I have always been curious about The Complete Idiots Guides and the …for Dummies books. I actually own several Idiot Guides and …for Dummies books, but not on the same subjects. I’ve always wondered how differently each book would cover the same topic. Would the books repeat the same information over and over again? Would the books be vastly different? What would be the similarities and differences?
I finally had the opportunity to put two books to the test. As part of a special blogger challenge I was sent two books, one an Idiot Guide and one a …for Dummies book. They were both on the same subject – The Glycemic Index. I have Diabetes and have heard so much about the Glycemic Index and how it effects my Diabetes, weight loss and overall health.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss was the first book that I read. The book is 342 pages long, including index, glossery and appendix.
I found the book very easy to read and understand. A few times the information got too “technical” for me, but over all I understood it. Thankfully there are little sections throughout the book that help to explain things a bit further. The sections are called “Glyco Lingo” and help to explain things a bit further like what are Cortisol Levels and what is the Basal Metabolic Rate. As the book goes on you’ll find less Glycol Lingo sections. I guess that is because by the time you get towards the end of the book you should already be familiar with the terminology.
There are other sections scattered throughout the book that give you more details on the information in the book including Body of Knowledge, Thin Encouragement (my favorite), and Wrong Weigh.
The Thin Encouragement is my favorite special section because it helps to give you positive reinforcement that you can learn to live within the Glycemic Index program.
The Complete Idiots Guide even has an exercise section that is not only good for people who want to learn to eat healthier but also for anyone who just wants to get in shape and stay in shape.
There is a special review section at the end of the book that pretty much summarizes everything you learned in the book. I don’t think just reading the review section on it’s own would be all you would need to know. I think you need to read the entire book first and use the review section for reference and/or a refresher.
If you are looking for recipes the Complete Idiots Guide has very few. I was surprised because I honestly thought the book would feature a lot of recipes to reinforce what you learn throughout the book. I was disappointed in the skimpy number of recipes which are found towards the back of the book. The recipes themselves are good. They are tasty, easy to make and require ingredients that most people would usually have on hand too. The quality of recipes was great, the quantity was lacking.
The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies seemed a bit more “technical” then the Guide version. There were special sections throughout the book but they were not boxed off like in the Guide. Instead they had small graphics next to them to make sure you knew there was something special there. I would have liked them to be separated a bit from the rest of the text. Some of the special sections include Tips, Warnings, Technical Stuff and Remember.
A lot of the information I learned in the Guide was repeated in the Dummies book, but often it was re-worded in an entirely different way.
I think the one thing that makes the Dummies book stand out above the Guide is the recipes. There are a lot more recipes found in the Dummies book then in the Guide book. Not only that there are several drawings that help you prepare the recipes (for example “How to core and seed a Pepper”). The recipes are also separated by different sections like breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks & desserts.
The Guide’s exercise section was more comprehensive then the Dummies exercise section. The Guide also had photos to show you how to do some of the exercises.
I liked the 10 Myths about the Glycemic Index section in the Dummies too. And the 10 Surprising Low Glycemic Foods was really interesting. Did you know that Coca-Cola has a G.I. of 53? That doesn’t mean you give up drinking water and have a Coke. But it does mean on OCCASION you can enjoy a can of Coke and not feel guilty about it (unless you are Diabetic of course).
The section called “The Part of Tens” features a lot of “10” lists. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the book after the recipee section.
Both books were really interesting to read and I think I leaned A LOT about the Glycemic Index thanks to these books. I enjoyd both books. The Guide book was easier to read and understand then the Dummies book, but it was lacking the recipes that I was looking for. The Dummies book had a great recipe section and I loved the “10” lists, but the book was something too technical for my taste.
As far as a clear cut winner, I can’t decide. I enjoyed both books and learned a lot from each of them.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss and the Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies books are found at most book retailer locations.
I have a special discount that will give you 50% off the purchase of Idiot Guides at www.IdiotsGuides.com. The discount code is CIGBlOG11 and the discount will expires on October 31, 2011.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.