Jonny Bowden's Shape Up!: The 8-week Program To Transform Your Body, Your Health, And Your Life [Hardcover]

Jonny Bowden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2001

A gifted motivator and nutritionist extraordinaire, Jonny Bowden has helped over 75,000 women lose weight successfully through his hugely popular eight-week iVillage shape-up challenges. The key to his phenomenal success is his ability to help participants take back control of the power food holds over them, and to help set goals based on what "shaping up" means to each of us.Jonny Bowden's Shape Up! is like no other "diet" program: it takes into account personal factors such as commitment, self-esteem, body image, impulse control, and addictions, as well as issues like metabolic type, genetics, ethnic heritage, and hormones, and shows readers how to tailor consistent low-sugar, low-carbohydrate nutrition to fit individual needs. With humor and a down-to-earth style, Bowden presents realistic and simple week-by-week eating plans-as well as recommendations on vitamins, minerals, and food supplements-and the tools to customize the program for long-term success. He shows readers how to analyze food's effects on moods, cravings, and energy levels, and also demonstrates the how and why of light workout routines. A wise and empowering program, Jonny Bowden's Shape Up! will help readers everywhere take charge of their lives and make changes that will dramatically improve their health, weight, and state of mind.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"People don't like being told what to do," says nutritionist and personal trainer Jonny Bowden. And that's the fundamental problem with weight loss programs: they are someone else's idea of what's good for you, which translates, in your mind, to deprivation and self-denial. "People don't fail when they design their own lives according to what they want to do." So Bowden helps you design an eating program for yourself that is personalized for your measurements, temperament, lifestyle, and metabolic and biochemical uniqueness.

Bowden offers his "A" food list (eat more of these), including vegetables, fish, eggs, lean meat, and "good" fats. His "B" list (reduce your intake of these) includes commercial breads, pastas, and cereals; refined oils; margarine; and sugar (including fruit juices). He advises you to control starches (including grains)--maybe one portion a day. He's "cautious" about recommending soy. He says supplements are essential.

Bowden uses much of his book to explain why, in his view, the dietary recommendations of major medical organizations are "ridiculous." He admits that he is taking on "the medical and nutritional establishment" with some of his recommendations. He disputes the Food Pyramid (accepted by all the major medical and dietetic organizations) and pronounces Dean Ornish's low-fat dietary recommendations "from the dark ages"--even though Ornish's program has been shown in published, peer-reviewed studies to reverse heart disease. He calls the carbohydrate recommendations from the "American Dietary Association" (he must mean the American Dietetic Association) "nuts."

Bowden's beginner's exercise program consists of walking and strength training. Although he hates "one size fits all" diets, he doesn't seem to mind this approach for exercise, because he tells you exactly what to do each day for eight weeks, including how many minutes to walk. The strength training is appropriate, well explained, and well illustrated. The only cardiovascular exercise is walking, and he doesn't discuss other alternatives until the appendix, and only if you're at the "advanced beginner" level or higher.

Bowden is a personal trainer and nutritionist (note: not the same thing as a registered dietician). He answers readers' questions on iVillage.com and has a popular online radio show on e-yada. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

In a previous life, Jonny Bowden was, like Eartha Kitt, a professional musician, touring with Herbie Hancock and Carly Simon. However, for the past three years, he has come to be known as the hugely popular weight-loss coach on iVillage.com. With Jonny Bowden's Shape Up!: The 8-Week Program to Transform Your Body, Your Health, and Your Life, he expands beyond the Web to reach fitness fanatics who want to own a copy of his program, which, he maintains, focuses on the individual, and not just her weight-loss or exercise goal. Confident, informative and direct, Bowden has a voice that commands attention. ( May)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738204013
• ISBN-13: 978-0738204017
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book is a total surprise and delight, July 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Jonny Bowden's Shape Up!: The 8-week Program To Transform Your Body, Your Health, And Your Life (Hardcover)

i picked it up because my wife's doctor was raving about it and because the cover looked like bill Phillips Body for Life! But boy was I surprised. This book is witty, funny, filled with personal anecdotes, absolutely loaded with information and turns the "diet industry" on its head. this guy really knows what he's talking about and he's a terrific writer to boot! In my opinion, you have to be a pretty darn good writer if you're going to make this stuff interesting. After reading it I felt downright inspired... it'll tell you how to change your weight, but then it sneaks up on you and you realize it's really helped you change the way you think about your whole life.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where are the numbers? Where are the confusing calculations?, April 16, 2001

By 

girlysogroovy (Flower Mound, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jonny Bowden's Shape Up!: The 8-week Program To Transform Your Body, Your Health, And Your Life (Hardcover)

They are not found in this refreshing book and program. As a member of iVillage.com, I have had the opportunity to put this program and its author to test. Shape Up teaches one to find the value of a food beyond its caloric value. Because the program introduces healthy habits and foods gently and encourages the weaning of less favorable foods and habits, the probability of a person succeeding at losing weight and gaining a healthy body is great. The book is well written with witty stories and easily understood explanations of the science behind Shape Up. I encourage anyone interested in improving their health to purchase this book.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jonny's Shape-Up is the Handbook Many have been Looking For, July 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Jonny Bowden's Shape Up!: The 8-week Program To Transform Your Body, Your Health, And Your Life (Hardcover)

Jonny's insight and wealth of knowledge is incredible. After reading his book, I felt more powerful and in more control of my destiny than ever! Unlike many other "diet" books, (and this is no diet book), Jonny acknowledges the importance of differences between individuals. Never before have I heard a nutritionist truly address the impact that factors such as ethnic background, genetic make-up, hormones, social support, etc. have on weightloss. He doesn't construct a list of rules and promise that if you follow it exactly, you will get the results you want. Rather, Jonny acts as a coach and suggests strategies that will help you defeat the things that are preventing you from reaching your goals. The reader executes the strategies and decides how to overcome obstacles based off of the information that Jonny provides. I use Shape Up! as a handbook. I refer back to it when I decide it's time to change my strategy, and if I have questions, I simply e-mail the coach on ivillage.com. Shape Up! helped me to believe in the promises I make to myself and I know it will do the same for anyone else who uses this book.