Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Fourteen months ago, my size 12 blue jeans were starting to feel just a little bit more than tight. I had just seen the pictures of myself at my sister's wedding...and they weren't pretty. They made me realize that I had gone from always having been extremely slender to well, to put it politely, junoesque. I started this program March 4, 1999, after reading an excerpt from Strong Women Stay Slim in the Reader's Digest. I was looking for a program that I could do for the rest of my life. It had to be one that did not involve going to a gym, since I have a 100% failure rate with exercise dependent on a gym. It had to be one that helped me drop the 30 lbs. I had picked up since taking a sedentary job in the suburbs. It had to be forgiving of my sometimes irregular schedule. It had to get me back in shape for my 25th high school reunion. After six weeks of following the exercises in the Reader's Digest Article, I was already seeing results, so I bought Strong Women Stay Young, and added the ankle weight and abs exercises from the book to my program. I also started taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, and walking to the store instead of driving. (I did do the program an average of three times a week, rather than the recommended two.) By the time my high school reunion rolled around, I had dropped the extra 30 lbs (without dieting -- just sensible eating). So many people at work have commented in the change in my appearance and have asked how I did it, that I've taken to carrying Reader's Digest reprints of the original article around to hand out when asked. My thighs and my upper arms have slimmed down and firmed up. My belt went from too tight on the largest hole to too loose on the smallest. I continue to get stronger and to improve my sense of balance. And my jeans are now a size six... Some of the other reviews raise concerns that this program is too mild to be effective. Perhaps that's true, if you're looking for serious bodybuilding, or want to train for a marathon. But as for me, I wanted to be stronger and slimmer. I am. I wanted a program that I would actually do, instead of one that I would drift away from. Fourteen months later, I'm still working out. My experience is that this works, if you actually do it.