Alpine Weight Loss Secrets-Review and Giveaway

I was given the awesome opportunity to review a great "program" for, not only weight loss, but rejuvenating your life.  The full title says it is "the natural way to look and feel 5, 10, or even 20 years younger."

This book is written by Stefan Aschan who grew up in an Alpine environment where healthy lifestyles are a normal way of life.  He has 17 plus years of experience as a nutrition and exercise coach.  He has written a book from experience with lots of scientific research to back up what he has lived.  

There is a lot of information in this book that can help to improve your health.  This is not just another diet.   This is not a book about losing weight as much as it is a book about gaining back youth and vitality.  In the process though it is said that you will lose weight.  Which makes sense because you are eating foods that are beneficial and not empty calories. In fact, something I don’t have time for, and I am assuming many of my readers who are busy mothers don’t have time for, is counting calories.  He makes it clear in this book, in chapter 3, that you will gain many benefits without having to count calories.  You will find some very eye opening information.  You can choose to start this book and read it through as I need to do when I read a book, or you can flip to a specific chapter to read and start implementing the strategies.  I like the way he starts with the mental changes that are needed.  Also a reminder of another program I am acquainted with. I like that he calls it “flexing your mental muscle” To put this into action he includes worksheets to be filled out in almost every chapter. They will make you really think.

I like that he doesn’t expect you to take his program and do everything at once.  He encourages small changes, which I have even read elsewhere are a way to make things stick and work for you.  It is what I have started doing with other things with my new years resolutions, small changes so I can feel some sense of accomplishment.

He discusses the kind of calories we should be eating, ones to benefit our metabolism.  Did you know that food emits light?   He gets into some really specific scientific details about what foods we need, but it wasn’t too technical for me to understand.  It was interesting to read of the benefits of eating raw and juicing from another view point.  I was following a program several years ago that insisted on an all raw diet and juicing and I felt marvelous at the time.  Reading his info was like having it reaffirmed.

He includes charts of best, good and stay-away from foods.  It surprised me some of the foods that were on the stay-away from list. For example, I always figured that all vegetables are provided from God and good to eat, but he has included eggplant, wax beans and pumpkin on the stay-away from list.  And though I need to dig a little deeper and try to understand why there are so many stay-away from foods, especially the vegetables, I can understand the addition on this list of most of the foods.

I love that he includes recipes in this book as well.  Here are some examples to whet your appetite:

Roast Chicken with Fresh Italian Vegetable Stuffing

Sesame Seed Seared Tuna with Tomatoes, Shiitake Sauce and a Spelt Bun

Organic Curried Egg Salad on Whole Grain Bread

And there are great vegetable recipes and spreads.  Surprise, there are even desserts.  

Catherine Cake

Viennese Apple Strudel

One problem I did note, was not being able to find some of the ingredients necessary for some recipes in our small rural area.  You would think living out in the country it would be easy to pick the healthier foods, but we have a tiny grocery store to shop at locally with a TOPS market 25 minutes away being our next best choice and the food there, especially in the winter time, is still packaged or transported.  Come summer of course, there will be local farmers markets again and local produce at the grocery stores.

In addition to the nutrition information, the author shares the importance of posture and of course exercise.  But not dreary get to the gym exercise, exercise that motivates and energizes.  He talks about the importance of varying workout routines and "interval training."

You can check out what he calls the Valley Program, the Hill Program and the Mountain Program.  He gives  some great examples of how you can replicate the kind of exercise those living in Alpine regions get in your own environment, even in your home. He shares aerobic exercises and strength exercises (which he links to garden/farm equivalents)

Find out the importance of Alignment, Activation, and Elongation and proper posture.  The book includes photos of correct posture, plus a link to a free book bonus that leads to great information.

I love the way he stresses the importance of enjoying life and not seeing his “program” as things you “have” to do This is a lifestyle change, a change in your heart and mind as well as changing your physical body.  (Another similarity to another program I am reading about)

One thing I was confused about was how to tell if you were at your peak level for exercise.

Overall, I was really impressed with this book, it was very eye-opening and intriguing.  I'm not sure how much I will be able to implement at first, but my goal is to slowly work my way into including more and more of his tips in our lives.

I am so excited that one of my readers is being offered the chance to have their very own copy of Alpine Weight Loss Secrets.  Remember, it is more than weight loss, it is a chance to rejuvenate, and who doesn't need that.    So head on over to Alpine Weight Loss Secrets website and tell me something you found out about this book for your first entry.  Leave a comment below, being sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

In addition, I am offering you at least 13 more entries.  For each entry please submit a separate comment.  And please include your email address in your comment so I have a way to contact you if you win.

1. Follow Tots and Me publicly via Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
2. "Like" Tots and Me on Facebook (1 entry)
3. Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)
4. Tweet about this giveaway (1 entry per day, please leave link to your tweet)
5. Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post. (3 entries, please leave a link to your post URL)
6. Vote for Tots and Me on Picket Fence Blogs (1 entry per day)
7. Head on over to Stefan Aschan's blog, strength123.com, to enter his grand prize giveaway (this giveaway includes a copy of this book, hey if you win both you can have a copy to share, DVD's, a t-shirt, a make over, a massage and more, just head on over by February 14th). If you enter his giveaway you will earn 3 more entries to my giveaway.
8. Head on over to my weight loss blog, Turn My Life Around, and follow me publicly via Google Friend Connect (2 entries)

This giveaway will end on February 12th at 11:59 pm. I will choose a winner within 24 hours and post the winner in a separate blog post in addition to emailing the winner.  Please contact me to claim your prize by February 15th or a new winner will be sadly have to be chosen.  You must be a United States or Canadian resident to enter.

Good luck to you and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.