The program begins with a week-long "quick start" kind of diet that has no caffeine, no alcohol, very little sugar (including the sugar in fruit - you get ONE serving per day), a surplus of vegetables, nothing prepackaged, and a treat (e.g., ONE graham cracker square). He doesn't specifically say so, but I'd estimate it's about 1,000 calories which is pretty low. By the second week, you transition to a higher number of calories - 1,200 to 2,200 in 200-calorie increments, depending on your present weight. As you lose weight, you DEcrease the number of calories you eat.

Also, every meal has to be prepared. I found this 'challenging' at 5:30 PM, when I'm now ravenously hungry and my stomach is growling. It's a sure ticket to BingeLand. (And that's what happened.)

If you've done strength training in the past, you won't find the exercises challenging at all. There's also no real guideline in the book about how much weight to use, just a general statement to pick one that's 'moderately heavy'. The difficulty with that advice is that what was moderately heavy in the first set is now impossible to lift in the 4th, which can lead to injury. Very little devoted to proper form either.

As for aerobics, they get a passing nod in here with a suggestion to powerwalk whenever possible. (Nothing on form, technique, pace, or equipment such as good shoes.) I'm always disappointed when the only aerobic activity an author even bothers to suggest is walking. Walking is not only boring, if you're severly overweight, it can put a lot of strain on your arches. (Excess weight is one of the top causes of the very painful plantar fascitis.) What about bicycling, dancing, or swimming? I know of one woman who successfully lost weight by shooting hoops and hitting a tennis ball against a wall.

I can't recommend this book based on my own experience with it, but it's fine for people who just have a few excess pounds to lose, have small appetites, and aren't particularly ambitious when it comes to exercise.