Maximum Metabolism

Any new diet book worth its salt-substitute claims to have found that Grail of dietersthe ``no willpower'' weight-loss plan. Giller, a doctor in private practice and the author of the bestselling Medical Makeover , has devised a more practical alternative: a healthy diet that helps the dieter's metabolism to work more efficiently. His short, easy-to-read book, filled with comforting case histories of less-than-perfect dieters, takes us painlessly through the five steps of the maximum metabolism diet: reducing fat consumption; sticking to nonstarchy complex carbohydrates (fruit and vegetables); timing meals so that our metabolism can burn them more efficiently; making sure we're getting adequate nutrition; and exercising regularly. While Giller's explanations of the diet's physiological basis (especially the section on ``active brown fat'') are occasionally baffling, the central message is clear: an active metabolism makes for a healthy, thin body. First serial to Redbook; second serial to New Woman; Literary Guild/Doubleday Book Club selection. (Jan.)