Bob Harper - Jumpstart to Skinny: The Simple 3-Week Plan for Supercharged Weight Loss

This book proposes a program of diet and exercise recommendations for the reader to follow. However, you should consult a qualified medical professional (and, if you are pregnant, your ob/gyn) before starting this or any other fitness program. Please seek your doctors advice before making any decisions that affect your health or extreme changes in your diet, particularly if you suffer from any medical condition or have any symptom that may require treatment. As with any diet or exercise program, if at any time you experience any discomfort, stop immediately and consult your physician.

Copyright 2013 by Bob Harper Enterprises

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

B ALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Photographs by Adam Rindy

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Harper, Bob.
Jumpstart to skinny: the simple 3-week plan for supercharged weight loss / Bob Harper; with Greg Critser.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-345-54511-4
1. Reducing exercises. 2. Weight loss. 3. Reducing dietsrecipes.
I. Critser, Greg. II. Title.
RA781.6.H357 2013 613.25dc23 2012051372

www.ballantinebooks.com

Jacket design: Marietta Anastassatos
Jacket photograph: Kenneth Cappello

v3.1

Not long ago I got an urgent call from one of my celebrity clients.

Youve got to help me, Bob, she said. Im performing in three weeks and I want to go on stage without hiding my body behind my guitar!

Like so many of us, shed put off getting in shape and losing weight in the months leading up to her big show, and now she needed some fast-acting advice to get her on stage feeling confident, comfortable, and looking like the rock star she is.

If youve read my book The Skinny Rules, you know that she could have followed those nonnegotiable principles for getting to thin a long time ago and she wouldnt be in the fix she found herself in now. But it hadnt yet been published and she didnt have a lot of time anyway. She needed me to whip her into shape ASAP.

I get it: having a goal and a deadline is the motivation that many of us need to make a change, get off the couch, get our noses out of the fridge, and get ourselves back onto the path of a healthy (and slimming) life.

I have good news, I replied. Youre now very motivatedyou have a very specific goal and youre on a very tight, specific timetable. I can work with that. I have a plan that will put you on stage looking and feeling like a knockout. You have to follow this plan for the next three weeks. You have to follow it to the letter. You need to buckle down. And I promise that youll love the way you look and feel for the big show. And I promise, too, that youll want to keep it up afterwards, and for that youll transition to The Skinny Rules. Are you in?

Her response? Hell yes!

My rock star clients looming performance conjured the same anxiety many of us experience while preparing for, say, a wedding: Will my dress make me look fab, or fat? Will my tux look form-fitting, or chub-containing?

Or a reunion: Will all those classmates envy or pity me?

Or an upcoming beach vacation: Can I get away with a bikini or a Speedo (although Im a board shorts kind of guy), or should I just stay in the hotel room and raid the minibar?

And like my clients predicament, this is a time when you really dont have the patience for a lecture or the time to read a tome that will help you understand the psychology of why you overeat or that will educate you on the complex workings of the human digestive system! Nope. Its a whole lot more simple than that: its one of those times when you just want to look awesome.

No need for an apology at this point. Nothing to be ashamed of. You. Just. Want. To. Look. Awesome.

But how do youlike my celebrity clientsget there? What was my plan for my rock star? And what will I offer you? A Jumpstart. A get-started-right-now with no-more-excuses, three-week plan. You need a kick in the pants, and Im good at that.

Maybe you are already doing my Skinny Rules and have been losing weight and feeling great but you still want to kick it up a notch for that big event youve got coming up. You too need a kick in the pants and, as I said: Im good at that!

Jumpstart to Skinny is the same exclusive, star-turn regimen that I offered my celebrity friend. In just three weeks, I will get you ready for that special eventand then you can transition to (or go back to) a sustainable regimen (aka The Skinny Rules) for the many happy days and years to follow.

In other words, Im going to Jumpstart you into looking your absolute best!

MORE MOTIVATION

Im a fitness expert and a self-proclaimed fashion expert, so I do know a thing or two about motivation, and I know how much fashion plays a part.

If youve bought Jumpstart to Skinny to get aisle-ready for your wedding or photo-ready for your reunion, youve likely thought a lot about your outfit(s). Yes, that white dress. Or that form-fitting wonder for the class gathering. It probably cost you a pretty penny, and youd like it to look perfect.

If youve bought Jumpstart to Skinny to get beach-ready for your vacation, youve thought a lot about your swimsuit. Yes, that swimsuit. Whether a bikini or a one-piece, Speedo or trunks, theres not a lot of fabric. Its going to show some skin.

Well, whatever the outfit, have you bought it yet? If not, do it. Do it now. Having that outfit or bathing suit hanging in your closet will focus you, will keep your eyes on the prize for the next three weeks.

If you have already bought it, try it on as soon as possible in front of a tough-minded friend and ask for her unvarnished opinion. If it already looks perfect, youre not reading this book! If the verdict is that you could stand to lose a little to look your best, my hunch is that the honest truth will help you stick to my regimen.

When you finish this three-week program, that certain somethingyour chosen fashion statementis not only going to fit, its even going to be comfortable. And you are going to blow people away when they see you in it!

As you might surmise if youve skimmed ahead, youre going to be eating a lot less in the next three weeks than you are used to (which is part of the reason you need my help!).

Like any smart, aware person contemplating a low-calorie diet, youve got some concerns, right?

Before I address them, let me assure you: I am not going to take you anywhere unsafe. Demanding? Yesyoure training with me now, so you know youre not going to get off easy. But unsafe? No.

Trust me, and listen:

You ask: But Bob, doesnt such a low-calorie diet go against what youve always said about the importance of a sustainable regimen, and the importance of balance?

I answer: Yes, but