Provides an eye-opening overview of the amount of calories, fat, sodium, and sugars that are in certain common American food choices. The emphasis of this book is on fast food, though dine-in restaurant choices and groceries are also included, to some degree. There's also not much for a vegetarian (like myself) to discover here, though I'll now be skipping Panera's take-out salads and limiting my tofu stir-fry intake. The author often proposes a choice for the lesser of two evils (a Krispy Creme glazed donut instead of the Dunkin' Donuts variety) instead of suggesting an altogether healthier choice, and perhaps this explains the book's popularity. If you eat out a lot, though, it's definitely worth a look. ( )

This didn't really work as a library book because the details won't all stick in my head. And they're useful details for repeat reference, so I bought it. If you're sometimes going to end up eating fast food and other processed food regardless, it's useful data. It's even more useful (ie, news) for my boyfriend, who hasn't been reading about calorie counts in magazines his whole life but is now unhappy with his weight. I was pleasantly surprised to see emphasis on more than just fat and calories. If something was slightly higher in one of those areas, but better for vitamins or fiber, it still got the nod. Sensible. It would have been even better to get more data on some picks, but the info is easy enough to Google. More frustrating was to see the exact same item on the 'Eat This' page in one section and on the 'Not That' page in another. That happened at least twice, with no explanation. Random useless nutrition fads of the moment pop up, as you would expect from the editor of a glossy newsstand magazine, but just in the margins and easily ignored ( )

Now, really, who among us wouldn't want to lose weight if it were effortless and only involved paying attention? And that's the basis behind this book, the first in a series. Zinczenko has investigated the nutritional content of almost every entree and side dish served in restaurants in America and this is the detailed analysis of his findings. Written in a very straightforward manner with tons of pictures on nearly every page (looking at all that food DID make me a little bit hungry, I must admit), the format of the book includes a basic overview at the beginning, along with a list of the 8 foods you should eat everyday and the 20 you should avoid at all costs (the No. 1 worst food sold in America being the Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing with a staggering 2,900 calories for one platter). Then he lists almost every major (and many minor and more regional) chain in the country, with the worst of their menu on the right hand page and the best on the left. He includes a chapter on how to decode a restaurant menu, and what steps we can take to make some of the "bad" dishes more healthy. Reading this book was a real eye opener and I would heartily recommend it to anybody interested in what they are putting into their bodies. It changed a few of my favorite menu choices. The whole idea behind this book is that even if you are on a special diet or are trying to lose weight, you can still go out to eat almost anyplace you'd like, and armed with the results of the author's exhaustive research, you'll go into the place armed with enough knowledge to enjoy your meal without adding to your waistline. Following the guidelines in this book can result in at least a 20-40 pound weight loss over the course of a year without any other real effort on your part. And what's not to love about that? ( )

This is a great book to have and small enough to keep it in the car for when you go out to eat. It lists quite a number of different restaurants and tells you what the healthier and not so healthy choices are, and even why one thing is better than another. Plus, it's not overly wordy or cumbersome and just gives you the basic facts that you need to make your choices. It also lists some general pointers for ethnic restaurants that may not be chain restaurants (Mexican, Italian, Greek, Indian, etc) to help you around their menus and make the healthier choices.

Be prepared, though, to find your favorite menu items on the list of what not to eat. Not that you can't eat them, as long as you make other healthy choices throughout your day. It also has a short section on the grocery store and making healthy selections there as well. ( )

Arby's "super roast beef" or "Santa Fe Salad"? McDonald's "quarterpounder" or "premium grilled chicken club"? Find out what's good and bad in your shopping cart, your favorite restaurant, the frozen goods section and your own kitchen.