If you’re eager to take off those holiday pounds, you may be considering heading to the bookstore or to Amazon.com for a handy guide on the subject. But, much like a tempting buffet, there are a lot of choices. It really all depends on your dieting-book style: Do you prefer a lighthearted, fast read with funny anecdotes? A more scientific approach? Or perhaps something that dives deep into the reasons that got you here? Here’s the skinny on the big titles:
"Sexy Women Eat" by Divya Gugnani (Harper Collins, $13.99, 208 pages) -- With an MBA from Harvard Business School and a degree from the French Culinary Institute, Gugnani is part savvy business woman, part foodie. She also runs behindtheburner.com, a culinary website. With clever chapter titles such as "Eating Muffins Gives you Muffin Top" and "Spandex and Sports Bra Optional," the author infuses tips and tricks with personal anecdotes. Her advice is often a twist on a dieting cliché. For instance, in the "muffin" chapter, she explains that yes, eating breakfast is important but eating junk doesn't help. She then offers healthier breakfast ideas like Greek yogurt, almond butter on whole grain toast or smoothies. Gugnani's overall message to on-the-go women? Enjoy food but be smart about it.
"Cinch!" by Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD (Harper One, $25.99, 304 pages) -- Sass, a nutritionist and Shape Magazine contributor, tells readers how to "conquer cravings, drop pounds and lose inches." The book covers a 30-day diet plan in two parts: First, there's the 5-Day Fast Forward, which includes four meals a day, made from five foods: spinach, almonds, raspberries, eggs and yogurt. For part two, the 25-day plan, readers still eat four meals a day but Sass incorporates more food options. She says that by following her diet, including its rules such as "Eat like clockwork" and "Make Flavor your Focus," participants can easily drop a size in a month. And chocolate lovers needn't be afraid. Sass' plan includes a mandatory daily serving of dark chocolate.
"The Mommy Diet" by Alison Sweeney with Christie Matheson (Simon and Schuster, $24, 256 pages) -- Soap opera actress, "The Biggest Loser" host and mom of two, Sweeney offers a step-by-step plan through pre-pregnancy, the three trimesters of pregnancy, the early post-pregnancy recovery period and the first nine months of mommyhood. Along the way she shares her own tales of pregnancy weight gain, loss and exercise tips. For the book she called on all kinds of experts from trainers to stylists, including cookbook author Matheson. Sweeney's guide is sprinkled with recipes, music playlists and fashion tips. Think of it as "The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy" with a diet/fitness angle.
"The 17 Day Diet" by Dr. Mike Moreno (17 Day Diet Inc., $27, 243 pages) -- Moreno, a family medicine doctor in San Diego, says you can lose 10 to 12 pounds in 17 days on his diet. But to lose even more, you actually have to do two more cycles of 17-day diets followed by a fourth cycle to help you maintain your weight loss. The first is the most challenging with more food restrictions, but by the fourth you're allowed to introduce your favorite foods back into your diet, in moderation. By varying the foods that you eat and changing up the calorie counts, you experience what Dr. Moreno calls "body confusion," which prevents your body from adapting. Each chapter includes a detailed meal plan for each cycle. Buy the book and the DVD, "The 17 Minute Workout," for $29.
"Finally Thin!" by Kim Bensen (Three Rivers Press, $14, 288 pages) -- Readers will find it hard to believe that the pretty, confident blonde on the cover of "Finally Thin" used to be a 347-pound yo-yo dieter who could barely walk. In her book, Bensen shares 10 steps for how she not only lost the weight but has kept it off for seven years. She says people can apply these steps to any diet and she offers breakdowns of the most popular ones including Weight Watchers, South Beach and Jenny Craig. Now a weight-loss coach and owner of a successful food line, Bensen tells about her own struggle with food, weight and dieting and credits her Christian faith with helping her change. Bonus: more than 70 original recipes.
"The Life You Want" by Bob Greene, Ann Kearney-Cooke, PH.D., and Janis Jibrin, M.S., R.D. (Simon and Schuster, $25.00, 304 pages) -- In the latest installment of his Best Life Diet Series books, Oprah's personal fitness guru Greene goes deeper into the relationship between food and our minds. With chapter titles such as "Overcoming Emotional Eating" and "Transforming Your Body Image," Greene's book may hit home for self-help fans. The success stories throughout are there to keep readers motivated. Greene also goes beyond the psychological-speak with practical tips and tools including quizzes, a lifestyle log and exercise and diet plans.
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