7-Minute Miracle: Breakthrough Program to Banish Spot Fat Forever (Hardcover)

by Sheldon Levine (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For more than 50 years medical researchers have told us one thing about losing weight: That it's impossible to spot reduce-to target pockets of fat and use diet and exercise to get rid of them. Most people have a problem with specific sites: the back of their arms, or on their thighs, or their stomachs. You know yours: it's the first place fat goes, the last place it leaves. Enter The 7-Minute Miracle. After years of research and work with thousands of patients, Sheldon Levine, M.D., has proven that we can target those "tough luck" spots of fat and reshape our bodies, one problem area at a time. And it's not as difficult as you might think. The basic problem is genetic. You inherit fat. If your mom had big hips, you probably will too. If your dad had a hefty spare tire, you most likely will also. Our bodies are genetically programmed to build fat in specific areas. Regular diet and exercising just won't get rid of it. The good news is this: You can use that same genetic programming to rid yourself of spot fat. Levine shows you how to increase your blood flow to those problem areas and change the genetic code of your fat cells, and shrink the problem. In 7 minutes a day, doing simple exercises without weights, you can target spots of fat. Forty minutes later, follow up with one of Levine's "spot meals" and the combined nutrients will flush away additional fat from your genetically predisposed cells. This breakthrough program is for anyone who wants to reshape his or her body. It's for everyday folks who want to do a little trimming around the middle, as well as the avid gym-goer who's trying to shrink that last bulge around her thighs, or finally take care of the last remnants of cellulite. It's the ultimate program to get the body you want. Sheldon Levine, MD, is the former director of one of the country's most prestigious weight management centers, the DOCS Physician Center in New York, affiliated with Beth Israel Hospital. Levine, who has over 20 years of clinical weight management experience, is himself an avid fitness enthusiast. The former New York state bench press record holder, he is knows as the world's strongest doctor. Levine is the author of Hello Baby, Goodbye Baby Fat: The Complete Guide to Weight Loss After Pregnancy. He lives in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: LifeLine Press (July 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895261820
• ISBN-13: 978-0895261823
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #625,174 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe it's actually working..., June 23, 2002

By	An aspiring author and illustrator (Chico, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Okay, my first thought when I saw the title was "This guy's nuts. Everyone knows you can't spot reduce!" But being a sucker for anything that promises me a smaller rear-end, I had to give it a try.

Here's why it supposedly works: when you exercise, adrenaline and other chemicals are released into your bloodstream causing fat (energy) to be released into your bloodstream for your working muscles to use as fuel. That part is generally accepted as scientific fact. The doctor's theory goes on to conclude that since your working muscles receive a greater flow of blood than the rest of your body (hence the "pump" one gets when a muscle is worked with intensity), more fat will be released in the area where the muscles are working.

Before I bought the book, I had been working out consistently for about 8 months and was getting decent results overall (reduced my bodyfat from about 25% to 20%), but my saddlebags (ick!) just didn't want to go away. I added this to my program 3 weeks ago (I do the butt exercises daily) and I truly do see a difference.

I only gave the book 4 stars out of five, because the one thing it lacks is scientific support for the spot-reduction theory -- the doctor does include several anecdotes with photos, but no clinical studies to prove that it really works.

He also recommends consuming about 1,500 calories a day. Personally, I think that's a bit low -- I weight about 140, get about 30 minutes of exercise a day and eat approximately 1,800 to 2,000 calories daily.

So the bottom line -- pun intended :-) -- is this: it's working for me and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with a stubborn body part they want to change.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It helped me break my family's pot-bellied tradition!, August 29, 2002

By A Customer

When I first read the beginning of the book, I did not think that it was possible for me to lose weight in only 7 minutes per day. Therefore, I researched genetic weight loss on the internet, and it was really all that Dr. Levine said it was. So, I decided that such an easy-to-manage program was worth a shot. The program turned out to be so easy and it fit in to my lifestyle so well that I decided to make this excercise long-term. The spot weight loss took effect rather quickly, and the part about this program that I liked more than other programs is that there was no crazy diet system, and the spot meals tasted good. I liked the idea of working with, and not against my heredity. Big bellies were a trait that ran in my family, and I feel very happy that I broke the mold that I was confined to before.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the 7 minute miracle,Dr.Sheldon Levine, November 6, 2002

By	Linda (N.J) - See all my reviews

The book was a great help for me in my weight loss and firming up spots on my body that i thought were impossible to slim down.I recomend this book highly.It has done wonders for me!!I am now able to fit into a size I have never been able to before,and see myself working my way down.I totaly enjoyed the book .I've spent many years on diet drugs nd when i started this program I didnt need anything else but the book by my side,it has worked wonders for me!Thank You ,LINDA FROM NEW JERSEY