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Where to start, where to start?

Let's start fresh.

I'm George Stella, professional chef and champion of fresh, healthy foods that taste great! I call it Stella Style.

It seems like only yesterday that I tipped the scales at a whopping 467 pounds. That's right, 467 pounds!

Now, I'm healthier than I've ever been!

What do you have to lose?

Over the past seven years, my family and I have dropped a combined total of 560 pounds. We've exchanged our old habits for new, healthier ones, and we've never felt better! I'm traveling in airplanes without having to ask for a seatbelt extender. I'm fitting into smaller and smaller clothes, and no longer have to shop from specialty "big men's" catalogs.

I feel like I'm finally living the life I always should have had.

Even now, after losing more than 260 pounds and keeping the weight off for years, it's still painful for me to think back to what my life was like then. When my whole family was overweight, we couldn't do anything without attracting attention -- the stares of strangers were something we came to expect! Now, when I'm spotted in the fresh produce section of my local grocery store, I'm not getting glaring looks, and children aren't hiding behind their mother's legs. When people point at me, it isn't because I'm fat; it's because I'm the low-carb chef from TV.

Sometimes, when I need a few ingredients for my newest recipe, a trip to the store can take hours! Seems everyone knows my name! Seems everyone has been inspired by my family's weight loss and are hungry for more. More often than not, they'll ask --

Where should I start? Or...

How do I get started? Or...

How did you start?

Stella Style...A Fresh Start

Stella Style is, quite simply, how we did it. It is our recipe for weight-loss success.

My family's fresh start began the moment my wife and I decided to give the low-carb lifestyle a try. We swapped our sugar-filled highly processed packaged foods for wholesome fresh foods that were naturally low in carbohydrates. We rethought the way we cooked, shopped, and ate. We rethought the way we lived.

Over the years, our eating philosophy evolved into something we call Stella Style. What began as a strict low-carb "diet" has grown into a flexible lifestyle that allows us to eat a broad range of healthy and fresh foods that taste great.

For me, Stella Style means preparing simple meals using the best kind of food -- fresh food. There's no reason to sentence yourself to tasteless, monotonous menus: With Stella Style, you'll eat low-carb meals, snacks, and desserts that are delicious and satisfying. Most important, you'll eat food that you love, without pinching on the portions!

With Stella Style, you'll learn to:

• Eliminate all the "white stuff" from your diet. This means refined sugars, white flour, and potatoes.
• Replace processed foods with fresh, healthy choices.
• Shop the outer aisles of your grocery store for fresh, healthy foods.
• Select the right, high-fiber veggies.
• Get into your kitchen and COOK!
• Reinvent your high-carb favorites with low-carb alternatives.
• Eat well-rounded meals.
• Surround yourself with a strong support system.
• Identify the right foods without obsessing over each and every carb.
• Keep menus simple while still staying creative.
• Eat until you're satisfied.

Living by these simple guidelines gave my family and me a fresh start and a new lease on life. I want this book to do the same for you. I want to give you your fresh start toward success. Hey, I feel so great, I'm eating such delicious food, how could I not tell the world?

This book is put together for anyone who's trying to lose weight.

In Stella Style, I'll give you all the information you need to make each and every recipe your own. I'll show you how to reinvent old favorites and create a few new ones along the way, so you'll never get bored or hungry. I think you'll find Stella Style to be simple, satisfying, and extremely flexible. I wouldn't have it any other way! What I know works for everyone is food that just tastes good.

I've included not only carb counts for each and every recipe, but the calories, fat, protein, and fiber content as well, so whether you're just starting out or heading into the home stretch, you can tune the recipes to your liking. My sons have stepped in to offer some Healthful Hints, so you can lower some of those calorie and fat counts without sacrificing flavor.

The recipes in this book are for everyone. They all make the most of fresh, wholesome ingredients. Once you give them a try, I'll bet you never go back to your old eating habits again.

I sure didn't.

Copyright © 2006 by George Stella, Inc.