I was asked to join in on another TLC book tour, remember this one from last year? I agreed and when the book arrived I found myself skimming the first few pages. Pages about Mark’s efforts to lose fat and gain muscle, to get back in shape, watching his mom struggle with her weight and eventually his wife when she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. And then I get to the first chapter: Why Diets Fail.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard this line many times before. So I was prepared to read the same information that I’ve read before. But what he wrote stunned me because it was so accurtate and spot-on.
He talks about that one moment in our lives when we felt in control of our health. This could be a week, or several months. A time when we were breezing through diet or exercise- or both. Everything was working, we felt good…we look good. And then it’s gone. The effort goes away with life circumstances. We get thrown off course.
I don’t know about you, but this has happened to me countless times. I think back to my days on Atkins.. And then the time when I did Weight Watchers and I was losing 10lbs a month. Both times I dropped 30-40 lbs. And then stopped.
Mark says “we spent endless hours focusing on the past, trying to figure out what had changed. That moment becomes our hope, out future possibility–our ace in the hole. We believe that at any time we can pull out that ace and get back to where we were during that moment.”
We justify that life is too busy, that we will get there when projects are complete, after the holidays or when the timing is right. Each day telling ourselves that we know what we need to do but are just not doing it. We keep tight hold of the ace in the hole, ready to use it at any time.
And then the day comes when we pull the trigger and dive right back in. Trying to minic those ace in the hole days, and it’s much harder. We try again the next day, and then on the third day we are wondering what is so different this time. This is when panic sets in…and when as he puts it “diets attack”.
“People use diets in their moments of frustration and desperation.”
And there you have it friends. The cycle.
So what’s the solution? According the Mark, blood sugar stabilization through meal intervals, nutrient ratios and calories per meal. He believes that nutrition should be used to create an internal balance.
Mark will guide you through meal plans for your body type (your metabolism), creating a set-point with your weight, and helps you to discover the “why” in your goals. He calls his place Venice nutrition and shares many meal plans and recipes for each body type. He talks about the difference between high quality and low nutrients, such as protein.
The meals he suggests are easy and would take minute to prepare. Such as Salmon with rice and asparagus, italian tuna salad with a side of fruit, steak with sweet potatoes and steamed cauliflower, seared scallops with brown rice and spinach, and spicy turkey club wrap.
In the last chapters of the book he helps you in creating an exercise plan, how to adopt this way of eating into your current lifestyle and he has a whole chapter dedicated to staying true to the process.
Here is what I like about the book and Venice Nutrition:
I like that he focuses on real, clean food that is easy to prepare. This is food that we should eat 90% of the time. He focuses on quality of food rather than calories in, calories out.
His plan is about eating for life, rather than “how I will eat when I’m losing weight”.
He talks extensively about blood sugar, nutrition and the way we metabolize food.
He gives real-world solutions for all lifestyles.
He focuses more on what you should eat rather than what you can’t or shouldn’t eat.
He covers the importance of both cardio and strength training. He provides a plan for both.
He is positive and hopeful.
What I don’t like about the book:
I’m not a big fan (at all) of food products: protein bars, shakes etc. Some of the recipes include protein powders.
The recipes are simple. This is a good thing for some people. But for me, I enjoy cooking. I like following recipes. To me, a turkey burger is about as sad as it gets. I don’t like to buy ground meat unless I know the source and most of the ground meat the I buy is local and doesn’t promote “leanness”. Rolled up deli meat with a side of cashews is not a meal. I don’t know if I believe turkey or chicken should be ground up and made into burgers or meatballs or whatever else. I’ve done this before, but it just seems wrong.
The book doesn’t seem to address eating out, or social occasion. I could have missed this section, but I enjoy eating out with my husband. I enjoy trying out new to us restaurants that are locally owned. I like long meals with friends. These things are non-negotiable. I’m not going to bring a shake with me, or have a cooler of prepared food to a gourmet/real food establishment. Not gonna happen. I also realize that these are special occasion meals.
Bottom Line:
I believe that the Venice Nutrition can be done 80% of the time. It’s about eating smaller meals about five times a day. This stabilizes blood sugar, boosts your metabolism and prevents cravings. It focuses on eating real food: lean meat, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
Mark helps you to set goals for yourself and gives you the tools to see them through.
Visit his site, Venice Nutrition for more information.
Thank you to TLC Book tours for including me.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me free of charge, for review.
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