Cassandra Forsythe - Women’s Health Perfect Body Diet: The Ultimate Weight Loss and Workout Plan to Drop Stubborn Pounds and Get Fit for Life!

This book began as a conversation among the editors of Womens Health. The gist of it: Diets suck, to put it bluntly. Were sick of one-size-fits-all plans that are impossible to maintain. While we fully admit to trying them (crazy maple-syrup-and-cayenne concoction included), and we concede that they can help you drop a few pounds quickly, theyre not a realistic or healthy game plan for losing weight andheres the important partkeeping it off.

So we jotted down our diet wish list:

1. The Womens Health Perfect Body Diet should be custom-fit for every woman. After all, hormonally speaking, our bodies vary tremendously. I dont metabolize penne a la vodka at the same rate as, say, Eva Longoria or Jennifer Hudson. I want the best plan for me.
2. The Womens Health Perfect Body Diet should make me feel strong. Not weak. Not starving.
3. The Womens Health Perfect Body Diet should be easy to maintain as a permanent lifestyle change. Studies show that 95 percent of dieters gain back the weight they lose within 1 to 5 years. Thanks, but Ill pass. Give me something I can stick to for life.

Ambitious? Absolutely. But we at Womens Health wanted to provide you with a plan to change the way you eat and work outa plan guaranteed to reveal your perfect body. We started out by consulting renowned nutritionists and fitness experts around the world. Each presented a potential plan, but nothing quite measured up. That is, not until we met nutritionist Cassandra Forsythe. Cassandra is a PhD candidate at the University of Connecticut (ranked the number one Doctoral Kinesiology program in the United States), and her name appears in the bylines of reams of research about diet and exercise. Her smart, realistic, science-based approachnot to mention her rock-solid bodysyncs up with everything WomensHealth is about. Custom-fit? Check. Fills our tank? Check. Works with our busy-as-hell schedule? Check.

During our meetings with Cassandra, I emphasized that a deprivation diet is not an optionafter all, if youre anything like me, that strategy ultimately sends you diving, face first, into a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Enough said. Have you ever heard of glucomannan? she asked. Um, no, I admitted. I dont read my nephews comic books. She went on to explain that this multisyllabic mouthful is in fact an all-natural soluble fiber that, when added to your grub, slows digestion and makes you feel fuller, longer. And the grub that Cass had in mind is nothing less than great: She developed two complete diet plans (youll find out which one best matches your body type and carb-sensitivity level by taking her simple breakfast tests), each with meal programs and recipes thatll keep you satisfied and on track. You just mix the plant-derived glucomannan powder into a few of your cinch-to-prepare meals each day, as though its an everyday condiment. Its affordable, widely available, easy to incorporate, and, most important, tasteless.

But this book isnt just about what you put in your mouth. No Womens Health plan would be complete without energy-provoking, calorie-blasting workouts. The routines on these pageseach one designed to benefit your specific body typewill add muscle (minus the bulk) and make you feel stronger than ever.

So, dig in. After slurping down the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie on page 173, I know youll feel the same way I do: This is the one diet that really rocks.

Kristina M. Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Womens Health