Give Your Heart to Weight Loss: Updated Diets and Tips (Part 4)

Other Diet Reads Reprinted:

Part 4 in a 4-Part Series.

   A third addition to the “Abs Diet” series by health editor David Zinczenko and Professor Ted Spiker, The New Abs Diet for Women: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (Rodale Books, 2011, $16.99) is available in paperback on April 10th with the addition of new research, exercises and recipes. Authors Zinczenko and Spiker both bring their health expertise from Men’s Health magazine, where Zinczenko is the SVP/Editor-in-Chief (and Editorial Director of Women’s Health), and Spiker is a contributing editor. In the style of their previous abs diets, Zinczenko and Spiker set out a 6-week plan complete with power foods, fat elimination tips, and of course, the ideal abdominal muscles.

   As a celebrity fitness expert and television host, Jackie Warner boldly proclaims, This is Why You’re Fat (And how to Get Thin Forever) (Grand Central Life & Style, Hardcover 2010) in her book, now available in paperback on March 12th. Warner’s no-nonsense style of fitness training focuses on improving the mind and body through direct tips and a variety of exercise routines and positive and confident thinking methods.  Her book has the same title of a popular website that features photos of indulgent food. Warner has produced several exercise DVD’s and hosted the Bravo television show Thintervention.

      Whether you’re struggling with planning low-calorie meals, getting your body jump started, those stubborn pounds, or a reliable fitness routine, there’s a book for you. Both the medical and fitness communities apply different methods to approach eating, working out, and weight management, but they are united in their desire to get women healthy, happy, and heart-conscious. 

3 Simple Meals from Diet Gurus

Teriyaki Salmon with Broccoli 
Trainer Jim Karas offers this is dinner for less than 500 calories with tangy pineapples and couscous. 

Ultrabroth
Dr. Mark Hyman’s soup snack does double duty as a detoxifier with a water base and adds  healthy superfoods such as including seaweed, winter squash, and root vegetables.

Coffee-Infused London Broil
Dr. Travis Stork provides a fresh take on coffee as a lean marinade for this lean meat. 

Most importantly, while diet and exercise will help to lower heart risks, women are still at a much greater risk for heart disease than men because of the presentation of symptoms. Here are 6 signs that you might be experiencing a heart attack. The Mayo Clinic recommends seeking medical attention immediately if these symptoms occur:

• Neck, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea or vomiting
• Sweating
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Unusual fatigue

Read the first, second and third posts in the series. 

Give Your Heart to Weight Loss: Building Up to Break it Down (Part 3)

Give Your Heart to Weight Loss: A Woman's Guide to New Diet Books for Spring 2012

Part 3 of a 4-Part Series

    A slim waist, tasty meals, and a healthier heart are all results promised to women by well-known weight loss gurus in spring’s new diet books. Women of all ages are looking to find eating and exercise plans that fit their schedule and mindset. In honor of this month’s American Heart Month, 3 new books promise to change your beliefs on eating, wellness, and prevention of heart disease, which is the leading killer of women. Here is the third book in in this 4-entry blog series:

Book 3: The Building Blocks Approach:  
   Your lingering belly fat (or those last five pounds) are addressed in the paperback premiere of The Lean Belly Prescription: The Fast and Foolproof Diet and Weight-Loss Plan from America’s Top Urgent-Care Doctor (Rodale Books, 2010, $15.99), available May 8th.  Dr. Stork is an author, emergency room doctor at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, and a co-host of the syndicated talk show The Doctors. Stork proclaims to have “the easiest weight loss plan ever” with the new Exclusive Edition, and the whole plan is can be achieved in six weeks. Stork’s breakdown consists of lean meal ideas, motivational strategies, and a promise that the reader will not have to count calories or be left feeling hungry. 

  Like Jim Karas, Dr. Stork reinforces a change in drinking habits (cutting out empty liquid calories) as one of his pillars. This “Pick 3 to Lean” system will modify eating behavior while not restricting the reader from eating foods she may want, similar to Weight Watchers. In a surprising turn, Stork doesn’t present an attitude that all fats are the enemy of women trying to lose weight. Healthy fats can contribute to weight loss, and achieving a slimmer waist. My takeaway from that is that a slice of avocado is good, but a bowl of guacamole will do more harm than good.

   Dr. Stork breaks down exercise routines into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, giving first-time dieters confidence that they can catch on without too many complicated moved to learn at the onset of the plan. Stork also points out the importance of everyday activities as building blocks for cardio-inducing activity and stimulating belly fat reduction. Stork is also the author of The Doctor Is In: A 7-Step Prescription for Optimal Wellness (Gallery, 2010, $24.99) and Don't Be That Girl: A Guide to Finding the Confident, Rational Girl Within (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008, $14.00), with contributor Leah Furman. 

   Whether you’re struggling with planning low-calorie meals, getting your body jump started, those stubborn pounds, or a reliable fitness routine, there’s a book for you. Both the medical and fitness communities apply different methods to approach eating, working out, and weight management, but they are united in their desire to get women healthy, happy, and heart-conscious. 

Read the previous post in the series here. 
Read the first post in the series here. 
Read tips and recipes here. 

Image from Amazon.com