The No More Excuses Diet: A Review

Uh huh.  Another diet book.  Weight loss is a huge industry in the United States.  According to the Boston Medical Center, approximately 45 million Americans diet each year and spend $33 billion on weight-loss products.  So why should you spend your money on yet another diet book?

Here's the deal.  We all know how to lose weight.  To lose weight, you need to eat reasonable amounts of real food, and move more.  That's it.  You do that, and you will lose weight and be healthier.  The trouble most of us have is in finding and keeping our motivation long enough to see results.

Maria Kang has had a life-long struggle with unhealthy habits, and is the woman behind noexcusemom.com.  Having overcome her struggles, now she's sharing her wisdom in The No More Excuses Diet, published in March.

Ms. Kang says it takes 3 days of concerted effort to bust through an excuse, 3 weeks to form new habits, and 3 months to make a lasting change in your life, so she suggests setting healthy goals in 3 week increments.

What I liked about The No More Excuses Diet is that the author admits right up front that weight loss is not a one size fits all proposition.  Ms. Kang says that what worked for her might not work for you.  She gives sample meal plans and some example workouts, but says you should do what works for you.  She emphasizes setting goals and then constantly reevaluating what's working and not working.  This is not a rigid set of rules to follow, but a method to bust through the excuses that are holding you back from reaching your goals and dreams.

I also liked that Ms. Kang acknowleges there will be setbacks, and encourages her readers to accept the mistake or failure and then learn from that mistake moving forward, rather than dwelling on it and allowing on little mistake to derail your entire journey.  It's not about perfection--it's about constantly moving forward, a little better today than yesterday.

I found this book to be incredibly inspiring, and while it's about getting healthy, the no excuses concept can work in any area of your life.

Here's what the book jacket has to say about Ms. Kang's motivation:

The No More Excuses Diet is not about making you feel guilty for how you look, or ashamed of the choices you've made; it is about getting you to a place where you feel in control of your life, love your body, and prioritize your health.

I think, in this book, Ms. Kang has accomplished her mission.

I received this book for free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.