Drop Two Sizes: A Proven Plan to Ditch the Scale, Get the Body You Want & Wear the Clothes You Love! (Women's Health)

OK I love fitness books. I just had to write in as there aren't too many reviews in yet. I know I would like this as I liked Rachel Cosgrove's last book. This one is more user friendly for sure. The organization is better, and the graphics and text are more appealing. It has day by day plans, including menus and recipes. There isn't much mention of modifications for vegetarians, but I am subbing beans, tofu, etc. for the meat portions. There are a few errors here and there, like the workouts having the wrong name on the calendar, but it is pretty easy to figure them out. I think some people might be disappointed in the workouts. There is less of an emphasis on "heavy lifting" and more emphasis on mobility. I am fine with that personally. Also, the workouts are fairly short (the first one took me 35-40 min, including warm-up), and there are 4 per week. Be prepared for a lengthy (10 min) warm-up routine. The other thing I like is that there is no repeat of an exercise. When it is done, it's done. I haven't checked the whole book, but it looks like most of the exercises can be done at home with a foam roller, hand weights, exercise bands, a wall, and bench or chair. I hope to post an update eventually.Update: 1/21/18I did actually drop a size with this program when I completed it several years ago. I went frim a 6 to a 4 or maybe even a 2. My health and workout routine has really slipped in the last few years, I have started it again. I am already feeling A LOT better, and I am only 3 weeks in to the program. I double up the recipes for the evening and weekend so I can eat meals with my SO. It has been really nice! The meals are big, but very healthy. My biggest gripe about the book now is that it is falling apart. Lots of pages are loose, so I have to be careful when paging through the book. I have female body breakthrough, but I like this program better. It is easy to do at home, which is what I do.

I started this program about a week ago, and I LOVE it! It makes so much sense and is healthy and sane and effective. You eat a LOT of food, but all of it is super healthy (fresh produce and lean protein, mostly). EVERYTHING you need to know is laid out in detail, and it's amazingly well organized for a book of its type. I edited fitness books for years, so I know how hard it is to do a great job on these--kudos to the production team! HOWEVER: I was following the Phase 1: Workouts chart on page 53, and noticed it didn't match up with the workouts described in the chapter (days 13 and 27 refer to the Complex Metabolic Workout, which is nowhere in the Phase 1 workout descriptions). Naturally, this drove me a little crazy, but it turned out to be an easy fix (I think): the correct version of the Phase 1 Workouts chart appears on page 29, which I'll be using from now on. This will probably be caught and corrected the next time the book gets reprinted, so future readers (hopefully) won't have this problem. If it's driving you crazy, too, try using the chart on page 29 instead of the one on page 53. Even with this minor glitch, I still give the book five BIG stars!

Not too long ago, I too was scrolling through these reviews, wondering if there was any way I could lose weight successfully simply by reading a book and doing (let's face it, fairly simple) exercises at home. I'm happy to report, the answer is yes! Yes, I can! Since beginning this program 4 weeks ago, I've lost 13 pounds (I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself on it, but I did - once. Old habits die hard!). My pants are loose, I have tons of energy, I feel less hungry, etc. Everything the book says is true, if you just follow the diet plan and do the workouts.My only complaint - and the one reason I can not, in good conscience, give this book five stars - is that its Kindle format does not allow the user to jump back to the page they were on after having clicked on the links leading to recipes and exercise plans and such. It seems like an easy enough functionality to include, so not having that capability seems like an obvious oversight. If you do end up buying this on Kindle, be prepared for A LOT of scrolling.On the other hand, the Kindle format makes it really easy and convenient to do the exercises (though, I would add, not having the rest periods and suggested number of sets on the individual exercise sections also seems like kind of a dumb oversight).All in all, I am VERY happy with this purchase. I am definitely down one size, and I have two more months to go. I love the daily menu plans, the exercises are just challenging enough, and I feel great! I highly recommend this to anyone who is bored to death by their gym routine, and in a nutrition rut.

A complete diet and exercise program! It just arrived and I am anxious to start. Book features daily instructions on what to eat and what exercise routine to perform. This is exactly what I was looking for in a program.There is a weekly grocery list and some essentials to keep on hand. Practical, healthy and doable. There are also many success stories of women who did not lose much weight but lost inches and changed their body composition to gain a leaner figure. This book is like having a personal trainer write you a great program at an incredible price!UPDATE May 15 - The book shows some exercises with the TRX Suspension Straps. I bought the video $90 from Rodale. In the video, she only uses dumb bells and exercise bands. She leads you through the workout RAMP, foam roller and metabolic workout. The videos are worth it and the book for the diet and daily activities. I am on day 3 and my skirt is already feeling looser!

Lost the original had to get another one. worth it

Anyone who knows there stuff will know this is an excellent book and why! I am delighted with it, I love Alwyn & Rachel Cosgroves work!

Ich mag die Bücher von Rachel Cosgrove normalerweise sehr gerne, war von diesem aber etwas enttäuscht.Größter Minuspunkt ist das benötigte Equipment, für das frau gut und gerne mehrere hundert Euro investieren muss. Insbesondere die TRX-Bänder kommen aber mit einem eigenen Fitnessprogramm auf DVD oder mit App, so dass dieses Buch dann eigentlich überflüssig ist.Ein weiterer Minuspunkt ist das Programm selbst, das eher für Anfängerinnen geeignet ist. Wer bereits mit Rachels anderem, sehr empfehlenswerten, Buch "The Female Body Breakthrough" gearbeitet hat, macht hier erstmal einen Rückschritt.Der Ernährungsplan war mir persönlich zu dürftig, zumal viele Komponenten in Deutschland sowieso nicht erhältlich sind. Klar, dass Kalorien reduziert werden müssen, wenn man zwei Kleidergrößen kleiner werden will. Klar ist aber auch, dass Vollzeitarbeitende mit Kindern sich nicht mit 1000 Kalorien über den Tag retten können (das Fitness-Programm auch nicht zu vergessen).Sehr schön sind Verständlichkeit und Layout des Buches. Das hat mir aber nicht gereicht um das Buch zu behalten.Fazit: Dieses Buch ist für Fitness-Einsteigerinnen geeignet, die eher daran interessiert sind, wieder in ihre Jeans zu passen, als an nachhaltigem Muskelaufbau.

Gives you war and peace introduction which could be cut in half !Havent even started to get to actually doing the diet as the book bored me senseless.