I deeply dislike diet books. When it comes down to it, they’re all the same. They all feature a skinny person claiming that they used to be just like us (though many of them lack a before picture), they say that their way is the best way and that they now live their lives by their new diet, but when we try it we feel like we’re dying from starvation or exhaustion.
Worst of all, they sound so patronising. They make us feel like losers when we fail because we couldn’t follow the “oh-so-easy” diet and exercise regime. It only involved getting up at five am to go for a 30 minute run, making a power smoothie (from scratch) to get us through until lunch, even though we’re starving by the time we get to work/university. Maybe we could’ve fit in the hour-long work-out and the healthy low-fat dinner if we didn’t have deadlines to meet, kids to look after, errands to run or just simply felt too tired to carry on and just collapsed in our warm beds. It’s no wonder we give up and resign ourselves to either going from one size to the other in moments of stress, or gradually getting bigger. But now I’ll say to you; don’t quit just yet.
Footsteps to Success was co-authored by Jennifer Nicole Lee (creator of the JNL Fusion workout) and Carolin Mildner (JNL Fusion master trainer and fitness figure athlete in Germany). Together, these two women lost over 140 pounds together and they compete in fitness competitions. Already, they sound like they know what they’re talking about…but I still felt intimidated. Surely, their whole lives revolve around working out – time that most of us don’t have. But there was one other thing about their book that intrigued me; it was smaller than any of my university textbooks. Was their diet-exercise regime just that easy? So I decided to glance through it. Two minutes later, I went back to the beginning and started highlighting passages.
Lee and Mildner immediately set themselves apart from other diet books because, they have gone through the exact same things we have (fad diets,starvation periods, depression-induced comfort eating etc.), and they have the “before” pictures to prove it. As a result, it doesn’t feel like they’re preaching to you from the pulpit, but rather like cool aunties or older sisters giving out life advice.
So what is in store for you if you pick this book over another book that promises to help you lose weight and change your life?
1. Lee and Mildner address your state of mind pre-diet.
Often, we self-sabotage our weight loss efforts because we’ve gotten so used to being “fat” and miserable that it feels like our natural state. Any habit, even a bad one, is tough to break and maybe, deep down, we’ve convinced ourselves that we’re just going to stay this way because it’s who we are, whether we like it or not. According to Lee and Mildner, if we go in with this mindset, we’ve already set ourselves up to fail. And they give us the tools to change our mental state so we can reap the full benefits of the lifestyle changes we’re about to implement.
2. Nothing is forbidden
Usually, I fail at diets because my mind rebels and thinks, “How dare you tell me I can’t have chocolate! I’ll show you by eating an entire king-size bar, even if it makes me feel sick later!” You’ve been there, right? Well, so have Lee and Mildner. Which is why they don’t forbid you to have anything. They understand temptation, so they’re not hard on you when you give in to it. You’re only human, and it’s better to have a few squares of dark chocolate than a whole bar of Galaxy chocolate.
One aspect that I found extremely helpful was their advice on things to avoid ordering when eating out – finally, someone who acknowledges we go go out and we’re often too busy to pre-prepare all our meals from scratch! I also like how they encourage you to get creative and make healthy alternatives to your favourite snacks. Lee admits that her weak spot is nachos, so she gives a recipe to make it healthier, but just as tasty. lee and Mildner both love food, so why would they want to deprive you of it.
If your biggest challenging when changing your eating habits are cravings, they even have helpful tips to combat those. Anything that may have held you back in the past, they’ve got you covered.
3. JNL Fusion Workout
It may seem like self-promotion to talk about a workout created by one of the authors, but as someone who has been doing JNL Fusion for about five months (and seeing results), I would definitely vouch for it! It’s fun, it only last 30 minutes (although there is a 10 minute workout available on the DVDs) and it doesn’t require a massive amount of space. Plus, the unique goal of building muscle to burn fat quicker sounds a lot more productive than running on a treadmill for months and praying to see results in time for the holidays.
4. Flexible Advice
When I was given this book, weight loss was no longer a huge priority for me. I was at a size I was comfortable with and, thanks to healthy eating and finally finding time to exercise, I am still steadily losing some inches around my waist. But I have just graduated and I’m at that awkward transition phase where I’m not sure what my next step is. What do I want to do and which is the right move to make? Then I read the footsteps outlined in the book:
- If I continue with my current lifestyle, where will I be in one year? Two years? Five years? Ten years?
- Is what I am doing currently working for me or against me?
- Am I living my life to its utmost potential?
- If I don’t make the necessary changes to my life, starting today, where will my life end up?
- Am I totally, fully happy with my life right now?
- Am I ready to prove to myself, my family, and the world, just how amazing I am?
- Do I accept that, in order to become an example of personal excellence, I must go above and beyond my own expectations and also the expectations of others?
- Up until now, have I really amazed myself and those close to me with my own abilities?
- Do I understand that to be a winner, I must learn from other winners?
- Do I fully comprehend that during my journey to become my best, there will be times of frustration and growing pains through which I must persevere in order to achieve my desired results?
– Extract from Footsteps to Success
These questions may refer to weight loss, but I could so easily apply these footsteps to my situation. I read the whole book highlighting passages that I felt were relevant to what I am going through and I felt, for the first time in a while, that there was a way to make a plan for myself. A way to plot out my journey.
I would heartily recommend this to anyone. Not just as a weight loss aid, but as a life aid. It’s not patronising, it’s rooting for you to win and giving you the tools to do so.
Sara M. Jacobo 