About My Virgin Diet CookBook Note: This cookbook is by Rebecca Lorraine, one of JJ Virgin's successful students - based on recommendations in The Virgin Diet book. Also, be sure to watch for JJ Virgin's new cookbook in Feb. 2014. I first discovered The Virgin Diet when I stumbled across the author talking about her book on PBS. It didn't take long to get the feeling she was talking directly to me as she pointed out how so many people are frustrated with their unsuccessful weight loss attempts. We do all the "right" things, live on low-fat, low-carb foods, deprive ourselves of desserts and exercise regularly . . . All without positive results. I was so happy to hear that there may be hope for me; I had to give it a try. If you've read The Virgin Diet by JJ Virgin, then you already know that many of the supposedly "healthy" foods in our diets may actually be making (or keeping) us fat, especially if our system is intolerant, and doesn't know how to process them. There are 7 "high-FI" foods (the seven that people are most commonly intolerant of) that you completely eliminate for 21 days. Then, over the next 28 days, you reintroduce 4 of the 7 one by one (Soy, Gluten, Eggs and Dairy) to determine whether or not your system is OK with the given food, or if you should eliminate that food all together. The other 3 "high-FI" foods (Sugar, Corn and Peanuts) should, as a rule, be avoided 95% of the time for a number of reasons related to overall health and well-being. Now, if you are like me, the first thought is wow, what can I eat? It seems like you are cutting out everything that makes our meals taste good. Believe me, I've spent enough time on "diets" thinking all I should eat is bland baked chicken, vegetables, apples and rice cakes. But despite that initial thought, I was eager to go thru the process to determine what foods may be sabotaging MY weight loss attempts. As I went thru the initial 21-day process, I experienced exactly what the author highlighted in the show I watched. She pointed out the health benefits of eliminating the high-FI foods altogether, and how many people choose to do so after going thru the cycles. I really felt better, I had more energy, I noticed an improvement in my skin AND I lost 10 pounds! I basically decided I wanted to make a lifestyle change based on my results. Eating this way was easy, I felt good and it seemed like a great way to help me lose the additional weight I wanted to lose. Since so many of my standard "go-to" reci