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Lose It!: The Personalized Weight Loss Revolution [Paperback]

Charles Teague , Anahad O'Connor , Gretchen Rubin
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 21, 2010
From the creators of the hit iPhone application, the revolutionary weight loss plan used by more than 5 million people

For years, we’ve been taught that in order to lose weight, we have to avoid the foods we love and exercise until we drop. To get lean, you have to be extreme…right?

Wrong. Dieting is a zero-sum game. You can lose weight fast, but more than a third of people regain all of the weight they’ve lost within a year. So why waste time following someone else’s diet advice when you can drop the pounds on your own terms? With Lose It!, the power to lose weight is in your hands. No deprivation, no detox, no hard-and-fast rules—just a plan that empowers you to create your own, personalized strategy tailored to your individual lifestyle, schedule, dietary needs, and goals.

Despite what many "experts" would lead you to believe, weight loss boils down to simple math: calories in vs. calories out. To shed pounds, you have to end each day with a calorie deficit. It sounds easy enough, but studies show that 63 percent of Americans grossly underestimate their daily calorie intake. In fact, the average American consumes a staggering 3,790 calories a day—that’s enough calories to gain more than 10 pounds every month!

Lose It!’s life-changing philosophy and program have already helped more than 5 million people lose weight. In this, the first-ever book to be developed from an iPhone app, readers will learn the five pillars of the Lose It! strategy:

1. Embrace mindful empowerment: Take control of your body and the foods you put in it.

2. Track your calories: There are no points or complicated algorithms to follow. But every snack, taste, and bite counts!

3. Track your habits. Spot behavior patterns—good and bad—that you can modify to help you meet your goal.

4. Track your exercise. Learn how to burn more calories in less time and boost your calorie burn even when you’re not at the gym.

5. Benefit from peer support. Your social network inspires you, keeps you accountable, and provides insight and advice.

With Lose It!, you can forget about following someone else’s idea of what you should and shouldn’t eat and simply learn to love food again. The best possible weight loss plan, after all, is the one that you design yourself.


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Lose It!: The Personalized Weight Loss Revolution + The Ultimate Diet Log
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles Teague is the CEO and cofounder of FitNow, the makers of Lose It! He lives in New York City.
 
Anahad O’Connor is a health and science reporter for the New York Times, with a weekly column in the Tuesday Science section. He has appeared on NPR, Good Morning America, and The Martha Stewart Show. He lives in New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Foreword by Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
 
A few years ago, I decided to embark on a “happiness project.” I spent a year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture to see what worked. If I did all the things I’d always intended to do and followed the advice I’d heard over the years, could I actually become happier? I didn’t make a dramatic upheaval to my daily routine—just little changes, here and there. When the year was over, I was surprised by how easily I’d changed my life without changing my life. I really did manage to make myself happier.

I organized my happiness project around resolutions—everything from “Quit nagging” to “Make my bed” to “Sing in the morning” to “Keep a one-sentence journal” to “Imitate a spiritual master.”
My happiness project convinced me that resolutions—kept faithfully—can make a huge difference in contributing to happiness. If you want to make a positive change in your life, a very effective strategy is to figure out what resolutions to make and how to keep them. Keeping the actual resolution will boost happiness, of course, but even apart from that, the sense of growth, of having made a vow to yourself and stuck to it, the sense of self-mastery…all these things are enormously satisfying.
The challenge is that, no surprise, it’s fun and easy to make a resolution, but it’s very challenging to keep a resolution. Something like 44 percent of Americans enthusiastically make their New Year’s resolutions—I know I always do—but many of us make and break the same resolution year after year; in fact, about 80 percent of resolution makers abandon their resolutions by mid-February.
Year after year, one of the most popular resolutions (along with other perennials like “quit smoking” and “spend less”) is the resolution to lose weight. Alas, about two-third of dieters gain back the weight they’ve lost within the year.

These facts are pretty discouraging. Does that mean it’s pointless to make resolutions? I don’t think so. You can’t succeed unless you try.

But if you really want change, you have to think about it, plan it, probe it, keep yourself accountable, and have a plan—just reflexively saying “This year I’m really going to eat healthy” won’t make it happen.

Having tried and failed to uphold many resolutions myself, I’m fascinated by the question of what allows people to keep resolutions. Why does one person decide to drop 20 pounds and manages to do so without much fuss, while another person battles those same 20 pounds for decades? Why does one couch potato suddenly decide to start going to the gym and then works out regularly for years, while another couch potato just can’t get off the couch?

One key to sticking to a resolution, it turns out, is to hold yourself accountable. The constant review of your resolutions, and the knowledge that you are being held accountable to them, makes a huge difference. So how do you hold yourself accountable?
 
Here are some useful strategies:
1. Frame your resolution in concrete actions. If you resolve to “Eat more healthfully” or “Lose weight,” it’s hard to hold yourself accountable. It’s easier to be answerable for a specific action, like “Eat five servings of vegetables and fruit every day” or “Bring my own lunch to work four days a week.”

2. Be accurate. When you’re trying to do something like lose weight, it’s important to know how much, and how many calories, you’re eating. Studies show that people tend to underestimate dramatically both the portion size and calorie content of their food, but to change what you’re eating, you have to know what you’re eating.

3. Keep a chart. Having made a resolution, you have to check yourself in some way. Keeping a written record is an excellent way to keep yourself honest and mindful; a chart acts as a reminder that allows you to keep your resolution active in your mind and to mark your progress. Also, seeing what you’ve achieved in the past is a powerful source of motivation for the future. Give yourself those gold stars!

4. Join with other people. Even more useful than keeping a chart is knowing that real, live people are cheering you on—and holding you accountable. Also, research shows that we enjoy activities more when we do them with other people.

5. Commit to an action. Studies show that taking an action, like signing a pledge or registering for a program, will help you hold yourself accountable for your resolutions.
People who are trying to make life changes such as losing weight are more likely to succeed when they tell others what they’re doing.
 
Lose It! is an excellent tool that makes it quick and convenient to combine all these strategies.
With Lose It! you can easily track the food you eat and the calories you consume every day—no more airy guesses. “Well, nuts are healthy, so it’s probably okay to eat as many as I want.” “Gosh, I haven’t eaten much today, I don’t think, so I deserve a brownie. Maybe two brownies. Okay, three.” “I pick up dinner at my favorite fast-food place a few times a week, and that’s probably...what? About 400 calories a shot?” Lose It! reminds you what you’ve eaten and tells you the consequences, so you can make choices that support your resolutions.

Making better choices adds up over the long haul. We often overestimate what we can get done in a short amount of time—“I’m going to lose 8 pounds in 2 weeks!”—and underestimate what we can get done over a long period, by making small changes—“I’m going to lose 30 pounds this year.”
By keeping you accurate and accountable, Lose It! makes it easier to stick to your diet—or even better—eventually to give up food monitoring all together. We all want to reach a point where we eat healthfully, automatically, every day, without being “on a diet.”

Mindfulness is one of the keys to happiness, which is unfortunate for me because I’m not a very mindful person. But the Lose It! program can help anyone develop mindfulness while eating because it prompts us to pause, to think, and to appreciate our food.

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin is a patron saint for people trying to keep a resolution. During his life, in addition to signing the Declaration of Independence, investigating electricity, inventing bifocals, founding one of the first volunteer firefighting departments, and acting as ambassador to France, Franklin kept a chart of the thirteen qualities he wanted to cultivate. Once a day, he’d score himself on whether he’d observed such virtues as “temperance,” “silence,” “industry,” and “frugality.” Of this chart, he observed, “though I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet as I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been had I not attempted it.”

While no book or mobile application can ensure that we’ll stick to our resolutions perfectly, they can help us to do better. And by doing better every day, we can work our way to healthier and happier lives.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Rodale Books; 1 edition (December 21, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1605290947
  • ISBN-13: 978-1605290942
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,632 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

This book Is very detailed and the application is really easy to use. Johanny  |  19 reviewers made a similar statement
I have lost 13 lbs on my diet and I credit Lose It! WordWizard  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
162 of 167 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars You WILL lose weight January 1, 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had the advantage of having used the loseit app for 9 months prior to buying this book, and both my wife and myself had lost 85 lbs each in this time period, even though we don't even eat the same foods. Prior to this program, neither my wife or myself had ever been able to lose a significant amount of weight, and indeed, I thought that I had reached the point of no return. So I had already known in a powerful way what the book "Lose It" was going to say, but I still bought 2 copies. The book makes the powerful point that the act of counting and recording calories consumed makes a person accountable for what they eat, and then it becomes very clear to them how to cut their calorie intake just a bit in order to create a calorie deficit. Most people I talk to still don't understand or get why this is so powerful, but I know from personal experience that it works BIG TIME. If you read the book, and use the app and be honest with yourself, you WILL lose weight, and a lot of weight. The book also makes the point that people overestimate how much weight that they think they can lose in the short term, and underestimate how much weight that they think they can lose in the long term. But I am living proof that a lot of weight can be lost in the longer term by sticking with the small changes that a person makes with their calorie intake.

But in order for it to work, you really have to know how many calories you should be eating to lose weight for a person of your age, weight, height, and gender. This is where the app and/or website can help you by constantly recalculating your calorie needs as you lose weight, and reminding you on a daily, hourly basis of where you stand. I've astonished myself with my own success, so was very excited about getting the book to learn absolutely every idea I could find related to this topic, and after reading the book I still learned a lot of new things that will be valuable to me in the new year.

I own 9 books on losing weight, but I consider this book my crown jewel centerpiece of all of them that ties them all together in a very powerful meaningful way. All of the weight loss tips that people read about constantly are useless if they are not put into the context of an overall eating plan that monitors every last bite of food that you put into your mouth. Without a calorie counting plan, you are flying blind and are unlikely to succeed in a significant way.

What should have been hammered home a bit harder in the book was the huge resource that the app is in terms of keeping track of calories vs simply writing them down. I could never have achieved this weight loss by writing things down because I would have never been able to keep all the paper handy, and it would have been very tedious to get the information quickly. The app works because it makes this task very streamlined, such that after you build up your food database with the foods that you eat, you can log it all in in a few seconds. The app does the math, has a huge database of food to look calories up, and it summarizes a lot of information effortlessly. That makes it EASY PEASY to track and record a mountain of valuable food information. Using the app/website, I've been able to record everything that I've eating in the past 9 months, and that is a VERY POWERFUL IMPORTANT database. Prior to 2010, I had no clue what I was eating in terms of calories, or why I was eating too much or where the problem areas were. Once you start tracking it, it all becomes very clear, and you learn how to make smarter choices. The book points out this powerful truth, and I know from experience that it is 100% true.

Another thing that I like about this book is that they stick to the truth, and don't try to spew out a lot of weight loss nonsense. All of the information is valid as far as I can see. With this book, the reader the "trick" of losing weight will immediately become clear. Prior to encountering these ideas, I was stuck navigating through a lot of "noise" in the weight loss world, basically just navigating with a hope and a prayer. Weight loss tips without a centrally managed overall calorie tracking eating plan are basically useless and this is what keeps people fat.

There are a lot of inspiring examples in the book of how some small changes made to a person's diet will add up to significant weight loss in the long term. I have experienced this first hand, and it is very exciting to see fat fly off your body as the weeks and months go by.

This is NOT just another weight loss book to be buried in with lots of other weight loss books advocating this or that. This should be the CROWN JEWEL CENTER PIECE WEIGHT LOSS BOOK The authors of this book are much too modest. This book is an extremely valuable powerful tool that explains why calorie counting is a necessity in today's world, why it works, and how to do it. What is not emphasized enough is why the "loseit" app/website is such a wonderful resource. Once a person makes loseit.com their home on the net, and makes it a part of their life, THEN all the other books on weight loss make sense, and will also help them reach their goal. But weight loss tips, and tips on exercise in and of themselves without a total overall CENTRALLY FOCUSED MONITORED CALORIE EATING PLAN are pretty much useless, since your brain and body will find a way to defeat your best efforts if you are flying blind. A lot of would be weight loss candidates don't seem to understand or accept this, and it is their downfall. You can know all the weight loss tips in the world, but you still have to face the same question every day: "what am I going to eat today?". If you don't know whether or not you can eat that nice piece of chocolate cake, you are likely to either deprive yourself of it and later over indulge, or over indulge and eat the chocolate cake plus 3 butter tarts. You start to relax once you calculate that you can in fact eat the chocolate cake and still lose weight because you know exactly where you stand. You'll know exactly what your calorie deficit is today, this week, and this month. You'll be able to see concrete results, and that's what it is all about.

If a person reads this book, uses the iphone/ipod app, or uses the loseit website, or another similar calorie counting website, things will start to fall in place, and THEN they will be able to make sense of all of the other weight loss books and tips out there. It is as though a veil is lifted away from their eyes, and they can see very clearly what all of their mistakes were, often little mistakes, and it will be strong incentive to make the changes that will result in significant weight loss.

At the beginning of 2010, I thought that I was a hopeless case, and that this sort of weight loss for me was impossible or else something that I could never do until I retired and basically lived in the gym. I never started until April 1st of 2010, and then I just started playing with the loseit app hoping that maybe I could lose 10 lbs. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I'd be able to shave off 85 pounds off my body. This little app and website suddenly revolutionized my entire life. It's THAT important, that simple, and that POWERFUL. This book works best when used with the loseit.com website, and together, they are a super powerful weightloss secret weapon. Those who don't understand this will probably remain fat, and in awe of those who do finally learn this.

Weight loss is a lot more about INFORMATION than it is about will power. People who don't understand this try too hard, thinking that they can force their way to slimness. You can't force your way down to significant weight loss because your instincts will get the best of you. The trick is to slowly drain off the fat such that you don't even notice that you're cutting back ever so slightly. The road to success because clear once you have a blueprint in front of you.
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58 of 60 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Up to Date Information, Excellent App January 6, 2011
By CWard
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've never been overweight and I went on Lose It! in November 2010 to lose 17 lbs. I just want to get out of the high end of a normal weight range into the low end of a normal weight range.

I lost 7 lbs in the first 2 months, and I'll reach my goal in 3 more months.

The Lose It! App is excellent and very easy to use!

The Lose It! book is filled with solid strategies supported by statistics for weight loss, such as:

*Calorie reduction leads to weight loss, and if a fad diet works it's because there is calorie reduction involved.

*Calorie reduction is most important, and exercise helps a lot, too.

*Nearly half of Americans underestimate the calories they eat in a day, and many overestimate the calories used in exercise/work.

These are things I liked about the book:

*It made it clear that when given the right tool for weight loss (the power to really and easily track each calorie) we can!

*Chapter One is subtitled Calories Unmasked, and points out we can make educated decisions: A Starbuck's Grande Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Espresso is 500 calories; 1 slice of Meat Lover's Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut is 480 calories, etc.

*Chapter Three, subtitled Unleashing Your Inner Athlete, is excellent and includes suggested routines as well as photos of certain exercises. If you need some fundamentals on working out, and some solid routines here it is.

*Chapter Five is Identify Your Type with some solutions to these problems. This was interesting, here they are:
1. The Weekender lives by the book all week and throws it out the window on the weekend.
2. The Calorie Drinker believes that liquids don't count so thinks the large coke at 400 calories is nothing (they suggest mixing 1/4 coke with 3/4 diet coke).
3. The Low Hanging Food Grabber gets calories where they are left out at work, at home, at a friends, leftovers from the kids, etc.
4. The Stress Eater. Enough said.
5. The Judger isn't losing weight and thinks it can't happen to them. Chances are it has to do with portion size, nibbling, overestimating calories exercised, etc.

The book is filled with solid and excellent ideas. There are success stories in it, such as people losing over 100 lbs, how they did it, and how they feel empowered to keep it off.

The Lose It! Application works. If you are going through a lifestyle change, get the book, too! If you are already up to date and healthy with your diet and exercise, it's not really needed.
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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read...Great advice!! January 2, 2011
By Margo
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been using the free App on my iPhone already; which works fantastically. Then I read the book which adds another weapon to my weight loss arsenal!

The book takes a wonderfully sensible, no-nonsense approach to gaining back control over my food choices. I've already lost 9 lbs, and know it's only the beginning! The App is a powerful tool, but the book backs it up with knowledge & know-how. (Thank you, especially for including success stories, easy tweaks to make that add up to big results & info re: busting plateaus!)

I bought the book to read on my iPhone, so whenever I need a boost of motivation, it's right there in my hand along with the App. Thank you for giving me the tools to make smart, responsible decisions that lead to success!! Margo
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Must have companion for Lose It! APP
you will get so much more out of the free Lose It! APP, if you read this book. Simple ideas that work and real life eXamples that illustrate the power of tracking what you eat.
Published 2 days ago by Sharon Verg Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars LOSING!
Tryed other weight loss programs keeping track of what you eat but what a pain. This is so handy because I always have my phone. The scanner is awesome. Read more
Published 9 days ago by D. Haynes
5.0 out of 5 stars Success at last!!
I used both the book and the app at the same time to lose 32 lbs. Unlike other attempts this was both successful because I lost the weight but more importantly because I have kept... Read more
Published 11 days ago by A. Desantis
3.0 out of 5 stars Great App, Decent Book
The app is wonderful... the book is an easy ready, but doesnt contain anything revolutionary. If you are starting a weight loss journey, I recommend it. Already going strong? Read more
Published 22 days ago by Matthew
5.0 out of 5 stars A weight program that works!
I've been using the LoseIt! iPhone ap for years. It is wonderful. I have lost the weight I wanted, and I still enter all my food daily, because losing or maintaining weight is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Carol McCrossin
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent motivator for those who struggle with their weight!!
I love this app, and I can honestly say I've tried them all. Love the calorie budgeting system..and it actually makes me want to exercise, which is something I LOATHE!! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lisa Kristina Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars Great program
I've used Lose it! for a month and I've already lost 11lbs. It is amazing how once you start logging your food, how diligent you become about what you eat and the amount you eat. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Proud Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars Love It
I Love this app on my phone & computer and the Books just gives it more strength I am a Lose it! fan for life
Published 1 month ago by Kathy Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars Lose It! is the best!
For anyone trying to lose weight or improve healthy eating habits Lose It! is a must. Very user friendly and very thorough! I highly recommend this book and the app!
Published 1 month ago by Larry
4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of useful facts in one place
Lose it! Is a great app. This book reveals some of the secrets of how to put it to good use for permanent weight loss.
Published 2 months ago by Joshua D. Bernoff
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LoseIt Works!
LoseIt! Has saved my life!! I am 6'3" and I used to weigh 500 pounds. After using LoseIt! for 15 months I am now a MUCH more healthy 235 pounds. I lost 265 pounds using loseIt!. If you need proof this works, I am your proof! It is amazing how many calories you eat a day when you dont... Read more
Nov 18, 2010 by Matthew E Shack |  See all 5 posts
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