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★★★★★
Combined detoxification and weight loss for the real world
Gittleman's Fast Track Detox Diet brings together two problems that usually are treated separately--detoxification and weight loss--and does a credible job at answering the needs of both. Moreover, no matter what approach one ultimately takes toward losing weight and establishing weight maintenance, her book is a good starting point. The reason is simple: whether or not an individual gained weight because of environmental toxins, it is certainly the case that toxins are stored preferentially in fatty tissues and are released when a person diets. This release of toxins has been shown to be one of the major factors involved in dieting mood swings and in the slowing of weight loss. Simple fasts cause toxins to be released, but these compounds are quickly reabsorbed under fasting conditions, plus the body reacts badly to being suddenly pushed to the wall with fasts. Gittleman knows this and therefore carefully prepares the dieter in the period up to the fast, tells the dieter what to consume to prevent the metabolism from plummeting during the fast, and then maps out an approach for the days following the fast.
Something that I have always liked about Gittleman is that she is very aware of the maxim, "do no harm." Are there more thorough detoxifications available? Of course, but few of us have the luxury of following them, which sometimes I think is a good thing. Are there faster weight loss approaches being marketed? Of course, although speed and lasting weight loss seldom go hand-in-hand. Gittleman describes an initial approach that gets results for the dieter about as quickly as anyone could ever reasonably hope for, yet does not lead to a nasty rebound in weight gain. Thereafter, I would suggest that dieters follow, instead, the approach given in The Fat Flush Plan for consistent and lasting weight loss.
In short, this is a good and useful book. I agree with Gittleman that the data is overwhelming linking environmental toxins to metabolic disorders. Yet even aside from the issue of stored toxins, the preponderance of individuals with weight problems suffer from sub par liver performance and can use Gittleman's tune-up to improve their results from dieting. Highly recommended.
April 2005 · Books