Clean & Lean Flat Tummy Fast!: The healthy way to a totally toned tummy in 14 days [Illustrated] [Paperback]

I like this book. It looks good (I know, I'm so shallow but I do pay more attention if something looks good) and is realistic and achievable. The eating 'rules' are easy enough to follow and the exercise is realistic - nobody is going to sign up for 45 minutes of cardio and half an hour's weight training 5 days a week but this is something that most people can fit in to their lives without too much trouble. This has a 14 day plan to kick start your new regime and then a maintenance section. It also has a 6 day plan for fast results which he admits is boring and extremely hard work but a lot of models use it as a quick blast prior to a bikini shoot. The whole book is written as though the reader is an intelligent person, living a normal life. You are told why the rules exist and also allowed a cheat meal each week (once you've achieved the tummy you want) but the author also accepts that you are human and says that you should follow the rules as much as you can. I bought this book because having hit the grand old age of 43 I find that I can't eat what ever I want anymore. I'm still slim (size 10) but there are pockets of fat that I'm sure never used to be there so I started trying some of these 'fitness and nutrition' books. None of the others have suited me - silly rules like "no carbs after 6pm cos that's the way celebrities eat", fitness plans that build up to running for an hour 3 times a week and then coming home to do resistance training etc. I can follow this (been doing it for a week and seen a difference) and it appears healthy and reasonable. I fully recommend it.

I have originally bought the clean and lean diet book by the same author and really loved it. It has changed the way I eat and look at food: no more carbs, refined sugar, alcohol and packaged food. I now eat in a very healthy way and I have never felt better! I then came across this new book and tried some of the new exercise (it is feasable and it is not a fad, forget rubbish like Tracy Anderson, that is sick!) and the new recipes. Looking forward to the recipes book james is currently writing. I suggest to buy the clan and lean diet first as it explains the fundamentals of nutrition and of the cut the CRAP system.

You can't tell your body to lose fat from a specific part of the body, and this book doesn't attempt to do that. It does contain general nutritional information and dieting tips, and exercises which target the muscles around the stomach area and other information about things like bloating.

There are a couple of points in the book which I would consider out dated now, some of the stuff around lactic acid needs revising, but I can say that about every exercise book out there.

The book is well presented and I fell madly in love with the girl on the cover. She also appears inside which cheered me on to the end. It's quite an energising read, I found the author's enthusiasm and honesty infectious. He talks about the reasons we want a flat tummy which is basically to look good and that gives you a sense that he's not trying to dress it up as something it isn't.