Jumpstart to Skinny: The Simple 3-Week Plan for Supercharged Weight Loss (Skinny Rules)

(The beginning of this review includes the reason I started this plan and some tips for those who choose to partake in it. The end of this review includes my results and the reasons I could not complete this program safely).I have spent the last year in "diet recovery". I was what you might classify as a "disordered eater". While I didn't have an official eating disorder, I was always jumping from one weight to the next. I began doing an "intuitive eating" lifestyle and it has literally changed my life and my relationship with food. However, in order to change my relationship with food, I had to add some freedoms back into my eating that caused some weight gain in the beginning. I chose not to let this get the better of me but I did put on about 15 pounds. What resulted was someone who is much better at listening to her body and is now eating much smaller portions without it feeling like deprivation. However, I still want to get my body back to it's starting weight. So I opted (a bit reluctantly) to try Bob's plan since it would be quick and I could then return to intuitive eating. My initial plan was to return to the intuitive eating lifestyle and see if I maintain without needing another diet. If I go back to 161 pounds while eating well, exercising and keeping portions small, then I guess that is where my body is comfortable. I don't need to be a bikini model to be happy. I just want a normal relationship with food.All that being said, here are some of the tips I would like to share that I discovered while doing this plan. You may not agree with everything, but I hope it's helpful to some. Our bodies are all so unique - so there isn't one answer or perfect plan for all. Take what works for you, and toss out the rest. You know yourself best.Tips:1. To save time, make more of some things and freeze them for easy meals later. This was especially easy with the turkey Bolognese. One pound of turkey makes 4 servings, so just quadruple the recipe, freeze in single portions and keep a bunch of pre-cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge. This meals is very filling and satisfying - especially when you are not in the mood to eat a bunch of raw veggies in a salad.2. Don't feel obligated to eat a salad every day for lunch. If you need something warm and cooked for a change of pace, make one of the breakfasts (without the whole grains) or dinners for lunch. I did this a number of times because sometimes the thought of ANOTHER salad made want to vomit. Since the dinners have the same nutritional value and calories as the lunches, I see no reason not to swap! For example, you could make scrambled egg whites with roasted veggies and sliced avocado for your lunch.3. To save money and time, don't be afraid to eat the same meal twice or even every day for an entire week! If you like scrambled egg whites with tons of roasted veggies on Ezekiel bread for breakfast, it's super easy to just make all the veggies in advance, keep a loaf of bread in the fridge (or even freezer to make it last longer) and whip that up in no time. I personally prefer more variety, but it is sure nice to have that option if needed.4. In week 2, I was especially excited to change up the breakfasts and add in some yogurt with flax seed and fruit. I needed a little extra sweetener so I opted for a tiny bit of Stevia (a natural product and not dangerous like artificial sweeteners). I know Bob says that leaving out any sweetener helps train your sweet tooth, but I chose to cheat on this one. Kill me.5. I made many of these dinners for the whole family. I just quadrupled the protein, made extra veggies and always served some sort of carb on the side (sorry, but my hubby and kids would probably disown me if I didn't serve some yummy potatoes or healthy bread to go with dinner).6. Add a little salt! OK Bob, don't hate me. But some things are just NASTY without salt. Plus, I don't think a pinch of table salt is the kind of salt that's killing America. It's the salt that is added to items in cans - tons of it. So if a tiny pinch of salt takes a meal from gross to enjoyable, I say go for it ... especially if that helps you stick with the plan. One example - in the first week, you are supposed to make a marinara sauce with low-salt tomatoes. I found canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes (better than average - highly recommend for Italian cooking) that had almost zero salt and used those instead. Then I added just enough salt to the Bolognese after it was all done. It ended up being less salt overall but I could adjust to my taste.7. Electrolyte powder - I found one on Amazon that worked well. It's called "ElectroMIX" and it's made by the same folks who make Emergen-C. They come in packets so you can throw them in your purse/car when you need them on the road. Plus, one packet goes with a litre of water so you really get your money's worth by using half a packet with your 16-oz. glass of water. Plus, they are zero calories and made with Stevia so I preferred that too.8. Fish oil - I just realized my fish oil has 10 calories per pill. On this plan I'm supposed to take 6 pills a day in order to equal the full mg dosage Bob recommends. So that's an extra 60 calories a day. So I guess you could say women actually get 860 calories a day!9. Persian cucumbers - Many questions about these on other reviews. So I thought I would at least mention that where I live (in WA state), you can buy them at Costco. They are delicious (and cute!). But don't feel obligated to use them. There are many other veggies substitutions if you can't find them.10. Hunger - I felt hungry quite often on this plan. After reading many doctor reviews of Bob's book, there seems to be a consensus that there is just not enough fat to keep one satisfied on so few calories a day. I have seen many other reviewers state that they were never hungry. I wasn't one of those. So whenever I was super hungry or light-headed, I added a little extra fat/protein to my day. Typically, it was about 4pm and included celery with PB or a piece of string cheese and PB. Sometimes I would added extra avocado to a meal as well. I know it wasn't following the plan "exactly", but even if I lose a pound less because of it, I don't care. I felt it was what my body needed. And apparently, many experts agree.11. Portions are huge for most meals. Sometimes I would eat half my meal and save the rest for another time of the day when I was more hungry (as long as it wasn't complex carbs from breakfast).12. "Carb crash" - This is the term I found online when I was trying to figure out why I was feeling so awful from days 3-7. Apparently, if you have mostly relied on simple carbs for fuel and then switch to a higher protein diet, the body can go through an adjustment period of switching it's fuel source that can make you feel jittery, run-down, tired and grumpy. You can also experience strong carb/sweet cravings in the beginning. I believe this is what happened to me. So if you feel this way, most of the people online recommend adding a few healthy carbs and some healthy fat back into your diet. This may be why I have been craving peanut butter in the afternoon. If you need to ease into things a little slower like me, then adding some sweet potatoes, fruit, PB, extra avocado, etc, may help. The other big thing they point to is dehydration. And apparently, that is also a result of some water flushing that happens when you switch your fuel source. So I really ramped up my water/electrolyte consumption (about Bob's recommended amount) and this seemed to help a little. But ultimately I got so dehydrated that I had to alter things - going slower on the addition of so much fiber and adding in some carbs. This slowed weight loss but ultimately I had to worry about myself medically. If you wonder about dehydration, look for the symptoms I had - dry mouth, excessive thirst and urination, diarrhea, headache.Bottom line - in order to protect my health (see #12 if you skipped to this part of the review), I only made it one week doing this plan. I lost 5 pounds that first week. The second week, I ate probably 1000 calories a day with extra carbs and lost 1 pound. As soon as I got back to normal eating, I felt much better and decided that overall, for my body, it is better to lose weight very slowly and without extremes such as this. Just listen to your body. It will speak to you.

If you want to jumpstart your eating and exercise routine for a vacation, reunion, or wedding, or just to amp up your get-in-shape progress, you may be interested in Bob Harper's new book telling you how to jumpstart to skinny in three weeks. Bob created this 3-week plan for clients who want to get in shape quickly such as a musician client who was going on tour, wanted to look her best, and shape up in a healthy way.This book has ideas on how to jumpstart progress in a three-week plan emphasizing 13 rules including daily low-impact cardio exercise such as walking, and metabolic-conditioning 20-minutes exercises for five days a week.If you wish you had a "get-in-shape" coach to advise you on a combined diet and exercise program to jumpstart your progress, Bob acts as one via this book.The 13 Rules to jumpstart getting in shape are in brief below - recommend reading the book as the explanations, scientific research and rationale in Bob's words are motivating. Research shows that reading a diet and exercise book is a commitment and makes it much more likely that you will continue on that path to getting in shape. This is similar to the dynamic they found if a child opens a savings account and only puts $1 in it, much more likely they will go to college than if they hadn't opened one up at all. ANY positive action you take towards a goal, makes it many times more likely that the goal is going to be achieved. So, creating a shopping list for this book, trying a new recipe in it, going shopping for the healthy foods each week, or ordering an exercise ball multiplies significantly the potential that you will achieve the goal say psychologists. Here's a very quick overview of Bob's 13 steps which are also listed on Dr. Oz's website in more detail, if you want more background.:#1 - Take control with proper proportions--40/40/20 - 40% protein/40% carbs/20% fat plus unlimited vegetables on Bob's freebie vegetable list that you want to eat. Carbs you can eat DO include whole grain pasta, oatmeal and others he includes in recipes. The protein is not all meat-based, and he lists other protein sources for this plan.#2 - Cut back on calories: 800 calories for women & 1200 for men - plus the additional calories from Bob's recommended vegetables.#3 - Eat no complex carbs (in whole grains) after breakfast - eat whole grains with breakfast foods.#4 - Get rid of water weight by drinking more water - he explains reasons for this based on research and names other beverages that meet this requirement.#5 - Get your electrolytes - ensure you have enough electrolytes - Bob recommends a mix he likes that is fairly inexpensive that you can add to water.#6 - Do 45 minutes a day of low-intensity cardio, preferably before breakfast.#7 - Five times a week, do 15 to 20 minutes of Bob's Jumpstart Moves. Part III of book has seven distinct routines you rotate with over 50 photos of Bob doing the moves.#8 - Cut the salt - recommended salt amount is explained.#9 - Take advantage of the restorative power of fish oil - preferred amount is listed and why.#10 - Fall back on veggies - a list of recommended unlimited veggies for optimum weight loss is provided.#11 - No fruit during week three - the fructose (fruit sugar) in fruit can slow down weight loss. That's the only food that changed for the last week.#12 - Lay off all booze - for a number of reasons including calorie count to optimize weight loss.#13 - An espresso a day ... or two or three - Bob lists other hot beverages also acceptable for this three week plan.You DO get to eat whole grain carbs like whole grain pasta, Ezekiel bread and whole grains on his approved menus. However, you only eat these healthy carbs at breakfast. This doesn't change during the three weeks. A day-by-day meal menu is provided with 63 new recipes. If you find a dish you like for his "power breakfasts, lean lunches and thinner dinners", you can have it more than once a week. Here's a few of the creative names for recipes Bob includes in the book: Shrimp Skimpy, Pizza Toast, Chicken Alla Fresca, Turkey Scramble, Mango Chicken, Eggplant Chili, Salmon with Watermelon Cucumber Salad, Jumbo Stir-fry, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Mediterranean Salad, Gourmet Pork Chop and Spanish Scramble.Exercise seems sensible and consistent - just 45 minutes of walking in the morning a day, and 5 days a week 15-20 minutes of basic movements as outlined by Bob any time during the day. If you are already walking 30 minutes a day, then it's just 15 minutes more walking and add the metabolism conditioning movements which add to your lean look, says Bob. There are 57 photos of Bob doing the jumpstart metabolism conditioning exercises in correct form.Regarding preparing a shopping list: if you eat pretty healthy, you may be buying these foods already and have some of them on hand like canned vegetable broth, or chicken breasts and lean ground turkey breast in the freezer. I load up on vegetables every week for salads, soups and roasting. So, would only need to buy a few new ingredients. Most of us are probably not going to try a new recipe every meal. You can eat the same meal 7 days a week says Bob. Personally, I may skip the swiss chard and halibut. If you find a few core recipes you like, have the ingredients on hand, you can have them every days, says Bob. If you have NO foods already in the house, and are going to make every recipe, below is what you may want to buy for the first couple week's shopping list. Bob seems to provide variety so we won't get bored, but we can find core recipes we like and make them again and again over the three weeks. I buy, or have, 80% of these ingredients already, and will skip some after deciding on the recipes. Here's a sample shopping list:PROTEINS: egg whites, no-salt sliced turkey breast, lean ground turkey breast, roasted chicken, chicken breasts, salmon, halibut, shrimp, cashews or walnutsVEGETABLES: eggplant, spinach, arugula, kale, mixed greens, broccoli, cauliflower, spaghetti squash, celery, avocado, plum & cherry & regular tomatoes, asparagus spears, green & red cabbage, zucchini, red-yellow-green onions, red bell pepper, sweet potatoes, radishes, baby bok choy, swiss chard and the infamous Persian cucumbersFRUITS: apples, fresh blueberries, frozen berries, watermelon, mango, unsweetened apple sauce, lemon-lime-orange for juiceGRAINS & FATS: rolled oats, quinoa, ground flax seed, Ezekiel bread, whole grain penne pasta, almond milk, almond butter, non-fat Greek yogurt, light sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil, olive oil spraySEASONINGS & OTHER: fresh cilantro-dill-parsley-rosemary-thyme-bay leaf, garlic cloves, cinnamon, Dijon Mustard, Parmesan cheese, pesto, balsamic and red wine vinegars, fennel bulb, black and red pepper, vegetable broth, pico de gallo, hot sauce, Bragg's liquid aminos-for stir fryThese look like healthy mainstream foods we should be eating anyway. Bob provides make-ahead recipes in this book, which can be prepared in advance for busy nights. There is a variety of options for the three weeks. Frankly, I tend to eat yogurt with fruit, oatmeal or eggs for breakfast and salads and soups for lunch, chicken and roast vegetables or stir-fry for dinners most days. So, preparing a shopping list from this will be easy. Was glad to learn about olive oil spray which Bob mentions for roasting vegetables and baking chicken.After the three weeks, you can transition to menus in Bob's SKINNY RULES book - which uses most of these same foods in recipes - which is a healthy life-long eating plan. If you've been wishing you could hire Bob to fine-tune your menu and exercise to get in shape for the beach or a special event, this book is an inexpensive alternative. To help decide if you want to read the book, there's an excerpt from this book, and a short video of Bob talking about this jumpstart program, at the top of this product page just under the picture of the book.

Good results but a hell of a lot of preparation. If you work shifts be prepared to get up at 4 to fit everything in. We used Sunday to cook as much as possible for the week.I can see why a lot of people give up after a couple of days because you must be nuts or totally committed to you weight loss goals to this Particularly expensive to get all the right ingredients but ultimately worth all the effort. First week loss of 11lbs. Now starting the second week.It can be tricky to work out some the male calculations but it definitely does what it says.

Clear and easy to follow - so far so lean

Love bob

Good book

Totally recommend it!Every day you wake up feeling positive - its not a starvation diet but it is hard, I can see and feel such a difference already