Bob Harper's "Jumpstart to Skinny"...anyone tried it?

RedZinfandel

I had been doing the 1500 cals and eating 'clean' for about 4 months with high intensity exercises and strength training and my weight or inches did not budge at all. I started the diet today after doing all my research and for about a week and so far (8 hrs into the day) I am not feeling hungry at all. By this time usually i'm craving some sort of food but not today. The breakfast and lunch portions were fairly larger compared to my usual portions but not calorie dense instead filled with essential nutrients.
And just to make it clear, Bob Harper is not promoting this as a sustainable or long term plan at all! He emphasized on this topic quiet clearly in the book and in his interviews. This very short term plan is for people (like me) who have a special event coming up or a special goal to meet in a short time. I was quiet skeptic and somewhat still am that I will lose drastic amount of weight in such a short period, but I am experimenting to see if this will work. I have about 20 lbs to lose but i don't expect to lose it all in 3 weeks. However, it would be a nice "jump start" to lose something after not seeing any change for months. Which is exactly what the book is.
The only con i can think of right now is that the groceries i had to buy at the start of this week were almost double in cost of my usual weekly groceries.

Will update soon

thisismeraw

He and Jillian have lost my respect since they started putting their names on diet pills and spouting crap diet advice. I personally wouldn't do it. They have turned from good people within the field to people who are just looking for the money and put their name on anything. He's trying to push a diet that is just far too low in calories... even if it's nutrient dense food. Losing 20lbs in 3 weeks won't include a ton of fat weight.

janettemalecha

I agree the recipes are yummy. I also think this is a filling diet. I did NutraSystem and I was hungrier than on this and that was higher calorie. The groceries are expensive and hard to find. I enjoy that this is healthy eating, but I have not experienced weight loss. I am on day 4. I also think his lack of instruction on his exercises is concerning. I did the Ball Buster on Monday and have been unable to move much since. My back is extremely sore. I had to go get a massage today for some relief. Perhaps I did the exercise incorrectly or used too heavy a kettleball, but I think more instruction is needed. And there is no way I can get all the way up on a sit-up like he does. I have to do crunches instead with just lifting shoulders off floor. I'm trying not to get discouraged, but with family stress and stuff I slipped last night and had 2 1/2 dirty martinis. I have continued the food part of the diet and not cheated. As of this morning I am 1/2 a pound heavier than when I started! Maybe retaining water due to the alcohol and olive juice? Others said they had lost 7 pounds by day 4.

janettemalecha

Pure_of_Heart have you lost weight? All your reply said was that you were enjoying eating healthier.

pure_of_heart

Pure_of_Heart have you lost weight? All your reply said was that you were enjoying eating healthier.

Six pounds. While I know it is mostly water as my salt intake has been slashed, it still feels good after watching the scale go the other direction while I recovered from my injury. Just 5 more and I am back on track to where I was before I got hurt!

criminey8

I was thinking of starting this next week as it will be 21 days before my wedding. I want to lose about 6-8 lbs before then. Any insight/results will be great before I start it!

janettemalecha

Good for you pure_of_heart! Congratulations! I'm staying on the diet part because I've already bought the food, but I tried to exercise today after my massage and my back hurt worse. So, I guess I'm off the exercise wagon except for cardio.

pure_of_heart

Good for you pure_of_heart! Congratulations! I'm staying on the diet part because I've already bought the food, but I tried to exercise today after my massage and my back hurt worse. So, I guess I'm off the exercise wagon except for cardio.

I have a back issue too (arthritis in my sacroiliac joints) so can't do those "jump start moves" exactly the way he has laid out. I have a friend who is a trainer take two sets of them and tweak as necessary for me, with a focus on strengthening my core as that will actually help in the long run and essentially that's what those exercises are supposed to be doing as well.

pure_of_heart

I was thinking of starting this next week as it will be 21 days before my wedding. I want to lose about 6-8 lbs before then. Any insight/results will be great before I start it!

To save money, if a recipe calls for something that you'll never use again, such as almond butter was for me, just substitute that meal for another meal.

Also consider doing that prep recipes at the start of each week as I found that really did save me time. I personally didn't have room in my fridge to not only have all the produce stored for the week as I have a family who isn't on the diet. So I need to shop twice in one week.

pure_of_heart

OH... and a thank you to whoever in the MFP universe entered in all the recipes from the book into the food database, you save me a ton of tracking time.

criminey8

Pure_of_heart- Great thank you for the tips! How are your results so far?

Lemonade2013

Look forward to hearing how you get on pure at heart - I have nine weeks to a holiday and lose weight very very slowly on 1400 cals a day, coupled with lots of exercise, maybe this would be good for me, just 21 days.. sounds like you have made a good start - will go and check the book out for myself.

Sapporo

The recipes in this book are amazing. They are relatively simple without way too many ingredients and they taste good. There are a few I will use for life. I do add things like extra olive oil or extra protein here and there so my calories are not only 800 per day.
I am finding that at end of day my fats are not hitting the 20% target if I follow it to a T in the book. Anyone else seeing this?

wisefish

I have 15 lbs of baby weight to lose and am thinking of doing it for 3 weeks.

And to the people that think it's not healthy, it is almost identical to the diet I was on with a very respected nutritionist- 750cal/day, mostly in shakes/soups, so not even real food. It was EXTREME but I was healthy (other than the extra 25 lbs) so I could handle it. I think for people with underlying health issues, it needs to be taken very seriously.
However, it's not meant to be a long term thing either.

Glad to hear people aren't too hungry on the diet either!

myomy1959

I am currently doing the Jumpstart to Skinny (Week 1, Day 4)....I have to say that, so far, it is working. I have about 50 lbs too much, post menopausal (yes, 54 yrs. old) and I have to tell you...it's WORKING!!! I have lost 3.7 lbs and I am never hungry. In fact, I am so stuffed!!! I made the mistake of having my husband do this with me, but he doesn't have much weight to lose, so, of course, he does lose weight & quickly. I really wanted a cookie today, but thought that its only a few days in total & I can do it! So can you! Like every diet, you have to have time to devote to packing your lunches, but having every meal planned for you is awesome. I will let you know as I progress through this Jumpstart.

bevmcarthur

my husband and i are starting this on MOnday. I have read the book and he has you eating that many calories with out all the extra veggies i dont think that its low on the calorie rang but i think we will add more to each day he has some really good recipes in this book so i will use them his idea of no carbs after noon i like so i guess we will have to see how it goes

rdw90

So, my stats: 5'2, 22 years old, started this program at about 167-168 lbs. The lowest I've ever been is about 150, and I maintained there for a couple of years. I'd like to get back down to that or dip lower. I started this program to further that goal and prepare for an event I have in almost exactly 21 days from when I started.

I'm on day 5, and I weighed in today at 162.8 lbs. That's a loss of 4-5 lbs. I've noticed that my energy levels tend to dip in the afternoons, and my sugar cravings have been *intense.* I also haven't managed to eat all of the prescribed greens for the lunches. Some of those salads call for 4 cups of mixed greens! Yeesh. Otherwise, I'm sticking pretty closely to the plan and doing pretty well with it. I'm hoping to be solidly back in the 150's before my event.

I know a lot of people expect that people who follow this will go straight to binging after they're done (or before). I do expect that I'll gain some weight back, as I'll be out of town and in a hotel for nearly a week immediately following this - my food options are going to be severely limited. Still, I suspect several of the changes will become things I can carry with me as ways to minimize the damage (like not adding salt and limiting processed carbs) while I'm on vacation. After I get back, I intend to start another (less restrictive) meal plan as a way to keep training myself to eat differently than how I was raised to. I think the biggest mistake someone could make is to just fall into the routine of doing what one had been doing before. I'll probably go for Body Revolution, as I've come to kind of enjoy Jillian Michaels. My birthday is at the end of August, too, so I'll have just about 3 months to give myself a whole new life for my birthday.

bizgee

I'm on day 6 of the Jumpstart plan and I've lost 5 lbs so far.

I'm never really hungry. You eat A LOT of veggies. I sometimes find myself struggling to eat my meals, but I do so knowing that I need those calories.

I do experience a dip of energy in the afternoon. Yesterday I tried an espresso and that helped. Yesterday was my hardest day, I'm not sure why, I was a bit blue, I suppose. The other days have been fairly easy, surprisingly so. I did have 1 cookie Wednesday night as I was at a party and the host had made everything from scratch - hard to explain when there's a table in front of you full of desserts and the host chatting up each one. Sigh. But in hindsight, I praise myself for selecting the smallest thing I could and then walking away. I've not had mad cravings for sugar, a few emotional moments where I recognize I want a treat to support or "fix" something in my personal life, but nothing like what I've experienced on other plans, including ones that have desserts.

The early morning 45 minute low intensity work out seems like a drag, but it's all done and attainable so I find myself pleased that it's taken care of by 8 or 9 am. I am use to some severe drops in energy/borderline hypoglycemia, but no such problems on this plan so far. Am curious to see what Week 2 will be like.

The exercise rounds were too intense for me so I scaled them back and am trying to work my way up. I like the challenge and can see incorporating them into my days - they can all be done from home for 15-20 minutes. I'm working out less than I used to and not starving and losing weight. Week 1 is a success!

You do need to sit down and prepare your shopping lists, prep and chop food and have your meals ready to roll out. Today felt like a long kitchen day, but I'm finally beginning to see how this approach works as a system. I am learning how to rely more on veggies, less on easy carbs or processed foods. I feel better. I am taking each week as a commitment unto itself and trust, do dream of introducing several more items back into my meals, but overall, I'm really taken with this plan. I don't know if I'll lose the 20 lbs, but I can foresee 10 or even 15. I'd been struggling and keeping my calorie intake between 1500-1700 plus working out 1 - 2 hours cardio plus 15 - 20 minutes light weights in an attempt to budge some pounds. This is far easier.

Will let you know how it goes. But for those worried about being hungry. There's a giant list of veggies that you can snack on or supplement any meal with and you're encouraged to do so. I told myself that depending on my results and how I felt that I would check out Bob's Skinny Rules. This jumpstart is helping me feel full, successful and more in tune with my health. I wasn't expecting that.

bizgee

@Sapporo I haven't noticed that, but will take a look. Must say, the meals with avocado = heaven!

LaraMc71

Re the fat %: would guess that this might be connected to the type and quantity of olive oil spray you are using. I use one of the manual pumps - I feel like I am hitting the fat.