Customer Reviews

Shape Your Life: 4 Weeks to a Better Body-and a Better Life

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With the popularity of makeover shows, it is no surprise to find books promoting the idea of "getting in shape fast." It only took my husband asking me if I wanted to go on one of those makeover shows to get me thinking I could probably do this myself without surgery and a "lot" of patience. What I worry about is how discouraged some people might become when four weeks pass and they look at themselves in the mirror and see minimal results.

For me, it has taken over 24 weeks of serious working out for about 45 minutes a day, not to mention all the salads I've had to eat to get to a point where I feel that I should have started. I've found that diets don't work, but diet counts. If that makes any sense.

But with that aside, I think this book is for people who are between 10-20 lbs overweight. Then, you will probably see dramatic results. For anyone who is trying to lose 50 or more pounds, it is going to take much longer than 4 weeks.

So, I would say that this book is more helpful for anyone looking for lifestyle changes on a permanent basis. Toss out the "4-week" idea and think "life plan for getting fit and staying that way." Then, you will enjoy this book and it becomes a starting point for major changes down the road. I would just hate to see anyone toss out the wonderful ideas when they don't see dramatic changes in four weeks.

The concepts are amazingly well organized. The Seven Elements each have their own chapters. You explore: your workout, diet, spirituality, rest, emotions, body image, work and finally the last chapter analyzes your results. Throughout the pages you will find "quick tips" and "what you'll learn" pointers. The fitness test is helpful to determine your present strength level. The "walk-run" idea is probably not new to you if you have a treadmill, but might interest you if you have only been walking. The walking program is highly detailed and gives you a schedule for all four weeks, day by day.

If you don't have a lot of time to workout, you can try the 20-minute workout. There is a helpful chart for major muscle groups. If you enjoy learning exercises from a book, there are quite a few exercises. I still recommend getting exercise videos to learn how to do Pilates, yoga or any other exercise you want to try. You can refer back to the book to see the pictures, but nothing compares to a one-on-one session with a professional instructor on video/DVD. A video will help you keep the intensity going and an instructor will show you what you might be doing wrong.

Chapter two delves into the area of diet. I'm going to say that I agree with Shape's approach to eating right. The shape food pyramid puts vegetables and fruits on the bottom of the pyramid and whole grains on the third level. Water is on the second level. This makes sense and I've lost weight following these ideas. I'm less hungry when I drink enough water and my moods are more constant when I drink enough fluids and exercise almost daily. If you are a vegetarian, there is information for your diet which includes suggestions for meat substitutes, etc.

I must say that the weekly menus are rather impressive. They have easy-to-prepare recipes for every single meal, every single day for four weeks. You start to eat 5 times a day which you really need to do once you start working out more. Some of the delicious recipes include:

Quinoa Salad with Red Peppers and Pine Nuts
Frozen Cinnamon Cappuccino
Tarragon Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Tuna Salad
Thai Pudding
Banana-Soy Shake
Chicken Pot Stickers

The amazing thing about the recipes is the lack of complicated preparation steps and the speed at which the meals can be prepared. There is an intriguing section that shows you how to navigate your grocery store. The Mango and Ginger Cream recipe reminded me of how we mix low-fat sour cream with honey or stevia and a dash of vanilla. Suddenly pieces of fruit becomes an exotic treat when dipped in creamy vanilla bliss. I can eat an orange, banana and apple in one sitting while watching a TV show. That is one of the ways I get in my fruit for the day.

The chapter on spirituality encourages you to explore new areas of your life. The "are you starving your soul? questionnaire could be enlightening in itself. The list of "7 people we all need" shows you that you can't just rely on one friend to satisfy all your friendship needs. Whether you try journaling or meditation, there are plenty of ways to feel more nourished. Try yoga! The next chapter should be called: Your sleep number. ;) Although, it also deals with vacations and visualization. Then, you explore body image and finally analyze your results.

Helpful Tools that make this book a keeper:

How to calculate your daily calories
How to calculate your Body Mass Index
Fitness Test
Menu Plans

When you start buying smaller clothes, reading this book is going to be so worth it! Just remember, when you are first working out, you might gain weight. Once you get over that hurdle, the pounds start to drop. It took me years of working out, panicking because I'd gain a few pounds and starting over again to realize that you just have to live through the first 24 weeks and deal with it. Once you get to week 25 things are looking pretty darn good and by then you have been able to apply many of the principles in this book. It is more about lifestyle changes than "I have to be fit in 4 weeks." This book could change your life around, just be patient with yourself and forgive yourself on those days when you break all the rules. The principles are working for me and I'm pretty sure they will work for you. Exercise is key!

~The Rebecca Review

I have been a loyal subscriber to SHAPE magazine for several years now and, because of this, bought this book immediately upon its release. And I am glad that I did. If you already subscribe to SHAPE you will get the same all around good advice and research as the magazine gives without feeling that deja vu feeling that they have just reproduced bits of the magazines you've already read. There are some bits that are familiar though, I did recognise some of the recipes in the food section.

Overall it is a very informative and interesting book that is delivered with the same philosophies of the magazine - there is no quick fix, simply being thin is not going to make you happy, the minds must be in tune with the body, etc. This book focuses on all aspects of the life and includes rresearch on things such as why volunteering is good for us and also has a very uncheesy chapter on body image. Each section (not just chapter, but different sections within the chapters) has a four week plan that is easy to follow in whichever area you choose to work on. Another thing that I found makes this a good book is that it is not necessary to do the 4 week plans. This is not set up like so many books I see where the entire obok is based on trying some plan, but rather makes it easy to incorporate diffent aspects of it's reasearch and philosophy into your every day life. Definitely worth buying.

I read Shape magazine almost every month and I guess I expected more from the book. The graphic production is excellent and so are the sections covering spirituality, emotions and diet. It has a New Age approach and is very upbeat, inspiring and uplifting, except that... it is a contradiction to lay so much focus on the inner self when the models in the photos are so wiry, thin and flawless without. Besides, I don't find the workouts presented to be half as good as those featured monthly in the magazine, especially coming from authorities such as Rodney Yee or Karen Voight. A book that could be greatly improved.

I have to say this is the first time a bought a book and then felt the need to share my thoughts about it on the internet.
I bought this book 3 weeks ago after seeing the advertisement in Shape mag. I love the magazine and find it to be informative, helpful & entertaining. The book is the same. I realized finally at the age of 37 that it isn't just about losing weight. Spirituality, body image, relationships etc.. all need to be in balance. The book offers great ways on how to achieve this. As simple as they are they make sense. I love the 4 week eating plan and I've already tried a couple of recipes that were really good. I would recommend this book highly and if your ready to change the way you think about yourself this is the way to get started.

I love this book. It has all the information I've been looking for for the past year. The book gives you plans for everything, not just facts. In the diet section they give you a few weeks worth of menus for healthier eating with some recipes. In the other sections such as work and spirituality they continue to give you stretches and exercise ideas and relate the content back to your body.

I would also like to comment on the spirituality chapter. I found it very inspiring.It is not about religion specifically and doesn't push religion at you. It is more about taking a break from our hectic, stressful, materialistic world through helping others, connecting with nature, religion, etc... I found it to be a more Zen approach rather than religious. I liked that they include spirituality because it is a reminder not to get too caught up in focusing on just your body.

Overall, I find this to be a very positive book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be healthier.

This book was good up until the point where they put most of the emphasis of health on spirituality. This was a little too "New Age" for me ... I don't think they spent enough time talking about workouts. The workouts they did talk about were not very good for building a strong, lean body. It would take forever to notice any changes on their programs. This book was good, however, for the nutritional aspect. Great info on nutrition!

this book does something that many other fitness books dont: it explains to women that they need to be HEALTHY and HAPPY in order to lose weight. Also, it is not strictly a weight loss book- it contains a lot of information about spirtualty (not religion really), peacefullness, and body image.

on the down side its actually weight training (ie resistance training exercises) are not all that great. the cardio plan is wonderful though. i really like it a lot. i also like the 20 minute weight resistance thing and i added inner/outer thigh lifts and tricep/calve lifts to it. i actually do the cardio exercise they reccomend plus the 20 minute program each day so i do a little more than they say.

this program has little ab work- 15 minutes 4 times a week is good. for some good ab work buy 3 minute abs.

the nutrition is wonderful because they dont have silly 1200 calorie diets. the plan is 2000 calories a day and since i was trying to lose weight, i decreased it to 1600 calories a day. the recipes are delicious and the information very good.

i would reccomend buying this book along with the body scultping bible for women and 3 minute abs. goodluck!!

I looked forward to receiving this book when it was advertised in Shape Magazine. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to receive it two months later.

It was promised as a four-week plan to re-invent one's life and delivered as a typical topic-by-topic guidebook. Your Workout. Your Diet, Your Spirituality. Ugh. How boring and how available in so many other books and magazines.

Don't waste your time or money on this book. There are much more authentic authorities out there who can advise you on self improvemnt topics. This book utterly fails to deliver the promised guide to putting it all together in a week-by-week plan.

Shape Your Life, no matter what it promises, is not that plan. There are better authorities out there and this non-existent plan does nothing to organize your approach or find your counselors.

I took my time to read this book, given that Barbara is a highly respected figure in the fitness industy. The book addresses the issue of spirituality and a healthy body image in vast lengths, and I didn't feel as if I was hearing something that has been repeated over and over.It talks about fitness being a web of relationships amongst 7 elements, these are: exercise, a healthy diet, spirituality, rest, sleep and relaxation, emotional well being and a healthy body image.
I liked the fact that Barbara addressed the body image issues , because it is one area that has been soo underrated and misunderstood.She brings out this issue in a very intelligent and convincing manner.
I must say even though I wanted to read more about exercising, I was really glued to the spirituality part of the book.She talks about how spirituality is soo profound.She teaches you the importance of this aspect, given that we live in a technologically driven society, with information overload and chocking materialistic values-that are damaging alot of people's health via the spirit.I was impressed by one of her statements , to which she says " all indicators suggest that our spirits are hungry, and its a perfectly human response to seek nourishment"-Amen!!She spends time to show the naysayers how spiritual health affects physical health.
The book has a 4 week program for the nurturing of the spirit, where readers read and also have homework!-what a great way of learning.A clear testimony of the book's genuine intention.

This book is wonderful if you're looking for motivation! The body image tips it has for loving your body are great as well. I wish this book had more information on how many calories you're burning for each workout but it's not really needed since it gives you a food plan as well. There's quite a variety of information in this book. I highly recommend it!