I knew in both a well-educated and intuitive sense the diet that I needed, wanted, and believed in, but it hadn’t quite jelled in my mind until I saw it in The Fat Resistance Diet (Broadway Books, 2005), by Leo Galland, M.D. As soon as I did I knew it was for me and my family, not just for weight loss, but for life. I am very partial to the work of Dr. Galland, as he is dedicated to the leading edge science of healthy nutrition and holistic healing, and his other books have become bibles in my family. This one will be, too. I began the diet the day after I saw the book, and I am here to herald it far and wide as a disease-fighting diet that can bring vibrant health. Here is why:

The purpose of the diet is to bring the hormone leptin into good working order in your body, leptin being a hormone that manages your weight-loss naturally when it is in healthy balance. The way the diet works is that by adding the right foods, a combination of anti-inflammatory and hormone-balancing foods, you reverse leptin resistance and reprogram your body.

What the book jacket doesn’t say is that the “diet” is abundant, full of absolutely delicious foods and menus, and it helps you feel vibrantly healthy because it is virtually bursting with antioxidants and fresh, natural, additive-free foods. The diet reflects leading edge science about the superfoods and nutrition, and as such your heart will benefit, as will every part of you. As I said earlier, it is a diet for life, not just weight loss.

Not only does the diet have the above attributes (the menus are really good and you can eat fruit), my teenage daughter and I are both losing weight. The theory Dr. Galland proposes is that when your body no longer responds to leptin, it is impossible to slim down no matter how few carbs you eat, or what size your meals. As the hormone leptin comes into better balance, its weight-loss mechanism begins to work again.

The dinner menus on the diet can be made beginning to end in about 45 minutes, and it is easy to fold into a busy schedule, although putting together a lunch box for my daughter is taking some creativity.

The subtitle to The Fat Resistance Diet is “Unlock the secret of the hormone leptin to eliminate cravings, supercharge your metabolism, fight inflammation, lose weight, and reprogram your body to stay thin– forever.”

And, no! Nobody is paying me for this glowing write up, I am just hugely impressed by the foods on the diet, and how well we feel. As we lose weight, too, that is a bonus.