According to an updated report from the American Heart Association in 2012, 149 million Americans ages 20 and up are overweight or obese. Yet, nearly everyone knows that you can drop extra pounds and treat common health problems with easy changes in diet. With such a large scale epidemic, finding a way to decrease this number seems impossible.
But, Dr. Timothy Harlan realized he had a solution when his overweight patients complained that they were sick of hearing confusing information about what not to eat; they wanted to be told what to eat. The former chef combined his passion for cooking and his desire to help people get healthy to create “Just Tell Me What to Eat!: The Delicious 6-Week Weight-Loss Plan for the Real World” (Lifelong Books, $15) that tells people exactly what to ingest, day by day.
“For decades now, diet books have been written that have stolen food from us,” said Harlan. “First it was carbohydrates, then cholesterol, and later, fat. None of these fad diets were based in sound science, however, and they only resulted in nutrients being demonized. Part of this was because the research in the 1970s, ’80s and even into the ’90s wasn’t the quality it is now. Consequently, many physicians created diets based on pseudoscience or faulty science. The great thing is that we now have a much better understanding of what works for long-term health — and that’s not low-carb or low-fat or a diet that takes food groups away from us, but one with real food that gives us clear evidence about what to do.”
Harlan has counseled thousands of people searching for weight-loss answers and is well aware that there are times when you simply won’t want to think about cooking, so he accompanies each of his daily recipes with two quick alternatives: a convenience meal and a restaurant meal recommendation.
“One challenge is that people have left the work of cooking to others, and they don’t have a good understanding of what they’re eating,” said Harlan. “This ranges from high-calorie boxed and frozen meals, to fast food, to chain restaurant dinners that often have more calories and salt than one might need for a whole day on a single plate. By helping people plan, store and cook their own food, ‘Just Tell Me What To Eat!’ gets people back into the kitchen with quick, easy to cook recipes that are delicious, filling and satisfying, but not overloaded with calories.”
Harlan cuts through all the confusing diet trends and gets straight to the bottom line, while arming you with the knowledge you need to achieve a slimmer, healthier and happier lifestyle for good.
Contact staff writer Bobbi Booker at (215) 893-5749 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
