Diet, and The Sonoma Diet. I gained the same 10-15 pounds over and over with a net result of being heavier than when I started 6 years ago. Making a lifestyle change is hard and nearly impossible if the diet doesn't "gel" or fit naturally.One day I was frustrated with spinning my wheels and stated looking at Amazon for a low-fat diet book. There aren't many lower fat diet books because most of the buzz is about the type of diets that I have been doing and haven't worked for me. I ran into Fiber35 and I thought it sounded great. I noticed right away that the type of foods that I "can" eat are the kind of foods I "want" to eat. It fit!Fiber35 is working for me. This just fits for me and my family. I taped the Fiber35 program on IPTV. Eating more fiber works by helping aid in weight loss, blood stabilazation, and improve our immunity. I prefer getting my fiber from real food so that I can get a lot of healthy phytonutrients that fight disease but may use a supplement.There are other healthy diets out there but this one just fits. When I prepare my menu I am happy about the choices and look forward to eating and serving my family what I have prepared. Before I sat down with my cookbook to make my menu and I honestly thought "maybe it wont be that bad". I would sigh and tell myself that it was "good for me" so it was what I had to make to be healthy. I hoped that after doing the diet for a while that I would learn to love the food I was eating. The authors say that we will stop craving "junk" food so I thought maybe I would start craving slabs of meat and boring or odd side dishes. I never did and therefore would sway from being on a diet to being off a diet. My weight was like a yo-yo.This week I have lost 4 pounds (6 days). I already have more energy which is huge for this time of year. Normally, I am dog tired from the thaw and coming of spring (seasonal allergies). Not this year.I have tweaked the diet a little. I really believe in low-fat diets so I am watching my fat grams. My goal is to have 20-40 fat grams and 35-55 grams of fiber each day. I do keep an eye on my calories but I don't worry too much about it.I journal every meal and am trying to work on my goal of journaling it before I eat it instead of eating and then journaling.I have always exercised. I still do and will continue.I will update my progress as I go along with Fiber35. It is very healthy and so easy . . . it fits me.

I originally heard about this book on PBS where I found what she had to say interesting.I bought the book not to lose weight, but to learn more about putting extra fiber in my diet and the health benefits.I also learned, or so she says, of you use a sauna, it will increase your metabolism and heart rate, and help you use weight.This book was an easy read and I learned a lot from it. Fiber is good for you...make sure you get enough.If my review helped you, please click on "helpful" below. Thank you.

Wish I'd had this book 40 years ago. I've yo-yo dieted all my life and regained weight immediately after every diet. Always hungry, miserable, and tired. With this approach, I have gone from 185 to 129 in under a year and kept it off. I'm satisfied, feel great, love what I eat, and have no trouble adapting at restaurants and social events. And remarkably, I know I will never gain the weight back because the diet is just part of living and feels completely natural. There is a reason why Americans in the latter 20th century started ballooning up - our population wasn't obese before then and our overseas cousins are still mostly thin, so it isn't our genes. And, with the possible exception of American Samoa, the only super-obese people in large numbers are here. (Go anywhere overseas and you'll see a few people with an extra 15 middle-aged pounds, but not the vast swaths of gigantic folks carrying 100-plus extra pounds - check out the customers at any American Wal-Mart.) The philosophy and theory behind this nutritional approach is so obvious that it makes you wonder why we've missed it. I'm not into the toxin and colon cleansing info in the latter chapters of the book, but the diet, nutrition, and metabolic stuff is right on. Be ready for many "ah-ha" moments.

While there is useful information in this book, most of the information has been around for quite awhile. You can find all kinds of excellent books about adding fiber to your diet at your local library. Still I purchased this book in the hopes of obtaining some brand names for some of the fiber supplements the author recommended (via her PBS program), and for a listing of the fiber grams contained in foods. I was disappointed that except for her own line of products (Renew brand), which were not specifically fiber supplements but additional products, this information was not included in the book. When an author raves on PBS and in her book about fiber drinks, fiber wafers, etc., you expect to be given some brands names so you know which the author thinks are the healthiest. Being advised to just check out your local health foods store and supermarket doesn't really help most people. There are unhealthy foods even in health food stores and some ingerdients added to many fiber supplements such as sugar or fructose are not the healthiest additives. Based on her extensive background I was expecting much more from this author. I also agree with the reviewer who thought many of the reviews sounded suspicious. I thought so when I read them but still hoped I would find something useful.