The Formula: A Personalized 40-30-30 Fat-Burning Nutrition Program

To help put you on the track to successful weight loss (and maintenance), the Dousts, who worked with Dr. Barry Sears to develop and test the 40-30-30 Zone nutrition program, have written The Formula: A Personalized 40-30-30 Weight Loss Program. The Formula is based on the premise that if each meal or snack contains 40 percent of its total calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein, and 30 percent from fat, your body will maintain the proper balance of insulin to glucagon and thus burn excess fat all the time--even while you sleep.

Sound complex? Don't worry. For those who care to know how to determine the caloric ratio of a meal, the science behind the diet is explained thoroughly. For the rest of us, however, the authors have done all the work ahead of time. The book includes a 21-day "Fat-Flush" diet plan with over 100 easy-to-prepare meal choices and recipes--including eggs and bacon, Chicken Caesar Salad, and vegetable lasagna--as well as the "Formula for Life" maintenance plan. And, since the program boasts personal nutrition, the "Meal Plan Selection" chart makes it easy to determine how much to eat based on your gender, weight, and activity level. Although slightly labor intensive (but try to find a diet that isn't), The Formula offers helpful tips and suggestions for sticking to the plan when you are traveling, out for dinner, or simply not able to prepare your meals ahead of time. --Bree Altman

Product Description
Are you frustrated by low-fat/high-carbohydrate or all-protein diets that don't work? Tired of white-knuckle restrictions or doing math at every meal? Fed up with a constant craving for sugars and carbohydrates? Do you wish you had a magic formula for losing weight and keeping it off? Well, now you do. . . .

Pioneering weight loss and certified sports nutritionists Gene and Joyce Daoust have personally helped thousands of people lose weight, tone up, and enjoy a healthier, more fit lifestyle. Their advice? Drop the rice cakes and calorie-counting, and stop trying to figure out those complicated "food blocks." The Formula teaches an easy way to balanced nutrition that will have you burning fat 24-hours a day while eating foods you enjoy! Featuring menu plans, shopping lists, and progress charts, The Formula provides a personalized program for each person's specific needs and body type. So whether you're a couch potato, a professional athlete, or somewhere in between, you'll discover:

* Five different versions of the Formula--and how to find the right one for your weight and activity level
* The 21-Day Fat Flush Formula for accelerated weight loss
* More than 200 delicious recipes, including perfectly balanced 40-30-30 fajitas, chili, pork tenderloin, and New York cheesecake
* Special Kids' Favorites and Family Style meals
* Healthy advice on prepared foods, fast foods, and vegetarian meals

A plan for life, The Formula is a dieter's dream--the lifetime secret to losing weight, staying slim, and feeling great!

I wrote an anonymous review from Redondo Beach after my first week. It's now been eight weeks. I'm 6 feet tall and was 221 pounds. I have lost 22 pounds. My goal is to reach 180. I broke 200 this past weekend. By the way, I have not exercised at all. Perhaps pounds do come off easier when starting out 40 lbs over, but they are coming off.

My doctor told me three years ago, "Lose 30 lbs and lower your blood pressure. Goodbye." No suggestions, no help. Almost by accident my wife saw The Formula mentioned on TV. It looked "balanced." We tried it.

The 40:30:30 system works and is painless weight loss. Yes, protein sources such as 2% cottage cheese, lowfat cheese, chicken, beef and whey are somewhat expensive. We have had to re-learn shopping. We shop the perimeter of the market, not the inside aisles. We have re-learned cooking and eating, too. Yes, 40:30:30 is low calorie. That's the point: low calorie without hunger. How else are you going to lose weight? The difference is that I don't want to go off this diet. It's simply a better way to eat.

It's more than weight loss, though. With more study, I find this diet is really about controlling hormones, not calories (see "Entering The Zone," by Dr. Barry Sears, to understand the theory behind the practice in this book). At age 49 and 40 lbs overweight, I had around 164,000 calories stored. (9 cal/gram of fat.) How to get that fat to burn off? 40:30:30 controls glucose/blood sugar levels, which in turn controls insulin levels. With insulin under control, another hormone, glucagon, can come into play. This hormone tells the body to burn fat. It releases the stored fat energy. As long as I am burning that fat, I don't feel hungry and I am losing weight, even at night, even without exercise.

The gentleman who only had a few pounds to lose and complained he didn't lose anything in a week might have overlooked what was actually going on in his body: reduction of body fat and the build up of lean muscle mass. This can happen when one is exercising, which he was. When put on this diet, professional football players actually gained as much as eleven pounds, but reduced the percentage of body fat. They became leaner, stronger, faster and more agile. One man started the diet at 190 and never lost a pound. He had to buy a new wardrobe, though, because he leaned out. He looked great.

For me, my mood is better, I handle stress better, I sleep better, I have less intestinal gas (better digestion) and my blood pressure is normal. I have increased energy, need less sleep, and rise early on weekends ready to go instead of taking most of the weekend to recover from the week's stresses. I feel as if I've been given many additional years of active life.

Does it require cooking and prep? Yes. Good food doesn't just happen. It takes some work. Is it a burden? No. My wife felt she was going to lose me unless we did something. She views this as a ministry to me, which I deeply appreciate. I have gotten into the kitchen, too. We are eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats, dairy-all good stuff. We don't miss the pizza and white bread. It's fun baking good food. It's better than staring at some lamebrain TV sitcom, which is what I was doing because I had no energy. What's more, I know the food we prepare is exactly right for us and tastes great. Consider another angle: we in America have every food we need, in high quality, available at good prices all year long. It's right there in the store. That is an amazing blessing. Take advantage of it.

Look--you can find dozens of reasons to stay fat. "I don't have time." "If we had a personal chef, I'd do it." "I refuse to give up some foods." "I don't like to shop and want the food to jump into my mouth by itself and still want to look like a movie star." If you like it that way, fine. All I know is that I have to buy new clothes because everything I have is too large. I also have people (especially women) asking me what is going on and how I lost so much weight so fast. I print out a copy of this ... page and give it to them.

The method is in The Formula and several other 40:30:30 cookbooks. The theory is in Dr. Sears' works on The Zone. The information you need is there. You don't need magic potions. You don't need exercise equipment. You don't need appetite suppressants. You don't need a cabinet full of supplements. You don't need liposuction.

What you need is recipes for each meal and each snack that give your body the right portions of carbohydrates, fat and protein it needs for peak performance--not too much food, not too little.

This book is a great start. The rest is up to you.


This Book Is Fantastic !!!   June 3, 2003
Tony W. Taylor (Seguin, Texas United States)
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

I won't go into all the details but here is an honest opinion.

This is not a miracle diet. I was hungry, but because the diet worked so fast, my willpower was sky high !!! In the first month I lost 20 lbs, without ANY exercise.

I found that I had to always reduce the calories lower than what the book called for to keep the weight loss going, but it just kept going. For anyone who believes all peoples bodies work exactly the same (including doctors) YOU ARE WRONG !!! People like myself who were morbidly obese have defective bodies... They just don't work right.

I am 10 ½ months into this "Life Change" and have lost 98 lbs. I am presently at 218 lbs. And feel FANTASTIC !!! I walk and jog and lift weights now... TONS OF ENERGY !!! My 14 year old twin sons cannot keep up with me on my bike.

My shirts are not 4XL anymore... they are XL.
My inseam is now the same as my waist (32").
I can find cheap clothes now.

You have got to try this !!!

Because of my success, another very large man I work with started this diet. In four months he's lost 47 lbs.


easy to follow   December 27, 2000
85 out of 96 found this review helpful

After reading the first book the Dauost's had written on the 40-30-30 diet I could hardly wait for the new updated version.It is easy to read therefore making it easy to understand.I can recommend this version as well as the first with the confidence that you will enjoy it and will be able to follow it with ease.Not all diets make sense and are hard to follow.If you are thinking to buy any diet book put the "The Formula A Personalized 40-30-30 Weight Loss Program" at the top of your list.


FINALLY! A DIET I CAN LIVE WITH!   August 3, 2001
Cyndi A. Hill (SALEM, OR United States)
34 out of 37 found this review helpful

I HAVE TO TELL YOU IF YOU FOLLOW THE GUIDLINES IN THIS BOOK YOU HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT! I PURCHASED THIS BOOK ABOUT A MONTH AGO,I HAVE LOST 18 POUNDS SO FAR, MY HUSBAND HAS LOST 6, AND MY DAUGHTER 4! AS THE BOOK SAYS FAD DIETS DO NOT WORK! THEY TELL YOU WHY. EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINED CLEARLY AND MAKES ALOT OF SENSE! THERE ARE LOTS OF RECIPES TO GIVE YOU IDEAS FOR MEALS, INCLUDING LOTS OF MEALS KIDS LIKE(SO FAR MY DAUGHTER HAS LIKED EVERYHTING I HAVE MADE!)A SHOPPING LIST IS EVEN INCLUDED. THE SMOOTHIE MADE WITH THE WHEY PROTIEN WAS GREAT! I HAVE TRIED ALOT OF PROTIEN DRINKS THAT I FORCED DOWN, THIS ONE I COULD DRINK ON A REGULAR BASIS BECAUSE ITS HEALTHY AND TASTES GREAT!!AND THATS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE BOOK, ITS HOW TO EAT HEALTHY FOR A LIFE TIME. EATING A BALANCED MEAL,EITHER TO LOSS WIEGHT OR TO MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT.I CAN LIVE WITH THIS ONE! I DON'T FEEL DEPRIVED! I HAVE SEVERAL FAMILY MEMBERS AND CO-WORKERS ON IT NOW, AND HAVE PURCHASED THIS BOOK. YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!


Easiest plan I have ever tried!   June 21, 2001
happy reader (Naperville, Illinois United States)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have done my share of dieting and weight loss plans, Weight Watchers, shakes, calorie counting,deal a meal etc. but this is the easiest plan I ever followed. It is all spelled out for you, all the grams are calculated for you so you don't have to be a math major to figure out what to eat. The food is good and the preparation is not so hard if you do the shopping and plan each day's meals ahead of time. And you can eat out, they give you a list of fast foods that you can have and there are a lot of them to pick from so you are not deprived. They also give you a list of prepackaged meals that you can have which are for the microwave if you are in a hurry to eat. The only big thing is you have to buy whey protein powder which is pure protein, but they even give you a phone number of where you can order it if you can't find it. So everything is covered for you. No excuses! I just started the program a few weeks ago and I quickly lost 5 pounds and my body fat is reducing already because people have noticed the difference. The best thing about this plan is that I know I can stay on this for the rest of my life. No more yo-yo dieting. What a relief!