The MD Factor Diet

The MD (Metabolism Dysfunction) Diet focuses on changing eating patterns to regulate glucose and ensure that food is turned into energy rather than fat. The book is beautifully presented with scientific information nicely and easily explained for the layman. This is a protein/carb counting diet but servings/portions are clearly laid out and recipes/diet plan easy to follow. Women, especially those in later years, will find the information in here especially useful as topics of pre and post menopause are discussed. But the real heart of the book is that it is the rare animal that really makes sense of the the science behind why your belly won't go away.

The book breaks down as follows: Part 1 Discover Your MD Factor (Metabolism dysfunction, it's not your fault). Part II: Understanding The MD Factor (The MD Factor = Metabolism Dysfunction; Triggers for the MD factor; The protein you need; The carbohydrates you need; The fat you need; The vitamins and supplements yo need; The exercise you don't need - yet; The alcohol you need to watch; The artificial sugars you need to watch). Part III: The MD Factor Action Plan ( The MD Factor daily action plan; Keeping track of your progress; The MD Factor maintenance plan). Part IV: Recipes (Main course meals; Sides; Sauces, toppings, salad dressings; Snacks). Appendices (Why other diets don't work; Blood work for the MD Factor; Calculating net carbohydrates; Genetic influences on your weight; Metformin; Nutritional information quick reference guide; MD Factor food log; Additional resources; Animal protein and vegetarian diets).

The beginning of the book has several quizzes to help you understand your own current metabolic situation. But most of the book's attention is on understanding how your body metabolizes food rather than the usual scary health warnings of diabetes, heart risk, etc.

The presentation is very friendly (I recommend a Kindle Fire or physical copy for that reason) with different fonts, colors, and call out boxes. It makes for a pleasant and easy read despite the hard science topics. How this diet differs from many others right now is its strong concentration on protein, though carbs, fat, and of course vitamins/supplements are given enough detail as well. Although readers may have seen a lot of this information already if they've read any diet books in the past 3 years, I have to say that the ease of understanding in the presentation really makes this book stand out.

The diet itself breaks down into these sections: 3 reclaim days, 25 transformation days, 6 stabilization days. The reclaim days clear the blood of insulin to jumpstart the metabolism. The 3-1/2 weeks of transformation days are intended to keep energy high, with the only difference between the reclaim and transformation days being the amount of carbohydrates. Finally, the stabilization days add more carbs for 6 days. If that seems confusing, don't worry, there is a 70 day calendar to guide you through the entire process.

As noted, you will need to carb count. E.g., reclaim days are 60 grams of carbs, transformation days are 60-100 grams of carbs, and stabilization days are 100-150 carbs. If it sounds grueling to have to count carbs, don't worry. There are very specific charts, graphs, and info with each recipe that give you the carb counts. What is important is the portion size and learning to take less quantity but better quality food. Then you aren't starving yourself with too much food that never gets metabolized and instead bypasses your cells and goes straight to fat.

The recipes are simple and easy to prepare. They are nicely laid out with numbered steps in paragraph form. Protein, fat, and carb info is given for each recipe item, from pomodoro sauce to French lentil salad.

Because the information is so accessible and easy to digest, this is a great book for those who are unsure if they want to commit to a diet but do want more information to help understand why they aren't losing belly fat or are sluggish every day. Of course, it is an easy diet to follow as well, with an emphasis on removing processed simple carbohydrates and artificial ingredients.

Reviewed from an ecopy provided by the publisher.