8 Minutes in the Morning: A Simple Way to Shed Up to 2 Pounds a Week -- Guaranteed (Paperback)

by Jorge Cruise (Author), Anthony Robbins (Foreword) "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember what my life was like before I decided to change my body and make..." (more)
Key Phrases: superquick moves, liquid flax oil, omega fats, Today's Journal, Eating Cards, Eating Card System (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Fitness trainer Jorge Cruise has helped 3 million cyberspace clients lose weight, and now he's headed for your bookshelf with the same goal in mind. In just eight minutes a day, says Cruise, you can drop two pounds of fat per week, change your shape, and gain muscle and energy. His secret formula: an inspirational "wake-up talk," followed by strength training two muscle groups per day, eating according to his "eating card" program, and keeping a journal. For exercise, Cruise presents a varied, 28-day program of illustrated exercises using dumbbells. Why the emphasis on strength training? While aerobics burns calories while you're exercising, adding muscle revs up fat burning at rest by increasing your metabolic rate. Every pound of muscle you gain burns an extra 50 calories per day. You'll look better and feel younger and more energetic, resulting in more activity, burning more calories, he says. Cruise's eating plan emphasizes "good" (omega) fats, complex carbohydrates, high-quality protein (low in saturated fat), and vegetables, with dairy, fruits, and "treats and cravings" in moderation. His "Eating Card System" gives you an allotment of portions from each of the food groups. If you're the kind who likes the regimentation of following a specific program every day, Cruise will get you moving, eating better, and losing weight. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
...Jorge Cruise has the solution for both time and body... -- Tamilee Webb, M.A., star of Buns of Steel video series

...wonderful results without struggle. -- Howard Joseph (lost 91 pounds!)

A must for anyone trying to lose weight and get in shape. It works! -- Denise Austin, Host of Lifetime TV's Daily Workout

A weight-loss expert that explodes misconceptions about fat and introduces how the right fat can make you fit. -- Jade Beutler, author of Understanding Fats and Oils and reknowned "fat" researcher

If you want to get fit, firm, and feel better about yourself, give this program a try! -- Catherine Cassidy, editor-in-chief of Prevention magazine

Jorge shows you how to get great results in less time than it takes to shower in the morning. -- Kathy Smith, author of Kathy Smith's Fitness Makeover : A 10-Week Guide to Exercise and Nutrition That Will Change Your Life

Jorge wants to get you super-healthy, not just super-lean. -- Lisa Klugman, editor-in-chief of Fit magazine

Jorge will get you up and started -- Jack LaLanne, host of the nationally syndicated TV exercise show and The Godfather of Physical Fitness

The new program will have you fit, firm and feeling fabulous -- no sweat required. -- First for Women magazine

The plan that guarantees rapid weight loss. -- Woman's World magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (December 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060505389
• ISBN-13: 978-0060505387
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (228 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

310 of 319 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jorge's enthusiasm jumps through the pages!, January 15, 2002

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

This review is from: 8 Minutes in the Morning: A Simple Way to Start Your Day That Burns Fat and Sheds the Pounds (Hardcover)

Jorge Cruise has developed a quick way to "jump-start" your morning. By performing only 8 minutes of strength training and following a simple diet Jorge says you can shape up! In fact on the cover of his book he guarantees weight loss in just 4 weeks.

I think the strength training aspect of his program is very good. The photographs are clear and the descriptions for the exercises are concise. Jorge leads you through 4 sets of 12 repetitions for 2 exercises, alternating them for greater effect.
There are a number of exercises including standing heel raises, kickups, knee pushups, and one arm curls.
Despite the short time period, I could feel a nice difference in my body in under a week. Though its easy to not exercise, its hard to make excuses when it's only 8 minutes! Great Concept!
It would be nice if Jorge had included modifications for those who had difficulty performing the exercises.

Jorge also includes a motivational thought for the day. Each day has a different idea to hopefully "kick" you into high gear. Ideas such as visualization, using light, rewards etc. Nothing new, but a nice addition to the book.

The diet is your standard low calorie type fare, with one addition. Jorge has you add one tsp. of flax oil (which you can also purchase from him) or olive oil to your meals to give you that feeling of satiation. I purchased Jorge's flax oil and indeed it does make you feel full..but I found the taste was very hard to get used to. Overall, I was disappointed in the diet. Jorge does not use the new information about how glycemic levels can be effected by certain foods and he suggests foods that easily turn to sugar in your body like bananas. He also suggests eating treats alone and that could trigger cravings in some folks if not paired with a protein.

Jorge says he has trained over 3 million people online in his book. So I was surprised when I visited his website that it seemed like it was still in it's infancy ie chat board just starting etc. I have been on a variety of fitness websites for over 5 years and have never heard of Jorge. I was also disappointed when he suggested on the board the if we needed motivation we buy a small outfit and try to diet to get in it.
Personally, I think we all need to feel good NOW about our bodies and try to make them better by buying clothes that fit and adjusting down when the time is right.

My thoughts are that he knows his exercise but put together a diet program by gathering information from others. I don't think his diet program is anything special or the answer folks have been looking for.

But the book is worth the price for the exercises alone. And Jorge is young and enthusiastic and his knowledge of nutrition will grow! Hopefully his next book will include the wonderful exercises and a better nutrition plan.

77 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good when taken with a dose of common sense, January 11, 2004

By	Nancy Whetstone (Salina, KS USA) - See all my reviews

In a fit of desperation and with a healthy skepticism toward fad dieting, not to mention barely any time to devote to calorie-counting and long, tedious exercise sessions, I scanned through several weight-loss books available at the local library. Out of the five or so books I perused, Jorge Cruise's seemed the simplest and the most practical for my busy lifestyle.

As a lifelong yo-yo dieter and well-versed in nutrition (although in the past this didn't keep me from eating wrong anyway), Jorge's plan seemed safe, nutritionally sound and quite possibly do-able for me. The text read smoothly and offered interesting sidebars showing the dramatic results his clients experienced while on his program. Even though some of the exclamations of life-changing results of epic proportions rang a bit bogus to me, (I know for a fact that weight loss can make you healthier, but not necessarily happier), I liked the straightforward message Mr. Cruise was sending. If you try, even just a little, to live a healthier lifestyle, you will become healthier. That, combined with the sweet simplicity of the program itself, was enough for me to give it a shot.

I've been on the program for two weeks now and have lost a total of 9 lbs., thanks partially to the near-starvation diet that comprises the first week. It is pure torture, no two ways about it, but it does help rid the body of toxins (especially if you drink the recommended 8 or more glasses of water daily) and set you up with the right frame of mind regarding food as fuel instead of for gratification.

I found the daily affirmations fun but by no means necessary, nor did I eschew caffeine or my once-daily teaspoon of sugar in my evening herbal tea. I also did not change from regular milk to soy as he suggests. Buying the expensive and fishy-tasting flax oil and all those fresh veggies in mid-winter in the midwest was a financial challenge in and of itself without the extravagance of silly substitutions such as soy cheese and stevia, which is supposedly a super diet sweetener available only in health-food stores. Despite all this, I was not discouraged and have suffered no ill effects. Once past the restrictive first week of starvation dieting, I feel like I'm gorging myself on my 1,400 calories a day, even though most of it is comprised of veggies. I also find the eating cards helpful, although filling in all those veggie boxes can be a definite challenge, and some days I'd just as soon not eat anything at all rather than choke down more lettuce doused in flax oil.

The exercises range from ridiculously easy to almost impossible, and I have had to improvise in some ways, such as doing wall pushups instead of knee pushups, of which I could only do 5, not the recommended 48. In no way does the book suggest that you do more than you can, and I find this very freeing. I also customized the plan to incorporate from 15-60 minutes of riding my recumbent exercise bike 3-5 days a week, which I feel gives me a more well-rounded workout than the 8 minutes of weight-training alone, especially on the "off-day" that Mr. Cruise has designed into the program. I am not a fan of Cruise's recommended powerwalking, partially because of the icey-cold weather and partially because of bad knees and feet, which I feel might discourage others who seek to follow the plan as dictated. The best thing of all is what the title suggests. Only 8 minutes in the morning is sometimes all one can handle. It's true, as Mr. Cruise says, morning is an excellent time to work out, before a person in inundated with all the demands of the day. I also like the variety of doing two different moves for two different parts of the body every day. This in itself goes a long way toward conquering boredom with the program, and has the added effect of not causing too much muscle pain in one part of the body. I have experienced a little muscular pain, but that is to be expected with any weight training plan. The good thing about this plan is, by the time you get around to the painful body part again, enough time has lapsed to allow healing in the offending body part.

All in all, I found 8 Minutes in the Morning a helpful book in my quest to shed the extra pounds, especially with a little customizing to help it fit into my lifestyle. I recommend it to anyone who is sick and tired of fad diets and who has very little time to devote to losing weight.

90 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Exercise Plan, November 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 8 Minutes in the Morning: A Simple Way to Start Your Day That Burns Fat and Sheds the Pounds (Hardcover)

"8 Minutes in the Morning" is a weight-loss and weight-maintenance plan with a couple of interesting features. The first is the diet plan. Cruise calls it the "Eat Fat to Get Fit" program. Everything is outlined for you, including little reproducible food journal cards so you can keep track of what you are eating each day. Since I am not overweight, and can't even envision eating the amount of fat each day that he recommends, I am not using this portion of the book, but I can appreciate that it is well laid out and seems very user-friendly.

The second part of the book is the exercise routine. This is actually why I bought the book in the first place. Exercise is in two parts: strength training with light hand weights (dumbbells) and power walking. The strength training segment works two major muscle groups each morning, taking only about eight minutes, six days a week. There is a four week plan given, so you have lots of variety and no chance of boredom. The photos and text instruction are excellent. I like the fact that he rotates through the muscle groups, which gets everything worked out while not stressing to the point of injury, and the daily routine, which, while very short, gives me something to do each day. I am a creature of habit and I find I do better if I have a little to do every day, rather than a couple of big workouts each week. I also like the fact that this workout does not require any expensive or bulky equipment. Just light weights, a chair, maybe something like a mat to put down on the floor. He also gives instruction in "power walking" which is good for the aerobic component. The instructions are very clear in terms of frequency, duration, intensity, and proper form.

As I said, I am not doing the diet part of this program, since I have been with the McDougall Program for quite a while, but the book was worth the money for me just for the strength training routine it contains. I recommend this book if you want to form a solid exercise habit.