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7 reviews for:
The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast
Lyn-Genet Recitas
3.21 AVERAGE
7 reviews for:
The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast
Lyn-Genet Recitas
3.21 AVERAGE
This is a very specific elimination-type diet which pinpoints inflammation causing foods for each person. Recitas has compiled lists of common, healthy foods which have turned out to be highly inflammatory for some people. Because I have been struggling with inflammation, I decided to give it a go. It is not easy, but I have been successful in finding out somethings that cause problems for me. In addition, I now have become my own science fair experiment in ferreting out what is a "friendly" food and what is inflammatory for me. She gives a lot of instruction about what an inflammatory response looks like and how to adjust for possible thyroid issues. It turns out that many "healthy" foods are actually highly reactive to many people. These are also the foods which made up most of my diet! No wonder I have had problems with inflammation.
For anyone looking to buy this book and follow this program, I have a few pointers.
1. There is a website with updated menus and recipes. The website tells you to follow the website menus and not the menus in the book. https://lyngenet.com/updates
2. Not all of the recipes you need are on the website so you may need the book if you want to follow it exactly.
3. The book, The Metabolism Plan, looks like the updated version of The Plan. They are both very similar. Review each before deciding if you need to buy both.
4. The recipes are made with foods that are known to be not very inflammatory. They are heavily spiced with anti-inflammatory spices like cardamom, cumin and cinnamon. Salt is not used. Black pepper is used heavily. I did not find the food to be delicious. That being said, I lost 3 pounds the first day. That was pretty motivating! I'm 3 weeks in and down 9 pounds. I have found some foods that cause an inflammatory response and others that don't. I still haven't found the included recipes to be wonderful, but as I figure out my "friendly" foods, I'll be making adjustments.
5. Either Plan involves a lot of cooking. I recommend giving yourself at least a week to prep the soups, make the granola, consider sauteeing and freezing vegetables, etc. Then when you are ready to begin, you are not stressed out by the amount of cooking and prep you need to do before your next meal.
6. The carrot ginger soup recipe requires 5# of carrots and 7 quarts of water! I have a well equipped kitchen which includes a stock pot, but I had to cut this recipe in half just to get it to fit into the pot. All of the soups make a lot. At least a gallon. Make sure you have fridge/freezer space before you get going. Also, the 3/4 Tablespoon of black pepper in this half-recipe was way too much for my taste. I love spicy food, but this about killed me. I suggest adding it to taste. But 3 pounds in one day....
7. A lot of cooking and prep goes into it up front, but I am still unable to eat everything suggested in any given day. I am eating a lot of leftovers. This is fine, because the prep is done for me on following days.
So. The Plan takes Whole30 a step further. It is very informative. I highly recommend at least reading the book to anyone struggling with inflammation. Um. Mostly everyone.
For anyone looking to buy this book and follow this program, I have a few pointers.
1. There is a website with updated menus and recipes. The website tells you to follow the website menus and not the menus in the book. https://lyngenet.com/updates
2. Not all of the recipes you need are on the website so you may need the book if you want to follow it exactly.
3. The book, The Metabolism Plan, looks like the updated version of The Plan. They are both very similar. Review each before deciding if you need to buy both.
4. The recipes are made with foods that are known to be not very inflammatory. They are heavily spiced with anti-inflammatory spices like cardamom, cumin and cinnamon. Salt is not used. Black pepper is used heavily. I did not find the food to be delicious. That being said, I lost 3 pounds the first day. That was pretty motivating! I'm 3 weeks in and down 9 pounds. I have found some foods that cause an inflammatory response and others that don't. I still haven't found the included recipes to be wonderful, but as I figure out my "friendly" foods, I'll be making adjustments.
5. Either Plan involves a lot of cooking. I recommend giving yourself at least a week to prep the soups, make the granola, consider sauteeing and freezing vegetables, etc. Then when you are ready to begin, you are not stressed out by the amount of cooking and prep you need to do before your next meal.
6. The carrot ginger soup recipe requires 5# of carrots and 7 quarts of water! I have a well equipped kitchen which includes a stock pot, but I had to cut this recipe in half just to get it to fit into the pot. All of the soups make a lot. At least a gallon. Make sure you have fridge/freezer space before you get going. Also, the 3/4 Tablespoon of black pepper in this half-recipe was way too much for my taste. I love spicy food, but this about killed me. I suggest adding it to taste. But 3 pounds in one day....
7. A lot of cooking and prep goes into it up front, but I am still unable to eat everything suggested in any given day. I am eating a lot of leftovers. This is fine, because the prep is done for me on following days.
So. The Plan takes Whole30 a step further. It is very informative. I highly recommend at least reading the book to anyone struggling with inflammation. Um. Mostly everyone.
This book was awful. No joke you will lose weight because you don't eat anything. I agree that there are some definite sensitivities for people, but this book is just bad. There are other ways to eat clean and find the right foods for your body.
I got this book a few years ago not to lose weight but as an elimination diet for my husband and I to try to figure out which foods are negatively impacting us. We followed Recitas' vegetarian Plan (downloaded from her website; yeah, not even part of the book itself) and almost died. The dishes were so absolutely uninspired, you could tell these recipes were written by meat-eaters guessing at what vegetarians like. My husband actually preferred to forego several meals and starve rather than eat that garbage. And if I never see a bowl of carrot ginger soup it will be to soon. We gave up around the two week mark having learned nothing new and having both lost weight (which is not something either of us needed at all). The only positive new habit I developed from reading The Plan was to avoid drinking water a half hour before and after a meal. This may be a better fit for those with a meat-centric diet. I can't speak to those recipes. But vegetarians: steer clear!
Wow! This book makes SO much sense. I can not wait to try the PLAN for myself.
This book was life changing for me. I am not one to jump on the "diet" bandwidth, but I was really, truly mystified when I was the healthiest eater I knew, and nothing, and I mean NOTHING would drop this baby weight of mine.. once I hit 40, it was ridiculous. I ate "clean" salads of black beans, quinoa, raw veggies every day, grilled salmon and veggies for dinner, roasted veggie (eggplant, peppers, etc) sandwiches for lunch, very little "bad" fat, lost of fruit/veggies and good grains- and despite Crossfit, spinning, WW meetings, I was still not losing the baby weight.
When I say Lyn on Dr. Oz thow up he 10 most reactionary foods, it was like- WTF? I eat 8 of those daily. My husband embarked on this journey with me, primarily because of 10lbs and joint pain, but it was very eye opening. I can eat all the foods he likes (MEAT) and he can eat all the carbs he wants and feel great.
This plan is hard initially, it really is- you have to treat it like you would a baby introducing new foods one at a time, but if you follow the plan, the results are pretty obvious.
the only reason I didn't give it 5* is while I get the concept, Lyn could have used a better editor on this book and there was some gray areas, but she had a FB page for awhile and online resources that helped. I am not sure if those are still available, but I still think the book is life changing, both my husband and I would ares
When I say Lyn on Dr. Oz thow up he 10 most reactionary foods, it was like- WTF? I eat 8 of those daily. My husband embarked on this journey with me, primarily because of 10lbs and joint pain, but it was very eye opening. I can eat all the foods he likes (MEAT) and he can eat all the carbs he wants and feel great.
This plan is hard initially, it really is- you have to treat it like you would a baby introducing new foods one at a time, but if you follow the plan, the results are pretty obvious.
the only reason I didn't give it 5* is while I get the concept, Lyn could have used a better editor on this book and there was some gray areas, but she had a FB page for awhile and online resources that helped. I am not sure if those are still available, but I still think the book is life changing, both my husband and I would ares
I got this book from a friend because my husband has several symptoms that we think might be caused by food sensitivities. I read this book and started the plan but ultimately it didn't work for me.
The reason it didn't work for me is because of the Plan's water limits, which the author calls a "goal." But my husband and I both found it quite restrictive, as you must drink all your daily water before 7:30 and not within 45 min before or after a meal.
I'm currently breastfeeding and the author's website said it wouldn't be a problem, but it really was. I woke up the first day with severe dehydration symptoms. Although this wouldn't be a concern for most people it's an important thing to consider if you're nursing. The plan uses daily morning weight checks to gauge food reactions, so modifying the water could really alter your data.
The Plan approach is quite different from a typical elimination diet. You only have to do a three day cleanse whereas most plans have two weeks or more. Then, you do your tests as small adjustments, for example, on day 5, the rye test, you're instructed to eat one rye cracker. Just one. (For men, two.) The method seems to be gentler than other diets which may cause some extreme reactions with your sensitive foods.
Also, although the book says that it can be done for health reasons and the weight is just data, its frequent references to losing weight were off putting to me as it seems more like a diet book which isn't what I'm looking for. It can be hard to tell at times which parts of the book refer to weight loss in a dieting sense and which refer to it in a reaction-data sense.
What I liked about the book is that it provides a complete menu created by a nutritionist so you know you're still getting what your body needs. That is reassuring to me especially as a nursing mom. Some of the recipes from the cleanse were gross (I'm looking at you, carrot ginger soup) but looking ahead, they do seem to get better.
The reason it didn't work for me is because of the Plan's water limits, which the author calls a "goal." But my husband and I both found it quite restrictive, as you must drink all your daily water before 7:30 and not within 45 min before or after a meal.
I'm currently breastfeeding and the author's website said it wouldn't be a problem, but it really was. I woke up the first day with severe dehydration symptoms. Although this wouldn't be a concern for most people it's an important thing to consider if you're nursing. The plan uses daily morning weight checks to gauge food reactions, so modifying the water could really alter your data.
The Plan approach is quite different from a typical elimination diet. You only have to do a three day cleanse whereas most plans have two weeks or more. Then, you do your tests as small adjustments, for example, on day 5, the rye test, you're instructed to eat one rye cracker. Just one. (For men, two.) The method seems to be gentler than other diets which may cause some extreme reactions with your sensitive foods.
Also, although the book says that it can be done for health reasons and the weight is just data, its frequent references to losing weight were off putting to me as it seems more like a diet book which isn't what I'm looking for. It can be hard to tell at times which parts of the book refer to weight loss in a dieting sense and which refer to it in a reaction-data sense.
What I liked about the book is that it provides a complete menu created by a nutritionist so you know you're still getting what your body needs. That is reassuring to me especially as a nursing mom. Some of the recipes from the cleanse were gross (I'm looking at you, carrot ginger soup) but looking ahead, they do seem to get better.
This may not be a diet book for everyone. it takes some dedication to stick to the first days of the Plan. It is an elimination diet where you begin with a few foods, and begin to add things back to your diet, while keeping track of the results on your body. I love how this personalizes the diet to fit me! On finishing the twenty days, I knew just what foods were causing me pain and which foods in what portions caused weight gain. I have been able to learn how to make adjustments in my diet to eat what is best for me. Much better than just following a plan that worked for someone else. This is my Plan! (Oh, and I've lost 30 pounds so far!)