400 Calorie Fix: The Easy New Rule for Permanent Weight Loss!

by Liz Vaccariello, Mindy Hermann

The latest research shows that controlling calories is consistently the most successful weight loss
method. Of course, counting calories is nothing new. But only 15 percent of us know how many calories we should eat to maintain a healthy weight. Most of us don't know how many calories are in the foods we eat. And most of us don't really want to have to count calories.


400 Calorie Fix makes it easy to spot and control calories, with no banned ingredients, no magic foods, and no complicated rules. Readers learn how to eat with the 400 calorie "lens"—the essential tool they need to assess portion sizes for all types of food at a glance.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Health, Cooking, Food

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2010

Reviews

[Elizabeth Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is most amazing. the chapters are divided into information dining out and recipes. Everything is easy to find and flows well. I already knew that I should eat regular meals throughout the day in proper portions not the super size version, but have always had trouble eating even a full meal, being told by others I eat like a bird, (although birds do eat quite a lot. I get full quickly on small amounts and can barely get through the hamburger kids meal at McD, yet I am overweight. This book has helped tremendously in that it gives easy to fix meal options that I can actually follow. The recipes are tasty enough for the rest of the family and the eating out guide is equally helpful in making choices out. I am now actually eating more everyday and feel much better. Before I would only eat once a day at dinner. Yes I know very bad. There are a mix of recipes that use many ingredients or just a few, plus slow cooker ones so you are not chained to the kitchen. There is a jump start week menu/recipes and a cooking/freezing menu/recipe section as well. SOOOOO much information that you will actually USE. !

[Kisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty, and had an interesting concept. One thing I really liked about it was that it showed "real-world" examples of how to eat 400 calorie meals.. like, at Wendy's or when you don't feel like chaining yourself to a stove. It also gave a ton of ideas about foods that you could combine into 400 calorie meals.

However, the main issue I had with it was that it felt rather high-handed and preachy. it's one thing to have a general plan about how to eat in this 400 calorie meal way, but this felt... very restrictive, and the feeling you get is that the author has no room for deviation from her 400 calorie meal plan. Real-life is not always set up to feed you four 400 calorie meals per day. Sometimes you'd rather have a large dinner and a small breakfast. This book didn't really allow room for that. I also had a hard time wrapping my brain about the 2-week fix diet for practical reasons. One day, you ate blueberries. The next you ate a cup of sliced strawberries. The next you ate 1/2 cup or so of cantaloupe. Great! Where does the rest of the fruit go? Because in this quest for variety, you are going to be throwing an awful lot of food away. I mean, there are other people in the house who might eat some of it, but it felt like it would have been less wasteful to put these recipes together in a more efficient way.

[Tamara Catlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good to get an idea of portions etc... but very much a book designed for the American market.... I'm still glad I borrowed it though!

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5)
Losing weight is as simple as burning more calories than are consumed. The standard 2000 calorie diet is based on an average man's activity level and caloric requirements. As a petite cis woman, I need to eat 1600 calories to maintain my weight and this book recommends a 1200 calorie diet for weight loss which is both reasonable and achievable.

Highlights: A great introduction to appropriate eating habits and the history of increased portion size in America. Recipes are simple although not very diverse.

Lowlights: Recipes are styled around an American palate with little variation/deviations. A lot of pages covering processed and fast foods.

[Artina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn with this book. I do not like it but also find parts of it helpful. I do not like diet books of any sorts. I also do not like when there is a focus on a certain amount of calorie consumption. With that said, this book does provide great examples of healthy, low calorie meals that might help you meet your nutritional needs. Honestly, if they had left the whole "gimmicky diet" part at the beginning out and just called it a healthy low calorie meal planning book, this would have been a 5 star book for me.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of feel bad about giving this book 2 stars because I'm trying to get into the concept of smaller meals throughout the day and the 400 calorie fix offers an easy approach, but I thought it was just ok. There is lots of insightful information about how to view 400 calories and the cheat sheets for eating out are helpful (though I don't eat fast food that much), but I was mostly disappointed with the recipes. I made two of the crockpot recipes (turkey meatloaf & black bean soup) and they came out edible but not memorable; sadly, the recipes section seemed more for amateurs and people just starting to cook for themselves. This was a fun browse, the pictures and graphs are visually pleasing, but this is not a book I'd rely on for recipes.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaccariello does a great job of actually showing you portion sizes and explaining how to eat better/healthier junk food, restaurant food, frozen food, etc. while losing weight. The 400 calorie aspect is kind of gimmicky, but it's easier than following most other diets. If you can manage to keep each meal around 400 calories you'll do well. It's a lot less math than trying to keep track of all of your daily calories.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with do-able recipes, 400-calorie meals and helpful combinations of salads, entrees and desserts, all adding up to 400 calories. There's even a great section of fast food restaurants and prepared foods recipes.

Appetizing recipes and pictures. I've already marked several recipes for later...

[Louise Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this once and will try again. It may not be for me.

I take multiple meds which chage my metabolism (seriously, the side effects include diabetes and hypothyrodism).

I also am dealing with a torn up knee and foot so exercise has to be of the floor variety which are so boring.

Cadbury Creme Egg anyone?

[Heydi Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a nice book with good information. I appreciate that she included the sodium content so you can see how amazingly high many of these recipes are in sodium.

I get it, processed food is loaded with sodium because sodium tastes good. It also plays havoc with your body's system and makes your body retain lots of water when you consistently ingest too much.

[Marbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good perspective on take out food and junk. gives a useful rule of thumb on calories and quantities. I am especially keen to the beer and dessert section. Half way through... waiting to see how the recipes are.

[Helen Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

good discussion on calorie counting with simple tips on how to portion and view 400 calories - includes lists of meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with suggested combos when dining out to achieve reasonable portions

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Always looking for new recipes and these are less calories which should be helpful in trying to eat less. Some helpful weight loss tips too.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best fixed calorie meal/snack book out there based on calories - huge and tasty variety

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it...I tried the scone recipe and it wasn't bad at all.
This book gave me a better sense of how to portion my meals.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast, easy meal combos totaling 380-420 calories each. This book makes meal planning easier.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the concept of this book is great however, I think it could be a little easier to navigate. I've tried a dozen or so recipes in here and they are quite good.

[Jennifer Stringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lost about 7-8 lbs., but I can usually to lose 5 - 10 pretty easily - it's more than 10 where it gets more difficult for me.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept but it was too busy to totally grasp. The menu ideas were interesting but calls for things that aren't in my cabinet. Recommend that you check this one out from the library.

[Kristina Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really good recipes

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of lovely pictures and some really good information. Just wish I had the discipline and time!

[Starr · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of junk foods recommended in this book.

[Gina]

Flagged p. 21, 31, 39-40, 65 up to pg.?

[Christie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple really great ideas. Good to flip through, but a lot of recipes I wouldn't use often.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book broke down food into a much more doable diet/change of life style.