The Protein Power Lifeplan Gram Counter

"Somethings hard to find. Need more prepared food in there. Besides the diet really screwed up my body. Try Weight Watchers and exercise instead."
~ Written on 2005-10-27

"Not quite the quality I expected, but a really timely delivery."
~ Written on 2005-09-07

"I am still looking for a really good complete carb counter for home cooking. Because I would use it mostly at home, I am not so concerned with the size, but more with the ease of use (meaning that I can find the info I want quickly) and having a large variety of the basic forms of foods listed.

So far I find the The Protein Power Lifeplan Gram Counter to be the easiest book of its kind to use.

Also, there are even not-so-common varieties of fruits, vegetables, and nuts listed. In my ideal book I would like more, especially in more forms and quantities, though this is good here for a small book.

One good aspect is that in addition to carb counts the Eads book lists Omega 6 & 3 values, and has special, easily found, pages on particularly desirable foods (such as high vitamin C, magnesium, E, and biggest bang for the buck foods). I appreciate those extras when planning meals ahead, including deciding what to buy at the grocery store."
~ Written on 2004-04-15

"Although the Eades take the liberty of removing the fiber column from the Nuts section (carbs are removed from Meat, but that's a no-brainer), this book(let) has replaced my Atkins gram counter as the first reference I check. It has five times the number of listings (perhaps a little too redundant here, as they dumbed it down to list multiple portion sizes of the same items - duh, I can multiply by two) but, most importantly, it is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER ORGANIZED; major sections, not just the items within as in Atkins, are alphabetized. I always found it strange, in the Atkins pocketbook, that sections lacked logic sequence.

Both books are good, but THIS ONE is a Cadillac and Atkins is a Chevrolet (a Malibu, not a Corvette, with no disrepect to you Malibu owners out there).

That (above) was yesterday, but "What have you done for me today?" Well, sir (or madame), let me tell you: I'VE MADE IT!!!

This morning, I weighed-in at 160 POUNDS! THAT'S EXACTLY 100 POUNDS LOST SINCE JANUARY 27, 2003!! AND IT ALL STARTED, AFTER MY DOCTOR'S "PRESCRIPTION" TO DO THE ATKINS DIET, BY BUYING THE THREE-BOOK ATKINS SET LAST DECEMBER, RIGHT HERE ON AMAZON.COM. THANKS, DOC; THANKS, DR. ATKINS; THANKS, AMAZON.COM!!!"
~ Written on 2003-12-14

"The Protein Power Lifeplan Gram Conter is designed to be a companion to the Protein Power Lifeplan book by the Eades. However, it can be useful with any low carb diet.

The book does not go into detail on the Eades diet, for that you would want to refer to one of their other books. This book is a simple resource, designed to make you aware of the carbohydrate, protein and fat counts in different food items.

Pull out this book and at your fingertips you have the counts of a variety of foods. The book has a numerous listings including Breads, Cereals and Grains; Dairy Products; Fish, Seafood and Shellfish; and more.

When carb count is given the ECC is used. The ECC or effective carb count is found by deducting the fiber from the total carbohydrate of a food item. Most nutrition books list the fiber and carb count separately. But for carb counters, the ECC is all you need to count. So this booklet saves you from doing the math. Very handy!

There are two drawbacks to the booklet. One is the size. Though it is smaller than a standard paperback, it's still larger, 6.75 x 4.05 than other pocketsized gram counters. This makes it bulkier to tote.

The major drawback though is the manner in which the Eades decided to list counts. For protein foods they do not list the carbohydrates. The Eades feel that since these foods are primarily protein, the carb count is too small to be concerned with. But this is not true. For many folks on a carbohydrate restricted diet, all carbs count.
If you are limited to say 20 grams of carbs per day, you will want to count the carbs in the eggs, seafood and other carbohydrate containing protein foods that you eat. It adds up. And if you go over, you may not achieve the health goals you are after.

Yes, the Eades book is handy to have for a quick reference, but my preference is for the Atkins gram counter which is smaller in size and lists net carb counts for all the foods, including protein."
~ Written on 2003-02-15