Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around [Hardcover]

Jared Fogle (Author), Anthony Bruno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

Jared Fogel was, is, and will continue to be America's weight loss icon. As an obese college student in Indiana he lost 245 pounds on a self-devised diet of Subway sandwiches. Since 2000, he has appeared thousands of times on national television as the spokesperson for Subway's Eat healthy Platform; and he's slated to continue in this role indefinitely. In fact, Subway worried that he might be getting overexposed and decided to discontinue him. Sales fell off. Jared was quickly rehired. But to keep him from being overexposed, Subway's program runs Jared for six or eight weeks every three months.

 

His book is not so much a diet book (his diet was pretty simple to grasp - eat Subway sandwiches) but it's more a motivational, self-help book which offers hope to people who want to change their lives.

 

Jared has also appeared on Oprah, Larry King Live, the Today Show, Good Morning America, the Jane Pauly Show and has made hundreds of speaking appearances and public appearances at sports and civic events.

 

Jared's lessons include:

 

Find Your Own Personal Spark

One Size Doesn't Fit All

Change Your Mind to Change Your Life

See the Big Picture

Change is for Life

The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jared is one of the most recognizable advertising icons of the last decade, and one of the most successful—sales at Subway franchises skyrocketed after the debut of TV commercials describing how he lost nearly 250 pounds by eating two sandwiches a day. But while those ads focused on the feel-good angle of his accomplishment, Jared's memoir explores the frightening aspects of being at high risk for heart attack at the age of 20 and the frustration of all his previous failed attempts at dieting. He uses his experience as a framework to offer advice on achieving all sorts of personal transformations, from dieting to battling addiction, but the principles he lays out are fairly bland: "One size doesn't fit all," "Change is for life," etc. The self-help material becomes engaging only when Jared shares the personal details of his unconventional weight-loss strategy—like how he kept his scale in the closet and let the increasing bagginess of his clothes tell him his diet was working. Delivered in a voice as amiable as his TV persona, Jared's plainspoken inspirational message has perfect built-in appeal. (Sept.)
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From the Inside Flap

Change Your Life Your Own Way!

Jared Fogle was a seriously overweight Indiana University student when he decided that only he—not doctors, family, or well-meaning friends—could turn his life around.  Without mentioning it to a soul, Jared devised his own diet of Subway sandwiches (turkey for lunch, veggie delight for dinner). At the end of a year, he had lost almost 250 pounds, and began exercising for the first time ever.  Once Subway got wind of Jared’s success, through the campus newspaper, they began using him in their national advertisements and in short order Jared became a folk hero.  The country’s attraction to Jared wasn’t just the spectacular weight loss, but something else too: Jared’s triumph over weight was clearly not manufactured by a company or a famous doctor, but was genuine, idiosyncratic, and built from within.
 
In Jared, The Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around, you can tap into that can-do must-change spirit by absorbing Jared’s simple, sensible messages, including:
 
--Find Your Own Personal Spark (the thing that goads you into action)
--One Size Doesn’t Fit All (a plan that works for “everyone” else may not work for you)
--Change Your Mind to Change Your Life (grab the power of determination)
--The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get (nobody has success dropped in their lap)
 

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312353588
• ISBN-13: 978-0312353582
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,183,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly RELATABLE approach!, August 9, 2006

By 

Twin Mommy (Bucks County, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around (Hardcover)

I must admit, when I first picked this up I thought, "what in the world could this guy have to offer me except a commercial for Subway." I was so wrong! Jared's story, presented as life lessons for everyone to consider, goes way beyond dieting, but also speaks to applying a realistic attitude to overcome any major life change. So refreshing to hear a real-life perspective of dealing with a major physical and psychological hurdle and how a few simple changes in attitude - one step at a time - can make a huge difference. Quite poignant if you've ever struggled with significant weight issues. Fogle and Bruno really get to the heart of the unspoken hurt, embarrassment, and limitations of what being overweight in today's world is like, but apply this as motivation to conquer any significant challenge. Great read - don't let the Subway ad fear hold you back!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Defintely Worth the Read!!! And Then Some!!!, August 22, 2006

By 

C. CAUFIELD (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around (Hardcover)

I always secretly liked Jared and the simple way he told his sotry - even if he was selling subs. But having Jared tell his story this way - with all the background details - really makes all those ads seem even more believable and motivating. And the tips he gives to navigating life's issues actually make a whole heck of a lot of sense! Some powerful thoughts from such a young man - and maybe this is what I need to get things on track myself!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! It could change your life!, August 21, 2006

By 

Michael Saltar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jared, the Subway Guy: Winning Through Losing: 13 Lessons for Turning Your Life Around (Hardcover)

Definitely buy the book! You know, Jared has been on Oprah twice, CNN, CBS, been parodied on Saturday Night Live, even speculated about--of all things--being the next James Bond in Time Magazine (well maybe it was Newsweek--I just remember reading it in a waiting room). Why does Jared show up everywhere? He's just a walking miracle. A real, down-to-earth, honest-to-goodness miracle. I recommend this book because it tells the real story of the real person behind the flat persona of the Subway ads. To hear the candor of his heart and pain and triumph is to begin to know him and find out he is a humble, likeable guy. And, basically, if he can lose 245 pounds with basically no one really breathing down his neck to do it, what's the excuse for the rest of us who sit in a rut and complain that life has just dealt us a bad hand? It's time to rise above the "impossible", get a vision for change, and start to make a positive difference in our own lives and the lives of the people around us. I, for one, am motivated.