Joy's LIFE (Look Incredible, Feel Extraordinary) Diet: Four Steps to Thin Forever is a four-step program to help you break your bad health habits, learn new ones and lose weight. This book is written by Joy Bauer, from the Today Show's Joy Fit Club (whose members are people who've lost 100 pounds or more).

Step one--"Release" is one week of "stripping away negative eating habits." It is really strict. No caffeine, no sweeteners, including artificial sweeteners, no alcohol, no processed foods, no added salt. There is a big list of allowed foods you can choose from and information on substituting if you want to vary from her prescribed menus. Every day, there is a list of what to eat for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and a mid-afternoon Snack.

She also provides "easiest meals at a glance" -- a list of what you can eat that requires little cooking or preparation, and Restaurant options -- how to stick to the plan if you are eating out.

Then, Joy provides lots of recipes, some quite good new ones, and some staples, such as Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.

"Relearn", the second step, lasts for two weeks, "Reshape", which is the plan you'll follow until you reach your goal weight, and then, "Reveal", which is the maintenance plan. Each step in the plan gets its own chapter in the book.

These steps are similar to other programs because losing weight is a process that involves changing your habits, learning new ones, persisting with those until you achieve your goal, and then living with your new habits to stay slim. Nothing rocket science about it, but sometimes "easier said than done", hence the mega-million-dollar diet industry.

There is a lot of repetition in this book in the food "lists" -- as the plans progress, the acceptable foods list is repeated, with additional allowed options. This makes the book seem really long, but it is handy to have all the references available in each section. Also for each step, menu plans are detailed, you get the "easiest meals" list, the restaurant eating options, and a new batch of recipes to try.

In Chapter five, Bauer shares her exercise program; one she promises is "simple and effective and entirely doable for everybody". The exercise plan is tied to the four-step diet plan. Step one is 30-60 minutes of cardio every day (she recommends walking or other low-impact cardio).

Step Two (Relearn) is the same, adding Speed Play (intervals) three days per week, and what she calls "Life Enhancers" (minor strength & stretching moves) three to five days per week. This step, like with the diet, lasts two weeks.

In Step Three of the Exercise Plan, you repeat Step Two and add a circuit of resistance or strength exercises. These are very important in helping to build muscle and to help prevent osteoporosis.

Throughout the book, there are numerous success stories to inspire you. Some are quite motivating, and all have before/after photos and stats to remind us that we can do it, too.

Overall, this is a decent program and it seems quite safe. However, it is quite restrictive, especially at the beginning and will not work for everyone. It seems to me that its gung-ho beginning is just the type of plan that people cannot stick to and fall off, or fail. This leads to yo-yo dieting, which can be dangerous.

To go from zero exercise to 30-60 minutes a day, all the while cutting out quite a lot of food and food options is quite drastic for most people with a weight problem. It seems rather "cold turkey" to me, and while that is great for some people, it might not work for others.

There are some great tips and some good recipes, and this book can be a real help in losing weight if you are ready to make these lasting lifestyle changes. You won’t go hungry, but you might miss your favorite fattening foods, as you would with any weight loss plan. If you look at it as a learning experience, and work on re-training your palate to like good-for-you foods like veggies, you’ll find it easier. If you have a health condition caused by overeating, a plan like this might help you break the unhealthy cycle you are on.

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