Review of The Carb Nite Solution

I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical about this program when I was told about it.  I'm an active member of a message forum that has a thread dedicated to fitness and nutrition, and I usually follow the advice of one of the gurus on this forum.  His name is Cormac, and you've heard me mention him before.  He is practically a genius when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, and he practices what he preaches.  

So when Cormac started talking up The Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer, after only talking about the greatness that is Mark Sisson, I was hesitant to listen.  I had it locked in my mind that carbohydrates were pretty bad, and it was best to keep them under 100 grams a day, but the overall nutrition in my diet was the thing I needed to focus on.  

Kiefer's solution, however, is to focus almost solely on the carbohydrates and to keep them under 30 grams a day.  This is mostly acceptable to somebody so deep in the paleo-dieting world, until you find out that he also wants you to pig out (literally) one night a week.  For one night, every single week, you load as many carbs into your system as possible.  Cormac said that there was a lot of science behind it as to why it worked, but I had trouble believing him.  That was until he started talking about his overweight friend that was on it, and how much weight he had been losing with it.  He actually said, "It's funny to see the weight almost melting right off of him."

I decided to check it out for myself.  I went to the website, and started reading every little piece of information I could about it to see what Kiefer had to say for himself.  Naturally, the information on the website doesn't give away too much as to how it works or why it works, because Kiefer is selling his book that details the diet.  I took the plunge and bought it anyway, going in with an open mind ready to see what the guy had to say for himself.

What I liked about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist.  This means that every single part of the book is explained with science as to why it works.
• There are so many references and citations to back up what he's saying that it is hard to refute it.
• The idea behind the plan in the book is simple, and following the diet he lays out is not a hard one.
• He explains and forewarns of EVERY thing that will happen to your body when you go on this diet.  The good, along with the bad, are laid out on the table.
• He explains that this plan is not a lifestyle-diet, like The Primal Blueprint, Weight Watchers, Atkins, or any of the others, but it is a power-diet.  This diet is meant for fat-loss, not weight-loss, and is only intended for up to 6 months of use at a time.
• The last part of the book has a layout of meal plans, recommended foods, and other things that will help you succeed on this diet.  It is all very detailed.

What I didn't like about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist (yes, I did list that twice).  This means that there are a LOT of details and science facts in this book to explain why it works.  I'm taking college level biology classes right now and some of it was still over my head.  I considered it to be a necessary evil.
• I don't agree with some of the recommendations on the plan.  One major disagreement that I had was pertaining to exercise.  He doesn't actually recommend it, but says that it can be helpful.  He states that under any circumstance, no cardio should be performed while on this diet.  
• It almost sounds too good to be true.

Overall, I was impressed with the book and the diet detailed out in it.  I think the website looks a little shady, and that it might scare off some potential customers/clients.  I ended up paying $19.99 USD for an electronic version of the book that was instantly available to me, and I think it was worth it.

At the time of this writing, I am on day seven of the diet.  The first couple of days were harder than these last few, but the book has prepared me for all of that.  I can't say for sure whether or not this will actually work as I have spent so little time on it so far.  However, I am fairly confident that this will be effective for me.

After only seven days in to the diet, I am already noticing changes in my body.  That's crazy to me.

You can purchase a copy of the book here.