I think the recipies in the book are particularly good, but I must say I am having the hardest time cutting diet sodas and artificial sweeteners out of my diet. I mean, they are everywhere, even in no-sugar-added drinks. But Bob Harper has always been a big inspiration to me; I am definitely a fan of the book.

me too - sweeteners and diet soda in particular. Also no carbs after lunch is hard. also no eating after 8! usually we dont have dinner till 8-8:30. lol.
I would like to rty follow these but im not sure how it could fit inwith my life style. yes could do water, fibre, apples and berries, low sodium, no white bread and pasta all of which i can manage. its the splurge meal which i dont really get as it cant be fast or fried or well he didnt say much more - just that one meal not one day and his example was a bbq - that could mean anything,

*******i got the mp3 so havent read any of the tools as such. could anyone tell me what the first 2-4 weeks look like in his food plan as he kept refering to them but i have no book or anything to refer to.
thanks ************

I love Bob Harper's workout videos, but the 'rules' in the book seem arbitrary. What's wrong with eating carbs after noon, or eating after 8:00 PM?

In bobs skinny rules book (audio in my case) he gives you 20 rules you should follow but as a life style change. Some of which are much easier than others. A few examples...;
Eat apples and berries daily
Drink a glass of water before every meal
Take a glass of water to bed and drink it when you wake in morning
Don't add salt and stick to under 2000mg a day
The harder ones for me were ...
No carbs after lunch
No eating 3 hours before bed!
Eat breakfast within 45 min of waking.

There are reasons and he explains why and gives supporting studies but basically he says only carbs before lunch, no refined carbs or sugar/artificial sweetener. (choc is out in my case) you get a splurge meal a week but a controlled one. From what the audio led me to believe it wasnt allowed to b takeaway etc.
I've got some serious work to do. I lOve my food !

Those last few points are funny. Everyone here says those things don't matter.

I have no idea.

^^^^^this^^^^^

Every single one of these is nonsense.

This.

SAVE SOME MONEY, HERE ARE THE RULES, THEY ARE PRETTY EASY TO FOLLOW AND NO NEED TO RESEARCH THEM:
RULE 1: Drink a Large Glass of Water before Every Meal – No Excuses!

RULE 2: Don’t Drink Your Calories

RULE 3: Eat Protein Every Meal – or Stay Hungry and Grouchy

RULE 4: Slash Your Intake of Refined Flours and Grains

RULE 5: Eat 30 to 50 Grams of Fiber a Day

RULE 6: Eat Apples and Berries Every Single Day – Every Single Day!

RULE 7: No Carbs after Lunch

RULE 8: Learn to Read Food Labels So You Know What You Are Eating

RULE 9: Step Guessing About Portion Size and Get It Right – for Good!

RULE 10: No More Added Sweeteners, Including Artificial Ones

RULES 11: Get Rid of Those White Potatoes

RULE 12: Make One Day a Week Meatless

RULE 13: Get Rid of Fast Foods and Fried Foods

RULE 14: Eat a Real Breakfast

RULE 15: Make Your Own Food and Eat at Least Ten Meals a Week at Home

RULE 16: Banish High-Salt Foods

RULE 17: Eat Your Vegetables – Just Do It!

RULE 18: Go to Bed Hungry

RULE 19: Sleep Right

RULE 20: Plan One Splurge Meal a Week

HOPE I SAVED EVERYONE MONEY, NOW PUT YOUR MIND TO IT! YOU CAN DO IT

why does he say go to bed hungry? x

I like the rules. Sometimes it helps to have a new boost of motivation. I am basically at my goal weight and going to bed slightly hungry has been the difference getting off the last bits that were hard. Adding water, eating extra fiber, just plain makes sense. If you need a boost that is healthy without gimmicks this book is a good one. Plus he is nice & not asking you to buy supplements, a rare thing in the fitness/diet world. Good luck everyone!

I hadn't heard about the book before but now I'm very interested. Checking into it!!

Very helpful - thanks. I will be getting my copy too!!

I say you only need this 1 rule: follow a consistent caloric deficit (aka diet) that you're willing to follow for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you're just going to gain the weight back.

I have read parts of the book and pinned quotes from it on Pinterest. I plan on purchasing the book whenever I get around to Barnes and Noble again!