Slim pickings

A selection of the most inspirational diet books to help you look great in 2008

Waterstone's has come up with a 10 Step Guide To A Healthier New You in 2008. If you're looking to lose weight, get fit and feel positive this New Year you'll find plenty of books to inspire you.

Here Waterstone's booksellers select 10 of the best new titles to help you look and feel great in the new year.

1 Do your research:

The Diet Selector by Judith C Rodriguez, Running Press £8.99

Overwhelmed by the number of different diets out there? Underwhelmed by past results? Navigate your way through the maze of diets and make informed choices about which will work for you with this invaluable guide.

"The Diet Selector" gives you the low-down on more than 50 different weight-loss and health-promoting diets, allowing you to make an informed choice and select a diet that suits your needs, lifestyle, goals and budget.

Colourful charts illustrate the calorific values of key foods and the effectiveness of different types of exercise regimes. It is interspersed with fascinating diet-related trivia. At-a-glance icons indicate degree of difficulty, cost, time frame, popularity and 'family friendliness' of each plan.

2 Consult someone who has lost weight:

The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid, Corgi £7.99

In January 2001 Shauna Reid was twenty- three years old and twenty-five stone. Determined to turn her life around, she created the hugely successful weblog "The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl" and, hiding behind her Lycra-clad rolypoly alter-ego, her transformation from couch potato to svelte goddess began.

Today, 8,000 miles, seven years and twelve-and-a-half stone later, the gloriously gorgeous Shauna is literally half the woman she used to be. In turn hysterically funny and heart-wrenchingly honest, "The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl" follows the twists and turns of Shauna's lard-busting adventure as she curbs the calories and learns to love the gym.

3 Console yourself with someone who hasn't:

The Diary of a Diet by Hannah Jones Accent Press £6.99

This book eats the Size Zero debate for breakfast and coughs it back up with aside of comedy carbs, features the ordered ramblings of outsized and outspoken newspaper columnist Hannah Jones. Her diary will find resonance with all women, whatever their shape or size, who've felt pressure to weigh out their self-esteem along with their chips.

It's a sharp, witty and heartfelt study on living life in the fat - oops,sorry - fast lane to self-acceptance. "Diary of a Diet" is about Hannah Jones' ongoing struggle to commit to get fit, stick to a sensible eating plan or think,once and for all, that she's simply fabulous just the way she is right now.

4 Learn to cook healthy grub:

Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, Running Press £7.99

Readers loved "Skinny Bitch", the diet book with attitude, which has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide to date. Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin inspired us to give up dairy, artificial sweeteners, caffeine and many other food evils that make people fat and bloated.

But here's the question: can Skinny Bitches also have fun in the kitchen? What can they whip up for an easy after-work dinner? Can thAey make something for a delicious dinner party?

The answer is yes they can, with this fabulous follow-up book which contains over 75 recipes that are delicious, flavourful, and easy to make!

5 Boost your brain as well as your figure:

Eat Yourself Clever by Carol Vorderman Virgin £12.99

Using foods that lift your mood as well as boosting your brain power, Carol's brand-new easy-to-follow 28 day plan is the straightforward route to weight loss, and better health and increased brain power. Discover how to increase your IQ, improve your memory, beat food cravings and break the cycle of emotional eating.

With delicious and simple-tomake recipes, Carol's 28-day plan is guaranteed to dramatically improve your health and boost your mental performance.

6 Seek advice from an athlete:

The Flat Tummy Book by Denise Lewis, Quercus £12.99

Every day, countless crunches and situps are done in gyms across the country, while at home infomercials tout electrical stimulators and gut-busting workout machines, all in the quest for a toned tummy.

But can any of these methods guarantee the perfect waistline? Unfortunately not. The startling fact is that most people aiming for a flat stomach are going about it incorrectly, wasting time, effort and money. But with the right advice, a flat stomach is within everyone's reach.

And who better to guide you to a trim midriff than Olympic Gold medallist Denise Lewis. As a world-class athlete, Denise knows more than any self-styled fitness guru or celebrity about setting goals and working efficiently with your body to achieve them.

Uniquely, Denise's programmes are completely customizable. Whether you are trying to shed xmas excess or get back into shape after a baby, they cater for a variety of needs and can be tailored to the time you have available, whether you are a 10-minutes-a-day person, or weekend only exerciser.

7 Exercise with your children:

Yogabugs: The One Bug Your Kids Should Catch by Fenella Lindsell, Virgin £10.99

YogaBugs is the UK and Ireland's leading provider of yoga classes for children. With its truly inspirational concept of teaching yoga to the under-sevens, YogaBugs already has over 35,000 children signed up to its classes in the UK.

With its colourful characters and fun themed stories, "YogaBugs" will get children off the sofa and into this enjoyable activity. Yoga has been proven to have many positive effects on children's health, and can help with sleeping problems, anxiety, asthma, hyperactivity, emotional issues as well as sinus problems.

This truly is the one bug you'll want your kids to catch.

8 Hit the ground running:

Zest: Running Made Easy by Susie Whalley, Collins & Brown £9.99

This is quite simply the easiest, friendliest, most inspiring running book ever written. Fully revised and updated for 2008, this must-have guide is designed to get everyone who thought they could never run on their way to a better body, bags of confidence and soaring energy levels.

"Running Made Easy" takes things right back to basics with the easiest ever beginner's plan, fill-in charts and diary sections, plus all the jargon-free tips and advice you need to learn to love running. This book isthere to support you with amazing stories and tips from regular and celebrity runners, plus chapters on goal setting and mind games to get you back on track.

9 Get yourself your very own personal trainer:

How To Get A Celeb's Body by Elise Lindsay, Michael Joseph £14.99

Have you ever seen pictures of your favourite celebrities and thought 'I wish I could look that good'? They adorn the covers of glossy magazines, dressed to impress and showing off bodies that most of us only dream of.

Now you can look and feel just as fantastic with Elise Lindsay's guide to a fitter, healthier, slimmer you. As Coleen McLoughlin's personal trainer, Elise has been credited with turning the body of Coleen around, transforming her from shy schoolgirl to style icon and making her one of the most confident, glamorous and photographed celebrities in the world.

Through meal planning, step-by-step exercises and positive thinking , she will show how you too can get the body you've always wanted.

10 Put yourself first:

Life's Too F***ing Short by Janet Street-Porter, Quadrille £12.99

This is an indispensable guide for women to surviving in the 21st century, which enables you to have a fulfilling and successful life without spending a fortune or passing a load of exams.

It will show you how to combine work, relationships, friends, fashion, health, shopping, cooking etc without using up valuable time you could spend enjoying yourself. Janet's mantra is to tell yourself every day 'I'm bloody brilliant'!

She shows how you can do everything from building a successful career and looking good, to meeting and keeping friends without making unnecessary effort or setting yourself unrealistic goals. It's a new philosophy - that to succeed in life and be happy you must put yourself first at all times.

Once you've read this book, you'll realise there are plenty of things you can kiss goodbye to for ever.

All books are available from local branches of Waterstone's and from waterstones.com