For someone like me, who absolutely HATES to exercise, the promise of weight loss in just eight minutes in the morning seems too good to be true. But weight-loss coach and fitness guru Jorge Cruise, author of the successful 8 Minutes in the Morning books, now tells me that it is not only true, but that I don’t even need a pair of dumbbells to work out with! In fact, with 8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss, Cruise makes it so easy that even I can do it, and not have to hate every sweaty second.
Cruise guarantees that by following the simple exercise and diet plan this book details, you can lose two pounds a week – a safe and healthy weight loss that most experts agree upon. The secret is restoring your metabolism by doing two weight-bearing exercises per day that strengthen and work particular muscle groups and keep the body’s fat-burning furnace working overtime. Add to this a really easy-to-follow diet plan focused around portion control on the plate (The Cruise Down Diet), and emphasizing veggies and fruits, whole grains and fewer white refined carbs, and you have a very easy plan for improving health, losing excess body fat, and feeling better than you have in years. Hey, Cruise offers plenty of research, personal testimonials and anecdotes to back up his claim, but the best evidence yet can be found on his website, where over three million have been served!
I really like Jorge Cruise, a personable guy with a big heart who has appeared on Oprah! regularly and seems to really genuinely care about helping people gain back their lives, not just lose a few pounds. His books, this one included, are written with warmth, directness, humor, humility and the simplicity of use often lacking in more detailed diet books. The reasoning behind Cruise’s entire 8 Minutes campaign is this – everyone can find eight minutes, preferably in the morning, to do some exercises, and that more is not always better. For all those dieters out there struggling to keep up with the usual call for an hour of aerobics a day, and then a half hour of weight work on alternate days, followed by drastic caloric cuts in their daily meals, this book is a godsend.
But the most important aspect of this book, and Cruise’s whole take on the weight loss subject, is that of human communication and connection, and he emphasizes the power of having other people to reach out to, stay committed with, and even report to when it comes to making such big life changes. This aspect, which he calls "The People Solution," may prove to be just as important in the long run as cutting trans fats and bad carbs out of your diet and working the right muscle groups.
8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss is filled with solid information, presented in a fun and colorful style, and packed full of educational sidebars, fill-in-the-blank journaling questions, resources for more information, and extra coaching tips from Jorge guaranteed to keep the fire lit from within. And all it takes to be a healthy new you is eight little minutes… imagine that. You’ll be a sweathog in no time!