The Great Weight Debate: Get the Facts and Choose the Diet That’s Right For You by Amy Newman Shapiro

Welcome back to Lamon Reviews. Today we have a spotlight and author interview with author Amy Newman Shapiro. Her latest tackles dieting and finding out what works for the individual person.

I would like to thank todays author, Amy Newman Shapiro for taking the time to answer questions about thier book, The Great Weight Debate.

 

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Book Details:

Book Title:  The Great Weight Debate: Get the Facts and Choose the Diet That’s Right for You by Amy Newman Shapiro
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction, 188 pages
Genre: Self-help, Health and Fitness
Publisher:  Snewman Media
Release date:  January 2021
Content Rating:  G

 

Book Description:
 

The Great Weight Debate helps you evaluate which diet will work for you and which can hurt you. It is your essential, trusted resource to sift through the minefield of recommendations and misinformation when choosing the best diet for weight loss success. The Great Weight Debate summarizes many popular weight loss plans and explains the principles and research behind each diet. It also highlights the factors that may or may not make the diet a healthy choice for you. It explains why and how to choose a diet that takes into account your food preferences and meets the needs of your lifestyle, schedule, and food availability. It will help you discover and understand the rules, food restrictions, and health risks of each diet. In addition, read up on the new trends, the latest buzz, and the results of the most up-to-date research science has to offer. So…Whether you choose Paleo, low carbohydrate, intermittent fasting, Whole30, or Mediterranean, do it with realistic expectations and do it smartly. Find weight loss success with The Great Weight Debate.

 

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THE GREAT WEIGHT DEBATE Book Tour Giveaway

Our interview with author Amy Newman Shapiro

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How do I choose which diet is right for me?

Consider your needs. If following a list of food rules is not your thing, it stands to reason that you are unlikely to stick with a plan that relies on this method to reach your weight goal. On the other hand, if you are the type who says, “Just tell me what to eat,” you will benefit from a regimen with rules and restrictions.

People who do achieve permanent weight loss tend to rely on methods that take taste preferences, lifestyle, and health needs into account. If you don’t like the foods on the diet, or if the food restrictions are leaving you exhausted all the time, you are less likely to be able to follow the rules every day. If you haven’t found success using strict diet plans, consider one that offers a more individualized approach. If you choose a diet that you can’t stick to, your success will be limited.

Make sure your lifestyle, social life, travel, food availability, and exercise habits compliment the diet protocol you are considering. Lifestyle factors and health issues play a larger role in weight loss than most people realize.

Exercise supposedly helps with weight loss, what kind of exercise do you recommend?

Exercise can be broken down into two main categories, cardio and strength training. Cardio exercise, walking/running, Zumba, biking for example, burns calories while you are doing it. Health experts recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise. Strength training, using free weights, machines, or body weight, builds muscle.

Increasing muscle raises metabolism, the rate at which we burn calories, helping us lose and maintain weight. Strength training is also important to preserve muscle which can be lost during a calorie restrictive diet.

One of my favorite forms of exercise is high intensity interval training. You can find them on youtube or subscribe to a specific website. Within a 30-60 minute session, you can incorporate both cardio (usually low or high impact calesthenics) and strength using a pattern of workout/rest intervals usually 30/30, 45/15 or 60/60 seconds each. It is an efficient and effective workout I can do even when I am short on time.

Where would you say most of the calories people don’t count are hidden?

If you aren’t careful, the added calories from your choice of beverage could cause unsuspecting weight gain. If the scale has been slowly creeping upward and you don’t know why, take a look at what you are choosing to drink.

We all know by now that sugar packed regular soda (9 teaspoons for every 12 ounces) is no good for your waist (not good for your teeth or bones either). But have you considered the calories in your coffee? One 16-ounce light and sweet coffee can add 133 calories to your morning. If you are a heavy coffee drinker, that’s almost 400 calories a day.

Over the course of one year, you have consumed enough calories to pack on 41 pounds. Fruit juice may also be a problem. A 4-ounce apple gives you 60 calories compared to a common serving of apple juice with 110 calories. Without the fiber, the apple juice may be less filling leading you to eat something solid with it.

Alcohol intake may also be tripping you up. A can of beer gets you 150 calories, a six-pack nets 900 calories. The shot of vodka or gin gets you 55 calories but if you add juices or mixes you are adding to it and need to calculate the damages.

Portion sizes may also be the culprit. Sodas used to come in 6 ½-ounce bottles, now a 20-ounce bottle is the norm. The orange juice you buy at the deli to have with your lunch holds the equivalent of four oranges and 240 calories. So think before you drink.

Any hobbies or quirky things you like to do?

In my down time I enjoy yoga, hiking, reading, cooking and crossword puzzles. But at the end of most days, I take 15-30 minutes alone and watch something streaming. I call it mental candy and I think it is quite good for my health.

How long have you been writing?

You could say I have been writing throughout my professional life. I write informational pieces for clients, articles for magazines and material for public speaking. But I started writing my first book in 2011 and completed my third book in 2020.

Do you snack while writing?

Never! That would be mindless eating, eating without paying attention to the taste, texture, and smell. That means enjoying the food less and probably eating more than I need. If it is early in the day, I may be drinking my morning coffee, but I try to avoid that too after once spilling it all over my laptop keyboard.

What has been your greatest challenge as a self-published author?

I am technologically challenged. I had so much to learn and such limited skills. Fortunately, I surrounded myself with a team of professionals and family members performing tasks for me beyond my scope and providing much needed IT support.

The most challenging was writing on a new laptop that continuously crashed, losing my work. Not even the Geek Squad could fix the problem. But once the manuscript was complete, I used Lightning Source (Ingram) for the paperback and KDP (Amazon) for the kindle version and printing and fulfilling orders has been a breeze.

Remember to enter the giveaway in the post above for your chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card, courtesy of author of THE GREAT WEIGHT DEBATE (one winner) (ends Aug 13)

*This contest is sponsored by a third party. Lamon Reviews is a registered host of iRead Books Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Lamon Reviews. The featured author and iRead Books Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize**

I hope you enjoyed todays author interview and spotlight for The Great Weight Debate by Amy Newman Shapiro. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

And As Always…

Go forth, dear readers, support your favorite indie authors and encourage reading and literacy.

K. LaMon
Lamon Reviews