[goofgirl]

Just wondering if anyone else has read the book "The Diet Cure" by Julia Ross.

The author has a background in addiction and currently runs an institute for weight loss and eating disorders in Mill Valley, CA. Her theories lie more in physiological reasons we are overweight, including "depleted brain chemistry caused by too much dieting and inadequate protein, unstable blood sugar, low thyroid function, hormonal irregularities, food addictions, and a deficiency of 'good' fats." (from the back cover of the book) There are questionaires you fill out to tailor the program to your needs, and she emphasizes the use of supplements, such as amino acids, to correct physiological issues.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has read the book, what your thoughts are, if you've put it into practice, and anyone who has taken amino acid supplements and what your results have been. I am almost done with the book and started the supplements yesterday. I would recommend it as an interesting read for people with depression issues, low self-esteem, strong sugar/starch cravings, and recovering "yo-yo dieters". I'll let you know how it goes for me!

[MrsJim]

I haven't actually read the book, but I've seen a lot of posts about it (not here at 3FC but at other places) on the Net.

From what I've read (on forums and also at Amazon.com's reviews) once you take away all the psuedoscientific verbiage, apparently the Diet Cure comes down to a low-carb diet, based on 'blood type' along with taking a wagonload of supplements. Now I don't personally have any problem with taking a daily multi and maybe some extra iron or glutamine if strength training, but all those freaking supps...WAY too much. It IS possible to overdo the supplements! At the very least, any unused supps go right through your body, so you're literally flushing your money down the toilet.

Personally I have better things to spend my money on than a ton of supps that I don't need!

Another thing that BUGS ME about this book (and reminding you again that I have NOT read this...) is the "Quick Symptom Questionnaire" that is supposed to 'diagnose' your 'illnesses' - whether you have thyroid problems, food allergies, etc. For God's sake, instead of relying on a questionnaire in some book or magazine, if you feel you have some sort of underlying health issue that's keeping you from losing weight - get thee to your doctor and get some REAL tests done! This questionnaire thing (I have the text of the questionnaire, but will not post it here) reminds me of those "Rate your Mate" multi-choice quizzes in Cosmo - maybe fun but sure as **** shouldn't be taken literally.

Anyway, if you MUST see the book either go to your library or buy it used; Amazon has 157 used copies listed - three of them for 73 cents. Kind of shows you the supply and demand for "The Diet Cure".

[Meg]

Jessica — MrsJim is giving you smart advice. I haven't read the book either but my advice is to be very, very cautious about any book that purports to diagnose and treat medical conditions.

If you have an underlying medical problem or condition that you self-diagnose and self-treat with a questionnaire from a book, you could be doing significant harm to yourself by not getting the proper care that you need. In addition to not getting the medical treatment that you need, using supplements can create other problems or even make your condition worse. I’m speaking as a person who is hypothyroid and medicated with drugs prescribed by a doctor for the condition. You can't self-treat something like hypothyroidism and you can potentially make it much worse with questionable supps.

If you don’t have an underlying medical problem and you take a ton of supps, you could again be significantly harming yourself. At the very least, you’ll end up mighty poor in the process.

My two cents.

[goofgirl]

Thank you, ladies, for your feedback and advice. I'll take the book's advice with a grain of salt. I agree that a 1 page questionnaire to diagnose thyroid, hormone, or yeast growth problems is a bit flippant, although in my personal experience, hmo doctors can be just as superficial in their diagnoses and treatment. I also agree if you answer all of the questionnaires and ended up "needing" everything she recommends, you would certainly spend 1/4 of your life doing nothing but taking supps.

I did get about 4 amino acids from my health food store, and have taken them the last two days in smaller doses than she recommends. The thing about the book that I do find worthy is the emphasis on the physiological and psychological reasons she pinpoints for why people don't lose weight, rather than the "eat this, do this, lose weight" mentality that can discourage people who have trouble losing. The point is, there can be underlying issues that need alternative treatments to control, whether those treatments are medical or wholistic.

Thank you again. I appreciate you input!