CHANGE ONE: The Breakthrough 12-Week Eating Plan for Losing Weight Simply, Safely and Forever

This illustrated spiral-bound diet book relies on encouraging those who want to lose weight to cut amounts rather than to radically change their food preferences. Based on a daily 1,300- to 1600-calorie range, depending on body size and level of activity, the Change One program requires those who undertake it to make just one weekly nutritional or other adjustment at a time. Hastings, a health editor, and his co-authors provide menus and calorie counts for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the first four weeks, along with recipes that are not, except for portion size, radically different from what non-dieters eat. A typical breakfast may contain one scrambled egg with a hard roll and fruit salad or four silver dollar pancakes with sliced strawberries. In addition to listing measurements in ounces or cups, serving sizes are also given in colloquial terms such as thumb tip or golf ball. A portion for a beef stew dinner, for example, should be no larger than two baseballs. Restaurant meals are not prohibited and, in fact, eating out is suggested as a twice-weekly activity. Strategies as to what to order or request in many varieties of eating establishments are included. In addition to dietary changes, the authors recommend an exercise regime, stress busting techniques and ways to organize a diet-friendly kitchen. Because the diet plan focuses on detailed lifestyle as well as eating changes and contains many self-assessment quizzes, this is a program that should engage a committed dieter. Color illus. (Jan.)