cover image The Fat-Free Truth: 239 Real Answers to the Fitness and Weight-Loss Questions You Wonder about Most

The Fat-Free Truth: 239 Real Answers to the Fitness and Weight-Loss Questions You Wonder about Most

Suzanne Schlosberg, Liz Neporent. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $15 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-618-31073-9

Serious dieters are constantly assailed with contradictory information on the best way to loose weight. In this concise book, Neporent (The Ultimate Body; Buns of Steel; etc.) and Shape contributing editor Schlosberg use a Q&A format with 239 questions to broach this problem. They cover topics ranging from body fat, weight and muscle to nutrition, cardiovascular exercise, strength training, ""mind-body"" exercise, prenatal fitness and postpartum weight loss. Each question gets a ""short answer"" and then a longer explanation, backed by research. For those who want to purchase equipment to use at home, there's a chapter on getting your money's worth with fitness equipment. Readers who travel often will find information on how to stay in shape when they're without equipment. Those who have ""gym phobia"" will find tips on learning the ropes and understanding gym etiquette. The authors' sense of humor makes reading many of the answers fun and informative--their tone is upbeat and chatty, but still intelligent (e.g., when answering the ""how fattening is alcohol?"" question, they respond, ""they don't call 'em 'beer bellies' for nothing""). This simple, straightforward book covers almost anything readers would want to know about exercise, diet and nutrition, and should appeal to people at all fitness levels.