Simple Steps: 10 Weeks to Getting Control of Your Life: Health, Weight, Home, Spirit (Paperback)

~ Lisa Lelas (Author), Linda McClintock (Author), Beverly Zingarella (Author), Lu Ann Cahn (Foreword) "Our bodies are composed of 70 percent water and our blood is 94 percent water..." (more)
Key Phrases: please share your ideas, one song every day, efficient laundry system, Simple Steps, Attaching This Step, The New England Journal of Medicine (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The bills are piling up...
The kids need a ride to practice...
And you're eating on the run.

Thankfully, there are Simple Steps to make a woman feel calm again.

Many women crave a sense of order and control, but have no idea how to attain it-and find themselves overwhelmed with a thousand daily details. Now, the women who established the popular Simple Steps program show readers how to calm and simplify their life in just ten weeks. Each week, women will learn a new Simple Step for addressing key areas in their lives: weight, health, home, and spirit. And before they know it, they'll be breathing easier...and living better than ever before.

About the Author

Lisa Lelas is a former New York City casting director, the founding editor of Soap Dish magazine, and a syndicated columnist, news reporter, and radio broadcaster. She is married with two young daughters. Linda McClintock is a stay-at-home mom with a background in nutrition and healthy gourmet cooking. Beverly Zingarella is the stay-at-home mother of three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: New American Library; First Printing edition (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451208625
• ISBN-13: 978-0451208620
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #435,279 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, in the most literal sense, May 21, 2003

By	HeyJudy "heyjudy" (East Hampton, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Anyone who attempts the SIMPLE STEPS program with a full heart, and a true sense of committment, will be a better person at the completion of this program. SIMPLE STEPS is based on a philosophy of dedicating 10 weeks to changing bad habits in small and, yes, simple steps.

This is a small book that is amazingly vast in its scope. It deals with life's mundane necessities, like controlling dirty laundry so that it doesn't take over a participant's life. Spiritual issues are addressed as well, and so is health advice that is so basic--walking, taking vitamins, drinking water--that one wonders why it is necessary to buy a book to assimilate it. Yet necessary it is, if only to have a cohesive and tidy plan on which to rely.

Anyone who makes an effort to implement some of the SIMPLE STEPS plan will be the better for this effort by the end of the 10 weeks. Anyone who succeeds in applying the entire formula will be a changed person: Better organized, healthier, far less stressed. The chores of yesterday are streamlined by this book's suggestions into the good habits of tomorrow.

Sometimes, we forget that the meaning of "inspirational" is "to inspire." SIMPLE STEPS is inspirational in the purest sense of the word. People who want to make improvements in the routines of their own lives will be well-served by SIMPLE STEPS.

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Help for those who need hand holding !, June 21, 2003

By	Lee Mellott "www.SkinCareForWrinkles.com (my ... (Frederick, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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The book Simple Steps is a guidebook for the woman whose life according to the book is "a cluttered mess of worries, wishes and chores that you can't keep track of."
The authors tell you to do one thing each week for your health, your weight, your home and your spirit. If you add these steps each week, in ten weeks you will be in greater control and according to the authors "cultivating the life you always wanted."
Week 1 for example suggests you drink eight glasses of water every day for your diet, walk twenty minutes a day for fitness, clean out a drawer or cabinet every week for your home, and save $2 a day for self.
Other weeks include tips such as keeping a food journal, cleaning out your fridge, taking a multivitamin, cleaning and flossing your teeth (yes you read that right) and cutting back on caffeine.
The authors tell you why you should do these things and how to "attach them to your lifestyle".
You already know you should be doing everything in this book.
You already know the techniques in this book.
On the back cover the authors say they will empower you by helping you attain the body you want with simple tricks like avoiding the kitchen after hours and using herbs and spices. (You knew that already). They say you can make room for fitness by using new techniques like kitchen dancing. (Is this new to you?)
There really is nothing new here. But sometimes we are so overwhelmed, we don't do the things we should. So the authors have written a book to get you to add these basic skills to your life one week at a time so they become lifelong habits. They walk you through each good habit step by step and hold your hand so you can accomplish your goals.
The choice then is do you need the book to tell you what you should already be doing? Or could you just make a list of habits that you know are good for you and then add one or two habits each week?
A lot depends on the type of person you are. If you feel like you want some support and are so flustered with your life you don't know where to get started buy the book. If not just make a list of things you want to accomplish and do a little bit each week.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What your Momma didn't teach you?, September 16, 2004

By	Octoberflybaby "body-n-soul" (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews

This is a progressive program that's designed to teach you very simple steps to reorganize your life, your health, and your surroundings. It's fairly easy to follow, with four new assignments each week for you to continue practicing the rest of your life. Some of the assignments are very simple and basic (like brushing your teeth and flossing every day), others are more complex (like learning about good and bad fats and making the necessary changes). By the end of the ten weeks, you'll have acquired 40 habits that will help you feel better and get rid of chaos in your life. Many of the steps should already be part of a normal adult's life, and organized people will scoff at their self-evidence! But for those of us who are always running late, whose house is in a perpetual mess, who can't find anything, and who are always tired, I guarantee that you'll already see improvement by the second week! The only problem for me was to remember all the steps, but the author gives many suggestions on how to incorporate the steps in daily life. I highly recommend this book, because even if you don't practice all the steps, the ones you do will make a huge difference in your life!