Nicki Anderson's Single-Step Weight Loss Solution

With her own weight loss struggles as a backdrop and her years of experience as a personal trainer, Nicki Anderson culls together what she's learned about the real way to lose weight with 101 tips for diet-free living. Her approach is not about restricting yourself with diets or killing yourself with exercise, but making choices that are in line with healthy living. There are no diets or exercise programs here, but more a collection of reminders for how to eat healthy and stay consistent with exercise. This is a great go-to resource for those days when you need a little nudge in the right direction.

What do you get when you cross a successful weight loser with 30 years of personal training, health and fitness experience? An author who knows a thing or two about what you really need to do to get healthy and lose weight. Nicki Anderson offers that in her book with 101 tips focusing on eliminating weight loss myths and teaching practical advice on healthy living.

This isn't a diet or an exercise program, but a summary of ideas Nicki has learned over the years about nutrition, exercise and healthy living. She covers both the myths of weight loss as well as tips for getting the most out of your diet and exercise program. Most people will recognize the more obvious tips, such as eating breakfast daily and keeping a food journal. However, Nicki's insight into the emotional, psychological and physical obstacles that stand in our way offer compassionate guidance for overcoming those obstacles. Some stand-out tips:

• Dump diets - Nicki reminds us that most diets are too restrictive and impossible to follow.
• Use Shop-n-Chop - This is one of my favorite tips because, as Nicki says, we often buy fruits and veggies and let them rot because we're too tired to prepare them. She suggests chopping them up as soon as you get home so they're ready to eat.
• Trust yourself to eat well - I liked this one as well because, as Nicki points out, many of us have lost confidence in our ability to choose healthy foods. With all the diets we've tried, she says, we have the knowledge to create our own 'life diet.'
• A little exercise is better than nothing - We all need a reminder that, when there's not time for a full workout, something is always better than nothing.

Diet and Exercise Myths

Nicki also covers some of the most common exercise and diet myths, including:

• Exercise increases appetite, thus causing weight gain - Nicki points out that many of us use exercise as an excuse to eat more, which is often behind our weight gain.
• Eating red meat is bad for you - This is another myth I hear all the time but, as Nicki says, lean meat, in moderation, has a number of nutritional benefits.
• To lose weight you should exercise in the morning - This is another great reminder that how we exercise is very personal, so we should experiment to find our own schedules.

Overall, these myths and tips are nothing we haven't heard before, but Nicki has a friendly, understanding tone which will especially appeal to people who struggle to exercise: "Exercise is one of those funny things; it seems to be either something you love or hate, with no in-between. Fortunately, you can change that and find your perfect "in-between," using the tips detailed in this book."

Readers will find a kind and understanding mentor in Nicki and a book they can turn to again and again to find encouragement, motivation and reminders for how to keep going. With her focus on healthy living rather than weight loss, she makes the process of change less about restriction and stress and more about growth and balance.