Window on the World

I am a wife and mom of two grown children (who can't seem to move out) and two furbabies. I write about my family life, as well as causes that are dear to my heart, with recipes every Wednesday and book reviews every Friday. My favorite genre is historical fiction.

The Spark Solution: A Complete Two-Week Diet Program to Fast-Track Weight Loss and Total Body Health - Becky Hand,  Nicole Nichols,  Meg Galvin,  Stepfanie Romine Here's what I enjoyed about the book:

Quite a few motivational stories from people who have already used the Spark system to lose weight and keep it off.
A two week program (including recipes) of diet and exercise ideas - this was my favorite part. I got quite a few new recipes for my repertoire, one of which I am including below.
An "after plan" with tips on how to keep the momentum going because I am not on a diet, I am making healthy lifestyle changes.

And here are the changes I made as a result of the program:

Started tracking everything I eat. This made a big difference because I really needed to plan ahead and think about food.
Started working out harder and more efficiently. Although I did not follow the exercise plan in The Spark Solution, I did come to realize how many calories I needed to burn in a week in order to lose weight, as compared to how much food I eat. So I switched from just walking 3-5 days a week, to interval training alternating with Walk Away the Pounds videos, plus one day of yoga and one day of rest. I have been exercising more often, burning more calories and actually having fun doing it!!
I did not give up all the foods I love. I found ways to make them more healthy or cut them down to very small portions for those times when I am really craving them. For those things I do not have willpower with (yet) I try not to keep them in the house.

Overall, I found The Spark Solution to be a great program for beginners, if followed to a tee, and for those who have been at this a bit longer, a good reminder of what to do, mixed with tips and motivation that can be incorporated into your regular routine.