The Ultimate Fit or Fat (Get inShape and Stay in Shape with America's Best-Loved and Most Effective Fitness Teacher)

I had bought the original Fit or Fat book many years ago, and may have been the only person on the planet who didn't know that Covert Bailey continued to write new books. I bought this one recently, and discovered it is an entirely new book. The basic premise is still there, but everything else is new, like pulling into your driveway and finding a new, bigger house with more rooms on the old foundation. There is lots of additional information, and even the old jokes and illustrations have been replaced by new ones. Some reviewers are apparently annoyed that Covert does not endorse their pet ideas or theories on fitness, but the bottom line is that this book works. I lost fat with the first book before changes in my schedule caused me to neglect exercising for several years -- well, that's lame my excuse anyway. Then I decided to get serious again, and bought the new "ultimate" book and applied it (including wind sprints and weight lifting) and began losing fat again within weeks, and people are noticing! This book is my coach now, and I'm glad I discovered it. I do wish metric equivalents were included (we don't have pounds, inches, or miles where I live) but I can make the conversions easily enough myself.

Covert Bailey's approach is something anyone can handle. The key point is to just do it. He explains that staying in your target fat burning range is much more important and beneficial than going all out. I have always thought that the fat burn range on the tread mill was for sissies and consequently have over done it on more than one occasion. Exercise became something to dread because I thought it had to hurt to be good for me. Bailey's book explains in detail the reasons for working out in your target heart rate/fat burn range. It takes the pressure off trying to always go for the gold and leaves you feeling good for just getting out there.

While there are more advantages than disadvantages to living in an age where we can get so much information about anything, it's a relief to read something simple and sensible about exercise and fitness. Bailey never makes you scratch your head trying to figure out what he means or undermines his own credibility with impossible promises.I also love that the program he outlines is so simple and straight-forward. In case you can't translate into the latest fitness lingo, he's advocating interval training as the keystone of losing fat (with cross-training and weight-lifting playing a supporting role). I've been doing all of the above for a while and seeing results, but now I finally understand that it's not a good idea to push myself so far I hurt.Although Bailey is emphatic that this is not a book about dieting or nutrition, again, his good sense comes through even there. This book is anti-diet in the way the American public has come to understand it. Bailey doesn't advocate that we eat like pigs and cautions against over-indulgence, but basically advocates a straight-forward eating plan where we stay away from fats and sweets. He cautions that while exercise is ultimately how we'll stay fit and healthy, we can eventually undermine that if we eat badly. Again, pretty reasonable.A word of warning: this is not for people who want to look like size 0 supermodels or brawny weightlifters. This is for people who want to get or stay in good shape and sustain it for the rest of their lives. He has some very good (and simple) tools for figuring out just how fat you really are and what you should weigh. A lot of people will be surprised to find they only need to lose 5 pounds, not 15, and that losing that extra 10 will make them less fit, not more.

I am a high school health/nutrition teacher and included "The Ultimate Fit or Fat" on my optional reading list. (Each student has to read at least one book from the optional list.) Some of the students chose the fit or fat book, word got around about how much they liked it, and I would guess that at least 80% of the students ended up reading it. I'd see students with tape measures using the book's body fat test on all their friends. A couple of parents even called me to find out what kind of "magic" I had used on their kids because the kids were actually recommending that the parents read the book. This book is excellent. I'm going to make it REQUIRED reading from now on.

In addition to being very helpful, the book really is an enjoyable read. I have decided to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday. (Using Covert Baileys formula for ideal weight, that is exactly the number that it turns out I should lose!) What I like most about his ideas are that they make sense. In fact, it struck me that as I read it, these were really common sense things that I needed to be reminded about. It is the exact opposite of what I thought when reading about the current fad of high protien diets.Good approach, great motivation and an enjoyable read.