The Skinny Rules By Bob Harper

While at the library recently, I happened to see the book The Skinny Rules: The Simple, Nonnegotiable Principles for Getting to Thin and decided to bring it home to read. The author is Bob Harper, one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser series. Although I do not watch the show I have used some of the workout videos and books that have been out by the series and trainers. I read diet books like I read any self-help books: never looking to adopt a whole new system, just looking for a few tips for tweaking the one I already have. I take what I find of value and leave the rest.

The set of rules are straightforward and I like the simplicity of the book. It is a quick read and I printed the list of rules for my Faith & Health Notebook so that I can refer back to them often and use it as a checklist for staying on track with my weight loss. This book was divided into three parts, the Skinny Rules, the Skinny Way and the Skinny Tools. I also listened to the book on CD from my library read by Bob it was an hour long. I had my dear husband who doesn't read diet books listen to it on his drive to work and he liked his no non-sense style and that the rules were doable.



the Skinny Rules are:

Rule 1 – Drink a Large Glass of Water before Every Meal- No Excuses
Rule – Don’t Drink Your Calories
Rule 3 – Eat Protein at Every Meal – or Stay Hungry and Grouchy
Rule 4 – Slash Your Intake of Refined Flours and Grains
Rule 5 – Eat 30 to 50 Grams of Fiber a Day
Rule 6 – Eat Apples and Berries Every Single Day
Rule 7 – No Carbs after Lunch
Rule 8 – Learn to Read Food Labels So You Know What You Are Eating
Rule 9 – Stop Guessing About Portion Size and Get it Right- For Good
Rule 10 – No More Added Sweeteners, including Artificial Ones
Rule 11 – Get Rid of those White Potatoes
Rule 12 - Make One Day a Week Meatless
Rule 13 – Get Rid of Fast Foods and Fried Foods
Rule 14 – Eat a Real Breakfast
Rule 15 – Make Your Own Food and Eat at Least Ten Meals a Week at Home
Rule 16 – Banish High Salt Foods
Rule 17 – Eat Your Vegetables – Just Do It
Rule 18 – Go to Bed Hungry
Rule 19 – Sleep Right
Rule 20 – Plan One Splurge Meal a Week

Many of the rules are common sense and are rules I follow but rule number 7 is not for me and my family. I was surprised Bob did not include exercise, cardio, weight training, or food tracking on his list of rules. I didn’t care about all the science of it I just read the basic why of each rule and moved on to the next rule.

He gives daily menus using food that should be readily available at the local grocery and provides a lot of easy to follow recipes. The recipes are single serving and since I cook for a family and do not make special food for one person the recipes would not work for me.

The rules can help you along the way as you take responsibility for your own healthy lifestyle.