THE THIN IN 10 WEIGHT-LOSS PLAN
What It Is: Thin in 10 (Sunrise River Press, 2012) is a weight-loss system in a book. The idea is to reach your fitness and weight-loss goals 10 minutes at a time. The program involves three pillars: exercise, diet and lifestyle. You get chapters on exercise plans with how-to photos (e.g., walking, circuits, strength, core, etc.). There’s another section with recipes, and a third section about making simple lifestyle changes.
What You Might Not Know: Tucked away on the inside back cover is a surprise! It’s a free fitness DVD led by one of the authors, best-selling DVD instructor Jessica Smith. Pop in the DVD for six 10-minute workouts that add variety and motivation to what’s already in the book. Nice bonus.
Feelin’ the Love: I’m already a fan of the authors Jessica Smith and Liz Neporent. Both women are established, credentialed fitness experts who are skilled at putting together safe and dependable exercise plans. For that reason, I was on board with the book’s content right away. But what stands out most is the simple yet thorough presentation.
Here’s what I think: Extrapolating an entire exercise plan from the pages of a book can easily become confusing for readers. Not the case with Thin in 10. Packaged like a giant, uber-organized magazine article, this book takes you through the routines with clear instructions and lots of helpful sidebars (“Bra Basics,” anyone? How about “Ten Easy Ways to Trim Calories from Your Diet without Noticing a Thing”?).
I also love the “Simplify It” and “Advance It” graphics, highlighting how you can scale back or push yourself in the workouts. That’s important for being able to personalize the exercises.
If I Could Change One Thing: I appreciate the dietitian-approved recipes in this book. They all sound yummy. But as a reluctant chef, I need to see the meal in living color – displayed in a glossy magazine or back-lit on my iPad – before I’m moved to make it. (Am I alone in this?)
The recipe pages in Thin in 10 are all text – not as tantalizing for me. Although … I suppose I could be convinced to whip up the photo-less Fluffy Frittata on page 159 …
Should You Buy It? If you need inspiration and expert advice for dropping pounds and exercising with purpose, then yes. Thin in 10 is 224 pages of useful guidance and motivation for losing weight and living well. Plus, it comes with that free workout DVD, don’t forget.
Cost: $20
Hey Amanda I liked your title. It’s attractive and people get motivated from it. Your article educated us with fitness and healthy diet. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your comment Owen! I agree that fresh, whole foods are the best choice.
– Amanda
Great article. It’s all about personal responsibility and educating yourself about the foods your eat and how they affect your body. I can’t say it enough, I would scream it from the rooftops if I could: Stay away from processed food.
Thanks for your comment Jannine. I agree that it takes more than 10 minutes to see real results. But this book seemed to me to be a good starting point for people. And the experts who wrote the book aren’t advocating a quick fix. They want you to work hard for those 10 minutes! (Not to mention devoting time to eating well.)
It’s better for exercise newbies to get moving for even 10 minutes a day than not to exercise at all. Once they integrate fitness into your daily habits, ramping up that workout time will be easier and also necessary.
Thanks for commenting on this blog post!
– Amanda
This is great taht you take the time to educate your readers about eight loss options out there but, dont you feel that books like thee are misleading? We all know that it takes more than 10 minutes to lose weight… what do you think?
Jannine