The CR Way: Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life

by Paul Mcglothin

The CR Using the Secrets of Calorie Restriction for a Longer, Healthier Life

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gabe Waggoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful starting point, but with some outdated information and several editorial lapses

Having recently finished Lifespan, by David Sinclair, I went looking for books on calorie restriction. Sinclair writes about having spoken with these authors and the results of their work. (I hadn't realized until reading this book that they were the authors he had referred to.)

I enjoyed learning about maintaining low glucose levels is key to slowing aging. I'm invested now in trying to do that for myself, both through tracking my blood sugar and by changing my eating frequency and style.

But I did take issue with the repeated advice to not drink liquids during eating, the thinking being that doing so dilutes the stomach acid and impairs digestion and nutrient absorption. I don't agree. Several prominent researchers have said that the stomach is a dynamic system that will make more stomach acid when it's needed. Moreover, drinking liquids while eating aids digestion.

I also found the book to have several annoying practices, such as styling the approach as The CR Way throughout the text (not meaning the title but rather the approach outlined in the book), with caps and italic. I also found several lapses in grammar and usage.

Even so, I'm glad I read the book and will refer to its resources as I continue on this journey of calorie restriction.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I think you'd have to have OCD to follow this plan, there were many great insights about nutrition to be found within.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. not so much. Very common sense and didn't explain the myriad of science that is available to make this book stronger.

[Susan (aka Just My Op) · Rating 3 out of 5]

CR is Calorie Restriction, which is supposed to “slow down the aging process, increase your energy, reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.” A very interesting book although a bit dry in places. The emphasis is on calorie restriction along with getting the very best nutrition in the food that is eaten. Although there isn't yet a large amount of study on human longevity, there does seem to be a good indication that calorie restriction will increase life span, and not just, as many have suggested, make it just seem longer. Many people, with Americans at the top of the list and me included among them, could stand to reduce calorie consumption and make more nutritious choices. Certainly, making more nutrition choices would help almost anyone, certainly those who go overboard on fast food.

“Eat to live, don't live to eat.” That makes sense, but I think for all but the very most dedicated, following the CR way is too restrictive. Although the authors do say you can follow it at your own level and not do all that they suggest, they do recommend a fairly stringent regiment including blood glucose measurement, food tracking, and short-term fasting among other things. The book also discusses the importance of moderate exercise and meditation.

The authors stop eating for the day around 1:00 PM and fast “15 – 17 hours.” That means breakfast between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM. Breakfast is started with lemon juice in water, followed by sugarless gum to “activate cephalic insulin production” followed by a "tease meal." Follow with 15 minutes of moderate exercise and finally the main and largest meal of the day, breakfast. The ample breakfast includes salmon, soup, barley, CR Way garnish, lentils and tomatoes, raspberries and walnuts. Ideally, especially when first starting, glucose should be measured before the lemon juice and tease meal, after the exercise, and twenty to thirty minutes after the main meal. I just don't see this happening for most busy families, and I can't see parents sitting at the dinner table with a glass of water, watching their children eat but not participating because they quit eating at 1:00. So, in all, it is an interesting book but I think much too stringent for most people to follow. And for healthy people who are not diabetic, I'm not sure that all that focus on food and glucose levels is good. However, I do think that everyone can use good information from the book without necessarily committing to The CR Way.

[Cathy Douglas]

I read this as to update on the subject, having read a couple books by Walford a few years back. At the time, I was racing and couldn't restrict calories to any meaningful extent, and I wanted to be up to date before I got into it. Update-wise, The CR Way has some new information about limiting glucose and protein, and about the benefits of limited fasting. It's more of a how-to book than a scientific one, though, and the presentation is lightweight (if you'll pardon the expression).

For me, it's a practical plan. I'm especially enjoying the limited fasting; I get home late from work, and enjoy not having to cook. I find it much simpler to think of the day as being divided into an "eating" part and a "non-eating" part; both parts have their pleasures. Ordinarily, so much of the way we decide what to eat and when is decided by social factors, not by nutrition or even personal desire; it's as if when somebody sticks a cookie in front of you, there's all manner of compulsion to eat the thing. The distinction the authors make between "eating to live" and "living to eat" takes a shot at our supposed identity as consumers, and I like that.

Although I can work with a lot of their suggestions, it's not hard to imagine that a lot of people would find them impractical. I just chuck anything I don't want to do. I can't afford all the medical tests they recommend, and I'll be damned if I'm going to par-boil raw fruits and vegetables to protect me from the unlikely threat that they're tainted with botulism. Every CR book I've seen has its share of fanatical oddities, and all CR authors I know of suggest you treat your body as a living science experiment. That doesn't mean you have to do it.

Oh, I'll get a glucose monitor one of these days. Right now, I've got more of a problem with weight loss. Not that I wasn't trying to lose weight in the first place, but 25 pounds in two months is a pretty good clip. Since I'm just going from top to bottom of "normal" on the BMI chart, I'll run out of weight to lose soon. Then we'll see how well this plan does as a lifestyle.

[Lotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get why CR is healthy. But I wasn't convinced by the information in this book, but by studies read elsewhere. The recipes and meal options were well presented. I used this more as inspiration for a paleo approach to food.

[DJ]

another CR book worth considering but perhaps a bit extreme

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't know if I can follow this to the letter, but it contains some great information and advice. I'm definitely going to try about 75% ot it.

[D. G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing very new here. The recipes didn't seem very appetizing