To Purchase The Reality Diet From Amazon CLICK HERE

Author: Dr. Steven A. Schnur

ISBN: 1583332502

Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Dr. Steven A. Schnur, author of The Reality Diet.  Dr. Schnur is a board-certified internist and cardiologist who has been in private practice for more than 15 years. He is the founder and president of South Florida Cardiology Associates, the largest cardiology practice in South Florida, with 17 locations and 18 physicians.

Good day Dr. Schnur and thanks for participating in our interview.

Norm:

With the thousands of diet books on the market, what makes The Reality Diet different from the others and why would people purchase your book?

Dr. Schnur:

We all know that losing weight is not easy, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot or sacrifice your health to get it done either. With my plan you will not feel hungry, will have lots of energy, and you will be able to eat like a normal person. How many diets let you have beer or a potato? The diet works because people are losing weight, keeping it off, and getting healthy blood profiles.

Norm:

Will you share a little bit about your book with us?
 
Dr. Schnur:

In the pages of the book you will find a refreshing up front and honest approach to how the Reality Diet works. We provide the reader with nutrition and exercise standards that are realistic and also recommend meal plans that have been devised to specific caloric and nutritional requirements. On the Reality Diet most people lose eight to ten pounds per month of mostly fat and will find that it stays off. Furthermore, I also provide the reader with exactly what your body’s nutritional needs are so that you are equipped with the knowledge to come up with your own meal plans and recipes. The bottom line is that the Reality Diet ensures that you are eating the right carbohydrates, the right fats, and unlike many diets, plenty of satisfying, healthy fiber. To make it even easier for the reader we have provided 8 weeks of great tasting menus, a stock the pantry list, and helpful hints for going out to eat.

Norm:

What motivated you to write the book and how has been the feedback up to now?

Dr. Schnur:

As a cardiologist and president of South Florida’s largest cardiology practice, I see patient’s everyday who are experiencing the life threatening effects of excess weight, diabetes, clogged arteries, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart attacks and strokes. I also see patients who are suffering side effects from fad diets like dizziness, irregular heartbeat, high cholesterol, even life threatening cardiovascular events. I wanted to help my patients live longer, healthier lives and I was consistently seeing them compromising their health when they honestly believed they were doing something good for themselves. I have found that since writing the book, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. People who have tried the diet are losing weight, keeping it off, but most of all they feel full and are not hungry. Many readers often express how easy the plan is to follow and say that even when they go off it for a while it is so easy to start right back again.

Norm:

What kind of research did you do to write this book and what are your expertise qualifications pertaining to the subject matter?

Dr. Schnur:

You don’t have to be a doctor to realize that unlimited bacon, eggs, and heavy cream will clog your arteries. So I hit the books, reading everything I could get my hands on about human nutrition, metabolism, and obesity. I searched all medical text I could find looking for the key that would lead me to weight loss without hunger and plenty of energy to exercise. It became clear that calorie restriction will help anyone lose weight, but the second key had to be fiber to keep people full and healthy.

As a cardiologist for the past 18 years, I feel like my patients over time have provided me with the knowledge and proof that I needed to prove that what was out there was not working. I have listened to patients for years tell me how they had tried everything and felt like their must be something wrong with them as to why they could not the lose weight. I also had the assistance of a great dietitian in my office that taught my some of the basics of nutrition and where I needed to look in order to find that key to what I was looking for.
 
Norm:

What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Dr. Schnur:  

I would say like any other busy practitioner, father, and husband, time is something there is never enough of.  I had the responsibilities of seeing my patients during the day, and my family at night. In order to overcome this I often got up very early and started working on the book when all was peaceful in my house and at the hospital.  In order to get my daily dose of exercise in I often played tennis with my daughter or took my son to the park.

Norm:

Can you tell us how you found representation for your book? Did you pitch it to an agent, or query publishers who would most likely publish this type of book? Any rejections? Did you self-publish?

Dr. Schnur:

Norm:

Do you believe that obesity has reached epidemic proportions and its fault can be attributable to such big corporations as McDonalds, Burger King, etc as well as the food manufacturing industry; or is every individual is culpable of his own “sins?” 

Dr. Schnur:

It is my belief that obesity has reached epidemic proportions, but the fault is multi-factorial and cannot be found in one single cause. We have become a nation that relies on the quick and easy and thus the fast food industry has flourished. Our new lifestyles can also be seen in our work places where we spend less time out of our chairs and more time in front of a computer.

 The quality and quantity of the food that we eat has also changed. No longer is it fresh from the farm to our table. Food now passes through many manufacturing stages before it reaches our plates, thus diminishing the quality and nutrition. Finally, we are at fault for allowing this new lifestyle to take over our lives. We are eating too much and exercising too little, we are also blaming everyone and everything for our weight gain and not accepting any of the fault with ourselves.

Norm:

As a follow up, how do we prevent early overeating habits among children?

Dr. Schnur:

I believe that every parent needs to be educated as when and how to feed a child and how much. Many infants are often fed high fat, non nutritious foods early in life in order to keep them satisfied, this can start bad eating habits early. When children are a little older they should be taught the value of good nutrition early in life. They often take cues from their parents, so if the parents aren’t eating healthy, then the children will not likely pick up that carrot or broccoli on their own. We often find when counseling children for obesity that they are eating several meals a day, not three meals a day and a couple of low calorie snacks. Look at what your kids are eating and evaluate if they are filling up on good stuff or calorie filled junk. Our kids have also become in active, they come home from school and watch TV or video games. Come up with alternative activities in the house or outside of the house to get the kids more active after school.

Norm:

Why is slow weight loss preferable to fast weight loss?

Dr. Schnur:

The fact is that slow weight loss is more sustainable over time and more successful. A pound of fat equals 3500 calories, so if you can use up to 500 calories a day more than you consume, you should lose a pound a week. To lose two pounds a week, you’ll need a deficit of 1000 calories per week. Some diets that are advertised today actually only allow you to eat 800-1000 calories a day, so of course you are going to lose tons of weight quickly, but you might starve to death. In addition, you will be sacrificing nutrition and slowing down your metabolic rate by putting your body into starvation mode.  It is much wiser to reduce your intake by a few hundred calories a day and “spend” a few more calories through exercise.

Norm:

What is next for Dr. Schnur and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered? 

Dr. Schnur:

I would just like to remind people that there are lots of weight loss plans on the market, before you spend lots of money on something look at it closely and see what they are really offering. Ask your physician his opinion and make sure that it is truly nutritionally balanced. For me at this time, I am planning on continuing spending my time in my practice where I am focusing more and more on health and wellness of the patient. I am continuing to promote the The Reality Diet and hope that it continues to see the success that we have had over the past year.

Thanks and good luck with The Reality Diet.

To find out more about Dr. Steven A. Schnur and The Reality Diet CLICK HERE

To Purchase The Reality Diet From Amazon CLICK HERE

I actually was very lucky to have a good friend Mitch Kaplan who owns Books and Books in Miami, Florida. He set me up with a book agent and also gave me advice on how to go about the entire process. The agent then in turn pitched it to several publishers all of who wanted the book. We only had one rejection and it was simply because they couldn’t afford it at the time.