The Perfect 10 Diet
Dr. Michael Aziz
Sourcebooks, Inc.
January 2010
422pp
The Short of It:
The Perfect 10 Diet is not a fad, but a proposed way of life. It’s based on sound principles and is pretty easy to live with.
The Rest of It:
If you’ve been on a diet or two within the last, oh…twenty years, you’ve probably seen dieting come full-circle. Some programs focus on liquids, others on carbs, some on proteins and all of them basically result in a restriction of what is going in, and an increase of what you are putting out. Less food, more activity. Makes perfect sense, yet so many of us fight this concept daily.
The Perfect 10 Diet does sound a bit trendy. However, it addresses the way your body reacts to certain foods. Processed foods that are high in fat wreak havoc with your system. This program has you eating whole foods that are low-fat and low in calories, but interspersed with some good fats. The difference here, is that the healthy fats fill you up and provide your body what it needs to function properly.
I have been dealing with some health issues of my own, so although I had every intention to follow this program in its entirety, I was not able to follow it the way it should be followed due to severe food allergies. As a result, I ended up gaining a few pounds.
However, as a person who has been raised on chemicals and processed, pre-packaged foods, I can honestly tell you what little I did manage to follow, still made a difference as far as how I felt. The program makes sense. The book is well-organized and includes recipes and a supplement section for those that want to address specific health concerns.
If you are looking for a program you can live with, then The Perfect 10 Diet may be just what you are looking for.
Once my allergies are under control, I am going to re-visit the program and see what it can do for me. If you’ve followed Dr. Aziz’s program, I’d love to hear from you.
Source: This ARC was sent to me by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Book Chatter 
I have often wondered what else all the chemicals are doing to us, besides weight. Scary!
I like the sound of this one. I, too, have eaten years and years of processed foods. I’ve been better the last 5 years, but I’m sure the damage has been done:(
I’m horrible at staying on prescribed diets, but I have been trying to eat whole foods and fresh foods rather than processed. I realize when I eat processed my stomach has a fit the whole next day (like today because I had Jack-in-the Box last night — that’s considered whole foods right???). So, operative word is trying. Sounds like you are doing better than me. 🙂
Good luck getting those food allergies under control. I imagine that takes a bit of extra effort when it comes to preparing meals!
I can’t imagine having food allergies. But I know that I need to make sure we eat less processed foods and as the shopper and cook, it is something I need to ensure happens.
I hate to say it but our family eats processed food. I cook too but my son loves anything that is junk:(
Like you, I am not sure how faithful I could be to a diet like the one described in the book due to my food issues, but it does sound like a great resource.
I completely understand how hard it is to lose weight when you have health issues. It seems like whenever I make some headway some other health issue comes up. I hope you’re able to get your allergies in hand.
I am on day 2 of the diet. Personally, I have severe allergies to both all environmental allergens and most foods that fall in the category of oral allergy syndrome along with esophageal esophagitis. This basically means I’m allergic to most veggies unless they are cooked along with just about every other food out there. Heck, I am even allergic to lettuce. I have learned that just zapping veggies in the microwave for 15 seconds makes the difference (recommendation from allergist). Along with this, I also have PCOS so I know my hormones are out of whack which causes it to be next to impossible to lose weight.
So far I have found the diet relatively easy to follow as I just rotate my foods all of the time (most healthy thing to do with allergies anyway) plus I have been switching over to an organic diet slowly for a while. There are enough options on the list that it is very easy to switch around. I can’t wait to see how it works out over the 3 weeks in phase 1!
I have Esophagitis as well. Not fun. I wish you luck with your eating. I have been on allergy meds and a nose spray for about 6 weeks now and my symptoms have improved dramatically. That and a clean diet… very little processed foods, have helped quite a bit.
hi, im almost 20 and have gained 20 pounds in the last two years so i wanted to do something about it..i’m a nutrition major in college as well so i know how bad some of the diets out there are for you so i was intrigued when i saw the cover of this book. so i read it and decided it’s a pretty sound diet. i’ve been on the diet for about 2 1/2 weeks and have lost atleast 5 lbs and an inch off my hips, i have a lot more energy and don’t drink caffeine anymore. i am looking forward to see the end outcome of it all.
Thanks for stopping by to comment on The Perfect 10 Diet. It sounds as if you are doing quite well on it. I am having to go almost a vegan route so I struggle with the concepts a bit but the diet itself makes perfect sense to me.
Take care..