6-Day Body Makeover: Drop One Whole Dress or Pant Size in Just 6 Days--and Keep It Off

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It Is An Uphill Battle But It Works, 2008-09-16
I was constantly bombarded by Michael Thurman's commercial for the 6 Week Body Makeover every morning before I went to work. However, I don't always trust infomercials and how they handle payments. So I looked for the book format and found the 6Day Body Makeover instead. br / br /I haphazardly skimmed the book and it took some time for me to decide to go ahead with the diet because it takes some preparation. I was stoked going through the body profile questionnaire till I found out I was the body type who couldn't have beans, white rice,bananas nor oranges as all of these were my favorite foods. br / br /I lasted on the diet for only about 1 week and probably lost a pant size (I don't believe in weighing myself) so I had to go and buy new clothes after that one week. I would like to have continued it after one week because I am sure the first week was mostly water weight loss as the diet heavily restricts you from salt and sodas. There is a reason I didn't continue with the diet: br / br /1) I starved. br /The diet doesn't starve you at all UNLESS you really don't take the time to prepare your meals sometime during the week. I thought I could hack it with the grilled piece of chicken for the entire week... not so. You have to eat several times of day and then the variety is gone if you come in with the thought that two differently prepared meat dishes will suffice throughout the week. However, if you find yourself hungry, they allow for you to eat a little extra food like fruits or veggies or protein that's on your list of foods for your body type. So you really don't starve on this diet at all. br / br /2) Its really restrictive. br /I had to forgo milk products, salt, chocolate, oil, and bread. However, I still managed to lose weight even though I would cheat and have a cookie maybe once or twice a day. They have recipes to replace your sweet tooth foods... some of the recipes are okay... but not the same as a real chocolate chip cookie. br / br /3) You become OCD. br /As a person who rarely eats a prepared breakfast, let alone breakfast at all, this diet makes you super organized. I had to buy a super large lunch bag to carry all of the different tupperware containers of food for my day at work. br / br /What really made it hard for me to get back on the diet is that I am the worse cook in the world. So I really couldn't get the variety I needed in the diet and enjoy the food at the same time. I am thinking about starting this diet again if I can find a local dietician who can prepare my food for me in advance. Or, I can spend the extra money and buy the 6 Week Body Makeover for the numerous of recipes that they have. The other downer about this diet is that a lot of people complain about having headaches due to your new salt intake. I never had headaches on this diet unless I cheated and ate something with salt in it- this sensation can keep you attached to the diet even if you want to get off of it. br / br /Pros about this diet includes: br / br /1) I actually got used to really yummy fresh foods. br /I learned how to make my own salsa which didn't taste that bad and some of the baked chicken recipes didn't hurt either. Whenever I wanted to cheat, and had something from a fast food joint or a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner, the fast food or Lean Cuisine stuff just didn't taste as yummy as the fresh food I've learned to prepare on the diet. br / br /2) You'll eat healthy for once and learn to incorporate a healthy lifestyle. br /I really didn't understand this till sometime after ending the diet as I was listening to a nutritionist on the radio who talked about anti-inflammatory foods. The 6WBM makes you eat tons of these anti-inflammatory foods like strawberries and cherries which is good for those who are diabetic or may have heart issues. br / br /3) I felt really good on that diet. br /When I wasn't starving due to my lack of food preparation. br /I had suffer from something some docs considered a groin pull and a pinched nerve with my arm and when I was on this diet it seemed to magically cure these issues. Also, I had bloated/aggrivated stomach issues and those also went away. Now my new, more responsible PCP has diagnosed me with endometriosis. This type of diet is a diet highly suggested for those with endometriosis and PCOS. Also, your sweat on this diet isn't stinky like normal sweat was, so I guess I was detoxifying my system at the same time. br / br / br /One diet isn't best for everyone, but I highly suggest for everyone to look at this book if you suffer from weight issues, or even if you're still thin but just want to shed a few pounds because a lot of what is in this book covers what any basic nutrition class would teach you. The only thing that's unusual is the water intake amount it wants you to have. Some may consider it extreme according to people's weight and it may actually cause people to get sick. Instead of doing the 10 glasses or more water a day as suggested, I would just stick with 8. Even then I barely did 8 glasses a day and still managed to lose weight. br / br /For a successful weight loss on this diet I would make a slow transition into it. For example, for one week skip having sodas and fruit drinks and drink water. Or slowly ween yourself off of cookies and stuff and substitute with fruits. Learn to give up your biggest sin before starting because if you go straight into it without shocking your body a little, you would probably go postal and no one at work will like you. br / br /It took me some time to put on weight after quitting this diet. So that is why I am so sure this is a more successful diet than most. br /

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Not quite nutritionally sound, 2008-09-10
The book looks thorough enough. It looks well-researched and seems to have some great menus put together that are nutritionally sound. My husband followed the diet to a T. And yes, two days into the diet, he noticed about a pound come off and had more energy. br / br /Unfortunately, three days into the diet, my husband began having charlie horse-like spasms all over his body. The book fails to take into account that not all sodium is bad for you, and that your body requires at least some sodium to function properly. After three days, my husband stopped this diet and reverted to The Zone: A Dietary Road Map to Lose Weight Permanently : Reset Your Genetic Code : Prevent Disease : Achieve Maximum Physical Performance, which works much better, is suited for long-term use, and is nutritionally balanced.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

It works, 2008-09-07
Well, it does work if you can stick with it. I did one week and dropped five pounds but after that it's kind of hard to stick to. Well, at least for me. But you do feel good when you eat like that.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

It works, who would have thought?, 2008-08-15
I was really hoping that this book would work for me. yeah..another diet book. hum. But since I'm a big fan of extreme makeover I thought I'd give it a try. br /I currently have 20 lbs to lose. I lost 7 lbs in 1 week. After 3 days I was able to get a pair of shorts past my thighs and was able to button them up without passing out! br / br /The diet is a challenge to stick to. The first day was the day I experienced the most pain and suffering. Drink 100ozs? I never did make that amount. 64oz was my limit. After each day I knew where all the bathrooms were in every store I visited. Felt like being pregnant again. br / br /I did prepare all the meals in one day..it did take a few hrs to get it all organized, as it was my first time. That is a great bonus beacuse I was able to grab and go the right thing to eat instead of being rushed and eating unhealthy foods full of fat. br /Plus because I made the meals in advance I had lots of time to prepare meals for my family and sit down with them at mealtimes..with my own special foods. br / br /Eating 'on time' was a bit of a challenge because I'm not used to eating 6 meals a day. I now look forward to those little meals and my stomach is so full before I can finish all the foods. Even though I know I'm supposed to eat everything I never did make it. br / br /THE PROS br /This meal plan taught me: br /*To discover new vegetables and they are healthier and tastier to steam. br /*To discover new spices and found balsamic vinegar and love it, Mrs Dash table blend is awesome. br /* To drink lots of water throughout the day. br /* knowing I'm reparing the damage I've done over the years and being happier that I am healthier. br /* got my children interested in my varieties of veggies and they now love them also. (children and steamed veggies? never thought I'd see the day) br /* My husband wants to try it for himself. br / br /THE CONS br /*I hated the turkey patties. I know they would have tasted better with ketchup and if I couldn't have that as a dipping sauce that I couldn't even go there. br /*I couldn't eat 'greens' without some sort of tasty dressing..so never ate them either. It was better to do without. br /*It is hard not to break my bad habit of snacking after dinner. But I survived it by having 1/2 cup or 1/2 more grapefruit. The recipe with spenda and cinnamon is dee-lish! Also the rice pudding is amazing. br /In the end I have learned to switch up meals. If I don't want egg whites in the morning I eat chicken. Then have my egg whites in rice pudding for lunch. I figure as long as I get everything in during the day this can be accomplished otherwise it gets boring. br / br /I'm going to keep going until I reach my goal. I am looking forward to having a baked potato again but instead of a big one will settle for 4 small creamer potatoes. Its all about compromise. br / br /2 days before I got started with the plan as I was busy reading this book I was thinking? Gawd Almighty! I was so excited I wanted to start right away. Thinking I had 2 more days of unhealthy eating made me sick. br / br /We are going on vacation next week. We will get a hotel room with a kitchen. I am preparing all my meals before we go and will eat them all week. I know it can be done. br / br /This book is the best yet because it really does work if you are committed enough to stick with it. I love the fact that everything is listed and the right amounts. It's really dummy proof. br /I had no problem finding all the foods in my local supermarket. br / br / br /

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Good fundamentals and advice, BUT..., 2008-05-27
You really have to make it your own. As with any diet, if you follow it EXACTLY, you will lose weight. BUT, who follows a diet, exactly 100% of the time? Robots, maybe. . .and that I am not. You can get great fundamentals about dieting, your body type, food advice, what to shop for. I think that the reader has to be more open-minded that he/she has to see what modifications they can do to make this diet (as with any other) their "own". Plus, making a lifestyle change is what it's all about. Dieting does not work, we all know that. If you don't know that, you'll find out soon enough. It's like cleaning a house, you have to start somewhere and work your way through the house. Your body is just like that, you can make small to big changes and enjoy your journey to better health. You didn't just wake up and BAM!...you're fat. It crept up. You might have lived "too good" of a life. This book offers great advice. But as far as the menu/food choices, I believe it's up to the reader to create their own parallel to this system.