The Petite Advantage Diet: Achieve That Long, Lean Look. The Specialized Plan for Women 5'4" and Under.

I enjoyed this book. It had some great new strategies and info, that i have since put into place. It's now day 8 and I am down 4 pounds - the weight is also coming off the middle, which is great. i am 5'2" and started at 168 pounds, and i am now down to 164 pounds. I have been pretty athletic on and off over the years, and am more muscular than most women - i used to run a lot, and i did a lot of yoga on and off as well. If i can get down to 155 pounds or less, i will be thrilled - i gained a bunch of weight last year and at a minimum want to lose what i gained.However, I am not following the 21 day plan - i am basically putting Jim's main ideas into practice, combined with the lessons and insights i have learned over the years. I don't like the idea of calorie counting, but i am watching what i am eating - and starting the day off with a big healthy breakfast rich in proteins and fiber and low in sugar, and reducing meal sizes downwards since, as he suggests. I also cut a lot of sugar from my diet , esp breakfast (using stuvia instead of honey in my coffee, switching to half and half instead of a cup of 2% milk in my morning coffee since that has less sugar, etc.). I am hoping to drop at least 10 pounds in a month. Other than walking my dog in the morning, which i always do anyway, i am not doing any cardio - i have stayed off the treadmill. At a later point though, i am planning to start doing 20 min cardio workouts on my treadmill once or twice a week - not for weight loss, but because cardio is good for your heart, and it's fun.About 7 years ago, i dropped about 30 pounds in 3 months on the south beach diet, doing no exercise whatsoever. So i am a big believer that you don't need to work out like a maniac to lose weight - its all about what you eat. However, over a five year period, i did gain that weight back. This is where Jim's strategies make more sense - that you have to maintain your lean muscle mass to make sure your metabolism does not slow down, otherwise you will gain that weight back. On south beach, i lost a lot of fat at the beginning, but over time, i did lose more muscle weight. Four members of my family did that diet and we all complained about the loss of lean muscle weight, although we all lost a lot of weight on it initially, and most of us gained a good chunk of it back over time. Because of the muscle loss, and the subsequently slowed metabolism, you are more likely to gain it back over time - it's not as sustainable. South beach is also much harder to start off, because in the first phase, i.e. first two to three weeks, you eat no carbs at all, not even fruits - and i prefer having a big balanced and healthy breakfast every morning, as Jim suggests:) It's also not healthy to lose muscle tone - as you get older, you want to increase your muscle tone as much as possible, rather than lose it - and south beach ignores the muscle mass issue. But what's great about south beach is that it's written by a renowned cardiologist, and there is a lot of scientific insights in that book. Because of south beach, which encourages you to eat whenever you are hungry but not go into a calorie counting mode, i am not a firm believer of Jim's calorie counting approach. If i could drop 30 pounds not counting any calories and eating whenever i was hungry (but eating specific types of foods), then i am guessing the biological mechanism of losing weight is a little more complex than straight forward math of calories in and out. I also don't think its realistic to count calories day in and out everyday as you go about your busy lives. That said, for the last 8 days, i am careful about what i am eating - its all healthy, lots of fruits and veges, foods with low glycemic index, lots of fiber, very little sugar, etc., and i don't go hungry. I have not tried Jim's exercises in the book, but i am doing about 20 minutes of yoga and a bunch of pushups every other day at home, to maintain muscle tone. I might get the gravity strap and try his exercises later at some point - they do look very effective. I think what i am doing so far is a fusion of south beach and Jim's strategies, along with tips and insights i have picked up over the years from medical / heath articles, dr. oz show, other experts etc., which i think will be more sustainable for me long term. So far it's working, and i am frankly amazed at how fast it's working. Simple calories in and out does not explain losing 4 pounds in 8 days - i would have had to completely starve to do that. So far, I am eating a huge bowl of oatmeal with fruits/ nuts and bunch of other stuff every morning, usually a grilled fish or chicken with veges in the afternoon, etc. and a vey light dinner, along with mini snacks during the day, following his strategy of frontloading your calories in the day.The book does get a little bit overly salesy from time to time, as another reviewer pointed out. However, i would still recommend it highly, because many of his ideas and strategies seem to be highly effective, and I am grateful he shared them in this book.

I had seen Jim Karas on TV before Christmas and liked what I heard him saying. Most "normal size" people have no idea how much more difficult it is for us little people to keep our figures, especially after age 40. At 4 ft. 11 in. tall and a middle aged mother of 6, I needed some hope. I've been slim most of my life, but over the last 10 years or so my body has been changing and I didn't like what I saw in the mirror. The weight had been creeping up and I fouond myself 30 pounds overweight.I pre-ordered the book from Amazon and recieved it by the end of December. I didn't start the diet until January 10, and in the past two weeks I have lost 7 pounds! I have not been hungry for one minute of that time. As a matter of fact, it is very difficult for me to eat as much as he wants me to. The recipes are easy, delicious, and incredibly filling. This is not like those fad diets where you eat the same dull, boring food every day. It's no wonder people never stick to things like that. This diet doesn't seem like a diet at all. There is no deprivation here. It is very flavorful and tastes more like good restaurant food. I have not even started the exercise program yet as I have an injury which won't allow it, but I'm sure that when I am able to add that to my regimen, I will shape up that much more.I highly recommend this book. It is a quick easy read, very straight forward. A good portion of the book is dedicated to the actual recipes and meal plans. He tells you exactly what to eat at every meal every day. There is no guess work here. If you can read and are willing to take the small amount of time necessary to prepare each meal as directed, the results will follow. I am confident that I will reach my goal and get back my youthful figure in a relatively short time with this program.Thank you Jim Karas, from a very happy petite!

I followed the 21 day meal plan and today is day 22. I lost a total of 8 pounds in the 21 days which I am very happy with. I would say I was 90% compliant with the actual meals but 98% compliant with maintaining the calorie counts per day - 1100 / 1100 / 1600 cycle. I would caution against just using the shopping list and going out and buying everything on the list for a week at a time. There is a bit of waste (which is why I am not giving this a 5 star). For example, he has you eat a half cantaloupe at one point in the first week, but you never eat the other half - so if there isn't someone else in the household who would eat it, it is wasted (if you stay compliant with the diet) unless you actually study the meal plans more closely and know to only buy a half cantaloupe instead. There are many other examples like that. But overall, the meal plan is very good - I was never hungry and in fact the volume of food at every meal is quite large, just not high in calories. And, the meals are tasty and very easy to prepare. I did not follow the "no cardio" recommendation. I am a runner and continued to run during the 21 days, but limited my runs to 3-4 miles instead of anything longer because the calorie intake does not support longer runs. I also work out twice a week with a personal trainer at the gym for 1 hour at a time. I am going to continue the 1100/1100/1600 cycle for a while longer to drop some more weight and will select some of my favorite meals from the 21 day plan. I also used the FITBIT to track "calories in" and "calories out" which I found VERY useful and motivating. Would highly recommend the FITBIT in combination with the plan in the book.