Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Developed by weight-loss experts Drs. James O. Hill and John C. Peters, co-founders of America on the Move™, The Step Diet Book is a motivational walking program that will help millions of overweight Americans lose weight and keep it off forever.

Combining a book and pedometer--in itself a $20 value--plus conversion charts and dozens of fat-burning Step Recipes, this is a complete package. At its core is a simple concept called energy balance. Calories come in, calories go out--and when intake is greater than output, you gain weight. The Step Diet Book attacks the problem from both ends. First, use the pedometer to figure out how many steps you take in an average day, then raise the number by 2,000--it's as easy as pacing while talking on the phone, or parking at the far end of the lot. Second, eat one-quarter less of your food--which counteracts our tendency to supersize meals. Once balance is achieved, get fit and lose weight by adding more steps to your day. You can even enjoy a guilt-free lapse by knowing exactly how many steps to tack on at the end of your day.

Rating : - A kinder, gentler approach to exercise and weight loss
Note: I obtained this book used and so received the book only, not the included pedomter.

I was interested in The Step Diet because after purchasing a pedometer (not the one that came with this book), I was looking for some simple, easy strategies to increase my daily step totals. I should preface my comments by saying that I am not exactly the book's intended target audience: I am not trying to lose weight, and I already exercise daily. However, when I am NOT exercising, I am fairly sedentary, which is why I acquired a pedometer, and I hoped that this book would help me take further steps (excuse the pun!) towards being more active.

As other reviewers have suggested, this book takes the same two-step approach to weight loss with which we are all familiar: exercise more and eat less. However, the difference here is that the authors strive to make this plan complete doable for ANYONE. The exercise part of the approach begins from wherever you are at currently--ie, using your pedometer to find your current average number of daily steps--and then striving to increase this number. For most people, this is surprisingly simple, and much easier than finding ways to add in formal exercise three times per week. However, the authors also allow credit for formal exercise by including a chart which converts other activities, such as weight lifting, into steps (oddly enough, the list includes "chopping wood" but not "aerobics"). Finally, the authors include plenty of helpful tips for increasing your daily step totals, from using the bathroom on a different floor at work to emptying the trashcans in your house daily at home.

For the diet section of the book. The authors do not recommend following a specific diet; rather, you are allowed to continue eating ALL of the same foods that you are already eating, so long as you only consume 75% of what you are eating now. The authors make this sound easy, and they do provide simple strategies for how to follow through with this plan, but I recognize that in actual practice, it is likely to be quite difficult for people to remove 1/4 of their food at each meal. Another part of this book that I thought was a little hard to follow was the concept of energy expenditure. In order to have readers set weight loss goals, the authors have them calculate their BodySteps (from a chart), LifeSteps (from the pedometer and other activities), and MegaSteps (the first two numbers added together, then divided by 1000). Sounds a bit confusing, doesn't it? Some readers might feel that way too, but on the other hand, it appears to be a solid approach to healthy weight loss program.

Overall, the part I liked best about this book was the specific strategies offered for increasing daily steps--I would have loved to see even more here. The diet information may be useful to someone who has struggled with other approaches and is willing to accept making slow, gradual progress towards a healthier lifestyle. However, I mainly recommend this book for those looking for a kinder, gentler way to begin an exercise program.