Product Description: Strong Women Stay Young was an instant national bestseller, a book C. Everett Koop, M.D., called "an essential tool for women of all ages." Now the authors who brought you a powerful weapon to combat aging are back--with an exciting, medically sound program to help you boost your metabolism and melt away fat.
Strong Women Stay Slim is the first book to combine the extraordinary fat-fighting power of strength training with a safe, medically proven weight-loss program. Scientific research has shown that strength training increases metabolism--a key to permanent weight loss--by as much as 15 percent. What is more, Tufts University research comparing women who followed identical diet plans found that the strength-training group lost 44 percent more fat than the diet-only group.
No matter what your age or fitness level, you can start tomorrow with six simple, no-sweat exercises you can do at home or in the office. You'll feel stronger, more energetic and vital almost immediately. And after just ten weeks of easy, painless changes, you'll be astonished at how far you've come.
Whether you're fighting a few stubborn pounds, struggling with postpregnancy weight gain, or battling a lifelong weight problem, Strong Women Stay Slim has everything you need:
Fully illustrated exercises especially designed for weight loss
Up-to-the-minute information about weight, appetite, nutrition, and fitness--explaining why this program works
A hunger-free food plan, including menus and delicious recipes from an award-winning cookbook author
Motivational secrets from sports psychology that boost self-esteem
Progress logs and extra guidance for the first ten weeks
Filled with inspiring stories from women who became trim and fit through strength training, Strong Women Stay Slim is your key to shaping up and feeling great--for life.
Amazon.com Review: From the bestselling author of Strong Women Stay Young comes a metabolism-boosting plan that's completely hype-free. The basis of this book is simple: because muscle is metabolically active and fat is not, when you increase your muscle mass, you're able to burn more calories, even when at rest. The author, an assistant professor at Tufts University's prestigious School of Nutrition Science and Policy, has shown that of a group of women who followed a special weight-loss diet, those who also did weight-training exercises lost 44 percent more fat than the other women and increased their overall metabolic rates by up to 15 percent.
Nelson's plan is especially effective for women looking to drop postpregnancy weight. The book includes tests to determine your fitness level, injury-preventing stretches, dumbbell exercises that give quick results, progress charts, and pages of suggested menus and recipes that include handy shopping lists. The plan's goal is to increase muscle strength, not bulk, and it's geared toward first-time exercisers and those who lose motivation easily. For those who are skeptical of weight-loss books, rest assured that this one won't disappoint.
Strong Women Stay Slim This is the second copy of the book I have purchased, having lost my first one while traveling. I have found this book to be extreamly helpful as it does not require a lot of equipment and it is written so you can adjust your exercise routine and diet to your age group. I am 75 and go to a fitness center to use a tread mill and bike but cannot use the weight machines because of back problems. By following must of the exercises in the book I feel I get a very good workout even when traveling.
Good read - can be very useful :-) If you are someone who is super fit and exercise on a very regular basis, then this book may not be for you. If you are coming back from injury or just want to change your life, then pick up a copy and take a read. I bought this when my back wouldn't allow me to go for long walks anymore, and started to put on a little weight. I knew about weight lifting, but this motivated me to actually do more than what I already was doing and it brought about some changes in my slowly increasing weight (which now has gone thanks to this). The information in here isn't exceptionally new, but it explains to you why you need to do what you have to do. People who have tried this and got results have written little comments in here which makes it motivating because you can hear from people who have acheived a lot. There is also a strength training program, menus and recipes, questions, and full on explanations about how weight training increases your metabolism. I really like this, and still refer back to it on occasion when I find myself in a bit of a rut. I even go back to it just for the recipes to get my diet back into gear. I recommend this to people who want to know where and how to start a better course of health for yourselves.
No Diet Fitness Book An energizing book whose focus is not just on weight loss. The book has exercise plans with no diet restrictions thus making it much easy to follow. This well written book talks of how to loose weight while gaining strength. Miriam Nelson stresses on slow weight loss which is healthier and easier. This book is clear and easy to understand, and does not require to avoids particular food groups.
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Weight training for those intimidated by other programs I'm an out-of-condition, fiftyish female who does not want HRT but needs to do something to maintain bone density, strength, etc. I got this book after reading Jane Brody's positive discussion of it in the New York Times a few years ago. I've been doing the exercises for about a month now and am beginning to see the results predicted by the author. I feel more active, grocery bags are easier to carry, and I'm seeing definition in my arms and legs.
The program may seem too basic for some people (as several earlier reviewers have said), but for me that's one of its good points. It's not designed to be fancy, but to be non-intimidating to people who equate strength training with going to the gym and getting buff on exercise machines. These exercises can be done at home, with a minimum of equipment and a maximum of reassurance by the authors. With any exercise program, the big problem is getting people to commit. If a simple program make it easier to do this than fancier, more challenging programs, then go with the simple. Nothing says you can't go beyond the basics when you get comfortable with them and the authors suggest how to do this.
Not for athletes, but a good place to start This book is written for those who are sedentary to at most moderately active, and want to change their behavior so as to accomplish long-term weight loss. It is a good motivator for getting started with strength training and keeping track of what you eat. It is definitely not intended for athletes, but rather the 75% of American women (so it says) that don't get regular exercise 3 days per week.
The strength training part focuses on 6 exercises, most of which usedumbbells. This is not a whole lot, but for the intended audience it is helpful in keeping the program from being overwhelming. For more intense exercise, you will have to look elsewhere. There are a few illustrations; it would be better if they showed the exercises step-by-step, but the written directions are acceptable and it's easy enough to figure things out by just trying it. One nice touch is that a variety of people are shown doing the exercises -- they don't all look like young fitness instructors. This section also explains the importance of strength training for strengthening bones, raising basal metabolism, and making other exercise easier.
The book discusses a variety of different aerobic exercises, but points out that the most important thing is to find something convenient enough that you can do it several times a week, and to make sure it's intense enough to get results -- it describes how to tell when this is happening.
The food plan part is probably the most complex and largest section, but it is based just on the food pyramid. It's nothing new, but it provides a good way of keeping track of how balanced your diet really is. This food plan allows 25% fat, which is probably going to feel low to anyone who's been eating a Western diet and not thought about fat much.
If you want a short-term diet, this is not the book for you. If you're not active and want to change, this is a very useful book. If you already do strength training, it seems likely that you're already doing much of what this book says, so try to borrow it and have a look before you decide to buy.
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