Customer Reviews

Fat to Firm at Any Age: How You Can Have a Slimmer, Well-Toned Body at Age 30, 40, and Beyond

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought this was a wonderful book. It is tailored especially for women. It explains that one of the reasons we gain weight as we age is because we become more and more sedentary and lose muscle mass. If we do a moderate weight program, we can at least stop the loss of muscle and maybe make up for what we lost.

I am down 11 pounds since June. I walk/run for 30 minutes a day as many days as I can. I try to work in a weight regime at least two times a week.

I highly recommend this book as the last word on fitness!

I've tried and failed at many diets as most people have. This book truly taught me how to eat well by the author's unique structure of the book. The various chapters give you affirmations, testimonials, quotes, research, exercises, even recipes. Many times I felt I had read similar information in previous sections of the book and I had! I think that is important. Repetition is the best learning tool. The more you read it, the better you retain it.

By the time I finished reading this book, I was no longer scared about dieting. I began using the information I had learned, occasionally returning to the book to confirm something I was unsure of. I have even tried several of the recipes which proved to be very tasty! Next thing I knew, I was no longer ON A DIET ... I had changed my lifestyle completely.

That's mainly what I want to say about this book. It changes your life, which is what we ALL need to become healthy eaters. A healthy eater is a healthy person. The weight loss is just the natural benefit that comes with it.

By the way, I lost 20 lbs. in 6 months. My exercise program consists of walking 1.5 miles and doing 100 stomach crunches a day.

It is a bit too soon for me to report enviable weight loss or the establishment of new, taut muscles. But I am convinced that by following the reasonable and practical tips and strategies in Fat To Firm, I shall reach my goals in time. And that is what is so refreshing about this book: it is not at all gimmicky, promising the sun, moon and stars, not to mention a Claudia Schiffer body. This book is an excellent antidote to all those unrealistic, often impossible, weight-loss programs and fad diets. In truth, it appears that most books out there could be called faddish. Not so this book.

If you are just beginning a weight-loss and fitness program, or would like to, but still don't have the confidence and courage, this is a good book to begin with. There are numerous inspiring stories--from real women, who demonstrate that goals CAN be met if one is consistent, determined, and flexible. There are good introductions to various forms of exercise, which would help someone who isn't quite sure where or how to begin, what exercise would suit best. There are many many tips on how to incorporate more activity into one's daily routines, in addition to regular exercise. My favorite: doing squats or calf raises while doing the dishes or cutting vegetables.

My one disappointment was that there was not more assistance in the actual planning of meals or menus (in addition to a somewhat small list of recipes). However, this deficiency could be supplemented with an additional book or two--including a more thorough cookbook--but one must be prepared to do some serious searching to avoid fads or nutritionally unsound eating plans.

I would recommend this book to the woman who is just beginning, or wants to begin, a new, more healthful lifestyle, a combination of better eating habits and more physical activity. This book is a good, encouraging accessory to a more healthful life.

I have many books on diet, exercise and nutrition. This was one of the first books I bought and 10 years later, I still flip through the pages and find the advice useful. It is filled with inspiring anecdotes, easy-to-follow yet challenging exercises, yummy recipes, and has just the right bit of medical advice (enough to make it credible, but not too much to make it boring for non-health professionals).

I see another reviewer said that it was a disappointment because it did not offer original advice. I agree. If you want some "secret", then this book is not for you. And I am sure that in the decade since its publication many other books have come out (like Bob Greene's book). Books that have glossy pages, and color photographs. You won't find that here. If you want that, get a more recently-published book. But if you want to know little tricks for revving up your metabolism, having more energy throughout the day, and how to tweak your favorite high-fat recipes (like chicken fingers) into healthy versions, than this book is for you.

I got this book in college when I was trying to lose the "freshman 15", which in my case was more like freshman 20, and by following the advice I quickly shed the weight off -- mainly by increasing my metabolism. A lot of the advice in this book might seem repetitive to you, especially if you are a regular reader of health magazines such as Women's Health, Prevention and Self. But what this book does is it gathers the most useful information in those publications and compiles them and organizes them (the layout is great!).

After this book you won't have to read another health magazine again. I subscribe to some, and most of the time it repeats the same information in this book.

All you need is to act upon it. It's not so much that the material is new but the presentation is easy and the table of contents is set up with a great breakdown so the reader can access the information easily without wading through more than a body may want to read.

Not that it is not all important but sometimes you may just need more info on a particular part of your plan. Each chapter in the table of contents has a sentence or two telling you exactly what you will find there. The sections are broken down with subtitles to add to that ease. They couldn't make it easier.

I found this book very inspirational, as well as helpful. It is a book to guide you and get you on track, most important of all it will help you to stay there. Kelsana 12/10/01

This book is a total rehash of information that anyone with a weight problem who has attempted to do anything about it would already know. The book is repetitive and tedious. You must wade through 150+ of obvious information before the unoriginal diet plan is presented. The one redeeming aspect of the book is the excercise suggestion. There are useful tips on getting started excercising and a well-structured body sculpting program using free weights. But this alone is not worth the price of the book.