Oh no, not another diet book! Since I worked in the field of fitness for many years, I have read countless books about diet and exercise. Even though I am still interested in new ideas related to diet and exercise, my eyes begin to glaze over at the thought of yet another rehash of more of the same, which we all know is pretty much eat less and move more. So, the book sat on my bedside table for a few weeks until I finally picked it up.
The book contains a clever gimmick, which is the “daily dozen” idea that permeates the volume, from the number of minutes of exercise per day (something anyone can achieve, no excuses allowed) to numerous sidebars containing a “dozen”: lunch ideas, must-have kitchen utensils, tips and tricks for healthy eating, ways to boost energy, ways to break a sweat and, well you get the idea. It is a little contrived, but the suggestions are good, if not necessarily super original.
There are some inspirational case studies included and, certainly, Denise at 53 is a good advertisement for her own methods, fit and glowing with health and energy.
The book subtitle claims you can lose up to 12 pounds in 2 weeks. That kind of annoys me, because you can’t lose that much actual fat in that amount of time. This is a low calorie diet and exercise program, so not much new there, but if you don’t have a lot of time to devote to getting in shape, this book will provide you with explicit exercises (fully illustrated for visual learners), nutritionally balanced menus and shopping lists to follow. If you tend to rebel against that sort of thing, you may still enjoy using some of the information.
All in all, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to people looking for a specific plan for losing a few pounds and kick starting a healthy lifestyle.