A Review of Bob Harper's Newest Plan: Jumpstart to Skinny

Options
2

Replies

  • samacooper
    samacooper Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    It seems like some people are just intent on hating pop-fitness stars selling diets, no matter how reasonable they are. Why do people have a problem with other's paying a measly $12 for three weeks of a healthy menu plan, along with other tips to maximize weight loss? You are just mad that it's that easy for them to make money off something that others could, in theory, invest their own time and effort into doing for free?

    I think spending money on a gym membership is a waste of money for most, because you could work out at home or outside, but I'm not going to tell anyone who posts about going to a gym, "oh, you know you could work out at home for free, right?" Duh, I know I could develop my own meal plan...I'd rather pay a few bucks to make it easier for myself. But hey, if it really makes you feel good to tear down others for wanting to pay for that information instead of researching and planning it all themselves, well...I guess that's your right.

    Thank you, pure of heart, for taking the time to address what others are saying-- but it seems like no matter how you or I respond, they will just talk past whatever we say and settle on " it's dumb to follow a prescribed diet". Hey, what works for me might not work for you, but don't tell me its an automatic recipe for disaster .

    But in a way, I want to thank all of those who are saying this diet is doomed to result in relapse, because now I am even more determined to follow the plan, wean myself off it after 3 weeks and keep the weight off just to show all you naysayers that you are wrong!
  • pure_of_heart
    pure_of_heart Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    But in a way, I want to thank all of those who are saying this diet is doomed to result in relapse, because now I am even more determined to follow the plan, wean myself off it after 3 weeks and keep the weight off just to show all you naysayers that you are wrong!

    Small world. I keep up with this message thread because I've found it actually inspires me to stick with what I believe is the first step in a series of steps that will lead me to my ultimate goal. Every time I respond, I'm reminding myself of this truth for me. I need to do this. I can do this.
  • SweetLilCarrie
    SweetLilCarrie Posts: 2
    Options
    I'm thinking about trying this. is the meal plan for the whole 3 weeks only $12?? i think that may be my only reservation about not doing it because i dont want to spend alot on food when we are already trying to budget. but if it is only $12 for 3 weeks, that is great!!
  • oumick03
    oumick03 Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    The book is only $13, not the food....(It may be a bit less on Kindle...I can't remember!)

    I will say the food part is PRICEY. But, you aren't eating out or snacking out at all...so, if you do that now, it may just be a wash in terms of finances.
  • oumick03
    oumick03 Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    I'll be finishing up week two tomorrow. So far I'm down 9.6 pounds.

    I will say my biggest fear IS going nuts when I'm done. I actually am going to Chicago next week so will be off plan for three days...I'm scared, but prepared to eat as healthy as I possibly can and work out more to compensate.

    Some of my thoughts on the program:
    Definitely sift through the recipes to see what is appealing to you. The first week we ate everything he said day by day and I was annoyed at that. I hated a couple of the recipes.

    I have done some minor cheating, and am still hanging in there. By cheating, I mean that I had a fruit in the afternoon pre-workout, a piece of ezekiel bread with avocado in the afternoon...and I have had some wine.

    This plan is VERY difficult if you are an intense worker-outer. It has really hurt my running....so, when I get back from Chicago I'm transitioning to Skinny Rules...I need more carbs to fuel my long runs.

    I am glad that I did it....but no, it isn't for everyone...and you do really have to plan to set yourself up for success after because it's going to be tough.
  • Boogage
    Boogage Posts: 739 Member
    Options
    I don't think I would ever attempt to do this diet. How can it really be healthy if you can only do it for 3 weeks? Eating 800 to 1000 calories a day would make me very ill. I started this journey eating 1200 and a couple of months in when I started exercising properly I constantly felt unwell and had to increase my calories. To me it just sounds like another fad diet. Why put off learning to eat properly for another 3 weeks?
  • sandkrain
    sandkrain Posts: 78 Member
    Options
    Thanks for your advice, but this is not "some magic diet", it is a strict plan to lose a maximum amount of weight in as healthy a manner as possible. Following this plan will keep me from being hungry all the time, which I would be if I didn't have the direction to eat such a high amount of protein and vegetables instead of complex carbs. Maybe some people can plan all that on their own, but i'm willing to pay $13 for a meal plan that is high in lean protein, healthy carbs, etc. so I am not stressed out trying to figure out what I can eat.

    When the plan is over, yes, there is the potential to just "go nuts" and eat back all the weight lost, but that can happen coming off of any diet plan. Bob Harper of course suggests transitioning to his Skinny rules", and I'm sure if I did that, there would be little to no regain after the jumpstart. I am going to follow the jumpstart, attempt to keep eating the same kinds of foods, just more calories once the plan is over. I hope you will check in with me and see that it is not as ridiculous and "certain to fail" as you make it seem.

    you do realize that you can build your own meal plan that is high in lean protein and vegetable for free, right? I mean just read the lables and log what you eat..that is what MFP is for ...

    I have dropped about 50 pounds and gone from 20% plus body fat to about 12% body fat with steady 500 cal deficit and strength training and the only thing it cost me was a gym membership...

    I never said it was "certain fail", I simply said what happens after you have so severely restricted yourself that at the end of this "diet" you gorge yourself on 2500 cals a day ..I mean are you really going to eat 800 calories a day for the rest of your life? The answer is more than likely no, which means that after this diet you will increase your calorie intake, and hence, increase your weight...

    You are just being sold a bill of BS in my option and you could save yourself some money and just do what everyone else does..eat in a deficit...

    yes, she said from the beginning the book says its for 3 weeks or less. anyone doing this is looking for a quick fix.
    but when it results in you gaining more than you had before, or messing up your metabolism, or even setting up behaviors for ED,it isn't a quick fix it's a recipe for disaster.

    cups and cups of greens for salad? really? this is where people get the absurd idea that if i'm losing weight i have to eat salad.
    well what if you're not in to mood for salad, don't like that kind of veggies, or just don't feel like paying $4 for a bag of leaves that will go bad in 2 days? (buy the whole head it lasts longer)

    I hardly ever eat salad, there are plenty of healthy foods out there, we don't have to just HAVE SALAD.
    there's nothing wrong with salad, i just hate the idea someone is getting it in your head,
    all you can have to fill you up is leaves if you're hungry. there is a whole world of yummy tasty foods
    other than the typical what usually is called a 'salad'.

    this whole list of foods we can and cant' have is just pointless.
    we don't need endless menu plans.

    eat mostly plants
    plenty of protein
    not too much food.
    exercise.
    the end.
  • sandkrain
    sandkrain Posts: 78 Member
    Options
    eat mostly plants
    plenty of protein
    not too much food.
    exercise.
    the end

    from a prior poster -- love it!! thanks
  • KristyHumphrey
    KristyHumphrey Posts: 248 Member
    Options
    :happy:
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    Options
    I had 1,000 calories for breakfast today. I'm off to a bad start.
  • RichOC
    RichOC Posts: 243 Member
    Options
    Hmmm, I might give this a try if Fruity Pebbles in on the approved list. I'll have to check that out.
  • oumick03
    oumick03 Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    I have to say that I have been feeling SO much better since doing this - really its just clean eating (as other posters have noted). What I'm taking away is portion sizes, new recipes, and how to live without non-naturally occurring sodium (I'm a salt fiend...). You stay surprisingly full, but again it isn't for everyone. You do actually learn to eat properly, prepare ahead, etc....but everyone is right in that the 800 calories (it is usually more like 900 or so...not that that makes my argument any better!) is very restrictive and not sustainable. I'll be adding more to it after Monday (and looking forward to a non-veggie snack...).

    And alas, no fruity pebbles allowed. I'm okay with that because I'm not a big FP fan, but, the no Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs is tragic :happy:
  • juicydee
    juicydee Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    thank you so helpful, do you have any updates? how much did you lose in the 3 weeks? also it's so helpful when people share how much they weigh and their height. i am 150 trying to get to 125ish. a 10 pound drop is a huge accomplishment for anyone, but more difficult when you get close to your "recommend" bmi.
  • looneycatblue
    looneycatblue Posts: 1,311 Member
    Options
    Hi, I was wondering if any of you have tried the "Quinoatmeal", it calls for only 1/3 cup Quinoa, along with 1/2 cup almond milk. This was like soup. How did your's turn out?
  • Briarios
    Briarios Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    Regarding the recipes on this plan:

    There are notes about serving sizes provided, but not necessarily details on how many services each of the recipes is intended to make. Anyone have any idea on that front?

    I figure I could put the ingredients into MFP and then determine the TOTAL for each, but that seems like a lot of work. That said, I'm big on specific tracking (which is why I use MFP in the first place).
  • georgia121
    georgia121 Posts: 3
    Options
    Does anyone have a spreadsheet of the meals and shopping list? I find it so hard to coordinate this the way he has done it in the book. Help please anyone!!!! You can email me at georgia121@hotmail.com
  • Ladyvonderlake
    Ladyvonderlake Posts: 2 Member
    Options
    I am on week 2 and love it. The breakfast recipes are delicious! I have never thought of eating such things for breakfast and I find it very tasty and filling. Best of all the pounds are coming off. I am not perfect on the diet, but its good to give me something to aim for, so that even with "cheats" or "slips" or just plain too inconvenient to get it exact...the pounds still disappear. After week three, I'll transition into his Skinny Rules plan for a more long term healthy way of eating. For now, it's a relief to have found something that actually works for me.
  • Jxnsmma
    Jxnsmma Posts: 919 Member
    Options

    First of all, don't let the title "skinny" throw you... he's not advocating that weak, emancipated look.

    What edzachary do emancipated people look like?

    Great catch: emaciated

    Glad you think so. I just got a strike for this post...
  • akbasak26
    akbasak26 Posts: 10
    Options
    I'm exhausted from sifting through the overly judgmental pretentious replies. Gah, y'all are annoying. And way too impressed with yourselves to realize how ignorant you are. Anyway. Thanks to the OP review and updates, it was informative!
  • SiouxCityBoy
    SiouxCityBoy Posts: 1
    Options
    I have read all the posts to this forum, a majority of the negative posts are from rather foolish or perhaps stupid people that have not read the book.

    Firstly, I am an adult male, 66 years old and now weigh exactly 300 pounds. When I was 55 years old I was exposed to respiratory anthrax along with 3 co-workers. I survived, the others did not. No headlines, we simply became exposed to the bacteria from dust/dirt that harbored the bacteria. That resulted in me essentially having COPD because of the damaged lung tissue. Stroke (recovered from that) an also a MI, (heart attack) which essentially caused a portion of my heart to die. I could easily sit and slowly walk short distances, but any normal exercise or even walking down the block was not possible. When I became ill I weighed 155 pounds and averaged around 3000 calories, and worked and exercised. After the first 5 years of dissability I had gained a bunch of weight, and ended up with a weight of around 250 pounds. I then followed diets by my physician, and two different professional nutritionists employed by a local hospital. Following their diets EXACTLY, over the next 5 years I gained an additional 83 pounds (333 pounds total) . I recently changed Doctors, my old one retired, and the new young doctor told me to loose weight I needed to eat 40% Greens, 40% lean protein, a tablespoon of Olive oil in preparation or used as a salad dressing. I could intake NO SALT, and NO added SUGAR and No Flour. He said that if I wished to have additional guidance, I should buy or get from a library Bob Harper's book "Jumpstart To Skinney" as that was what he based my diet on, with the exception of NO SALT, SUGAR, or FLOUR of any kind.

    I modified Bob Harper's diet plan to be somewhat simpler in meal preparation, a tossed salad with varied greens, and then a broiled chicken breast or broiled tuna, or broiled salmon, or a small lean broiled steak. I try to limit the protein to between 4 and 6 ounces per meal, the breakfast has perhaps fewer calories and grams of protein, but usually includes four or five fresh or frozen strawberries, a cup of black coffee, and a tablespoon of psyllium husk fiber to provide added fiber in my diet.

    I drink at least a gallon of water per day.

    I have lost 33 pounds in three weeks, now weigh exactly 300. My Dr told me to stay on this diet for the next 3 months, and he will then re-evaluate me and the diet.

    The book is good, gives great advice, and its diet can be modified to work, as long as one does not cheat on the (essentially) 40% approved Greens, 40% lean Protein, and 20% approved fat.

Categories