Weighty advice: New crop of diet books spring up

It’s too late to lose that unwanted weight for summer. But if you start now _  and aim to shed a modest 2 pounds a week _ you could drop as much as 40 pounds  in time to ring in 2013. The hardest part, however, might be choosing a new diet. This season’s crop of  cookbooks includes a whiplash-inducing array of advice. For every book urging  you on to eat: More carbs! More protein! More fat! there’s another seemingly  well-reasoned argument to do the opposite. As if this isn’t confusing enough,  there’s a new bogeyman on the diet scene: gluten. The naturally occurring protein found in wheat, barley and some other grains  is being blamed for a variety of health woes, including gut unrest,  inflammation and those love handles.

(People who suffer from a gluten  intolerance such as celiac disease must shun it for far less glamorous  reasons.) Among the highest-profile proponents of a gluten-free diet? Kim Kardashian and  Miley Cyrus. Kardashian set the Internet on fire earlier this year when she  tweeted a sexy photo of her famous curves, crediting a gluten-free approach.  The newly engaged Cyrus has slimmed down so much in recent months that some  tabloids have begun whispering about an eating disorder. Cyrus, however, says  she’s healthier than ever after adopting a new diet and a Pilates-inspired  exercise regimen to get her ready for the altar.

Of course, it’s not exactly surprising that people lose weight on a gluten-free diet. Eating gluten-free means slashing plenty of high-calorie breads, cakes and cookies. There is one consensus among the most popular new diet books on the market: They are largely free of food extremes. All emphasize the need to scrutinize  food labels and ditch chemical-laden products in favor of fresh fruits and  vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. Dig in:

‘Eat to Live’
If you need to be scared straight about your health, this book is for you. Dr.  Joel Fuhrman makes a powerful case that Americans are courting cancer and  disease by the forkful. He urges ditching low-calorie diets and piling the  dinner plate high with nutrient-dense fruits and raw veggies. You certainly  won’t be hungry. Sample dinner: Fish fillets with mango salsa, kale with  cashew cream sauce, rice and chocolate cherry “ice cream” made from almond  milk.

‘It Starts With Food”
Need some tough love cleaning up a lousy diet? This is your drill sergeant.  Dallas and Melissa Hartwig ask that you enlist in their 30-day boot camp _  dump the processed junk and embrace whole foods _ and you’ll emerge a  brand-new person. It would be hard to be hungry on this diet: You’re  encouraged to eat plenty. Recipes such as Asian stir fries, frittatas and  soups are ultra simple and encourage creative substitutions based on what you  and your family enjoy.

‘Six Weeks to OMG: Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends’
Amusing ‘tude-filled argument that everything you think you know about dieting  is wrong. According to author Venice A. Fulton, skipping breakfast is good,  and small, frequent meals are bad. And exercise? “Exercise is just so 2011!”  Just move more, he argues. He also advises amping up on proteins and scaling  back carbs to 50 to 120 grams per day.

(That’s well under the minimum carb  intake recommended by the federal government, of about 175 grams per day for  an adult woman.) One suggested trick for flattening your abs? No joke: Blowing  up balloons. As might be expected, this book has come under fire by critics  who question its wisdom and fear it will pit impressionable teens against one  another, trying to out-diet their friends.

‘Paleoista’
The paleo diet meets fashionista, courtesy of Los Angeles’ Nell Stephenson.  Ditch flours, sugar, grains and dairy. What’s left, you say? Steak and eggs  for breakfast. Seared sea bass with a coconut curry sauce or sun-dried  tomato-and-basil stuffed tenderloin for dinner.

‘The Manhattan Diet’
Dieting has never been so fabulous. Eileen Daspin adopts an  everything-in-moderation approach as she name-drops her way through living,  dining and dieting on the world’s chicest island. Ditch the unfulfilling junk,  she says, in favor of celeb-chef recipes such as a Mario Batali  fennel-and-arugula salad and Eric Ripert’s grilled salmon with a ponzu  vinaigrette. Plus: You have to love a diet book with a whole chapter dedicated  to cheating.

‘Bread Is the Devil’
Despite the title, you do occasionally get bread. Authors Heather Bauer and  Kathy Matthews use bread as the symbolic stumbling block for so many diets.  The book is as much a meal plans as an approach to banishing your personal diet devils, be they trigger foods, emotions, situations or moments. (One that  everyone will recognize: Diving into the depth of a bread basket despite a day  spent meticulously following your diet plan.)

‘The Starch Solution’
The fat you wear is caused by the fat you eat, says Dr. John A. McDougall. He  promotes a plant-based diet that will have you slashing fat and animal  proteins and taking on the “eat more starch” challenge. That’s right, a  challenge that encourages you to add up to four cups of pasta a day to your  diet. Also on the approved menu? Whole wheat pancakes, French toast and  eggless egg salad made with tofu.

‘The Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous Project’
“Want to drop 6 percent to 10 percent of your body fat in one month? Then go  gluten free,” says author Esther Blum, a registered dietitian. “Stay gorgeous”  by getting carbs from fruits and veggies as well as oats, sweet potatoes and  even sugar. (Avoid sugar, but when giving in to the rare, sweet treat, indulge  with “the real deal.” One recipe in the book: a gluten-free, coconut flour  chocolate cake.) It includes four meal plans, primers on vitamins and  supplements, and a food journal. – MCT

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