8 Minutes in the Morning A Simple Way to Start Your Day That Burns Fat and Sheds the Pounds

Fitness trainer Jorge Cruise has helped 3 million cyberspace clients lose weight, and now he’s headed for your bookshelf with the same goal in mind. In just eight minutes a day, says Cruise, you can drop two pounds of fat per week, change your shape, and gain muscle and energy. His secret formula: an inspirational “wake-up talk,” followed by strength training two muscle groups per day, eating according to his “eating card” program, and keeping a journal. For exercise, Cruise presents a varied, 28-day program of illustrated exercises using dumbbells. Why the emphasis on strength training? While aerobics burns calories while you’re exercising, adding muscle revs up fat burning at rest by increasing your metabolic rate. Every pound of muscle you gain burns an extra 50 calories per day. You’ll look better and feel younger and more energetic, resulting in more activity, burning more calories, he says. Cruise’s eating plan emphasizes “good” (omega) fats, complex carbohydrates, high-quality protein (low in saturated fat), and vegetables, with dairy, fruits, and “treats and cravings” in moderation. His “Eating Card System” gives you an allotment of portions from each of the food groups. If you’re the kind who likes the regimentation of following a specific program every day, Cruise will get you moving, eating better, and losing weight. –Joan Price

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars It Works!
I purchased the book over 2 years ago and it collected dust on my bookshelf. Just a little over 3 weeks ago I decided to use the program. I have to say that IT WORKS! My clothes are much looser and I’ve lost 5lbs. give or take. The eating portion I’m tweaking but if I were to follow it precisely I’m sure I would’ve lost more. The book is worth the price and Jorge is very encouraging with the daily talks noted in the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with losing weight!

4 Stars Good book
This was a good book with exercises that you can do in the comfort of your own home, or on the road (traveling).

5 Stars Very motivating!
I found this book on sale at a bookstore for $2.50. I had seen it before in my book club and it caught my interest. I bought the book…and read the entire book that evening! I did not realize how strength training can reshape your body. I was convinced! So, I took the book to work with me the next day and showed it to my best friend. I went back to the bookstore that night (a 60 minute drive) to buy the last copy for my friend so we could do this together. We made copies of the food cards and stapled them together (very similar to WW points trackers) and vowed to wake up 15 minutes earlier to exercise. We shared our love/hate relationship with Jorge daily. Several weeks after following the program, my mom told me that she could tell a difference in my arms–that they were more defined. My friend and I followed the program for several weeks–11 or 12. We both lost weight, but not the 2 pounds a week. Since Jorge, we have both aquired different jobs. It’s funny though–when we talk, we still bring up Jorge. Our books have been leant to friends and although we do not daily follow his program anymore, we both think this is a very valuable book. The exercises are the best part. I now follow the WW plan for diet, but his exercises are really great! Super book! (I have 3 of Jorge’s 8 Minutes books and believe this to be the best).

5 Stars very efficient
I have contemplated this book for about 2years, I hesitated to spend 12 dollars on yet another excercise plan that probably wouldn’t work. I found the book on the bargain rack 2 1/2 weeks ago so I got it. I have not followed his eating plan, I was going to ease into that. Instead, I have cut back on carbs and tried to add more lean protein. I also allow myself one day per week to eat those things I was craving. This helps me stay on track the rest of the week. The excercise are fairly easy, I like the abilty to use different weights and the variety of muscle groups worked is great. By the end of the first week my husband said he thought I had lost weight, I said nah, it’s only been a week. At the end of week 2 I had to agree that I lost at least 2 pounds. My goal is to lose 10 lbs. This is the first time that I have tried to loose weight and actually succeeded!

5 Stars Great!!
I do the at home exercises. Nice explanation. Very practical examples. Haven’t done the diet part.

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Fight Fat After Forty The Revolutionary Three Pronged Approach That Will Break Your Stress Fat Cycle and Make You Healthy Fit and Trim for Life

If you’re a woman over 40, you are undergoing physical and emotional changes, declining metabolism, fat deposits at your waistline, decreased energy, mood swings, food cravings–do we need to continue this list? Now pile on chronic, long-term stress (which the author terms toxic stress), which hits women between 40 and 60 and leads to self-destructive eating behavior. “Uncontrolled or toxic stress keeps the refueling appetite on, thus inducing stress eating and weight gain,” Peeke explains. The stress triggers are constant, so the body never gets to turn off the stress response. The weight gained from this chronic, toxic stress–toxic weight–settles inside the abdomen and is associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Peeke explains the association between stress and fat gain, and describes the stress/eating cycle (”the itch you can’t scratch”). Then she teaches tools for “regrouping”: formulating and following a contingency plan of nutrition, exercise, and self-care. Next are suggestions for a nutritional plan tied to stressful times of the day and an explanation of food needs after age 40. In the final chapters, Peeke nudges us to exercise to relieve stress, reduce body fat, and benefit overall health. Peeke is a highly regarded scientist and clinician who studies the link between stress and fat at the National Institutes of Health. She’s also Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and works with Vice President Gore as the Medical Director of the National Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer. –Joan Price

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Fight Fat Over Forty Explained and Helped a Lot
I’m a Stress Overeater over 50 and this book explains a lot. It also explains why it is necessary, not overindulgent, to continue with my twice per week personal trainer for upper body and core workouts (which I rarely would do on my own) and my twice per week long hikes. I have made other changes which have helped me slowly but surely “remove” the excess weight. If I don’t do something perfectly, I don’t stress over it, which helps in the long run. For some reason, this book made sense to me and convinced me of what habits I need to stop, continue, and do more of.

I also can spot stress undereaters, and I am now more compassionate than envious (the ones I know are thin and look good, but I know they are also stressed.)

5 Stars Fight Fat After Forty
This book is amazing! It is exactly the solution I needed! It explains, in detail, what is happening to my forty something body. My body has been changing for years now, and the weight has piled on and the old solutions just don’t do it anymore. This book has helped me to understand that this has been going on for awhile and unless I change the way I treat my body, it will not get any better. It’s not about DIET, but about what you eat and when you eat it. It’s about recognizing when stress hits and navigating through it in a non-destructive manor. I now have hope and can’t wait to begin this new journey. I realize that without my health and well being, I have nothing. Thanks!

5 Stars Fighting Fat After Forty is validating!
I haven’t even finished this book and I’ve lost 10 pounds. This is the first weight loss in 5 years for me and all I did was change the times I eat! Pamela Peeke is the first doctor to truly understand and work with how a woman’s body changes during perimenopause and menopause and it really validates you as a person. You aren’t nuts; you really are changing. I can’t believe how motivated I am. This is a definite buy and a book that I will save and give to my own daughter.

4 Stars Be Prepared to Fight Back!
I first heard about Dr. Peeke on Discovery Channel’s Body Challenge. I read this book cover to cover and it hit me; this is why I’ve had trouble losing weight! It helped me to understand how stress-eating was affecting my inability to lose weight; or to keep it off. I highly recommend this book and I’m not kidding about how much help it’s been to me. The proof is in the 24 lbs lost and 4% fat loss in 10 weeks! What do you have to lose???

5 Stars fighting fat after 40
The book was great information and it seems to be working.

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The Metabolism Advantage An 8 Week Program to Rev Up Your Bodys Fat Burning Machine At Any Age

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Awesome book
This book is extremely informative and has some great recipes. It is a little hard to follow the diet exactly because it is a little more strict than say “The Abs Diet” , but definitely filled with great info that I needed to know.

2 Stars Nothing new, and that hasn’t been done better before
Clunky style, ego-ridden reading. You get much of the same done better in the Absdiet series (same publisher, I believe). Over-priced, over-hyped, and just a PITA to read. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad place to start. But so many have done it as well, and certainly better, it’s hard to give this more than an average rating.

4 Stars About The Metabolism Advantage from a BFL former follower
I read the book in only a day, easy to read and enlightening about the importance of speeding up your metabolism after your 30’s. I had followed Bill Phillips “Body for Life” program for several years, with good results, but halted progress. I suspected already I could not loose more fat since I was not able to gain anymore muscle with the BFL system, due to restricted calories and fat intake. That’s when I bumped into this book and decided to buy it. For three weeks now I have been trying this program of excercise, nutrition and NATURAL supplements and the results are already there.

It is great to eat lean protein with avocado, olive oil, and other healthy fats everyday, but I find a bit diffucult to restrict my carbs to the post-workout hours, and breakfast, I hav no problem eating vegetables, but cutting on fruit and dairy is hard. Nonentheless my body is begining to show changes, and my metabolism is going faster, since I feel hunger like I felt when I was 18 years old (I am 44 now). The theory on resistance training and interval cardio training was already familiar to me, but I had not been previously convinced of it’s relevance to speed up metabolism. I am now, and it is all for the best, I have not lost weight, but I have lost 3 pounds of fat. If you are over 30 and you are experiencing difficulties loosing fat with a restricted calorie intake which in turn makes more difficult bulding new muscle, this book will let you undersand why, and it gives also the cure. A plus, which I find very important: the book provides several meal recepies which are really tastefull. I have not been disappointed of my purchase.

3 Stars ok
Good research and some really interesting material….however, putting his recommendations into practice would be very tough for a normal person.

Good read - just not an overly practical plan…

3 Stars Great content, but….
Although the way that Dr. Berardi explains his program takes almost anyone by the hand to achieve excellent benefits, at the time he suggests recipes for any meals, he just considers American culture, leaving out any other out.

Even when at his web page, there are members from all over the world using his program, that by the way, really works.

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Foods That Cause You to Lose Weight The Negative Calorie Effect

Did you know that certain foods have an incredible negative calorie effect that actually melts fat? This revolutionary approach, outlined by Neal Barnard M.D., and proven effective by thousands of men and women wh have tried it, can bring about the permanent weight control every diet promises but seldom delivers.

Find out how, by following the negative calorie plan, you can:

• Boost your metabolic rate
• Burn calories more effectively
• Lower dangerous cholesterol levels
• Enjoy better health–and protect your heart
• Eat the delicious foods you love–in the quantities you want
• Watch the pounds disappear–without stressful dieting or the temptation to binge
• Delicious Negative Calorie Recipes Included.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Not true. Results are subject to your body type
I was excercising and following a protein based + minumum carbs diet. My goal was to reduce fat and cholesterol. I read this book and decided to give it a try.

1.- If you are planning to become a vegan this may work for you.

2.- Even though carbos have no fat, your body converts carbs into sugar for energy and sugar becomes fat.

I gain back 2 pounds in a week! Not only that but I grew back 2.5 inches of belly!!

Carbos have been always a problem for me. They surely store in my belly. I was excercising at the time I tried this diet. I was at the gym 3 times a week for at least one hour.

This messed up my fitness program big time. I had to started all over again.

I know some people that had become skinny with this program but MAKE SURE YOUR BODY TYPE will respond to this program before you start. You may be dissapointed. Check with your doctor.

5 Stars Easy ready, full of information.
I found this book easy to read with some great ideas on how foods affect us and how they can promote weight loss. Recipes are easy and tasty!!

1 Star A lot of common sense
Didn’t really learn anything from this or any of the other 50 diet books that I have bought over the years.

5 Stars Out of 212 diets - this one worked.
This is the only diet that has worked for me. I have sent this book to a number of my friends, I weighed 365 when I got the book. I have lost 76 pounds. I lose one pound per week. I am at 289 and shooting for 225. I was morbidly obese. I learned a lot. I scorned spuds - now I eat them every day. I thought fish was a diet food. I no longer eat avocadoes or peanuts. A Mickey D double cheezeburger costs me 2 pounds each. It puts on a pound and I dont’t lose a pound that week. Same with BK’s Whopper JR. I used to buy a double cheeze burger on the way to food shopping — so I wouldn’t be hungery while shopping. I don’t do that any more. I am now in the habit of driving straight home after a trip to town and not stopping in for a burger on the way home — like I used to. I tried all the other diets–and none of them worked. When I go to an all you can eat buffett, I fill up with fruits and vegetables. I am just as full as I used to be eating the non VEGAN food. The first few months on the diet, the VEGAN food would not sustain me for more than about three hours. Now that I have been a VEGAN for some time, the VEGAN diet sustains me as long as the meat diet used to. I went to my friends Bar

2 Stars Excellent Amazon service, but poor book
The book is something interesting, but with no novelty at all. Some old ideas are presented, and there is no data assuring what the author suggests.

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Your Hidden Food Allergies Are Making You Fat

Now You Can Lose Weight—and Feel Great!
Do you know that there is a scientifically verified test and eating program that can change your life? It’s simple: Discover your food allergies and intolerances, eliminate these trigger foods from your diet, and shed pounds effortlessly!

Inside is everything you need to know about the ALCAT test, a revolutionary approach to weight loss and well-being that will help you regain control over your weight, your health, and your life.

The ALCAT test works: 98 percent of the participants in a Baylor Institute study who eliminated their trigger foods lost weight, reduced their percentage of body fat, and gained muscle tissue.
“For five years I have used the ALCAT test in my practice—no other test is as accurate or useful.”
—Fred Pescatore, M.D., author, Thin for Good and Feed Your Kids Well

“This book offers a clear program for helping you discover which foods are unhealthy for you.”
—Elson M. Haas, M.D., author, The False Fat Diet and Staying Healthy with Nutrition

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star I’m returning it
I am so disappointed in this book, I am returning it. My primary reason? The authors keep mentioning 100 trigger foods that the ALCAT tests for, yet they never provide this list. Why not? Because this book is simply a marketing vehicle to get people to order the test through their lab.

5 Stars Hidden Food Allergies
As a middle-aged allergy patient, my allergist recommended this book to me because I’m always getting sick with colds and other infections. The book, Your Hidden Allergies Are Making You Fat, is not just about dieting, but contains a wealth of information about how food sensitivities can negatively affect your whole body and your life. My allergist, with over thirty years of experience with patients, said, “This is the best book I’ve read about hidden food allergies.” I agree. It explains, in easy to understand terms, the science of allergic reactions to foods, how to deal with symptoms, and best of all, it thoroughly describes a simple blood test, the ALCAT test. This test identifies your food intolerances, so that you can develop an individualized eating plan to help lose weight or feel better/get well from illnesses.

I’m grateful for this book and have just had the ALCAT test. I’m now ready to have a diet plan prepared for me by a dietician using the results of the ALCAT test. I highly recommend this amazing book.

5 Stars 30 years of Stomach Ailments Cured overnight
Doctors told me that I did not have a “disease” and so they could not help me. I had IBS(Irritable Bowel Syndrome) everyday. Before I could leave for work, I took over the counter help-3 times the normal dose. That did not include what I needed throughout the rest of the day. I did not even mention to the doctors about the acid reflux EVERY night. I thought it was mild compared to the agony and embarrassment that I suffered of the irritable bowel syndrome. There was nothing regular physicians could or would do. The Al-Cat test (and Dr. Rivera) saved my life. When the digestive system breaks down so will the immune system eventually. Since the day I began avoiding the foods I am allergic to and following the prescribed new way of eating, I have had NO acid reflux. I have been free of IBS for nearly 10 months straight. (Only occassional boughts of it before that.) I have lost 60 pounds total. I feel great. I am in the best shape of my life at age 52. I feel 30. (My husband enjoys the change.) Reading the book won’t change anything. But following its suggestions and reccommendations could save your life!

5 Stars the hidden truth
I am the mother of 6 children, 2 of those children have problems with their weight, after trying so many different styles we finally realized that the main culpert was the food allergies. When you realize that when you are allergic to a food your body can not break it down and so it sits there, your body does not have the enzymes to break down and eliminate certain foods. Knowledge is power the Bible says, this book has given us some answers to questions and has enabled my children to feel good about themselves.
Thank you

5 Stars Get tested!
I haven’t read this cover-to-cover yet, however I have to say that anyone who has tried multiple diets or lifestyle plans faithfully yet still struggles with their weight should go see an allergist for a complete battery of tests.

Getting tested revealed some insidious allergies for me. I am a 10 year veteran of unexplained elevated liver function tests which completely normalized when I eliminated gluten from my diet. My positive ANA for lupus has also normalized.

In addition, I have lost 65 pounds in 9 months without exercise or restricting my intake amounts. In other words, I still eat junk food and drink soda, I just use products that do not contain my allergens.

As an aside, I believe with all of the genetically modified foods on the market, including Monsanto’s approval to use GM sugar beets, the number of people with food allergies will only increase.

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