Customer Reviews

The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet To: Free Yourself from Food Cravings: Achieve Your Ideal Weight; Enjoy High Energy and Robust Health; Prevent and Reverse Disease

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I've now been on the program since November 2001. Two-and-a-half years later, I'm absolutely convinced without a doubt that eating according to what your body needs is the way to go. There are some wacky negative reviews that are quite perplexing. It appears some people need 200 scientific double blind studies certified by the FDA to be believable. Give me a break . . .

Use your common sense. Wake up and eat a typical breakfast. Cereal & milk (carbs/sugar), toast & jelly (carbs/sugar), orange juice (sugar). Then an hour later ask yourself, how's your hunger & cravings? How's your energy? How's your concentration? How your mood? The next day eat the same, but add two scrambled eggs and cut out the OJ. Ask the same questions. Many people would feel better an hour later. Why? Added protein. How much should you add? That depends on what your body needs. Should everyone just add protein? Nope, we're all different. That's the whole point, but some people feel apparently feel threatened by this simple concept.

Who thought of it first? Who cares! William Wolcott has used about twenty-five years of data to help you zero in on a starting point; the rest is up to you.

As an endurance athlete (cycling coach), I can tell you that fueling your body is a huge key to success in sports. On the program I started eating more food, but better quality (whole/natural/organic . . . if I can't pronounce it, I try to avoid it). The result was dramatic. I've had clients follow the basic plan in the book and loose weight, but weight loss isn't the only goal. It is really a nutrition book, not merely a weight loss book. The nutritionist who I consult with always says that it is about "rebuilding your health."

Anyone who knows anything about physiology will tell you the body is an amazing and complex system that always strives for homeostatic balance. This program is about helping your body achieve that goal by fueling it with the macronutrient ratio (percent of carbs, protein, and fats), that is wants.

If you think this is about eating mostly animal protein, you're wrong. That is the Atkins diet; that some people do well on, some people don't change and some people do worse on. What explains that? Biochemical Individuality. How then do you figure out what to eat to balance your body? Eat according to YOUR OWN body's needs. Eat according to your metabolic type.

"Nothing is more important to your health than something you put in your body several times a day, every day of your life."

Want some common sense articles? Go to the chekinstitute.com site and look through the articles relating to eating. You want a more comprehensive plan? Buy Paul Chek's "How to Eat Move and Be Healty!"

If you want more detailed information about eating, check out Mercola.com. Buy Dr. Mercola's new book, "Dr. Mercola's Total Health Cookbook." Though I think his plan is sometimes more difficult, check out his credentials and tell me his opinion isn't worth considering.

If you want a wake up call, start reading the news about degenerative diseases, obesity, etc. There is a claxon bell ringing. If you don't hear it yet, you will.

What ever you do, don't let people with their own negative attitudes prevent you from spending $10 and having the chance to improve your life in dramatic ways. Rebuilding your health to be the best you can be is a journey and this is a great first step. The risk? $10.

I loved this book. I've read so many books on health and weight loss, especially for women nursing infants. I'm also an avid weightlifter, trying to lose the excess weight that was gained from my high risk pregnancy.

I learned so much from this book about my body. It didn't do a one-size fits all eating plan for people, but helped you determine what was right for your specific body. It also explained the various body types in a reasonably easy-to-read format. The details helped me understand my body at a level that I haven't gotten in other books. Some books were way complicated, others just made too light of a tough subject.

Wolcott did a good job explaining the various systems in the body. I'm so interested in the biochemistry of the body that I'm thinking about going to graduate school to learn more.

I've been able to apply the things I've learned in Wolcott's book to determine my Metabolic Typing, which was a strong Protein. I never realized I needed as much protein as I needed, which would explain why my workouts were getting worse, and worse and why my milk production was not good. I also was always feeling internally tired, yet on the surface level, very high energy. This book was able to pinpoint the things going on in my body when I wasn't eating for my metabolic typing.

Once I started eating according to my metabolic typing, my body has been losing ~0.5% bodyfat per week for the past 2 months consistently. That's in the 1-2 lbs of bodyfat per week. I've been consistently regaining back my strength and still maintaining my lean body mass. My focus is back. I'm also able to gradually kick up my workout intensity.

As I lose more bodyfat, I'll probably have to adjust my macronutrient ratio. Wolcott's book explains how to do this. I've also been able to apply Wolcott's information in helping my 4 yr old daughter with her diet. It's the first time anything has really ever worked to help her with her severe eczema.

There's something to this. Eating what your body wants helps to bring the body to balance. Oh, forgot to mention, by eating my metabolic typing, I've been able to control my blood pressure without meds. I basically exercise regularly, reduce stress, sleep enough, eat what I thought was healthy but turned out the macronutrient ratio I was eating was all wrong for my body, which was causing my high blood pressure and heart condition. Now that I'm eating my metabolic typing, my heart is returning to normal along with my blood pressure.

Thank you Mr. Wolcott.

Having read all of the negative reviews on metabolic typing diet, I would like to shed some light on the criticisms of the book. I have, off and on, been studying customized nutrition for the last decade of my life. There are two critical questions to ask with regard to diet: 1) Is there a one-size-fits-all approach that works for everyone? And 2) If not, what is the best approach to customized nutrition?

To answer the first question one has to go no further than reading one of two books. Upon reading one of those books the open minded reader has no other rational conclusion to draw than the fact that everyone is unique and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The two books are Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price and Biochemical Individuality by Roger Williams.

The answer to the second question can be found by looking to see who has researched all of the available data on customized
nutrition and put together a program that the average person can follow. William Wolcott is by far the leading authority on
customized nutrition. He has read all of the recent discoveries and has also read what the pioneers in the field have written. In
addition, he studied under William Kelley (a pioneer in the field of customized nutrition). He has come up with the most
intelligible, comprehensive system available today for people to discover their metabolic type.

I am sure by now you are trying to reconcile the conflicting reviews on the book. Some criticize the book for lacking science or evidence for what is said in the book. Others say the book is excellent. I think a great deal of confusion lies in the assumption that his critics are making regarding the book's intended audience. His intended audience in the book is the masses of people in America. Those masses typically aren't very analytical or scientifically minded. If he had written the book to the scientifically minded he would have alienated a much larger audience, the average American. When I first read his book I was relieved to find that it was so easily understandable to a layperson. Yet when I dug deeper into William Wolcott and his organization Heathexcel I found the tremendous amount of science behind his work was second to none.

I highly recommend this book and believe the information in it to be absolutely life changing. If I had to choose this book or any other ten books combined on the subject of diet I would choose this book hands down. The book is worth every penny you will pay for it and more importantly it is worth the time you will invest reading it. There is more information on his web site healthexcel.com.

brettwbauer@hotmail.com

Having just read 33 reviews of Wolcott and Fahey's book, I am amazed at the range of views. I even wonder if some reviewers read the book. The most favorable reviews came from those who tried the book's approach and had success. The most unfavorable reviews rant about generalities and blab on about science, but give no specifics. I found the book to give a well presented background of the theory, but when I tried the test I came out as about balanced (as did my wife). We later went to Dr Harold Kristal (who also has a book on the subject on this website) for a measurement-based typing and found myself to be protein oriented and my wife, vegetarian. Following separate diets, we both lost pounds and inches, as well as gained energy. Thus I know that the theory works. I would not recommend using a questionaire to decide one's type. But obviously, it seems to work for some people. Maybe they are more in touch with the effect of food on their body than I am. I also suspect that this book works best for people who have been eating far from their ideal diet for a long time, and change because of the information. It is worth reading, but I recommnend Dr Kristal's book more highly.

The man whopo started the Metabolic Typing Diet was Dr. Kelley when he needed to cure his own pancreatic cancer, not Dr. Wolcott or any other person who infiltrated the Kelley program (sponsered by the pharmaceutical industry) Check Wolcott's credentials and you will see he does not have the knowledge or experience to improve the Kelley protocol.

In figuring out the metabolic nuances needed to treat and reverse his cancer, Kelley was able to come up with a protocol which enabled him to help many people cure their cancers too. The cancer/pharmaceutical industry caught wind of what he did and gave him a really rough ride(there's a suprise). In the end they couldn't stop him so what they did is a warning to everyone in this forum. They had several people infiltrate his organization, then start up their "new improved" systems which according to Kelley, were designed not to work. It was a way to use marketing and disinformation to cloud Kelley's successful work and results with a new improved method that WILL NOT WORK. Classic disinfo propoganda measures.

According to Kelley, William Wolcott is the main disinfo person who is now author of the best selling Metabolic Typing Diet which has lots of sexy, interesting notions in it but is designed to be off base(just enough to not be effective). Kelly wrote a letter explaining what I am saying here. I will track it down and post it along with Dr. Kelley's phone number so you can speak to him in person about it.

More on Kelley here:
http://www.drkelley.info/articles/archive.php?artid=269

The Metabolic Typing Diet recommends finding the optimal carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake for one's "metabolic type" based on a detailed survey and empirical results of the diet.
  
The book contains a detailed survey which supposedly helps to determine one's type based on questions like "How do you feel about potatoes?" and "Do you have a lot of energy after eating meat?" I have not talked to anyone whose "metabolic type" based on the survey was other than "Mixed Type" so don't find the survey very helpful.

The Metabolic diet is primarily concerned with keeping blood sugar levels low, just as in Atkin's and The Zone. It is helpful in that, unlike these one-size-fits-all diets, one is instructed to find the percent of carbs, proteins, and fats that allows one's blood sugar to stay low. This can be higher than allowed on the Zone's strict 40-30-30 (carb/protein/fat) regimen and especially Atkin's. It might be 60/25/15 for a pure "carbo type" or 50/30/20 for a "mixed type." This makes the diet easier to follow and perhaps more effective for people whose blood sugar is already well regulated and does not spike that high from eating carbs.   

After the metabolic type is determined based on the survey, one is instructed to follow a diet with limited carbs, then start raising the carb intake until the ideal ratio is determined as evidenced by the best energy levels, digestion, and well-being. If the diet is seemingly not producing benefit it then instructs one to follow Eat Right 4 Your Type - it even includes an abbreviated version of the ER4YT food lists.

I'd like to address some of the reviewers who rated this book poorly.

One reviewer writes: "And although the idea that we are genetically different may have plenty of merit, this book does not convincingly demonstrate that we are different to the extent that some people should eat a high-carb diet whereas others should eat a high-fat diet. That involves a radical genetic difference, indeed." Perhaps. But traditional and indigenous diets worldwide vary in fat content from well over 70% of calories (Aleutian natives) on down, and degenerative diseases are unknown among indigneous peoples. This suggests that there is, in fact, wide genetic variation in the diet requirements of humans. Secondly, there is not as much variation in the diets as Wolcott's names (Protein, Carbo, and Mixed) make it appear. There is a fairly large amount of carb in the Protein diet (more than, say, an Atkins or South Beach diet), and the Carbo diet includes a fair proportion of protein. Finally, all types are advised to avoid refined sugar and cut back on refined grains, which will aid in controlling insulin and blood sugar. The reviewer is critical of the book on this ground, but if he had read the book carefully, he would realize that these diets (because there are multiple diets presented in the book) *will* lead to improved insulin and blood sugar control.

To the vegetarian reviewer, and the reviewer with Epstein-Barr: I wonder if you followed Wolcott's tests properly. One of the major points of this book is that there is no one right diet for everyone. So, if you try one of Wolcott's suggested diets, and do not do well on it, perhaps you need to adjust it. That is exactly the point of the book. I'm having a hard time imagining why one reviewer writes that s/he did not do well "on all that animal protein," when only one diet in the book contains significant proportions of animal protein. The very fact that this reviewer found relief in a different diet, and that the vegetarian reviewer remains healthy on a vegetarian diet, only supports Wolcott's point that there is no one right diet for everyone.

This book is incredible and a must read for anyone who eats. This book is so much more than losing weight. Actually weight lose is a by-product of the metabolic typing system, not the goal.

While I am in 'good' health and come from a long line of long livers I feel the changes in my life due to this book will vastly increase my chances of living a long and healthy life.

This book is really wonderful, mainly based on the foundation it is written on; that of Dr. Roger J. Williams. This theory is extremely eyeopening and mindboggling compared to the other ... theories that are thrown at us today. WE THE PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN THIS ALL ALONG!!! Imagine, actually saying that all people are different, and react in different ways to different things!!! The medical profession doesn't seem to have caught on to this yet. But every one (of us little real,peon people) can tell you that different things work for different people. Dr. Williams shows you why. And this book is a fantastic foundation for encouraging you to learn about your differences and how they affect you in the diet/nutrition arena. Those of us who have been through the medical zoo know that you have to take your health out of the medical professions' hands and into your own hands if you want to live and get well (and/or thin), and this book will help start you out. Your diet is the basis of your health and your health problems. Always go treat the source and not the symptoms. I also truly recommend all books by Dr. Williams; especially "Biochemical Individuality" (it's not as difficult as it sounds!) and "The World Within You," along with Jeffrey Bland's "Genetic Nutritioneering." I also recommend Dr. Mercola's absolutely free and highly educational newsletter at [his website], along with Doug Kaufmann's information at [his website]. Doug's new book on cancer, though expensive, is worth twice the money, and is just about as eyeopening as this book. The only doctors and medical personnel who will benefit from this book are the ones who truly want to help patients and their people. The doctors who are either brainwashed by the pharmaceutical agents who taught them in medical school or are out to make a buck will not be interested. The "industry" does not want people to learn for themselves, eat nutritious foods, take supplements or herbs that work with their bodies or otherwise make their bodies well and healthy. They want a bunch of mindless, totally bodily degenerated zombies who are dependent on them to keep them addicted to their "wonder" drugs and paying them astronomical prices for their drugs and body poisoning procedures. The same goes for their cohorts, the AMA, the FDA and the large "disease" associations who never listen to anything that helps anyone, only to their own pocketbooks. And the FDA is the worst of them all; they're supposed to be protecting people. Instead, these people are trying to crush everyone who makes a stand for real health. We all have to stand up for our own health, along with the few who are trying to help us, such as the authors of this book, and people such as Dr. Mercola and Doug Kaufmann. This book is a good, solid start. (Please note that the views expressed here are my own, and not from the book!!!!)

I did not know what I was really looking for when I purchased this book, only that I needed to change something to bring about an increase in energy. I was always SO fatigued, sleepy and no energy to get simple things done. I don't have a weight problem and I'm not sick per se only that I suffer a lot of muscular pain.

This book first gave me hope as it clearly explains why I feel what I feel, then it gave me a simple plan how to change things. The first time I tried to balance my meals according to my metabolic type I notice a significant change in my energy - I had a "normal" day for the first time in too many years to tell. It's not easy to find the right balance at every meal, but then I'm new at this. At least I've got hope that if I am persistent in my efforts, I will finally have a chance at a normal healthy life for the first time in more than 30 years.

Well worth reading for every one, whether you have any ill symptoms or are well!

Thanks to the authors for showing us the way to a second chance.