David Zinczenko

I don't believe in diets. From what I understand, the scientific evidence indicates that they just don't work in the long term for the majority of people, and I know myself and my own lack of self-discipline well enough to know that I'd be both miserable and doomed trying to stick to a diet that strictly forbade me to eat anything that I actually like. I've had some gradual but real weight loss success in the past, though, with an approach that emphasizes eating mindfully and constantly show more trying to choose wisely between attractive options: a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a burger, pretzels instead of chips, that sort of thing. (Admittedly, I've backslid horribly on even that modest and sensible plan, but I'm still quite convinced it's the only approach with any remote possibility of lasting success.)

The big problem with this, though, is that it's often damned hard to know just what the better choice is. Nutrition information is confusing, and in restaurants it's often unavailable. Manufacturer's labels can be highly misleading -- "lower in fat" compared to what, exactly? -- and often what looks like the healthier option isn't. So I really like the basic idea behind this book, which is to tell you precisely what the better and worse options are between various similar items available in restaurants and grocery stores. I wasn't sure about the execution when I first flipped through it, as the big, glossy pictures of food that take up much of the book make it look kind of gimmicky and content-light. But it's actually not bad. It's not very in-depth, obviously, and I could have done without the rah-rah, "These books are so great!" self-congratulations of the first couple of sections (complete with full-color testimonials!), but there's more content than I expected. As well as specifics on what the better food choices are and why, it also offers overall healthiness ratings for various eateries and a fair amount general nutrition advice. It is focused more on proper nutrition than on calorie-counting for weight loss, too, which is good to see.

Unfortunately, though, it's of limited usefulness to me personally, because the majority of it involves products I'm unlikely to want to buy and restaurants I seldom or never eat in. And, despite the authors' apparent expectations, I can't really see myself carrying the book around with me just in case I happen to end up in one of these places. It's not exactly like me to prefer some other medium over the good, old-fashioned book, and maybe I'm biased because I just got my first smartphone last week and the shininess hasn't worn off yet, but I can't help feeling that this would be a lot more useful in the form of a mobile phone app, where you could discreetly whip out your personal electronic device in the supermarket aisle or while standing in line at Wendy's, and quickly find out what your best and worst available options are on the spot.

Anyway, I got this book for free in some sort of buy-two-get-one book club deal, so it was certainly worth what I paid for it. If I'd coughed up the full cover price, I think I might feel a bit annoyed. But for someone who eats at a large number of popular chain restaurants, I could see it being a lot more worthwhile. show less

First Line: It can be a place of wonder and excitement, of bright shiny colors, delectable scents, and enticingly sweet delights.

I have to admit that I'd never heard of this book. Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite chores, and there's no way that I would agree with the first line I typed in above. Perhaps it's because I hate to cook. Perhaps it's because I've been in retail too long and I know too many marketing strategies aimed at having consumers do the wrong thing. However, show more after a visit to his doctor, my husband came home rabidly against carbonated soft drinks, and when I saw Eat This Not That! on a shelf in Target's book department, I opened it and immediately saw that it was packed full of things that I could use, not only to my husband's advantage, but to mine as well.

I think one of the reasons why I hate to grocery shop is that, in order to buy the right things, I have to spend an inordinate amount of time reading the blasted labels on everything. The Food and Drug Administration does very little to curb misleading information on food packaging. Ever read portion sizes? Hah! Do you believe labels when they tell you "Zero Trans Fat!"? Hah! Do you know the difference between "whole grain" and "multi grain"? (They both sound healthy, don't they?)

Eat This Not That and its author, David Zinczenko, will take a lot of guess work out of grocery shopping for you. The first part of the book explains what's happened to our food over the years. In many ways, it's not nearly as healthy as it used to be, and explanations are given. It doesn't make for comfortable reading, but it's certainly necessary reading.

The main part of the book is divided into sections just like a supermarket. One side of the page will show common items that are healthier to eat and give the reasons why they are, while the opposite side of the page will show more common items in the same category that are not healthy eating as well as why they aren't the best items to choose to eat.

Although the entire book wasn't eye-opening, many pages were, and I took several notes while I read. I've now passed the book on to Denis, so he can read it and understand why a few things are forever disappearing from the menu.

Eat This Not That is touted as a No Diet weight loss solution, and if you only have a couple of pounds to lose, have been eating healthy to begin with and get regular exercise, making the substitutions suggested in this book will help you to lose weight. (Denis and I have already lost a few pounds.) If you have a lot of weight to lose, it's going to take more than the substitutions this book suggests. But you knew that already, didn't you?

After reading Zinczenko's book, the major thing I took from it was how the companies that give us such a wide variety of food to put on our tables are allowed to lie...and it's all perfectly legal. It made me angry--almost to the point where I wanted to be a modern-day Carrie Nation and stomp into the nearest grocery store carrying a hatchet. Since I'd probably do myself a mischief with the hatchet, I'll make my point with my wallet while I try to see what can be done about forcing companies to put the truth on their packaging instead of lies that can kill us.

No matter how much you think you know about the food in your local grocery store, you owe it to yourself and your family to read this book. You can also click on the author's name at the top of this post to visit the Eat This website to sign up for newsletters and to read more information. show less

I can really see us saving money by using this book. And not just because it lessens the appeal of snack food and desserts. There were several cases where it recommended replacing our usual purchases with brands that are not just apparently healthier but that I know to be cheaper. So that's something. The advice seemed more consistent here than in the restaurant version. And it really drove home how in denial I've been about how fattening certain foods (cheddar cheese, for example) are. show more There is some definite pop science in some of the vitamin recommendations, but the emphasis on things like fiber is appreciated. show less

I picked this up at the library, despite the horrible title, because I was looking at the accompanying cookbook at the bookstore and thought it had some really good-looking recipes--real food, not fake low-fat stuff, and lots of whole grains and vegetables.

But this is just another stupid diet book, full of condescending talk about "flab" and "blubber" and such. There are maybe two recipes that look good, and even those have awful names. I do, however, give the author credit for talking about show more what he might have gotten wrong in his previous fad diet (the "Abs Diet"). Serial diet-book authors often would rather just pretend they've never written any other bestselling diet books; after all, if their previous diet book had worked for you, you wouldn't need the current one, right?

I think the principles are probably sound--lean protein (often vegetable-based), high in "good" fats and low in "bad," lots of fiber. I doubt that this diet will actually hurt anyone, except in the psyche, because it really does have a lot of that same old fat-shaming diet talk we've been hearing since the 60s. It does seem to have a lot of advocates, on Goodreads and on Amazon, for its apparent success as a diet. But if you're just looking for healthy recipes, I'd skip it and track down the cookbook instead. show less