By 

Bill Cashell “Author of The Emotional Diet” (Omaha, Nebraska) –

  

  

If you are familiar with the famous The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, then you have probably heard of the author, Dr. Arthur Agatston. If not, The south Beach Diet is a 3 phase semi-restrictive program designed for healthy weight loss.

His follow-up book, The South Beach Wake-Up Call is meant to be just that – a way to raise the awareness of everyone about the impact of highly processed, sugar-laden foods with a sedentary lifestyle. While this will not really come as a surprise to anyone, when someone holds the consequences up in your face, it becomes much harder to ignore. That is the purpose of this book – to actually show us what we are doing to our health and what to do about it.

This book is easy to read due to the excellent formatting. The entire book is made up of small sections that make it easy to pick it up and continue from anywhere. The book is basically a problem / solution guide that is broken down into 3 sections:

Part 1- The Health of Our Nation: Condition Critical. This section has 9 chapters defining the problem with today’s lifestyles. I really love books like this that have solid information without a lot of useless babble. The author does a great job of exploring the problems in today’s environment, citing examples of real life patients. I really enjoy the way he explains the medical
information in easy-to-understand format without a condescending tone. This part is the real wake-up call. I think we all realize that today’s lifestyles are not that good, but when we actually see the effects, it certainly makes us take notice.

Part 2 – The South Beach Wake Up Program. This section contains 7 chapters with the 7 strategies for healthy, positive life. If you were expecting the basic South Beach Diet here, you might be surprised. This is a different approach from Dr. Agatston’s earlier books. The first strategy is to get read of the clutter in your life and clear your mind to be more in control. The other strategies also include ways to change your behavior, such as shopping at the farmers market, turn off the TV, and encourage conversation. I believe this is the key to getting results. Knowing what to do is easy, knowing how to do it is even more important. When you see the benefits, you are much more motivated.

Part 3 – Mega Foods and Mega Recipes for Healthy Eating. This is basically a collection of recipes that include the preparation time and the health benefits. The list includes recipes for breakfast, main dishes, snacks and even deserts. The section ends with a master shopping guide for healthy foods and a list of resources.

The bottom line: If you choose to read this book, it will probably be wake up call for you. Of course, the author does plug The South Beach Diet, which is one of the better diets around. I really enjoyed the Dr. Agatston’s writing style, and his attention-getting approach. I can’t say that it is the best book on eating I have read, but I have to give it 4 1/2 stars for the wealth of information it provides, even beyond food. This would be a good book to combine with other nutrition books such as Beyond Broccoli, Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn’t Work.

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