Sassy Gal's How to Lose the Last Damn 10 Pounds or 15, 20, 25 ...: How I told all diet gurus, fitness experts, and skinny people to go to hell. Then I ... ate them, and still lost weight. You can too! Paperback – May 2, 2014

Massachusetts author Sharon Helbert has the Sassy-Gal brand as a positive, inspirational lifestyle approach to weight-loss. Much of the success of her approach is in replacing the negative words diet and exercise with funny, witty phrases is sure to start a worldwide movement with people laughing their way to success. She even created the Sassy Gal sound button to "Tell all ridiculous diet gurus, fitness experts, and skinny people to go to hell!” to make her weight-loss journey fun. Sharon was born in Buffalo, NY and has lived in Houston, TX and Washington, DC. She currently lives in Boston.The down to earth no-nonsense approach Sharon uses is apparent in her opening words – ‘I wrote this book because I had a happy ending. I did lose those last damn 10 pounds—without the help of diet gurus, fitness experts, diet pills, weight-loss centers, prepackaged diet foods, spiritual advisors, hypnosis, or duct tape. I am happier, calmer, and a much kinder person to be around. After all these years, I finally succeeded, and I would like to share my story with you, so you too can have a happy ending. I am no expert. Nor am I a healthcare professional, fitness trainer, or celebrity. My credentials are simply that I'm a food loving, sassy gal. I have many years of life experience, from the hormonal teenage years through pregnancy and motherhood. I have gained and lost weight throughout each stage and have received my share of painful battle scars along the way. I even gave up the endless, tortuous battle and cried. This is my personal journey of weight loss, and after gaining knowledge of what works and doesn't work, I am an expert regarding my personal health. I am also a little sassy. At this stage of life, I've earned the right to tell it like it is!... It turned out that all I needed was laughter, common sense, and some easy, attainable personal goals including becoming a Vegevore. I became successful when I devised my own plan with simple strategies, including humor. I ultimately did it myself, without starvation diets or grueling, strenuous exercise. I learned that I didn't need to join a group or need someone to hold my hand.’Sharon pulls the media splurge on Vegan diet, Appetite suppressants, Aerobics classes, Lo-carb diet, Weight-loss groups, Gym workouts, Boot cams, Restrictive diets, and Diet pills. After (oddly enough) opening her book with some great tempting recipes she divides her book into two parts – ‘How I Gained the Last Damn 10 Pounds’ and ‘How I Lost the Last Damn 10 Pounds. Every page is hilariously related but the truth of what she is sharing is undeniable. Or as the offered synopsis states, ‘Get out of the way skinny girls, diet gurus and fitness fanatics--here comes SASSY GAL with a clever new approach to losing weight you will actually want to follow! Forget the ridiculous miracle diets, survival type food plans and strenuous workouts that lead most of us to quit and say "To hell with it all!" This lifestyle plan encourages laughter as a pathway to success. The first thing you'll do is delete the negative, destructive words diet and exercise and replace them with your own humorous versions. Then, with Sharon's help, add some simple, believable strategies and you're on your way to a happier, calmer and slimmer you. If the current trend of being a Vegan is too hard and too restrictive, try Sassy Gal's Vegevore lifestyle so you can eat it all! It's about time someone with real life experience tells it like it is and banishes all the unrealistic diet and exercise nonsense that doesn't work, and guides us on an inspirational weight-loss journey.’This is a terrific book to “gain” (!) control of the diet blitz, learn a lot, laugh a lot, and find a realistic way to approach eating. Grady Harp, April 18

Sassy Gal's How to Lose the Last Damn 10 Pounds or 15,20,25.. by Sharon Helbert is a common sense approach to weight loss. Helbert's writing style is high energy, with a sense of humor, and a ton of sarcasm. She writes about the weight loss topic in such a straightforward way, it makes the whole process of losing weight seem attainable. Mixed with a biting sense of humor, and some attacks against the weight loss industry, Helbert takes on celebrity endorsers, strenuous workouts and much more in this frank, no-nonsense book. She calls all food the "devil", which is kind of interesting, and notes that much of societal interaction revolves around the process of eating food, whether we are attending a wedding or a funeral. There are a bunch of recipes included toward the end of the book that look easy enough to prepare as well if you are so inclined. Overall a quick read with some interesting tips for weight loss.

What I love most about this book is the sense of humor that comes along with it. Too many diets give off an, ‘aren’t cupcakes gross?’ vibe. No, no they are not. But Sharon Helbert’s realistic and honest approach to losing excess weight is light a good friend who found a diet she loves but is still happy because she is not eating just salads.I appreciate that she takes on a number of other food trends and debunks them, in her own way, then gives you how she did it herself. It is a refreshingly candid take on something that feels tabo, almost like we need to tip toe around the subject. Sharon puts on boots and gets right into it, clearing out all the junk. Leaving you with a completely spankin new take on losing weight.

There is so much to love about this. The author’s voice, to begin with, is amazing. She brings a sense of humor to an aspect of life that so many people find to be negative. Plus, she approaches losing weight in a way that real women need. Rather than offering celebrity fad diets to the mix, she shows areas in life where we are not treating ourselves well. This in itself takes away one of the factors that causes so much weight gain, stress. I found the tips in this book to be very useful and can’t wait to start on the sassy gal’s method of losing weight, because even if I don’t drop weight right away, I know I am going to feel a lot better about myself. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a realistic way to lose weight. You won’t find a crash diet here, nor will you find the author bashing the diets that many of us have struggled with.

“Sassy Gal's How to Lose the Last Damn 10 Pounds or 15,20,25...” by Sharon Helbert is much more than just another diet book with a long quirky title. The author forgoes all those restrictive food plans, grueling exercise regimens and fad diets and gives readers real and fun advice that is actually achievable! Helbert encourages readers to embrace life with laughter, positive thinking and actual doable diet plans to create a healthy, happy and fulfilling lifestyle…the weight loss is just a plus!I found this book to be such a refreshing find in the overpopulated world of diet books. The author has a fun and infectious personality and it really shines through in her writing. She focuses more on how a reader can change their mindset (creating a positive lifestyle) and utilizing this new way of thinking to lead to positive changes in all other aspects of life – such as weight loss and overall health. There are also a variety of delicious looking recipes included in the book. I would recommend “Sassy Gal's How to Lose the Last Damn 10 Pounds or 15,20,25...” by Sharon Helbert to anyone looking for a fun and fresh take on weight loss and healthy living.

At last! This is a thought-provoking and inspirational diet book which has been written by a real woman and not one of the stick-thin celebrities who are lucky enough to no doubt have a chef and a personal trainer! The author, Sharon Helbert understands that it may be difficult to take advice from medical practitioners when they, themselves, are overweight. This book simplistically breaks down the reason why we overeat and points out the differences between male and female bodies which should be obvious, but some ‘diet’ books do not take this into account. We are also counselled against taking advice from a woman who has not been pregnant, or had a baby or been through menopause as these three events can be completely life-changing as well as inevitably having an effect on our weight. Women need to be educated about what happens to the body during these events and also to expect the resulting changes in their body, rather than fearing the unknown. I found the book to be great fun to read and inspiring in that it recommends eliminating negativity and unrealistic expectations. We are also shown that losing, (and keeping off,) those last 10 pounds is not a quick fix and should not be viewed as one. It is a lifestyle change, rather than a diet per se and you will still have to show a degree of self-control and watch the calories in order for any eating plan to succeed. The book is full of practical advice including charts and replete with some mouth-watering recipes. Sharon shared with us the story of her personal journey which was choc-full of inspiration, humor, wisdom, and real-life experiences and I found myself laughing out loud in places. I am certain that many will find this book useful and it is refreshing to see such humor in the topic instead of boring and dry medical facts. Five stars for sure.

I am so glad I read this book! This book simplistically breaks down the reason why we overeat. The author told the story of her personal journey with such inspiration through humor, wisdom, and real experiences. I really loved how she mentioned that men and women lose weight differently and that hormones play a huge role in this. I found this really interesting. The thing I loved most about the book was the humor that the author injects into this. I found myself laughing out loud in places.

Let’s face it – there are all kinds of weight loss books on the market. Most are filled with carefully-researched, well-intended advice on what makes us gain weight, what helps us lose weight and how diet and exercise go hand-in-hand in order to help us reach our weight loss goals. All good – albeit a little boring, if you know what I mean – and not always particularly inspiring for those who’ve already done several passes on the weight loss merry-go-round. Now there’s something new to add to the mix and it’s called Sassy Gals How to Lose the Last Damn 10 Pounds…by Sharlon Helbert. Hilarious and down-to-earth, it really does put a new spin on how we perceive weight loss in our society. By her own admission, the author’s no expert on the subject. Her only credential is that she’s a food loving, sassy gal who managed to lose those “last damn 10 pounds – without the help of diet gurus, fitness experts, diet pills, weight-loss centers, prepackaged diet foods, spiritual advisors, hypnosis or duct tape”. She discusses her ‘aha’ moment when she realized that food was the one things she could control in her life and demands who the hell wants to be skinny when you can be a ‘healthy weight’. With such chuckle-worthy chapter titles like “Shut up, Celebrity Weight-Loss Endorsers!”, “Gluttony Breaks One of the Ten Commandments”, “Choose a Secret Reason to Lose Weight”, “Stop Bastardizing Chocolate” and my personal favorite, “Let’s Talk About Poop”, the reader is in for an entertaining ride. And did I mention that the Sassy Gal book also has some great recipes like the Sassy Gal Chocolate Cake as well as less sinful ones that sound just as delicious? All in all, Sassy Gals lets off plenty of steam while doling out some good advice in the form of an intimate gab/bitchfest between two besties. Hilarious, informative and entertaining!