The Ultimate Practical Guide to Everyday Low Carb Living by Dr Harv and Patricia Haakonson

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1. Eat too little or infrequently. Keep moods and energy up, hunger satisfied and metabolism in high gear by eating three meals and two to three snacks a day. Don't skip breakfast!

2. Eliminate all fruits. Extremely low-carb diets that forbid fruit are punishing and invite cheating. Eat moderate portions of fiber -- and nutrient-rich strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, grapefruit or peaches.

3. Eliminate fats. The 12-week Harvard School of Public Health study and others prove that low-fat diets result in weight gain. To lose weight, you need to increase your consumption of good fats (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats).

4. Get snacks out of your kitchen. Wrong! Replace commercial baked goods, candy, chips, crackers, cookies and pretzels with healthy snacks such as hard-boiled eggs, cheese, celery, nuts, sugar-free gum, homemade "slow-carb" bars and muffins, protein shakes, cucumbers, yogurt and sugar-free Jell-O.

5. Splurge away from home. Your healthy eating program is a way of life. Try to stick to your new behaviors and habits everywhere you eat -- at restaurants, friends' homes and while traveling.

6. Consume lots of artificially-sweetened foods and beverages. Artificial sweeteners can trigger cravings for additional sweets in some people. Others gain "false fat" or bloating caused by the body's inability to digest sugar substitutes.

7. Count calories. Hormone (insulin) levels, not calories, are what determine your metabolism, or rate at which you burn fat. Eat balanced meals to keep your insulin balanced and your metabolism working efficiently.

8. Eat lots of commercial low-carb products. Buyer beware! Many companies have jumped on the "low-carb" bandwagon with high-calorie, low-nutrition snack foods that will not help you change your eating habits or lose weight.

9. Adopt a rigorous exercise routine. Exercise is important, but daily activity that you enjoy and can sustain over a lifetime is more important. The name of the weight-loss game is adopting habits that become second nature.

10. Load up on protein, eliminate carbs. Protein-loading has high health risks, and radical high protein, low-carb diets can't be sustained long term. Switch to a balanced diet that features healthy amounts of protein balanced with high-quality carbs.

“In a bland smorgasbord of diet and exercise information in our fat-obsessed society, one Victoria couple’s book stands out. Harv and Patricia Haakonson are the authors of numerous low-carbohydrate lifestyle books. The couple not only offers practical advice for weight loss and healthy eating; they live it. People have confessed that the Haakonsons have turned their lives around. With feedback like that, it’s not much wonder they’re having the time of their lives.”

Canadian Press Release
BC-BOOKS-Healthy-Living
Books may inspire healthy living
but won't do time on the treadmill.
by LORRAYNE ANTHONY Lifestyles Reporter
The Canadian Press Toronto [EXCERPT]
January 18th 2005

TORONTO (CP) _ Whether it's a workout you are after, healthy recipes or an overall lifestyle change, perhaps the best thing you can do to get in shape this year is head to the bookstore. Reading won't burn a lot of calories, but it may inspire healthy eating habits and more frequent trips to the treadmill.

Years past have seen the shelves flooded with the likes of Atkins, the South Beach Diet and the Zone, but trend analyst Dana McCauley says we may be seeing the last of the no carb era.

"Last summer (low-carb enthusiasm) really peaked," said McCauley, food editor for Gardening Life magazine. "(Now) it's not as Atkins focused ... a lot more people are becoming aware of the importance of good quality carbohydrates."

While some say the no-carb trend is waning, others are still proponents of weight-loss philosophies that sing the praises of protein.

After having put on some extra weight despite exercising daily, Patricia Haakonson hit 50 and wanted to slim down. She turned to the low-carb diet book by weight-loss guru Dr. Robert Atkins. An avid cook, she glanced at his recipes and thought they were wonderful until she looked more closely.

"There was limited vegetables, almost no fruit and almost no whole grains," Haakonson said during an interview in a downtown restaurant, as she sipped a decaf latte with half whole milk and half steamed water; a low-carb beverage.

Unhappy with the Atkins approach, she started experimenting with her own favourite recipes, cutting out the buns, bagels and pasta to which she had grown accustomed.

She asked her husband, a doctor, to make sure this approach was medically sound. By focusing on protein, good fats and carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables as opposed to refined wheat, she lost more than 40 pounds, gained lots of energy and amassed many recipes.

By being a guinea pig for his wife's recipes, Dr. Harv Haakonson lost 38 pounds.

"When we set out to develop the lifestyle we were going to live forever, we knew it had to be healthy. It had to be easy, otherwise we wouldn't follow it. And the food had to be tasty; food we would enjoy eating," he said, ordering hot chocolate with a devil-may-care-about-carbs attitude.

Together they self published a low-carb guide with recipes. After it caught the interest of a publisher, they did more research and kitchen tests in their Victoria, B.C., home which resulted in Slow Carb For Life; The Ultimate Practical Guide to Low-Carb Living (ECW Press), accompanied by a recipe book Easy Low-Carb Cooking.

In addition to recipes that include Eggs Benedict, Walnut Flax Muffins, Shepherd's Pie and Chocolate Cake, the book contains tips on eating out, dinner parties and shopping (choose fresh produce, meat and dairy from the perimeter of grocery stores and skip the aisles with processed food).

While there are no recipes that call for rice or pasta, Harv Haakonson said that if you really want carbs, go ahead and enjoy; an occasional whole wheat pasta or brown rice certainly won't sabotage a healthy diet.)

BOOK REVIEW
Literature - Reviewed by: Cher Dawson
EASY LOW CARB COOKING©2002
by Patricia Haakonson May 2003

Patricia and Harv Haakonson write Easy Low Carb Cooking and its companion book Easy Low Carb Living. The cookbook is 185 pages and retails for 25.95 Canadian and 19.95 US. The companion book is 217 pages and retails for 24.95 Canadian and 19.95 US. (May 2003 Prices)

Both are self-published by Trafford. The cookbook is spiral bound; the companion book is perfect bound. Both are nicely published with a low gloss finish. This review is not intended as an endorsement for this diet plan. Also, as the Haakonsons recommend early on in their companion book, it is necessary for the reader to consult their family doctor before commencing any diet and this diet is no exception.

Easy Low Carb Living is well written. The material is presented in lay terms and therefore easy to understand. The book explains how an intake of low carbohydrates assists in weight reduction. It goes on to explain how a maintenance diet of low carbohydrates will maintain body weight. Common myths surrounding low carb diets are addressed. There are claims made regarding the health and energy benefits of this diet and Haakonson even gives you your grocery list.

In addition, the companion book contains several pages of daily weight loss menu plans; several more pages of daily maintenance planning menus; a number of baked recipes; a food diary and carbohydrate counter. Toward the back of the book the Haakonsons address frequently asked questions and follow that by a brief examination of commercial low carb bars. There is an index on the final pages.

Now, let's cut to the chase. On the surface, this looked like an expensive diet. There is a lot of chicken breast, fresh fish, asparagus, broccoli, olive oil etc. There is only one ground beef recipe presented as a meatloaf. When you think about it though, if you're going to deny yourself almost every fruit and a lot of vegetables (goodbye peas and carrots) are you going to want to eat hamburger?

Surprisingly the grocery bill was NOT higher than usual. In fact, I shaved a few dollars off the bill. Perhaps that's because there are no fruits and veg to go bad in your fridge. Perhaps it has something to do with a more organized approach to grocery shopping, buying only for exact recipes.

Like any diet this low carb regime is time consuming. Being on this diet is a full time job. Many of the recipes take a long time to prepare (magic muffins from the companion book comes to mind) and for the three weeks I ate low carb, I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen preparing food.

That said, these recipes were all positively delicious and well worth the effort that went into preparing them. I prepared no fewer than sixty recipes in the three weeks and found that every one was very tasty. Of course, it isn't hard to be tasty when the ingredients are heavy cream, sour cream and butter.

The cookbook is well worth owning if for no other reason than the recipes are great. If you're planning to diet why not invest in both books and understand how low carb eating works.

What the Press Said About
 EASY LOW CARB COOKING©2002
and EASY LOW CARB LIVING©2002
our best-selling first edition low carb cook book
and our original low carb life style book.

“Patricia Haakonson recently published her first cookbook, and advocates a low carb approach to weight loss. ….. Haakonson explains that high carbohydrate foods turn to sugar in the body, which pile weight on if they aren’t burnt up through exercise.” Tarina White, The Saanich News, Victoria BC

“Everyday Low Carb Cooking is a helpful book for any type of low-carbohydrate approach to eating. Haakonson provides helpful hints that worked for her. Recipes are for interesting dishes such as avocado dip, curried crab, creamy asparagus soup, lemon thyme chicken, cold salmon with dill sauce…and pork loin.” Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington KY

“Asked how all this fits into Canada’s Food Guide, she said ‘ The rules are changing. Low fat is not working. It’s the pasta, the bread, the potatoes that are piling the weight on North Americans, in general. Low-carb eating is going to become more mainstream.’ Wanting to share her success with others, Haakonson has compiled a book, Everyday Low Carb Cooking, with over 150 recipes and helpful hints on how to live a low-carbohydrate lifestyle.” Marie Nightingale, The Chronicle Herald, Halifax NS

“If desserts are your diet downfall, try this low-carb version of mousse, courtesy of ‘Everyday Low Carb Cooking’ and treat holiday guests.” Metro Editorial Services, New York NY

“Patricia Haakonson, now of Victoria, British Columbia, has written a cookbook titled Everyday Low Carb Cooking, focused on recipes designed to help one lose weight and at the same time feel more energized.” Sharon Montgomery, Cape Breton Post, Sydney CB

“Everyday Low Carb Cooking includes more than 150 recipes – everything from Creamy Asparagus Soup to Chicken with Citrus Cranberry Sauce, to Meat Loaf with Tomato Sauce and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble – and lifestyle hints from a self-described food fanatic.” Skana Gee, The Daily News, Halifax NS

“Patricia Haakonson and Dr. Harv Haakonson are a Victoria-base writing/publishing team who combine knowledge of beneficial food recipes and medical knowledge with an unswerving determination to get their books into as many stores as possible.” Sidney Allinson, Times Colonist, Victoria BC

“What sets Easy Low Carb Living apart from similar books touting a low-carb lifestyle, such as The Zone or Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, is that it takes the science behind the approach and breaks it down into common, simple language that’s easy to understand. The Haakonsons’ flexible lifestyle guidelines are also based on what the couple practises.” Lisa Kadane, The Calgary Herald, Calgary AB

“Dr. Haakonson … offers medical insight in a clear and understandable format in this co-authored publication.” Wayne Gibson, West Central Crossroads, Kindersley SK

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