The Reality Diet

The Reality Diet
Steven A. Schnur, M.D.
Penguin Group
ISBN: 1-58333-250-2
Non-Fiction, Health
Reviewed by Nicole Martin

This is a diet book written by a cardiologist, therefore you can expect no lose it quick fads or less than heart healthy recipes. It starts with reminders such as calories in vs calories out, 3500 calories equal 1 pound, exercise is not essential to losing weight, but is essential to heart health, etc.
Dr. Schnur explores the myths about weight loss and follows them with the reality. The Reality Diet suggests Fight Fat with Fiber. The book has a total of 417 pages -- 214 of those pages are meal plans and recipes to help you love your diet. This is a diet cookbook that could keep on the kitchen countertop and have, at your fingertips, a variety of delicious and well seasoned meal! Taste or lack thereof, is a major factor in being able to stay with a diet long enough to achieve lasting results. A diet prepared by a Cardiologist, honestly, I expected a tasteless variety of grasses and leaves! (kidding, a little). I was pleasantly surprised to see desserts, my downfall, such as Italian Almond Cake with figs, Blueberry Vanilla Custard, Maple Peach Cobbler (my favorite), Blackberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Milkshakes and so much more!
Breakfast, my next biggest favorite, offered Waffles topped with Strawberries and Ricotto, ham and cheese toast and much more. There are dinners that include pastas, cheeses, steak and breads! It’s enough to get you excited about the taste of dieting!!
Another interesting fact I noted was a highlighted article titled, Three Cheers for Chocolate which begins by telling us that although chocolate is not exactly a diet food, it could be one of the healthiest sweet treats around. Hurray for chocolate lovers!
There is so much information here. Some of it will serve only as reminder of what we already know, some will thrill you to learn, and the recipes are worth more than the cost of the book. Happy Dieting!