About the Book

We all know that diets don’t work, yet most of us continue to be swayed by their promise. After all, who doesn’t want to be a little bit thinner? Who doesn’t want to zip her skinny jeans without (literally) holding her breath? You can’t blame a girl for trying even the most desperate of measures.

As a fashion and beauty journalist, Mimi Spencer spends much of her time surrounded by the catwalk elite, engulfed in the culture of thin. Fed up with years of deprivation and dieting, she created the anti-diet. In 101 Things to Do Before You Diet, Spencer shares her strategies for trimming and flattering every inch of your body and shows you how she finally lost those pesky last few pounds – and how you can, too.

The Long Story

This is one of the very few books I have bought after reading someone else’s glowing review.

Mimi Spencer has taken on the world of trying to get ‘trim, taut and terrific’ like many others, but she has done it in an anti-diet way through common sense. Flitting through everything from how to cut those extra calories to bum and tum flattering apparel, Spencer takes an all-around approach to getting you looking and feeling great.

I have to say, as someone who is used to reading books about either what I should be doing with my body or how horrible I’ve been to my body without realizing it, it was a relief to read a book that treated me like a person. And a woman.

The best part about this book is that Mimi Spencer knows that no matter how good or bad you look on the outside, you will never be the woman you want to be without feeling sexy on the inside. This is a point that so many books just plain ignore, and is something that really made me feel comfortable ‘listening’ to Spencer’s tips.

The ‘101 Steps’ layout of this book makes it a great ‘pick up, put down’ kind of book. While that doesn’t work for fiction, it does for this because it gives you plenty of time to really think about what Spencer is saying.

I couldn’t agree with all her suggestions – Tip 27: Buy a Corset should have ‘if you have $200 to spare’ attached to it – and found some of the fashion parts to be a bit boring. I don’t care if pointy-toed heels are fashionable; I think they look horrible. I also don’t have the money to get the clothes she suggests.

However, despite my brief boredom with a few fashion tips, I quite liked this book. Her tips are common sense and don’t leave you with any excuses while still being sympathetic because it’s all coming from a woman who knows. I look at Spencer’s picture and wonder what in the world she has to complain about, but the words say more than just looking at her ever could.

As a credit to how many studies she quotes and the kind of studies, I am not handing this book off until I get time to investigate some of them. A lot of the things quoted are recent and fascinating, and I’m looking forward to doing more reading.

The Short Story

I highly recommend this book from the standpoint that it focuses on self-love and common sense tips in all areas of beauty – both inside and out.

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101 Things to Do Before You Diet: Because Looking Great Isn’t Just About Losing Weight
Mimi Spencer
http://www.mimispencer.com/
ISBN: 9781605298481
Length: 234 pages