James came to see the cardiologist after being told he had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and was continuing to gain weight. The doctor told him if he wanted to get things under control he needed to lose weight and make a complete lifestyle change. It was recommended that he try the Reality Diet and he did. Not only did he try the diet, but also he brought his entire family to the appointment with the Reality Diet Dietitian. The family consisting of him, his 10-year-old son John, and his wife Janet, all set out to lose some pounds.

The family got rid of the nightly ice cream, rid of the poptarts for breakfast and totally made over the pantry. Exercise was never a regular thing and now every night they walk or do calisthenics. The result is James has lost 37 pounds, his wife has lost 22 pounds, and their 10-year old son has lost 13 pounds. The best news is that all of James’ blood work has returned to normal levels..

At six foot four, Tony is a big guy. But over the years he slowly became both tall and heavy and his weight gain began to affect his health drastically. At 41 years old, he was already diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. He had started to eat more healthfully and walk daily, but he needed some additional help to keep from getting bored with his diet. His cardiologist suggested he try the Reality Diet.

Apparently, the Reality Diet was exactly what he needed. In his first 2 ½ months, he has lost 2 pants sizes--a total of 30 pounds!—and feels so rejuvenated he is cutting all of his neighbors’ lawns. His four children are especially happy, because their dad has lots more energy to play. As far as Tony’s health is concerned, his cholesterol and triglyceride levels are now in the normal range and he expects to be giving up his high blood pressure and diabetes medications in the near future.

As a consequence of a major illness he had recently overcome, Joe, 61, reformed his diet and generally ate very healthfully. At 208 pounds, however, he was still overweight, had high cholesterol, and was flirting with diabetes. With only minor changes to his diet—reducing the amount of protein he was eating, increasing the fiber he was taking in, and watching his portions—Joe started taking off weight slowly and steadily. Lo and behold, after 4 months he had lost 33 pounds! Never a layabout, he now has more energy than ever and is amazed to be this slim at his age.

At 48 and nearly 400 pounds, Lisa was in bad shape. A severe diabetic, she could only walk with the aid of a walker. But she didn’t get this way eating a lot of junk food, just too much old-fashioned high-fat cooking. Her main vice was regular soda, empty calories that she consumed all day long.

After a year on the Reality Diet, Lisa has shed 100 pounds, losing weight consistently without any plateaus. She eats more fruits and vegetables and has learned to cook low-fat meals. She finds the plan easy to live with, and even treats herself to the occasional diet soda. She now walks 45 minutes a day without a walker and plans to lose another 100 pounds by next year.

A divorced dad, 44-year-old Robert was like many single men who choose not to cook. His breakfast consisted of a McDonald’s sausage biscuit, hash browns, and a large Coke. Lunch was the Chinese buffet and dinner was usually something convenient like a can of ravioli. In between meals, he snacked on Cokes and chips. Weekends, especially during football season, featured pizza and chicken wings. Once and a while he would get out and walk, but it was really not a part of his routine.

Robert’s doctor told him that between his weight—257.5 pounds—high blood pressure and high cholesterol, he was courting diabetes. If he wanted to live to see his son grow up, he needed to lose weight fast. Robert committed to the Reality Diet then and there. Now he cooks chicken breasts and vegetables on Sundays so that he can pack his lunches and have his dinners ready for the week ahead. He also takes karate class three days a week with his son and on the off days he walks. Even allowing himself one “cheat day” a month, he’s lost nearly 80 pounds and his blood pressure and cholesterol are back to normal.

Steven, 12, was constantly being picked on by his schoolmates for being overweight. He knew that things wouldn’t get any easier when he entered Middle School. Toward the end of sixth grade, he heard about the Reality Diet from his grandmother, who had lost quite a bit of weight on it. Steven decided to give it a try, and much to his surprise, found it tasty and easy to follow.

Over the course of 5 months, Steven lost 27 pounds. In addition to watching his food intake, he has taken up football, karate, and swimming. The kid who was always being harassed because of his weight is now having girls call him!

Dorothea, 41, knew that when the doctor told her she needed to get her blood pressure down, he was serious. She had already lost her sister and mother at a young age to side affects of hypertension. Even though she walked an hour a day, her weight had crept up to 200 pounds from eating too much of her traditional Jamaican cuisine.

Dorothea signed up for the Reality Diet and quickly dropped 25 pounds in three months, learning to adjust some of her native recipes, eat smaller portions, and include more vegetables in her daily meals. As a night nurse, she tends to snack during her shift, so she now brings fruits and other healthful options to work. In addition to increasing her walking, she has started to jog. More than a year later, she has kept the weight off and her blood pressure has also come down.

At 61, Shelby, a homemaker with grown children, was already suffering from high cholesterol, hypertension, and borderline diabetes. Her eating habits were terrible: butter with breakfast, TV dinners for lunch, restaurants every night for dinner, four cups of coffee throughout the day, and a candy bar for a snack. And forget about exercise!

Because Shelby didn’t care to learn how to cook, she used Reality Diet tips to choose more healthful prepared meals and, when she ate out, followed the Dining Out guide, even bringing her own high-fiber wrap and asking for oil-free fajitas! She took up walking on a treadmill and is now up to 45 minutes a day. With 28 pounds down, she has 10 to go. Her blood profile has improved and she has more energy than ever.

Clif, a 31-year-old wine salesman from Dallas, started the Reality Diet the day the book was published, after seeing it featured on a morning talk show. More worrisome than the extra weight he’d put on indulging his passion for rich food was his elevated cholesterol, for which his doctor had prescribed statin drugs. Within the first month Clif had lost 16 pounds, and after three months had gone from 210 to 182. Even more importantly, his cholesterol has decreased and he no longer needs to take medication.

In addition to following the diet, Clif does cardiovascular exercise three times a week. He feels better than he has in years—this is the first time since college that he’s weighed less than 200 pounds. He praises the Reality recipes, which have broadened his already sophisticated palate, and writes, “This is a lifestyle and I love it. Thanks for writing the book—it has changed my life!”

A marketing manager in the food service industry, Jeff, 49, noticed that his business lunches and vacations were finally starting to affect his waistline and that his family’s waistlines were also expanding. So when Jeff visited the office to sign on to the Reality Diet, he brought the entire family with him, figuring it would be easier to lose weight if they did it together. He was right and the whole family has worked together to get healthy.

Jeff was the first one to reach his goal and found it pretty easy to do. His business lunches were still possible using the Reality Diet guidelines for eating in restaurants, and on vacations he made sure to watch his portions, but still enjoyed his meals. Jeff has lost 25 pounds, but even more impressive, he has reduced his body fat from 32 to 23 percent! Prior to beginning the Reality Diet, Jeff never even attempted to work out because he was always lacking the energy to do so. Now he not only has the energy to exercise, but works out with a partner who really makes him sweat!

Looking at John, you would have thought that he was just a big guy. But his health told another story. At 57, he suffered high cholesterol and hypertension. Every time he went for a check-up, his doctor told him that if he didn’t lose weight, he would have to increase his medications.

Like many who get to work early, John typically started his day by drinking a pot of coffee for breakfast. He then had a small muffin and salad for lunch and reasonable portions with his dinner. In spite of how little he was eating, the pounds continued to accumulate. John started the Reality Diet and quickly found that he could eat more, have more energy, and still lose weight. In four months, John dropped 30 pounds and has been able to keep it off. The best part is, he does not have to listen to the doctor threaten him any more.

When Maria’s doctor told her she was borderline diabetic and would have to lose weight immediately or face medication, she finally took the bull by the horns and committed to the Reality Diet. She lost 26 pounds in three months, got her blood sugar under control, and hasn’t looked back. That was more than a year and a half ago. Whereas she hardly exercised before, now she walks every day and has ample energy to care for her two young grandchildren. Plus, her weight loss has helped control the joint pains she suffered as a consequence of osteoarthritis. Best of all, Maria says she feels so full from eating a fiber-rich diet that she doesn’t even notice that she’s eating less than she used to, and her cravings for sweets are totally under control.

After 3 heart attacks and suffering severe Type 2 diabetes, John was the first to say he didn’t think there was much hope for him. He was convinced otherwise when put on the Reality Diet. He started at a weight of 226 and after four months lost nearly 30 pounds. He also went from having to inject insulin several times a day to being able to take a oral insulin twice a day. His triglycerides, which were typically high as a diabetic, went from 310 to 124.

John eats 3 regular meals and nibbles a Reality Reward throughout the day to help keep his blood sugar even. When he eats out at Cuban restaurants with his co-workers, he orders chicken or steak, salad, and yucca or corn. At the moment he is maintaining his weight, but aims to go back to the weight loss plan and take off more.

Single at 52, with two children, Rosa decided to take off those extra 20 pounds once and for all. She did it in four months, following the Reality Diet eating plan and doing lots of exercise. Now that she’s reached her goal weight, she continues to exercise heavily and feels it’s essential for maintaining her weight loss.