Book Review & Giveaway: Fire Up Your Metabolism & The Secret to Skinny by the Nutrition Twins - CLOSED

This giveaway has ended!

I always shudder at the thought of another fad diet, but am always willing to take a few moments and read through a new book on diet and exercise, think about trying out a new plan if it looks like it is credible, and then spending a little more time researching any diet and exercise program before getting started to see if it's a good fit for me!  I've done the yo-yo dieting in the past, and I'm not looking for that now so I'm trying to take it slowly!

When I was given the opportunity to review Fire Up Your Metabolism and the Secret to Skinny by Lyssie Lakatos, R.D., and Tammy Lakatos, R.D., I was hesitant to say the least!  I've read so many books over the years that really weren't suitable for the average human being with a job, kids, and house but that really isn't the case with these two books!  I'm looking forward to implementing many of the recommendations once I'm back to 100%!

Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever by the Nutrition Twins provides sound nutritional advice about focusing on portion control, what the "right" foods to eat are without being too aggressive, and includes exercises that will increase your energy levels under realistic goals!  I would have loved illustrations for some of the exercises included, but appreciate that the authors were realistic and included exercises for the gym or at home and were perfectly happy with a walk around the neighborhood too!  The book was easy to read and understand and isn't fad dieting, but rather staying within recommended daily intakes and how to understand what that really looks like!  I can't wait to implement these strategies coupled with those in The Secret to Skinny once I'm fully recovered from my gall bladder surgery!

The Secret to Skinny: How Salt Makes You Fat, and the 4-Week Plan to Drop a Size and Get Healthier with Simple Low-Sodium Swaps is the second book by the Nutrition Twins (Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D., and Lyssie Lakatos, R.D.) and will open your eyes to the levels of sodium in the foods you eat everyday (at least I know it did for me)!  I read labels and count calories, but sodium was the one place that I never really paid much attention to in my own diet!  I watch the labels for my kids and will never purchase pre-packaged foods with high-sodium content for them, but never really thought about how much it could be impacting me!  I love the humor that's included in the discussions throughout the book and the twins teach you how to swap your favorite foods for lower sodium alternatives that you'll soon learn to love just as much!  There are also some great recipes included in this book, as well as, fitness tips!  As with the first book, I love how the authors first focus on your diet then add in the exercise to really gain a new healthier self!

If you are serious about losing weight and keeping it off, these books should definitely be ones you seek out!  They don't talk about fad diets but encourage you to learn how to take care of yourself and in turn reap the benefits!  Like I said earlier, I can't wait to start implementing some of these recommendations into my weight loss journey!

Buy It!

You can purchase both books on Amazon or at your local bookstore!

Fire Up Your Metabolism:  ISBN-10: 0743245482, Published: 2-3-04 ($14.00 list price)

The Secret to Skinny:  ISBN-10: 0757313515, Published: 9-1-09 ($15.95 list price)

Win It - Giveaway Details!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Secret to Skinny!  This giveaway will end on October 25th at 10:00PM Central!  I'll email the winner who will have 48-hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen!  (US Only)

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Disclosure:  I received the products mentioned above for the purposes of review in exchange for an honest opinion.  No additional compensation was received.