I like that this book doesn't say, "You can't eat there!" or "Never eat chocolate again!" Instead, it gives you healthier alternatives for foods that you love. For example, instead of Sonic's chicken sandwich, get the chicken nuggets. ( )

I don't believe in diets. From what I understand, the scientific evidence indicates that they just don't work in the long term for the majority of people, and I know myself and my own lack of self-discipline well enough to know that I'd be both miserable and doomed trying to stick to a diet that strictly forbade me to eat anything that I actually like. I've had some gradual but real weight loss success in the past, though, with an approach that emphasizes eating mindfully and constantly trying to choose wisely between attractive options: a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a burger, pretzels instead of chips, that sort of thing. (Admittedly, I've backslid horribly on even that modest and sensible plan, but I'm still quite convinced it's the only approach with any remote possibility of lasting success.)

The big problem with this, though, is that it's often damned hard to know just what the better choice is. Nutrition information is confusing, and in restaurants it's often unavailable. Manufacturer's labels can be highly misleading -- "lower in fat" compared to what, exactly? -- and often what looks like the healthier option isn't. So I really like the basic idea behind this book, which is to tell you precisely what the better and worse options are between various similar items available in restaurants and grocery stores. I wasn't sure about the execution when I first flipped through it, as the big, glossy pictures of food that take up much of the book make it look kind of gimmicky and content-light. But it's actually not bad. It's not very in-depth, obviously, and I could have done without the rah-rah, "These books are so great!" self-congratulations of the first couple of sections (complete with full-color testimonials!), but there's more content than I expected. As well as specifics on what the better food choices are and why, it also offers overall healthiness ratings for various eateries and a fair amount general nutrition advice. It is focused more on proper nutrition than on calorie-counting for weight loss, too, which is good to see.

Unfortunately, though, it's of limited usefulness to me personally, because the majority of it involves products I'm unlikely to want to buy and restaurants I seldom or never eat in. And, despite the authors' apparent expectations, I can't really see myself carrying the book around with me just in case I happen to end up in one of these places. It's not exactly like me to prefer some other medium over the good, old-fashioned book, and maybe I'm biased because I just got my first smartphone last week and the shininess hasn't worn off yet, but I can't help feeling that this would be a lot more useful in the form of a mobile phone app, where you could discreetly whip out your personal electronic device in the supermarket aisle or while standing in line at Wendy's, and quickly find out what your best and worst available options are on the spot.

Anyway, I got this book for free in some sort of buy-two-get-one book club deal, so it was certainly worth what I paid for it. If I'd coughed up the full cover price, I think I might feel a bit annoyed. But for someone who eats at a large number of popular chain restaurants, I could see it being a lot more worthwhile. ( )