| Title | : | Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0307335879 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780307335876 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 |
| Publication | : | First published February 22, 2005 |
Small Changes, Big Results is not about cutting all the carbohydrates out of your diet. Or replacing every single gram of sugar with omega-3 fatty acids. It’s not about doing one hundred sit-ups a day, or getting on the treadmill whenever you have a free second. In fact, it’s not about any of the total lifestyle-replacement gimmicks—whether diet, exercise, or pop psychology—that have swept our culture in recent years, putting untold millions of Americans on the risky roller coaster of success and failure that defines fad diets and programs.
Not here.
Small Changes, Big Results is about reality—the reality of what you can do, the reality of what you want to do, and the reality of what works. It’s about introducing a series of small changes each week for three months in the three core areas of diet and nutrition; exercise and fitness; and emotional wellness. For each of the twelve weeks, nutritionist Ellie Krieger introduces a very finite, completely practical action plan for the week—and not only are these tasks incredibly doable, they’re in fact so accessible that it’s tough not to be inspired.
For example, in Week 1 the nutrition task is merely to go shopping, buy some healthful pantry items, and start keeping track of what you eat; the exercise consists of taking three twenty-minute walks; and the wellness aspect is to do a five-minute breathing exercise. That’s it. And it doesn’t really get any harder.
But these small changes do in fact lead to big results. At the end of twelve weeks, a totally unhealthy diet has been armed with easy, delicious recipes and tips, you’ve removed unhelpful munchies and replaced them with healthful snacking, you’ve cut down on lethal trans fats while adding beneficial fat choices, you’ve replaced refined grains with whole grains, you’re eating more fish and less red meat, and so forth. Yet you’ve never been forbidden to eat a single instead of prohibiting entire food groups, Ellie categorizes foods as Usually, Sometimes, and Rarely —and now you should be eating more from the Usually choices, less from the Rarely category. Furthermore, you’ve integrated physical activity into your life, and you’ve developed a set of tools to help you deal with stress—you’re not only eating better, but you’re also exercising better and feeling better.
The beauty of this program is that none of these action steps is remotely intimidating, because they’re not a full immersion into a totally new lifestyle. Instead, it’s a series of incremental changes—removing bad habits one by one, while at the same time adding good ones. There’s nothing to scare you off—on the contrary, here’s a whole book full of small changes that produce big results.
From the Hardcover edition.
Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life Reviews
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A powerful easy-to-read-and-do prescription for good health. I use the exercises daily and find the simple program to be extremely effective. Have also tweaked my lifestyle, making small changes that have produced big results. The clean well-organized format makes it a breeze to skim and apply. Highly recommended!
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I waited for this book on the library loan list for months, and I was pretty disapointed when I got my hands on it and it didn't engage me at all. I can't really put my finger on it, since I love health and exercise non-fiction in general. I cracked it open and skimmed it a few times and then sort of lost interest. I think many of the topics are geared at people who are a very beginning level of engagement with health and fitness. Also, I found the format--splitting things into "week" chunks, prohibited being able to skim the exercise recommendations or recipes in a topical way. I think this is a book that is very much needed in our society, just not a perfect match for me. I am going to return it soon so that someone else on the wait list, who is ready to take the first steps toward a fitness promoting lifestyle, gets this book for support.
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I loved this book. I really struggle with being at a healthy weight. I have often thought that books need to just break it down into easier managable steps rather than just jumping in with changing everything all at once. This book really does that. She has one thing that you work on a week in three different areas. Her first few weeks of exercise is 20 minutes, three times a week. Now who can't do that? Her eating goals are attainable too. I would highly recommend this book. It is a week by week instruction book. SO you want to be able to renew it if you check it out from the library like I did.
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I thought that there were some great tips in here. I borrowed it from the library and now it has to go back. I told myself that if I loved it, I would buy it and start the plan. I'm not sure if I'm just not at the right point, or if this isn't the right thing for me. I think I'll add myself to the queue again and when I get it, I can reassess if it is something I want to do.
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I have enjoyed Ellie Keieger's recipes from foodnetwork.com, so I got this book from Amazon for a few bucks. I read/skimmed it in one day. It's got some good ideas and I especially like the way she doesn't beat up on people but helps them ease into better eating and lifestyle choices.
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Great tips for eating healthy
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Easy to read, simple suggestions to help get on track with eating right and getting healthy. As usual, Ellie shared some easy yet yummy recipes.
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I love Ellie Krieger and bought this book eons ago. It has a good, sensible plan for healthy living and eating. Lots of tips and good information.
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Sensible, no hype advice. Kinda "back to reality" in our get it quick culture. Sensible food, sensible activities, sensible attitude toward life. I wish more people would hear her message.
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Very common sense ideas and plan. These changes are so small that anyone could do them.
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Very good ideas in her book. Will start following her plan in September.
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Ellie Krieger’s Small Changes, Big Results is a wellness book that promotes good nutrition, healthy exercise, and a positive outlook. While Krieger offers readers plenty of exercise and feel-good ideas, her best contribution is in nutrition. After all, she is a registered dietitian. She helps readers understand food groups, including a twist of her own with beans, soy, nuts, and seeds forming a separate food group that provides a healthy alternative to always eating meat and eggs to meet one’s daily protein intake. She also helps readers to understand serving sizes and provides them plenty of nutritious and delicious recipes to go along with the food groups she discusses. The best part of Krieger’s book is a sensible approach to food that does not forbid any food as some diets do. Rather, she promotes healthy eating that allows people to occasionally indulge their guilty pleasures. If for no other reason, one should read Krieger’s book for helpful nutritional information.
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A good book, with sound advice, it almost felt like it moved too slow. This is a very basic book, and I felt like there wasn't enough new information in here. The book also felt a little dated, though it was revised in 2012.
Krieger's tone is peppy and encouraging, but I really wish there were more recipes in here. The ones she does give us are good, and quick, but I thought there would be a lot more recipes for each chapter. She includes a lot of other helpful information (sugar counts, glycemic index, etc).
This is a good book to read to kick-start a health program. But you're going to need her other books for recipes. -
lots of suggestions I already practice...did find one new recipe to try, though :)
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There was a lot of common sense in this book so I feel like it was a waste in that respect. I liked the food nutrition charts and recipe ideas.
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Common sense advice
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Small portions, clean foods, exercise. Ok. What else have you got to make you unique and this book interesting?
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The version I read has absolutely no pictures. When looking at recipes I like to see what the food is supposed to look like . I only found one recipe in here that interested me
