Customer Reviews

Lean Mom, Fit Family : The 6-Week Plan for a Slimmer You and a Healthier Family

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is awesome. I recently met Michael on Maui. I was a guest artist at the place he was staying and as he and his partner approached my table I thought, wow, those are two incredibly fit people... then I found out he'd written this book. I figured if I could look half as good as they did I'd be happy, so I ordered it.

This book contains the most realistic meal plan I've ever seen in a fitness/diet book. (and I've tried many) Not only do they list the foods you would normally eat, they give you a way to balance it all out. I found my biggest problem was that I was not getting enough protein, so no matter how much I worked out ,etc., my body wasn't able to "get lean". Since following his princiles, I've noticed a difference in my muscle defintition. If you're a busy mom who's tried all the low fat &/or fad diets this book will be a great relief. With this plan you eat good food, a real balance, you are taught to turn your body into a "fat burning machine", rather than being told to deprive yourself.

And, the autor has to be one of the nicest, most genuine people I've met. He really wants to help people.

The plan is easy and sensible. The meal plan is especially easy as everyone in the family eats the same meal but different portions sizes. The plan even includes take out food for the busy mom. Try the sloppy joes, my family loved them.

I would agree generally with the comments in the 5-star reviews but I would not give this book 5 stars. The author has good advice and some useful recipes but the book itself is very short- carefully double and triple spaced throughout- more material than a magazine article but much less content than the average 284 page book. The index and recipes are useful although limited. For example there are only 5 breakfast recipes, 7 lunch recipes, 15 dinner entree recipes. The plan does not address hurdles and challenges at all but assumes that the reader will 'just do it.' There is no advice on how to change habits and routines although new habits are outlined. So if emotional or social issues are part of your family's challenges, this book would not be helpful.

I have tried and dropped a ton of diets, mainly because they're impossible to do when you have young kids - either they wouldn't eat the exotic foods called for in some diets, I didn't have time to prepare the elaborate recipes, or with the deprivation called for in some diets, I was afraid I would be instilling unhealthy eating habits in my children at a young age - and they look to me to be their example.

I stumbled on this book as I was looking for some easy, quick tips to get back on track. I was hooked from the beginning, because as I thumbed through it, I saw foods I recognized and was willing to eat (and that my family was willing to eat). The meals are well-balanced - nothing is out of whack (no high-fat, low-carb, etc.) - and there is a lot of variety. Some of the other things I like are the easy and fast recipes (a must for busy moms), eating out guides for sit-down and fast-food restaurants (for others like me who have to resort to a drive-thru during the week), and the fact that the concepts are introduced gradually - each week you'll adopt another healthy habit (easier than forcing the family to go cold turkey).

I applaud Michael Sena for looking at nutrition as a family affair - and realizing that in so many cases, it starts with mom. And for recognizing that mom can't go it alone.

If you're looking for a quick-fix Hollywood-style starvation diet - this is not for you. But if you are ready for your entire family to adopt a healthier lifestyle, then get this book ASAP, you will not be disappointed.

5 STAR REVIEW!!!!
As you might have noticed lately in the news - childood obesity has become a national public health threat in the United States.
Former President Clinton has brought attention to this crises by
mobilizing his foundation to help bring awareness to this problem and to work towards eradicating it.
This book would be a great gift to give to a family that you love that might need to be "nudged" towards living a healthier lifestyle.(thus avoiding the above mentioned problems).
In a clear, informative way this book will help moms on the path to developing and maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits for their families.
Giving your children and your loved ones these positive habits is a gift, a gift that will help them to reach their fullest potential!
This book is a great buy and small investment in helping those that you love live a longer and more vital life.

I found the book OK, I skimmed through it and picked up a few good pointers.

Many fitness programs are geared toward helping people lose weight and get healthy, but if the program speaks just to the individual, they've left out some major players -- family members. Today's families require something more...they need a fitness plan for whole families -- one where they can work together and get healthy together!

Such an idea exists in the book, "Lean Mom, Fit Family: The 6-Week Plan for a Slimmer You and a Healthier Family," by Michael Sena, C.F.S. This book includes a helpful 6-week plan that moms will find easy to accomodate into their own daily schedules. The idea is that if moms are leading a healthy lifestyle, they will be able to help their families lead healthy lifestyles as well. Some helpful information in this book: it explains proper portion size for all family members; reviews what proteins, carbohydrates, fats & calories are; it describes exercises for all age members; there are quizzes, goal lists, checklists, meal plans (includes school lunch ideas!), and even recipes and activities. This book has everything you need to get your entire family on the road to a healthy lifestyle!

MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- besides being very informative, the plan is easy to incorporate; it enlists the entire family; and while everyone is getting healthy, they're spending more time together as well. It's a win-win situation for everyone :).

The genius of this book by Senna and his expert collaborators, Straughan and Sattler, is simple:

[1] the target, Moms,
[2] the approach, concise and
[3] the science, well informed.

[1] Dad's are important (I am one) but Moms power family oriented activities in most homes whether they are working-moms or stay-at-home-moms. So, if you want to improve the health of the family you better get Dr. Mom on board.

[2] If you want to improve family fitness you have to have moms fully engaged. But here's the thing "Miss Word", who wrote "Cheerful, useful, but a little *lite*", moms don't have time to waste; they're all too busy. So Senna's team doesn't waste time, they get right to the point and the book is a delightfully quick read.

[3] As a former military officer and nationally certified personal fitness trainer I can attest to the fact that Senna and his well credentialed team of professionals is concisely teaching the best that science currently has to offer. This shouldn't be underestimated. There is way too much disinformation in the market today which keeps people from reaching their goals. Much of the disinformation is dressed up in complicated and long-winded discourse aimed at sounding impressive and making the author money. That's not what we need. What we need is the simple truth in an easy to digest and easy to implement format. This is what Senna and his team of collaborative experts so artfully deliver.