The New Atkins Made Easy: A Faster, Simpler Way to Shed Weight and Feel Great—Starting Today!

Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition and education at Atkins Nutritionals Inc. has been employed by Atkins for more than 20 years; in that time she’s “seen and heard it all” when it comes to eating habits and weight reduction. Her mission here is to bring a new generation into the fold, and help readers navigate the Atkins diet with ease—with meal plans, recipes, shopping tips, and “step-by-step visuals.” Without fanfare, Heimowitz (The New Atkins for a New You) gets down to business: part one summarizes how Atkins works (in a nutshell, by cutting back on carbs so that the fat-burning metabolism kicks in). Part two gives readers a concise set of guidelines and then walks them through phase one (Kick-Start), phase two (Balancing), phase three premaintenance (Fine-Tuning), and phase four (Lifetime Maintenance). At each chapter’s conclusion, the author includes photos and first-person accounts of Atkins followers who have lost impressive amounts of weight on the plan. In part three, Heimowitz covers family meals as well as dining out, with suggestions for Japanese, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and other fare including fast-food chains. Part four presents a sampling of recipes, with more offered on the Atkins Web site. This straightforward guide to the popular protocol is a worthy addition to the evolving Atkins library. Agent: Joy Tutela, David Black Agency. (Dec.)