Rating: 
Summary: It's like Susan Powter has no comprehension of reality
Review: I read this book and followed it religiously for over 6 months (exercise, low-fat, the whole deal). She convinced me that all I had to do was eat low fat...this is patently FALSE. The basic caloric equation cannot be voided simply because Powter believes in more conspiracies than Oliver Stone (her conspiracy theories throughout the book are incredibly naive and make her sound RIDICULOUSLY unintelligent). At the end of the day, low fat or not, losing weight is a matter of calories in fewer than calories expended. You simply cannot eat 52 potatoes in one day (even though they are very low in fat) if you do not expended 52 potatoes worth of energy (Powter claims you do not need to pay attention to calories as long as you are eating low fat and are exercising). This is patently false--you do need to pay attention to calories to the extent that the calories you take in should be fewer than those you expend. Powter's book smacks of opportunism at its worst... and that is appalling.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally a book that makes sense
Review: I started reading this book a year ago. I thaught it made great sense. But I guess I wasn't ready to follow it just yet.. Then last August I started reading it again and it clicked..I guess by then I was ready. I started watching what I hate and counting the percentage of fat in everything. What a discovery to think that some of the food I thaught was low fat was loaded with it... Of course going to the supermarket with my calculator wasn't always a blast.. but I got used to it and now I'm doing fine. I've lost 30 pounds since August 17, feeling great and for the first time in my life eating great meals, 3 times a day... To anyone who wants to change the way they eat I suggest this book, and you should try her cookbook too. Oh and by the way I'm hooked on her exercises tapes. Who would of taught that I could look forward to doing step workout 5 days a week.... Bye and good luck to all of you.
Rating:
Summary: A very eye-opening experience to the fitness & diet industry
Review: I thought this book was very straight forward and very exciting. you can feel the carisma she put forth into telling her story and relating it to the everyday woman.It really made me rethink the fad diets and quick weight loss plans. I couldn't put this book down once I started. It was excellent. I know I can lose weight and keep it off with just realizing what I was doing wrong and Susan helped me to see the errors.
Rating:
Summary: Most effective diet/fitness book I've ever read!
Review: I've been 'trying to lose weight/get fit' for 35 years. I've been through it all, tried everything, hated my body, hated food, finally gave up, and believed I'd never be under 200 lbs. again. Then I read Susan Powter's book, which explained things I'd never had explained to me before. I've been following her guidelines for 6 weeks, and today I weigh less than I have in 6 years. Ideal weight, here I come! And I'm eating pizza and french fries, midnight snacks, etc., and not 'depriving myself'! As a writer Ms. Powter is, at times, almost unreadable, but the information in this book has, pardon the cliches, changed my life. I feel great - this book has my highest recommendation! 2002 update: I reached my ideal weight for the first time in my life, and stayed that way, thanks to this book - don't believe the folks who say low-fat dieting is bunk, it really works!
Rating:
Summary: dazzling common-sense
Review: I've read a lot of diet books. This is the only one I believe in, the only one that makes any real sense. Susan Powter is a wee angel. Thankyou . . .
Rating: 
Summary: a good read but seriously flawed
Review: If you read the reviews which gave this book five stars you will discover few of the readers cite any actual weight loss they have experienced by following the book's advice. Instead they go on about how motivational the book is. I agree. It is a very entertaining read and Susan Powter comes across as an engaging personality. However her basic premise , that you can consume virtually unlimited quantities of food so long as it is low in fat is errant nonsense. You CAN'T.It is perfectly possible to get tubby on brown rice if you pile your plate high. Compare with reviewers of books which shun the high carb/ low fat myth - Protein Power and suchlike. You will find most of the reviewers have tried the diets and actually lost weight.
Rating:
Summary: The Truth About Health, Fitness - and how YOU can do it!
Review: Like so many, I have tried the diets - I thought I knew it all, did all that calorie counting stuff. IT JUST DOESN'T WORK! Susan Powter smashes through the myths and misinformation of the diet & fitness industry, explaining why every calorie reducing/starvation diet is doomed to fail in the long-term. She makes it all so simple and shows you how food can become your friend, not something you have to deny yourself or agonise over. I am following her advice and as a result, I'm getting fitter, leaner, feeling great and enjoying as much food as I want - whenever I want it. It's soooo much fun! Much of it is common sense, but she tells you how to avoid the pitfalls and cons, especially where food labelling is concerned. She also teaches the MOST EFFECTIVE way of getting the body you want. There are times when you think this woman is a little crazy! (She even says so herself) But you will come to realise that every line is relevant in making you understand where she came from, what she put up with and how she survived it all to become the wonderful person and teacher she now is. When I read her story; starting out 18+ stone (250+ pounds), alone, broke and miserable - then to the day she went shopping and bought a size 8, black string bikini - I couldn't help the tears. It gets me every time I re-read it. You too often see reviews which say "This book will change your life...". Well this book will NOT change your life if you only read HALF of it, or if you don't FOLLOW the advice properly. However, if you buy into Susan's philosophy and stick with it (at least 85% of the time!) you WILL improve - it's that good. The results are tremendous, but even better is the freedom from diet agony and knowing that you won't ever have to go through it again - that and all the many other benefits of health, strength and energy! If I could speak with Susan, I would tell her that I am learning to enjoy the process, I'm watching my body improve and I'm feeling very pleased with myself. I have a long way to go yet (only started a couple of months ago), but for the first time in my life I'm getting slimmer without being hungry or cutting out beer! Friends and colleagues are noticing and asking me "how?" and I'm spreading the word. I'm on course for that black string bikini (not I concept I have ever dared to entertain before) and to Susan Powter, I say thankyou, thankyou, THANKYOU!
Rating:
Summary: Great book if you read ALL of what she is saying.
Review: Several people reviewing this book think that Susan says to eat
anything and as much as you want. If you were really paying attention while you were reading, you will notice that she says
to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. She shows
examples of substitutes for high fat food, but I really don't think she intended for anyone to actually eat 800 grapes instead
of one chocolate chip cookie. Also, she does not condone eating
food high in sugar or processed grains. She does advise to eat
vegetables, whole grains, lean white meat, and fruits (organically grown even). Her advise is sound and does work, if
you are willing to get off your couch and exercise and be sensible about what you eat.
Rating:
Summary: Easy Read Really Works!
Review: Susan Powter is a little nuts, but this books is great. It taught me what I was doing wrong... or just I say how I had been tricked by the food industry and labels. I thought I was eating low fat for years, and I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing any weight. I now know how to figure out how much fat something has in relation to calories which is the key. For expamle "low fat" mayonise is 50% fat! Also how important exercise is. I lost over 50lbs and its not a struggle to keep off! Lots of great practical advice.
Rating:
Summary: Susan Powter is NOT a dietician and doesn't know what she's
Review: talking about (Susan Powter, meet Rosemary Green, author of the misguided "Diary of a Fat Housewife."The only thing Ms. Powter can write convincingly about - with power and authority - are her debacles when she was fat. A lot of her book radiates with hostility towards her ex. Her first exhusband - I believe by now she's gotten another ex - the one she raves about near the end of the book. At that point she has just gotten remarried and shares living space with her formerly hated first ex-husband - is she a control freak or what? ). The other good thing about Susan Powter's books/infomercials is that you can always just close the book, or turn the channel to silence her. The continuing relentness attitude of "I know everything and listen to me" wears thin very fast. She really needs to consider taking a meditation class to channel some of that erratic energy. Ms. Powter may be a good salesperson or marketing genius, but she doesn't give you credible information.
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