You: On a Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management

I have struggled with my weight in recent years. As a kid I could eat anything I wanted and never gain, but, like everyone else, our bodies change and we end up gaining. Before I knew it, I ended up overweight. I had tried other diets (Atkins, South Beach, The Zone, etc.), and one day my Dad made a comment to me that really made me mad. Instead of getting angry then depressed afterwards, I had a new resolve. I had one thought and one thought only "Well, I'll show HIM. He thinks he's so high and mighty, always has the right answers for everything. He thinks I can't do it, I'll show HIM." With that thought, I got out of denial and did something about it. Within approximately a year and a half, I have lost 42 lbs. I am 5'10" and proudly at 140 lbs, back to the higher end of my high school weight.So while I praise my diet (an organized diet group whose name I will not advertize here) and giving me a new outlook on life, I praise this book for supplying me with the tools to go through everyday life. We are going to battle the bulge all our lives, no matter who you are. The biggest myth we have to overcome is the fact that we cannot eat whatever we want as long as we keep doing physical activity. You have to count calories as well. It's ok to have a little treat every once in a while, but we CANNOT eat treats all the time. This book provides you with tips and how to deal with our constant battles to eat bad things when you can make it a priority to eat good things. Listerine breath strips or mints are great things just to snack on. A craving only lasts a little while. If you follow these rules, you will feel physically and mentally better. Now I make it a priority to eat my five servings of fruit and vegetables everyday. It really does cleanse the body. Eat some garbage, and you will automatically realize how much you have been poisoning your body.As for the other reasearch that has to do with your family history, it has merit, no question about that. Hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. are all inherited conditions. You can't do anything about this, but you can control it. You don't have to resign yourself to weight gain, you don't have to resign yourself to poor health. And just about all of these problems, genetic and non, have to do with your weight. Our waistlines are expanding thanks to poor choices, cheap fat laden food made available, and our need for taste over eating right. This is a battle we will have to fight, and this book will help you overcome so many things.

This book helped me lose rhe hardest last 20 lbs and maintain it for over 4 years

I am half way through the book. I am not crazy about most of the pictures, and sometimes the explanations of the way the body works are too long, but over all it is an entertaining and informative book. It explains why your belly fat is giving you bad lab results even when you are dieting, and gives helpful hints to try to improve the health issues by improving the good chemicals in your body through healthy eating. It has some really good tips in the book.My husband who is now his ideal weight, because he has been eating healthy, has been reading it when he waits for me to get to bed, and he actually already did some of the things the book tells you to do, i.e. eating a small handful of nuts 20 minutes prior to a meal to set off a chemical that tells you that you are satiated (I am starting this thanks to the book). He is finding the book informative also (and he usually leafs through a couple of pages of my health books or magazines then sets them down - but this time he is reading it through).p.s. Even before getting this book, both my husband and I had been using the basic concepts in the book (getting sugar and white flour out of your diet, bumping up natural fibers...) and our "bad food" cravings are gone and we have both lost 25-30 pounds each. We now crave healthy foods. The book is just reinforcing a lot of the concepts we already know, but it is a good refresher, and we like the explanations of how the body works and how you react to the foods you eat. It is encouraging me to stay the course (I have 30 more pounds to go, and the book is likely to encourage me to get the weight off a little faster than I planned thanks to it's explanation of what my belly fat is doing to the rest of my body).

Bought it because of watching the series and wanted to explore the details and check for consistency. Bottom line theme...good, healthy, balanced nutrition and regular, moderate exercise results in a healthy, more energetic and resilient person...really?! Is this something we don't know? Unless you have been asleep the last 10 years, or are just really new to all this, save your money. It does cover how the body functions and explains some cellular stuff, but you probably got most of what it offers in junior high, and you simply do not need to know the techy stuff to comply with the basics that health professionals have been promoting for years. You already know you should NOT drink to excess, eat a bunch of fatty foods, sugar and starch, or lay around watching TV or playing Video games for hours on end. You already know that moderate aerobic exercise is good for you. Mom already told you to get a good night's sleep, drink plenty of water, avoid harmful fats, eat plenty of fruits and veggies, and wear clean underwear. Wait, that last part was Mom, not the book, I think, although I'm sure the authors would agree with her. Bottom line, if you just need someone to confirm what you probably already know, then buy the book. Better yet, if you really want a more useful book, buy the Covert Bailey book "Smart Exercise" it will equip you with a better exercise mindset and provides better insight. I buy Bailey for my staff's wellness program. But you don't NEED it either to apply common sense healthy practices. You can get lots of free, sound, reliable info from the US Dept of Health, USDA, the American Heart Assoc., the American Diabeties Assoc., etc. Save the cash and just turn off the TV or console, clear your fridge and cabinets of the bad stuff and start moving your body. You'all do great and be a few bucks richer in the process.

Like this book, helpful

The book is enjoyable and very easy to read. I have tried numerous diets in the past and even so, the book gave me a few new tips that I am currently trying out. I enjoyed the book, however I occasionally felt that the ideas could have been conveyed more succinctly.As with all other diets, there are no shortcuts, at least this one focuses on "you".I recommend it!

I dont like the writing style - its too show biz for me. I would prefer a more scientific/ grown up read.Tables are hard to read in kindle as they do not align.

its not all about being on a diet this book explains what certain foods etc do to you , a must read

Works fine, quality product. would recommend it .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. . . .

My wife loved it