Jessica Montrose's blog

After having my first child a few months ago, I tried everything I could think of to shed those post-pregnancy pounds. Nothing seemed to work! Even before becoming pregnant, I had tried many of the popular weight loss plans out there. Maybe that’s why the idea behind the “No S” Diet appeals to me.

It is marketed as a diet book for non-dieters, providing simple concepts rather than complicated, tough to follow plans. Instead of providing recipes and regimens, author Reinhard Engels provides concepts which the reader can then use to guide them in developing a healthy plan for themselves. Even more interestingly, Engels has a background not as a health guru or nutritionist, but as a software engineer.

How Does The “No S” Diet Work?

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The Complete Book of Running by Runner’s World features the all encompassing subtitle, “Everything You Need to Run for Weight Loss, Fitness, and Competition.” Along with this compelling subtitle, its purchase price is extremely low. With that, I was snagged, and wanted to know more about this book.

If someone were to tell me that I could lose 25 pounds in 8 weeks without making major lifestyle changes, I would tell them to keep dreaming. However, in her best-selling book, Crack the Fat-Loss Code, author Wendy Chant suggests that by making changes to the way we think about our diets, we can do just that. For me personally, weight loss has always been a struggle.

The prospect of losing 25 pounds in just two months without yo-yo dieting, deprivation, or constant exercise is immensely appealing... but is it too good to be true?

What Is the Book About?

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Author Wendy Chant outlines a few basic concepts which can assist us in changing the way we think about eating. Chant's basic concept is that we can maximize the beneficial parts of our diet by scheduling when meals take place and what they consist of. The term she uses to describe this is “macro-patterning,” which essentially means creating positive patterns in how and what we eat.

When The Biggest Loser first aired in 2004, it changed the national dieting landscape almost overnight. The Biggest Loser brought the subject of weight loss to the forefront in a way that no other television show had done in the past. What’s more, its continued success has demonstrated how resoundingly interested in this subject the American TV audience truly is.

But what is the secret to its success? To me, the thing that keeps us coming back week after week is a combination of the personal connection we feel with the cast (and their weight loss struggles) as well as the inner demons we face in our own weight loss struggles. Upon seeing that a Biggest Loser book had been released, I was instantly intrigued.

What is The Biggest Loser Book About?

The book version of The Biggest Loser is subtitled “The Weight Loss Program to Transform Your Body, Health, and Life--Adapted from NBC's Hit Show!” Whew, that’s a mouthful-- but the book really does appear to offer a massive variety of information.

Beginning with insights from the cast and creators of the show, the book also packs recipes, a complete diet plan, color photographs, and exercise and fitness regimens, as well as tips and tricks to achieve long term weight loss.

Nobody likes being called a dummy. But I confess, when it comes to exercising, the title is probably a fairly accurate one for me. It takes a lot for me to feel motivated enough to work out, and beyond that, there aren't many work out methods that I am familiar with enough to feel comfortable performing regularly to achieve significant weight loss.

Kettlebells would probably not be my first choice, but perusing the enthusiastic reviews for Sarah Lurie's book, Kettlebells for Dummies, made me think twice: could I be a dummy for not giving kettlebells a chance?

How Does Kettlebells For Dummies Work?

First, a quick description for those of us who know next to nothing about this trendy exercise technique. Kettlebells are small, hand-held weights that provide a workout that builds overall strength, endurance, along with cardiovascular exercise.

Kettlebell proponents believe that this workout can work more muscles and provide more calorie burning than similar workouts -- as much as 1,000 calories an hour!

I love take out as much as the next person... probably more than the next person! But never in my history of dieting did I think that my love of take out would help to begin, rather than end, a diet.

Weight Watchers created Take Out Tonight in an effort to show readers ways to create healthy version of their favorite take out dishes at home. In true Weight Watchers fashion, each recipe comes complete with information regarding calories, fat, and Weight Watchers points.

What is Take Out Tonight About?

The concept behind this book is that what people love most about ordering take out is the food itself – take out staples like General Tso’s Chicken, Pad Thai, or even Nachos (and other types of ethnic food) are covered here. By recreating or emulating these staple dishes, the book allows readers to create healthier versions of the dishes they crave.

But I couldn’t help but wonder if the convenience of ordering take out may also be a major part of its appeal. Being an aspiring cook myself, the idea of recreating my favorite take out items appeals to me.

When I think about weight loss items, scales are certainly one of the first things to come to mind. But I think of the bathroom and not the kitchen variety of scale -- my mistake, according to over a thousand enthusiastic Amazon.com reviews for the Precision Pro Kitchen Scale by EatSmart!

I was intrigued by the glowing reviews for something so seemingly basic as a kitchen scale, but as I researched this item, I came to appreciate how important a role it could play in a weight loss plan.

How Does The Precision Pro Kitchen Scale Work?

Like every kitchen scale on the market, the Precision Pro is used to weigh foods to determine a precise calorie count. Many of us have trouble accurately tracking the number of calories we eat in a day, and a kitchen scale can be a big help in this regard.

The theory is that by keeping track of the number of calories consumed at each meal, one can better adhere to a diet. I know from personal experience that I typically underestimate the number of calories in a meal, so a kitchen scale sounds like a great idea.

For the first few months after I had my baby, I would have given anything to lose the pudge in my belly area. Since there was no quick way to do that, the Valeo Neoprene Waist Trimmer was mighty appealing: the idea is that you simply wear it while you work out, and it will help you burn fat by retaining heat in the midsection. It also will visibly slim your waist area in the meantime while you wear it.

However, after doing some research I quickly realized that this is only a temporary fix. Reviewers paint it in a somewhat negative light.

Perhaps you've ever heard the saying, “you get what you pay for?” Well, this is a prime example. If a $7 waist belt can make you lose weight, then the manufacturer would be the biggest company in the world right now (and would be charging a lot more than $7 for their miracle product).

What is the Valeo Neoprene Waist Trimmer All About?

The Valeo Neoprene Waist Trimmer is an eight-inch wide adjustable waist band that can be worn over or under clothing. While the manufacturer makes no direct claim that it will help you lose weight, the implication is that it will make you look visibly slimmer and, as mentioned, it will also supposedly retain heat in the belly area, thus making you sweat more.

Imagine this: there exists a pill that will magically burn calories, and you don't have to do anything extra. I always roll my eyes when I hear about such miracle pills – and there are hundreds of products like these on the market – but Asian Calorie Burn seems like it just may live up to its claims. When I first read about Asian Calorie Burn, I did some more research to see if the people using this product are truly seeing results.

There are a ton of protein powders on the market. How do you know which one to buy? If you go by other real users’ ratings, then Gaspari Nutrition’s Myofusion protein powder seems like one of your best bets. Amazon users love it for the range of flavors and highly absorbable protein complex.