Customer Reviews

Flip the Switch, Lose the Weight: Proven Strategies to Fuel Your Metabolism and Burn Fat 24 Hours a Day

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Flip the switch makes great claims about losing weight. You can lose weight not by eating less but eating more. You can burn more fat than a person who spend tons of time in the gym by making small changes in your life. The book starts out with the definition of meta-stat which is a combination of the words metabolism and thermostat. Essentially the whole idea is to get your body to work for you in burning the fat instead of you having to cut back on calories among other things. The history of our ancestors is discussed. People were less overweight in the past because they were constantly doing activities throughout the day that kept the meta-stat on so to speak. The third chapter outlines the whole rest of the book. It lays out the twelve MSOn switches which are the main things that get your body into the fat burning mode. They have a synergistic effect according to Dr. Cooper. He states that not all are able to be applied and you shouldn't. There are certain ones for certain people. Some examples of MSOn switches are: waking up on the right side of the bed, getting more light when you wake up, get good quality rest, creating activity momentum and dealing with stress correctly.

It is a very well written book and provides pretty much all the information you could possibly need to make this change. The MSOn switches are each explained in their own chapter. There are plans on what to eat, recipes and workouts to go by. There are some serious problems not with the book but with some of the ideas portrayed. First of all I find the "Flip the Switch" lifestyle to be extremely complicated for anyone who hasn't been on a serious workout or diet program-in other words a normal person. First you learn about how our forefathers metabolisms worked. Then Cooper goes into a great detail about hormones and other chemicals that help or harm with fat burning. This is especially disconcerting because I fail to see why "we" need to know about these. Should we be eating foods with these in them or taking supplements? When you get to the third chapter, you really get into the meat of this lifestyle. As I said before twelve MSOn switches are summarized so as to give you a taste of what is to come. The next twelve chapters gets into the nitty gritty of each. This is where my real qualms come in. If you weren't already overwhelmed you would be now. Within each chapter there are many more procedures and techniques to further your meta-stat.

Having found the first three chapters to be extremely informative I was hopeful for the next twelve. However I just found my head spinning. Can I not eat any junk food? What happens if I do? I'm supposed to not sit for more than a half an hour at any one time without getting up and doing some small exercise? I am also supposed to eat every couple of hours. I was also told sweaty exercise isn't recommended, but a twenty minute workout three to four time a week would definitely help. When you put everything together you have quite a busy day and you are supposed to do this every day.

I don't know if Dr. Cooper considered this, but some people just flat-out cannot do all these things in a day. I can see waking up on the right side of the bed. That is completely do-able. Creating activity momentum is much more difficult for some than others and maybe nearly impossible for those stuck in an office. Turning down the heat in your house to lose weight is considered an MSOn switch. That is a matter of comfort and not just a small change. Eating six or seven times a day seems to be one of the staples of the dietary change is absolutely ludicrous for many to follow. I know all I end up doing by eating six or seven times a day is eating way too much bad food, because I don't have the time to prepare snacks and meals every time I get out of my seat. I don't know anyone who isn't a stay-at-home mother that has the time or resources to have that many meals in a day.

In essence my main problem with the idea of meta-stat and MSOn switches is that many of them may be small changes but add up to a great deal of serious lifestyle modifications. I truly believe this will work and you will lose weight. I applaud the research and time it took to write this book, but the real issue is skirted. Is it possible for the average person to "flip on" enough switches to make a real change in how our bodies burn fat. In my opinion it will take a serious commitment to do this and many people will just not be able to incorporate enough of these things into their lifestyle to make a serious impact. If I had to rate the book I'd probably give it five stars, the program-two. So I split the difference.

There is so much great information here that I use all the time, I had so many light bulb moments while reading. I understand how the the body works now and I mostly apply that to how I eat and all. But when you get further in to the book it changes to a very structured program like so many I could not stick with.

But as far as information on understanding the hows and whys this book is worth every penny. I like someone else said pick and choose what works for me.

This books makes a lot of sense and is based on scientific prinicples. It can help anyone who struggles with their weight. Although I do not follow the book's ideas religously, I have had many people comment on my weight loss, asking me what I am doing. Some of the ideas are very easy to follow. Pick and choose the ones that you think you can do and you may be surprised by the results.

This book did include a few good notes about simple ways to increase your metabolism and help fight weight gain, but overall I found it to be the exact opposite of what it claimed to be. The book is billed as a way to get away from diet and other regimins that plague the current weight-loss industry, when in fact that's all this book is -- another regimin! I'll stick to my at-home workout tapes and a sensible diet of whole grains, fruits, and vegis, thank you!

I read this book a few months ago and realized that it actually had a lot of neat "tricks" that could be used by people such as me who have struggled all their lives with obesity. I made one important change... sipping ice cold water frequently through the day. I was surprised to see that I had actually lost weight by the end of the week. While I am sure that many of the suggestions may not be entirely practical, I think that each one can find a couple of things that can be implemented.

I liked this book. In my opinion, approach of author to very important health problem as obesity is absolutely correct. I recommend this book to anyone who wants weigt loss.
Dr. Yuri Iserlis

I found this book somewhat helpful, but rather repetitive of the same ideas. The main ideas are drink ice water and get aerobic exercise. It does have good recipes.

I didn't realize these techniques would require soooo much time. I'm not one that likes to constantly be in motion. I can find easier & better ways to lose weight. I've learned to take a better look at the product before wasting my money.

I found Flip the Switch to have a very sound way to loose weight and to get healthier without all the dieting, counting calories or carbs. Very good.

This book is terrific! Karas gives no-nonsense advice and gives it to you straight! He explains how it is not so much the diets that are not working for those of us who have been struggling to lose weight. We fail because of a lack of focus and BELIEF IN OUR ABILITY to succeed. I truly appreciate his candor and I love the way he touches on the many many emotional aspects of weight problems. It is like he KNOWS my every thought! I would recommend this book to anyone who has tried the 'other diets' but has not succeeded. I would recommend this to anyone who is unhappy with his/her body right now. Karas will show you how to change your life, how to take control, how to stop blaming and stop making excuses. He offers sound nutritional advice with none of the silly fad stuff. He shows you an exercise plan that is EASY AND EFFECTIVE without hours at the gym. Most importantly,he speaks to the emotional side of your problem and does not claim he can fix you, but explains how YOU CAN FIX YOU! Tired of searching? This is your answer.