Reinventing Yourself with the Duchess of York: Inspiring Stories and Strategies for Changing Your Weight and Your Life

by Sarah Ferguson

A Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

Genres: Nonfiction

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Sarah, Duchess of York, is a British writer, charity patron, public speaker, film producer and television personality. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Sarah has two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York.

Reviews

[Kristie J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to give this book 2 1/2 stars. I enjoyed the parts that were written by The Duchess, but the rest of the book was very dry and sounded like it was pieced together from Weight Watchers materials. I answered the myriad of questions in the first chapter, but there are so many more questions and assignments, that it was impossible to do them all. The only way I could get through the book was to half-read/half-skim the dry parts. I think this book would work better in a week-by-week format, where you do one chapter a week. That said, there is some very good information here about preparing yourself mentally and motivating yourself to lose weight, if you can stay awake long enough to read it.

[Cindy (BKind2Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is dated (published in early 2001), the book's advice is centered on the mental game of weight loss and life change. As such, there is much that stands the test of time. Sarah (Duchess of York) is no longer the Weight Watcher spokeswoman - she has handed over that job to Jennifer Hudson. But her chapter intro's are mildly interesting, although I must admit that for the most part I really cannot get into the whole royal business - now or then. Ho-hum.

Some of the advice/quotes to remember:

Keeping a vision of your ideal self in mind can enhance your performance in various areas of your life.

Your life is the sum of all the choices and decisions you've made so far.

Be willing to allow a sense of self-consciousness to melt away…If possible, try to forget about how you look and how you're doing; simply focus intently on what you're doing…Best of all, this will help you learn to enjoy life in the moment and maintain an overall sense of purpose for your life, one that will propel you forward to a richer, more satisfying existence.

You have to look around and see the good stuff. It's there - you just have to focus on what you do have.

Make a contract with yourself...It's a good idea to formalize your plans in writing...It helps you commit to them because you've put them in writing.

It's important to start somewhere.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very inspiring and supportive stories from a variety of sources, in this book. Chapter Intro's from Sarah, Studies etc., from Doctors & Researchers in the field, as well as real life experiences of "Weight Watchers" themselves. I refer to this book often for inspiration and motivation.