The Pritikin Principle: The Calorie Density Solution

by Robert Pritikin

Searching for a simple and precise weight loss program that will help you lose--and keep off--extra pounds, one that won't have you tracking numbers, weighing portions, or depriving your body of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0737016167
• ISBN13: 9780737016161
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Time Life Medical
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Huge contribution to health

Robert Pritikin has made terrific contributions to our ability to control our own health destiny. This same program helps us lose weight, control heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and reduce cancer risk.

Nathan Pritikin was far ahead of the rest

This is exactly the advice given by the modern advocates of a healthy diet including Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Fuhrman. In order to be healthy we must eat whole grains, fruit, and vegetables which are all less calorie dense than fat laden foods (meats, fats, and refined "factory" foods). Nathan Pritikin died at age 69 not because of his diet. He suffered an early death from cancer due to a medical fool who had MD as his title (not much has changed over the years). He was given damaging amounts of radiation decades before he died in order to try to cure a minor medical problem. This was years before Pritikin discovered the link between diet and health. (The fools in the medical industry and the government "healthless" agencies mocked him for his discovery.)

Re: Pritikin Died of Leukemia at 66. Why?

Nathan Pritikin's Leukemia was caused by the radiation treatments he received as a child. (I think that his doctors irradiated his thyroid.) The radiation levels used back in those days were thought to be safe, because the harmful effects didn't show up until decades later. We now know differently. In the late 1950s, Nathan Pritikin was diagnosed with heart disease. Soon after, he adopted a low-fat, high-fiber diet and began a moderate exercise program. Subsequent medical examinations revealed dramatic improvements in his health. The autopsy done after he died showed that his arteries were *clean*. This was the final proof that the diet and exercise program he urged others to follow had worked for him, too! I have no connection with Nathan Pritikin's family or the Pritikin Longevity Center. I've read several books written by Nathan Pritikin or his son, Robert Pritikin, and I'm trying to adhere to the diet and exercise program they recommend. It takes discipline, but the results are worth it!

Most important diet book ever written

This is quite simply the most important diet book ever written. Pritikin's "Calorie Density" theory is the true explanation of weight gain and loss. Other diets succeed or fail depending on whether they are low calorie density, which is why Atkins had to come up with such complicated good carb, bad carb logic on his maintenance diets.The theory is rather simple: people tend to eat the same amount of food every day (3 pounds). What determines whether they gain or lose weight is the number of calories in that three pounds of food. Those who eat high calorie foods gain weight. Those who eat low calorie foods lose weight.What makes a food high calorie? Forget everything you've ever heard because the truth is surprising. The more water in the food, the lower calorie it will be. That's because there are no calories in water (0 calories / gram). Fiber is the next best thing at 0 or 1 calorie per gram. The more fiber the better. Protein and carbohydrates are in the middle. They have 4 calories per gram. The real problem is fat, which has 9 calories per gram, twice as much as carbohydrates and protein. Fat is the biggest enemy of the dieter because it is so loaded with calories.Pritkin's method is very simple. Weigh the food you eat and count the number of calories. As long as calories per pound is less than 400 you will lose weight. Calories per pound between 400 and 600 leads to weight maintenance. More than 600 calories per pound causes weight gain. (The only trick is that for liquids count just the calories, not the weight. Which means avoid liquids which have more than a few calories.)Nothing else matters, according to Pritikin. The glycemic index is worthless, and weight gain has nothing to do with insulin rushes or food intolerances. There is no need to count carbs, fats, or eat small portions. Ultimately weight gain is caused by eating more calories than we burn, and that is determined by whether we eat high-calorie foods or not.Fruits and vegetables are the stars of a low calorie diet. Their calorie density is very low so they can be eaten in unlimited quantities, along with the delicious complex carb foods like pasta and potatoes which make up the rest of the diet.The result is a low fat, high carb diet, which as Pritikin documents, has been shown in 25 years of scientific studies to cure diabetes, allow people to lose weight and keep it off, go off blood pressure medicines, and avoid bypass surgery.In case someone cares about my credentials, I have no financial ties to Pritikin. I have however followed their diets for 21 years with excellent results. I am 70 pounds lighter now, going from an obese 32 BMI to a slim BMI 20 and body fat under 10%. My cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels & tolerance are all superb, and in spite of 21 years on a high-carb diet I show absolutely none of the bad side effects like insulin resistance which the high-fat diet authors claim I should have.I am in my 40's, at my dream weight, and finished a mar

An excellent guide to the way we ought to look at food

This book should not be considered a typical diet book. It is, instead, a guide to understanding different food categories and how they affect weight and health. We all know--because we hear it all the time--that by eating right and exercising we will lose weight and stay healthy. This is simply fact. Once calorie density is understood, it becomes easy to determine which foods to choose and the best combinations in which to eat them. There's no guess work once you understand the calorie density concept--you won't have to apply point values to anything; you won't have to eliminate entire categories of sensible foods from your diet. You will begin to notice weight loss within two weeks--even if you haven't exercised--and you'll feel good because you know you've consciously contributed to your own well being. Knowing that you are in control of your own health and well being, you will regain self-confidence, and you will actually WANT to exercise (start by walking). The concepts learned in this book will be easy to live by for the rest of your life.