BOOKS: Slim with Tina is packed with realistic advice

Lauren Tracey reviews 'Slim with Tina,' the newest addition the fitness and lifestyle series by acclaimed 'Run with Tina,' creator, Tina Murphy. January is the start of diet season for many people. Those of us looking to shed the Christmas excess flock to weight loss classes and gyms in the hope of rediscovering our skinnier selves. It's definitely one of the reasons I hate this month so much. Now don't get me wrong, it's not the concept of shifting a few pounds that bothers me, God knows after consuming my third box of leftover Roses last week, I need to. No, it's the seasonal, almost obligatory urge everyone has to shed as much weight as they can in January, and then say to hell with nutrition and healthy eating for the other eleven months of the year. A healthy me is for life, not just for January; that's what I want to convince myself this year. With Tina Murphy's new fitness book, I think I might just achieve it. Slim with Tina is written by Tina Murphy, author and creator of the famed 'Run with Tina,' program that gained a decent following this time last year. This addition to Tina's healthy lifestyle series aims to teach you everything you need to know about nutrition and healthy eating and change the way we view our food as a whole, without actually having to use the dreaded 'D' word at all.  I'm hooked (line and sinker). Slim with Tina is one of the first diet books I've ever read that I felt understood that I was a real person with a real life to lead and possibly couldn't subsist on cabbage and grapefruit for the foreseeable future. It's all about debunking those diet myths that have been playing havoc with our weight for years, The book is jam packed with over 50 recipes, an eating plan that's super easy to follow, lifestyle advice and a beginners exercise program. It doesn't just dwell on your weight either. Tina dives even further than that to get us thinking about our relationships with food and the concept of emotional eating, something I never really thought affected me until Tina laid it all out straight. If you and your family are looking for an honest realistic guide to fitness this year, Slim with Tina is definitely a good place to start. Check it out here.