Book Review: Protein Power (1996)

Just as a preliminary disclaimer – this is going to be an awfully biased “review” (and I use the word ‘review’ loosely), since I partially credit my discovery of this book and my execution of its words as a major “eureka moment” in my life (ok, ok, ‘Eureka Moment’ is lame – think of it as a giant forehead slap – and trust me, I’ve got a great deal of forehead real estate). So if I sound like an “Eades fanboy”, forgive me because its probably not too far from the truth.

A little backstory…

(Protein Power-related context, if you will…)

"Families are always rising and falling in America" Hawthorne

Lets go back a few years to 2003/2004… The Red Sox win the world series, Metallica released the controversial and pots n’ pans laden St. Anger album after a few years of therapy and turmoil, and I (being no stranger to turmoil myself that year) was newly living downtown in the City of Albany, NY – pretty much out of a duffel bag. Recently divorced, jobless, overweight (5 ft 11 inches – 260 lbs my heaviest ever), living in a horrible basement studio apartment and totally aimless. Someone had given me a paperback copy of ‘Protein Power’ (the original one from 1996) that previous fall (before I “started over” and ended up this way), and as fate would have it – it ended up in my duffel bag with the rest of my sole possessions, but I never really looked at it until much later..

Rome wasn’t built in a day (as they say), but I’m hardly Rome... (Hell, I’m barely Newark)

Fast forward a bit – I slowly rebuilt my life back up over the next 2 years – decent job, better apartment, but I was still overweight, was drinking and going out more than anyone should, and was generally unhappy.

For some reason on a particularly uneventful night I picked this book up for what seems like the first time. I was always aware that it existed in my personal “inventory” (which back then was QUITE sparse and random), but never took the time to check it out.

I started the very next day, followed its yellowing pages to the very letter, and low and behold 8 months later (roughly) – I had lost over 60 pounds (to 195) and felt better than I ever had in my entire life.

If anything qualifies as REBOOTING your LIFE – to me, that’s it.

Since then I’ve read a large number of low-carb, diet, exercise, etc. books. But nothing to me was ever quite as good to be as the original Protein Power.

A Bad Ass 1984 VW Rabbit GTI

What can I say, I’m fascinated with the human body and getting it to run optimally. It gives me the same little rush as if I had taken a 1984 VW Rabbit GTI, gutted it, dropped in a mid-90s VR6 engine, and started dusting punks driving brand new Mustangs with sideways sun visors on (god, I hate those little bastards).

Anytime you can improve something and make it much better than before, I get a little thrill. When its your own body (the greatest machine of all), its even better (and you won’t even get your knuckles all cut up and bloody).

But guess what – the human body doesn’t even need a new engine – Just different fuel! Huzzah!

(which is a good thing, because my “Surgery for Dummies” book is nowhere to be found.)

The great thing about Protein Power, or all of the Eades’ books really – is that instead of just preaching to you what you SHOULD be doing, they explain why. So anyone like me who has a geeky science side to them anyways will be immediately pulled in and engaged.

I’m not going to dissect this book into pieces and examine they all like a frozen caveman. It would be an insult to the overall message. Besides, if I laid it all out in simple parts, you wouldn’t have any reason to OWN this book, right? (har har!)

Anyways, like I said, they do an amazing job of laying out what they see as the great enemy (insulin) and how we can (and why we should) control it, as well as innate problems with the entire country’s view of “nutrition” today. They go step by step, slowly building a knowledge pyramid of Egyptian proportions and only THEN explaining the ‘diet’ portion. Its a genius method that’s akin to me giving you a lesson about applied physics, boyuncy, and the density of water – and then constructing a boat hull with you. During the building you’d raise your arms to the sky and proclaim “Egads, it all makes sense now! Step aside, plebeian! I have spices to discover for the new world!”. (Columbus himself would be proud)

By the time you get to ‘Part II’ which is the actual PLAN itself, if you aren’t already sold on the basis then you are either very untrusting, or a original member of the USDA (an obese one hopefully).

The information is presented in an easy to understand method, all the while not treating the reader like an idiot either (not an easy feat). I also love the blend of anthropology and paleoanthropology that goes into proving and lending credence to our nutritional roots as a species.

Every cornerstone of the Eades nutrition and fitness plan is there (vitamins, supplements, exercise) in addition to recipes, sample menus and the like. Its not really the ‘Eades nutrition and fitness plan’ as much as it is our EVOLUTIONARY BIRTHRIGHT, but I digress.

Several years ago (in 2000 I believe), they released ‘Protein Power Lifeplan‘ which further refines the approach in a more robust fashion. I don’t see it as much of a ‘updated re-write’ more as a sequel that builds on the base of knowledge already cemented in. I recommend people read the original first, its much easier for a newbie to launch into in my opinion. (I could be wrong, each person is different) I just feel that from the crack of those first few crucial pages its much more accessible and ‘eases’ the reader in gracefully.

If you are a currently low-carber, or on the fence about it all – this book is not to be missed. I can only speak great praise about it. Maybe you just need one more book to complete your master library? Either way. Its a win / win situation.

I’ve purchased and given away a couple of copies over the years (I like to have the hardcover editions of books I enjoy, I’m not a huge fan of paperbacks generally), but I still have that original paperback that traveled around Albany with me for 2 years. In some ways that’s kind of like being locked in a jail cell but having the key in your back pocket the whole time.’..

Ok, ok, maybe thats being a tad dramatic – but seriously, we ALL the the innate ability to improve our lives and situations immensely if we just decide to do it.

Stand up, Embrace your DNA, and Conquer your life.

(whoa, what an ENDING for a book review!)

“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”

- John W. Gardner

Related posts:

1. Fast Food as a Cheap & Quick Protein Fix?