THE FAT REMEDY

Sourour counsels consistency in this metabolism-focused food management guide.

The author, a real estate investor, shares the strategy that he developed to lose 134 pounds over 12 months between 2017 and 2018 (still off five years later) after tipping the scales at 364.4 pounds. “A fixed menu—of any food under the sun—into a fixed metabolic rate—that we all have under the sun—makes weight loss as easy and predictable as the Earth’s orbit around the sun,” proclaims the author. His system is focused on eating three “high-density meals” (35% carbs, 40% protein, 25% fat) in five- or six-hour blocks of time throughout the day to create a “steady stream” to maximize your own unique “metabolic burn rate.” Additionally, given “our circadian rhythms reconcile and reset weight loss...within a 24 hour time frame,” Sourour advises weighing yourself every morning before meals to evaluate your unique burn rate and then sizing meals accordingly to achieve weight-loss goals. The process is gradual; according to the author, one should expect losses of only up to a half-pound a day amid expected daily gains from slip-ups as well as from an intentional “formula cycle” implemented once a week to double typical food volume, ensuring your body is “routinely reminded it’s not in a permanent caloric deficit phase.” Some recipes are supplied. Sourour’s own successful weight management is, of course, a ringing endorsement for his system. The notion that favorite foods can and should be included in meals makes his plan very appealing. Sourour also offers realistic tweaks, including allowing for balanced snacks as part of the process of figuring out how to build a meal that satisfies for six hours. Some of Sourour’s points (e.g., eat fruits and vegetables for “the micronutrients and not the satiation”) may be confusing or misinterpreted. Overall, however, this book provides a sensible one-day-at-time approach to taming mindless overeating.

Encouraging core advice to balance one’s diet while still consuming favorite foods.