The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss

by Tanya Zuckerbrot

Book Overview

Updated with must-have new recipes, diet tips, and research. Discover the simple secret to permanent weight loss and optimal health, as seen on Dr. Oz.

Fad diets come and go, but after more than two decades of success stories and media attention, The F-Factor Diet has stood the test of time. Now hailed as the go-to lifestyle program for anyone who wants to improve their health and lose weight for good, F-Factor's scientifically...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399533745
• ISBN13: 9780399533747
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Tarcherperigee
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

It REALLY works

I'm starting on Week Four, after having read this book, and can only say: it's simple, it works and I'm loving it. The book is easy to understand, it's clear and helpful. The lifestyle diet, most importantly, is simple to adhere to and I'm losing weight. I even stuck to it in Florida on a vacation! In fact, my mother watched me eating on this diet and said "I can't believe you can actually lose weight eating that much food." But I did and I am! I find the book to be encouraging and realistic and it certainly does help to understand WHY certain things will assist in the weight loss process. The author treats the reader like an adult and assumes one can understand the ins and outs of nutrition and explains it in-depth but with humor, clarity and encouragement. I don't love the crackers but then again, there is so much food containing fiber that it's not entirely necessary to eat them in order to remain on the diet. I think the reviewer who said that there are a lot of product endorsements is being ridiculous. Readers need and want clear ideas as to how to stay on this healthy lifestyle plan and the author gives them. Try this. You won't be sorry and you'll feel great doing it. I promise.

An education on how to eat for life!

If you've been looking for a way to internalize an approach on how to eat for life, then I can't recommend this program highly enough. This morning I completed the two-week long Step 1 part of the program and I have lost 10.5 lbs. (and I didn't exercise once during this period)! As the book promised, I was able to dine out frequently from day one, which I did at places like Chipotle, Longhorn Steakhouse, Bertucci's, and Wegman's. What this program does is teach you that lean proteins and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet, supplemented by reasonable portions of nuts, berries, fruit, high fiber whole grains, and healthy fats. Not once did I ever feel deprived. In fact, the whole of step 1 was actually a great pleasure. I really enjoyed having Fiber One cereal mixed with Dannon Crave Control yogurt to start my day each morning and it is now my standard breakfast. Lunch was often grilled chicken salad topped with salsa at a Mexican restaurant or rotisserie chicken (skin removed) with sesame green beans from the grocery store cafe. Dinner might be something like filet mignon with a side of asparagus (great to eat in the spring!) or Old Bay seasoned shrimp (steamed at the grocery store) accompanied by a vegetable salad topped with olive oil and vinegar. Daily snacks were 1-2 pieces of low fat string cheese, a cup of raspberries, and 1 - 1/2 ounces of nuts (all kinds). If I wanted something in the evening I would have either a tofutti pop or a celery heart with a wedge or two of laughing cow cheese. Since I had chosen a high fiber fruit (raspberries have 8 g per cup), and was also getting about 4 grams of fiber from the daily serving of nuts, I never even needed to eat "the cracker" to reach my fiber goal for the day. This seemed to be somewhat of a stumbling block for a few other reviewers and I'm not sure why. In response to one reviewer's comment about there being no guidance on the monitoring of fats, I heartily disagree. The book contains a nice, very thorough listing of items that constitute a serving of fat. The author clearly says on page 44 that "since you need some fat in your diet, opt for the unsaturated fats and use them in moderation". That's exactly what I did, having 2 -3 servings daily between nuts and olive oil. If you're reasonable about it, there's simply no need to track one more thing on top of the fiber and carbs already being tracked as part of the program. Today I begin Step 2 of the program. This is when you get to add 3 servings of carbohydrate to your daily diet until you reach your target weight. It's exciting because you really can have any food you want, as long as you stay within the 45 g limit. I've already got my cupboard and freezer stocked with mini-bags of microwave popcorn, whole grain pretzels, portion controlled mini-cupcakes and frozen treats, etc. I really just can't say enough good things about this program. It works! If you're really ready to lose weight while learning how

I dropped 11 pounds and my cholesterol is down 58 points!

I have great news! I had my Blood Lipids retested after following The F-Factor Diet for 3 Months. Yesterday I vistited my Doctor to go over the results. My Doctor was just flabbergassed with the resutls. He could not believe the improvements were a result of just Diet and Exercise. Since my last visit with him for my Annual Physical December 27, 2006, I : DROPPED 11 LBS., Total Weight DROPPED MY TRIGLYCERIDES by 137 POINTS DOWN FROM 222 TO 85 DROPPED MY GLUCOSE FROM 97 TO 93 DROPPED MY TOTAL CHOLESTEROL by 58 POINTS DOWN FROM 207 TO 149 DROPPED MY LDL CHOLESTEROL OVER 30 POINTS DOWN FROM 131.2 TO 101 and The Bad News was: DROPPED MY HDL CHOLESTEROL .4 POINTS DOWN FROM 31.4 TO 31, So my Doctor has prescibed NIASPAN to bring my HDL up and I need to go back to him the end of June to get my Blood Lipids checked again. I told my Doctor that it was your "F-Factor Diet" that made the difference. The way the doctor looked, I think he believed that he was going to have to prescribe Cholesterol medicine to correct my Cholesterol, because he kept on saying "So you did this all through Diet and Exercise". and my reply to him was "Yes, all F-Factor Diet along with Exercise". Once again, Thanks for such a wonderful book. Without it, I wouldn't be in the physical shape I'm in. Thanks! David

Very Pleased!

When my friend suggested I try reading this book, I rolled my eyes and went through my list of why "diets don't work". She convinced me to give it a try and to my surprise I found the information in this book to be extremely useful as well as easy to digest. I understand why choosing fiber rich foods are important not just for weight loss but also for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I would definitely recommend this book! In addition, I have to disagree with the negative comment posted about the book trying to sell the reader certain products. People trying to lose weight or adopt a healthier lifestyle are looking for easy, simple ways to make positive changes. If a book happens to suggest recognizable products or brands I think most readers would find that very helpful and help make weight loss goals more attainable. If you are going to pick one "diet" book, I suggest you give this one a try! All of my friends are now working more fiber into their diets as a result of reading this book.

REAL LIFE RESULTS... Day 42 of the Diet

***My review, like all the others, both positive and negative alike, should not in any way influence your decision to purchase or pass on this book. Weight loss is a personal struggle. What works for someone, may not work for someone else. My review is merely intended to share the fact that I have not "tried" this diet - I have PRACTICED it for ONE FULL MONTH and I am excited to share the results of my effort. I genuinely wish you luck in your weight loss journey!*** Day 42 of the Diet: Total pounds EVICTED from ME: 16.5 (can we just call it 17, or do we have to be formal here?) And, the shocker...My husband announced a 6 pound drop on the scale (and all I changed was his DINNER!) in the past month. The biggest change I've made is NOT bringing carbs to the table at night. No starchy veggies, rice or potato side dishes since I've started. From DAY ONE, I offered to continue to make these sides for the husband, but he voluntarily passed at first because he "didn't want to tempt" me by eating something I couldn't/shouldn't. My (oh so brilliant) mom started to portion out a package of instant mashed potatoes into single-serving size baggies/containers so that my dad gets 1 serving of potatoes or rice with his meals on occasion and I found the single serving Corn with butter sauce/Broccoli in Cheese sauce for when my husband deserves a "treat". Anyway...now my husband walks into the kitchen as I'm putting food on the plates at dinner and says "I'll have what you're having" and I load the plate with approximately 2-3 cups of a couple of veggies (rotating and using up leftovers so we don't get stuck eating broccoli or green beans EVERY night in the week). And, a HUGE piece of meat - like 8 ounces of juicy steak, a monster chicken breast, or a massive pork chop. I simply plan my day around some FANTASTIC dinner! If I do something "different" like marinate the chops in Soy Vay teriyaki seasoning, I get the question "and all this stuff is on your diet?" and the answer is always YES. In fact, last night I made a microwave teriyaki rice from Uncle Ben that served 2 people and had my parents over so the guys had a massive veggie stir fry piled high on their plates WITH RICE - died and gone to heaven!- and 8-10 oz of grilled terriyaki pork chops. The husband (and my dad) continues to eat pasta in Italian restaurants, and would never dream of giving up the chips & salsa, nachos, hot dogs & beer - but, if he continues to eat healthier at home and simply indulges when he's out then I suppose there's no harm... Side note - I'm a month away from having blood work done again, and it will be interesting to see how the cholestoral, glucose (my own personal, currently non-diabetic, horror) and blood pressure compare from last year to this year. As always, I really hope you are able to find the food plan that becomes a life style and is easy to adapt to your family. Good luck! Day 32 of the Diet: ONE SIZE DOWN! Seriously, does it get any bette