Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss

After reading about 50% of the reviews here, I think a lot of people are missing the point of this book. It isn’t to lose weight. It’s not a diet plan, fad or otherwise, and if you come to it with the sole intention of losing weight you may be disappointed. UltraMetabolism takes a wholistic view of, and provides a prescription for, a lifestyle that will lead to metabolic health. If your metabolism is off right now, reading and following this book will most likely help you lose weight, but only as a byproduct of achieving metabolic equilibrium. If it is not, then reading this book will simply provide you a different perspective on achieving metabolic health and may provide some good pointers that you didn’t already know.

There’s a lot that goes into the seemingly simple process of eating, digesting, and utilizing food and its nutrients. Dr. Hyman does an excellent (albeit sometimes too “horn-tooting”) job of describing all of the stages, hormones, organs and systems, food, nutrients, external factors, etc., that have a hand in how your body metabolizes nutrients. He also discusses at length the various effects these processes have on your weight and overall health. He then provides analysis tools and prescriptive advice for how to modfiy your current diet and lifestyle to bring your body back into metabolic equilibrium and a healthier state of being.

You may not agree with his advice, although he does support many of his statements with scientific studies. You may find his diet recommendations too strict or expensive, although after following it for a few weeks you’ll probably realize that the slight increase in cost to buy better ingredients is far less than all the money you were spending on bad lunches at work, starbucks in the morning, gelato in the afternoon, etc (my food budget has never been healthier). Also, those cravings that make it tough to stick to the meal plan early on? They go away pretty quickly too. But I think if you just come to this book with the right perspective and the correct understanding of what it is about, you’ll have a much better experience with UltraMetabolism.

I think a good summary of the UltraMetabolism experience is this: Dr. Hyman clearly tells you that you can eat as much food as you want on his “diet.” The trick is that if you follow his advice and achieve metabolic equilibrium, your body won’t overeat. You’ll feel full when you should, your brain will know what that means, and you’ll stop eating. As a side effect, you’ll have more energy, feel more relaxed, and have much better overall body health. Can that be so bad?

EDIT: After discussing this with my wife briefly, she made a good point. The title of the book is “The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss”, so I can see why some people come to it thinking it’s a diet book. Blame that on the marketers. Diet books sell better than healthy living books. But take it from me, this book is about so much more than losing weight. Like the title says, the weight loss you will see is “automatic” as a result of changing your lifestyle and achieving metabolic homeostasis.

I have been about 40 pounds overweight for two decades due to a medical condition and have had real trouble losing weight. I’ve tried a lot of different programs, books, etc. but nothing really worked. By cutting out sugar and breads and eating more fruits and vegetables as recommended in this book, I have lost 9 pounds in two weeks. It’s been stunning and amazing. I have not counted calories and I have not worried about portion control, but my body is loving the changes. The program is sound and healthy – eating lots of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. I find that I don’t miss sugar or sweets at all, which was really surprising to me. The menus and recipes are simple and delicious, and I’m really enjoying trying new things and new ways to eat veggies. I haven’t started exercising yet, but I’m feeling better and I find that I have more energy, so exercise is not far behind. Dr. Hyman explains why certain foods have created an obesity epidemic in America, and after reading how they affect your body, it is pretty easy to give up some old ways and begin following this plan. I’ve been following the plan kind of loosely and have had good results, so expect great results if you follow it carefully. I even bought another copy of the book for a friend. I feel that I have FINALLY found the answer to my weight loss problem!

I have read this book twice, once to just read it, twice to go back through and underline things I never wanted to forget, and now I am reading it again to get ready to put it into action. I am on the E-mail list for this doctor sending case studies of people that he has helped. I must say I am very impressed and wish all doctors could be like Dr. Hyman. He looks at the whole body to find the reasons for sickness. I am surprised by the reviews here that say this is the same old information we have heard before. I have read a lot of diet books and I learned so much in this book about other things that can effect your weight besides eating right and exercise. And if I had heard of something before, now it was explained in a way that I could understand. I felt good that a few things that I had started to believe where confirmed in this book. When trying to get to the bottom of why I am over weight, this very nice to have my thoughts validated. There was a couple reviews that sounded like the person had not even read the book. One said they expected to find out more about the glycemic index, saying they were felt cheated that there was no information, when in reality the theory of the glycemic index is out dated. We now need to pay attention to the glycemic “load” of what we are eating. If they had read the book they would have known that. Another person said that it is a vegetarian diet, which it is not. Just look at the recipes in the back of the book to know that. Please don’t right a review if you have not read the book.

If I was going to say anything negative at all it was how Dr. Hyman used and extreme example of the Atkins diet to try and put down the diet. His example in the book only ate fatty foods and meat, which not how Atkins intended people to eat. If Atkin’s dieters actually read his book, you would find a very different diet then one presented here and the one presented by the media. Atkins is a low carb diet not a no carb diet. I have some other questions about why the Atkins diet might not be good and trying to stay on it forever is very difficult. He does not address the Atkins diet the way he should have.

Even though I was disappointed in this one example in the book, the rest really was very eye opening and very well explained. I have given a couple of extra copies away hoping to inspire. From the very first page I knew this was a very different diet book. It talks about “nurigenomics” the science of how food talks to your genes- to turn up your metabolism. He talks about things down to the cellular level as to why we function the way we do, making us over weight. It always helps me to implement a plan when I understand why. I have many things still to figure out about my health and why I have trouble with my weight and I think this book has given me the clues to solve the puzzle.

The reviews for this book swing wildly from hearty approval to caustic disdain. The fact is, no one body is the same as the next, and no one diet will work the same for everyone. This does, however, work for some, myself included, who have struggled with weight gain for years with little success. Also, whatever you might think about the science or information in this book, the fact is that it achieves two major things: 1) the recipes taste good. 2) the diet feels very sustainable over the long haul.

There are people who can eat whatever they want, hardly exercise and never gain weight. They have fast metabolisms. Then there are those of us for whom the opposite is true. I hit puberty and started gaining 10 lbs a year until I was 20 years old and 200 pounds. I managed to slow the rate to another 50 pounds in the next 13 years. But a huge period of stress in my mid-thirties, both on the job and with my family, quickly added another 30. When I sat down with this book, I weighd 286 pounds. I seemed to be gaining weight indiscriminately and it was obviously time to adopt a new approach.

I too, have tried some diets. Things work for awhile, and then stop working. There were two diets where I had some measured success: a modified version of Atkins (with many more vegetables and leaner meat) and the 6 Week Body Makeover. The real problem with both of these is that they are entirely unsustainable from a food perspective. The first restricts carbs to below 40 grams per day, which doesn’t satiate, and it is quite simply hard to live in the real world and consume no grain products. The second excluded salt, and none of the recipes were very good. What’s the point if food doesn’t at least taste OK? Moreover, these approaches are DIETS. Which never work in the long haul.

Ultrametabolism doesn’t seem so much like a diet as it does a lifestyle. The fact is, we all have to floss our teeth every day for the rest of our lives. And the fact is, we all have to eat to sustain our bodies every day for the rest of our lives. This book outlines an easy way to develop that habit. And the recipes are delicious. I am a cook who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m surrounded by foodies and am one myself. I don’t feel like I have to sacrifice and I get to eat amazing food.

For those who say that it is impossible to achieve this diet cooking for a family or if you are a busy person, I disagree. It’s nothing more complicated than making a piece of fish or chicken, roasting a yam, and making a salad. You have to take what’s offered and decide how to fit it into you life, but it’s not that hard. I keep tamari almonds and a piece of fruit in my bag at all times and am never caught without something to eat. It’s harder than driving through the fast food drive-through, but almost *everything* is harder than that.

In the end, you have to find what is effective for you. But for me, the fact that I’ve lost 12.5 pounds in the first month is a really good sign. And all while enjoying the food I eat and never being hungry. It has taken some time to adapt to eating 5 times per day, but really, it’s not harder than having fruit, nuts, and turkey slices on hand.

Finally, if you think this might work for you, I recommend buying the Ultrametabolism Cookbook. It will significantly expand your arsenal of recipes, making it easier to develop this as a habit and lifestyle.

I have followed the Dr for a couple years. Book is an easy fast read. No real tricks, just great common sense. Highly recommend if you need a reboot. Top it off I lost some weight, gave up caffeine and at 56, feel a whole lote better