Healthy Weight Loss Diet Plan: Flip the Switch: Proven Strategies to Fuel Your Metabolism and Burn Fat 24 Hours a Day [Bargain Price] [Hardcover] Review

I obsessed for a couple of weeks before buying this book. I already had the "Low Fat Living" volume and had found it okay. It seemed to espouse a lot of the ideas promised in the advertisements for "Flip the Switch," so maybe I could save $35 and still eat better.

However, I did go ahead and try it out, which turned out to be a good decision. "Flip" has new science, starting out with a few lessons on hormones and how they control the body's chemical processes and why. With the recommendations for doing little things to turn on your metabolic thermostat (the Meta-Stat, they call it), you can keep yourself burning calories.

I found that when I understood what was going on with the body chemistry, it was easier to get myself to do the exercises, almost all of which are easy to work into even a busy daily schedule.

Most of the recipes are accessible, too. My favorites include anything to do with pistachios and chicken, as well as something called "peanut butter bursts," a delicious protein-filled, low but complex carb dessert that even my four-year-old loves.

Even the act of making the recipes is a sort of calorie-burner in itself, and it's fun. Most of the meals don't take that much time to make, especially after you get used to the process. It's not as easy as opening a carton, venting a plastic seal, and punching in a series of numbers on a keypad, but neither is it like building a piano.

One thing that did take some time was finding some of the ingredients. I'd never looked in some of the places I had to look now. Things like unsalted butter, toasted sesame oil, garlic and herb flavored goat cheese are not items I was in the habit of dropping into my cart. Besides the search time, I was afraid buying the ingredients would break the food budget, and for a while I did spend about three times as much as I did for salty, chemical-laden microwave meals, but after a couple of weeks, that expense plateaued and now I have most of the items I need for most of the recipes. All I have to do is buy the meat and I'm there.

Take a look at the salt and preservatives on the back of a box of a meal of shrimp. You're likely getting half a day's worth of salt. Then calculate the cost of buying a pound of fresh or frozen shrimp (about $4 in my area) and you'll find yourself singing the praises of this book, just like me.

And when you clean up, the stuff you wipe and throw away will make your garbage can smell like a gourmet meal.

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