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The Carb Nite Solution

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Trained as a physicist to rely only on concrete, verifiable research, John Kiefer has spent over a decade trying to discover a way to shed those unwanted pounds. This small volume explains his discovery and presents the research to back it up. To insure success, Kiefer not only provides arguments, answers and explanations, but he searched through food databases to assemble extensive food lists, created balanced meal plans for every lifestyle and provides over 50 fabulous recipes accessible to chefs of all caliber. Graphs, charts and tables round out this rigorous but delightful guide to successful fat loss. Whether read cover to cover or used as a prized reference, The Carb Nite Solution is the key for dieting freedom.

436 pages, ebook

First published August 25, 2005

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About the author

John Kiefer

17 books17 followers

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5 stars
60 (28%)
4 stars
85 (40%)
3 stars
46 (21%)
2 stars
10 (4%)
1 star
11 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
Profile Image for Angela.
54 reviews
August 5, 2013
This is a very simple read and it explains the basics of the diet well. You also get a glimpse into why other diets may not be working for you. However, the book is in sore need of an update and the author has promised one in mid-2014.

If you are already familiar with low carb dieting and the way it works, most of the information included in the book will not be new to you. In that case, it may be more worth your while to just visit the author's website/blog and glean what information you can on the differences between this diet and other low carb diet options. You can find most of the information for free there. It is, in my opinion, worth learning more about his specific approach. He makes use of natural hormone cycles to increase metabolic function and weight loss within the low carb diet framework.

I have been using this diet for about 2 months now and have lost a fair amount of weight on it. What's more, my clothes fit much better each passing week even when I don't see the scale moving. The appeal is that you can eat what you want (more or less) during a certain night each week, and based on hormone fluctuations and when you eat, it actually improves your metabolism and ability to lose weight.

Many women, though, see a lot less weight loss than men on this diet, particularly if they aren't following a more specific plan with regards to how to exercise and when to eat what carbs on your "carb nite". These things that tend to be more specific to women are NOT laid out in this version of the book, thus the need for an update. That is not to say that it is not a good diet for women. It is, but it just needs some tweaking for specific needs of women or those that have difficulty losing weight based on just the basic diet he has laid out.

Nevertheless, there is a vibrant online community both on the author's website and on various Facebook groups that will guide you through any difficulties you may have finding what works best for your body. The author has also recently released a video update that addresses many of the issues and questions that are not answered in this version of the book. Once he releases the new version with all of this included, I would very likely rate it 5 stars. I highly recommend it to anyone needing to lose any weight. If you are more interested in bodybuilding and gaining muscle without the need to lose weight, the carb backloading diet would be more for you.
Profile Image for Julie.
2 reviews20 followers
February 21, 2014
I actually started this diet not having read the book. My son and his friend have been doing this diet with results that are astounding. My son has always worked out and been very active so has always been in pretty good shape. When he incorporated this diet into his life his body transformed. Muscles and abs much more defined very noticeably. He obviously was losing the fat from his body that hindered those results before. I decided to give it a try and have lost 23 lbs in 4 weeks. The first 10 days of this diet are the hardest but once you get past that point this diet is amazingly easy. I am never hungry as have been with every other diet i have been on. Carb nights are so much fun. I got the book to find out why this was working and it does provide that information which is easy to read and understand. Not a hard diet to follow at all and it works!
Profile Image for RC.
296 reviews
August 21, 2010
Very, Very, Interesting Read. I appreciated how it shoots down many common diet ideals. Not I am going to give it a try. If it works well it will go to 5 stars!
Profile Image for Matthew Hanna.
35 reviews
May 17, 2020
Excellent weightloss book. I personally guarantee it will work for almost anyone. The whole premise is the low carb diet, already going to loss weight, but with a little have that trucks your body into losing more. Carb cycling... Worth the effort.
9 reviews
February 17, 2019
Good if you only want to use 10-20lbs. Not for those who need to lose a lot of weight.
Profile Image for Jeffrey Sandberg.
Author 2 books2 followers
May 25, 2021
Designed to make you a glutton for 1x a week
He recommends cheesecake
Its the best of the keto diets out there
1 review
Read
March 6, 2017
Awesome, physics of metabolism and carb timing.
1 review
November 12, 2015
I'd encourage anyone who is truly looking for an easy way to get healthy to not only read this book, but consume any information you can that is produced by the author, John Kiefer. This guy has a true knack for sniffing out the latest truths about diet and exercise. You'll be shocked to learn how much of what we were taught about nutrition by the health associations, and government that is flat out wrong. He'll not only make sense of cutting edge health science, he's not afraid to adjust his position or revamp his protocols when new info comes along. He's the most honest purveyor of diet information I have ever come across, and I've tried out many, many programs over the years. This seems to be the real deal. Not only have I lost a significant amount of body fat (notice,big difference between losing body fat as opposed to "weight"), the positive effects on my mood and basic energy level have immeasurably made my life better. All from simply timing my carbohydrate intake with these methods.
Profile Image for Jacques Goulet.
7 reviews
Read
January 5, 2013
Very well written, and TONS of citations. John Kiefer is a Physicist... this may not make him an expert in diet and nutrition, but it does make him very good at research. He has taken the ultra-low carb approach to dieting and added what he claims to be an essential piece: 1 night a week of carb indulgence. He explains in great detail why this works, and again, cites everything (the citation appendix in the book is some 50 pages long).

The other great thing about this book is that he makes it very clear that the Carb Nite Solution is a diet, NOT a lifestyle. The idea is to burn fat, and only fat (as opposed to most other diets which cause you to burn muscle as well), for the duration of the diet (up to 6 months). Then after the diet is done, eat a somewhat conventional diet, and come back to CNS in a few months if you still desire to burn more fat.

I have started this diet and I'll rate the book after I have completed a cycle.
39 reviews
April 2, 2015
I believe that this diet will work for me due to all the research put into the theory. I know of someone who has been using this method now for 6+ months and has lost weight. The information given to guide you along on this diet is very helpful and gives you many examples to go by. A book many people who want to loss weight should read. Granted you don't loss weight at a rapid pace but one that will help you keep off what you do lose. Al said I have not finished the book as I don't think one can ever really finish this book.
Profile Image for Jess Dollar.
668 reviews22 followers
April 10, 2015
After almost 9 months on a ketogenic diet I'm ready to mix it up a bit. After hearing Keifer on a few podcasts I decided I should give him my money so I could read this book. It's a bit outdated and I hope he updates it eventually. Honestly, I think I could have figured out how to do carb nite by spending an hour in some forums but I'm a sucker for a book.
1 review
August 23, 2016
Excellent book on the science behind burning fat vs. muscle, when modifying your diet to lose weight...and keep it off.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews

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