Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss Is All in Your Head [Hardcover]

Nordine Zouareg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

The true secret to weight-loss success is all in your head.

Nordine Zouareg has helped thousands of clients get healthier, be happier, and lose weight for good. And in the process, he's discovered something astounding: the mental work his clients do before they start their diet and exercise plan is actually just as (if not more) important than the plan itself.

In Mind Over Body, Nordine describes how everyone can find this mental motivation -- what he calls our "core desire" -- and then master the tools (visualization, meditation, affirmation) to keep on track with weight-loss goals. After readers develop this foundation, they move on to the inspiring nutrition and exercise plan--a simple, effective program developed to help shed weight and keep it off forever. You'll learn:

-- The fool-proof method for preparing your mind -- and your body -- before you diet
-- Thirty delicious foods that are the staples of the Mind Over Body eating plan
-- When to cheat -- without blowing your diet
-- How to get an effective workout in just 24 minutes a day
-- The 10 commandments of mindful strength training

As the fitness coach at Miraval Life in Balance spa, Nordine has worked with celebrities, business leaders, discerning travelers, and soccer moms all across North America. Rated the #1 spa by Conde Nast Traveler, the #1 destination spa by Travel and Leisure, and the top spa in American by Zagat, Miraval has become the premier destination for bringing people?s lives into balance and teaching them how to live mindfully. Now, in Mind Over Body, Nordine teaches the same program that has proven wildly successful for his clients (and himself!) for the past twenty years. Learn how to determine your true fitness goals...and get the tools you need to finally make it come true!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born in Algeria to illiterate Bedouin parents, Zouareg entered the world in the back of a French army truck, weighing little more than two pounds. At age 19 and 108 pounds, he found what he calls an "anchor"—his core desire—and went on to become, simultaneously, Mr. France, Mr. Europe, Mr. World and Mr. Universe. Here, he shares strategies he uses with clients at Miraval spa in Tucson, Ariz., where he is a fitness coach. Zouareg's program contains few "shoulds" and "should nots," but it does require unflagging commitment to a core desire. To help readers identify this desire, he devotes much of the book to developing self-awareness and mental strength for surmounting inevitable obstacles and sustaining change. Central to Zouareg's plan are practices he learned while working with Dharma Singh Khalsa (Brain Longevity): meditation, visualization and affirmation. With them, Zouareg promises, readers can discover their core desire, tap into the power of intention and find the energy needed to achieve goals in every area of their lives. Advice and tips on food selection, meal frequency, portion size and exercise routines are peppered with good news: no hunger or daily weigh-ins, sanctioned "cheat days" and shorter workouts. Zouareg is an effective coach, and readers will likely find themselves returning to his words when they need support and encouragement. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Nordine Zouareg, a former Mr. France, Mr. Europe, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe, is the fitness coach at Miraval Life in Balance spa and resort in Tucson, Arizona. A sickly infant not expected to survive his first year, Nordine overcame great personal hardships to become a champion bodybuilder -- and went on to hold four fitness titles simultaneously at the age of twenty-four. Today he shares his unique mental techniques and fitness secrets at Miraval Life in Balance spa and around the world. He lives in Arizona.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style; 1 edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446580775
• ISBN-13: 978-0446580779
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diet, and so much more, June 4, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss Is All in Your Head (Hardcover)

A self-help mind body spirit weight loss and fitness book by former Mr. France and Mr. Universe, Nordine Zouareg, Mind Over Body looks at the interconnection between what we believe and how we become. Zouareg is the fitness coach at the exclusive Miraval Life in Balance spa and resort in Arizona.

Zouareg describes how everyone can learn and implement his method for mental motivation--what he calls our `core desire'--and then learn how to master the tools (visualization, meditation, affirmation) to keep on track with weight-loss goals. After readers understand and practice these tools, they learn some of the basics about nutrition and the Miraval way of healthy living. The book comes with an exercise plan developed by the author to shed unwanted pounds. According to Mr. Zouareg, consistent use of the mind body spirit method will keep the additional weight off forever.

But to truly test any self-help weight loss book, I knew that I had to bring it into my own life. I started with the creative visualization, then the meditation, and finally the affirmations. I admit that I felt more than a little silly saying the affirmations. Being a writer, I found I did best by saying them, and then writing them down in a journal.

I then read about the basics of nutrition and the 40/40/20×5 fat loss plan, and tried some of the sample recipes that were actually quite tasty. The vegetable omelet was a big hit in my household.

On to the exercise....I'm more of a couch potato, but oddly enough I enjoyed the stretching exercises, even found them relaxing. The more strenuous exercises...well, I'm still working on those. I see this more as a slow progression, one that will hopefully develop into a good habit. So, how much weight have I lost? 4.5 pounds in ten days. Not bad for a former junk food eating couch potato.

Other links and resources are in the index.

I highly recommend this book if you are truly ready to change your life and willing to try a more holistic approach to weight loss and healthy living.

Armchair Interviews says: More than just a diet book, this combines the mind, body and spirit for weight-loss success.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind Over Body for fitness and for life, July 26, 2007

By 

Nirvair K. Khalsa - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss Is All in Your Head (Hardcover)

Nordine Zouareg is a former Mr. Universe who has been able to translate his outstanding accomplishments into a plan that has helped thousands of athletes and non-athletes achieve their fitness goals. This book offers a simple and doable fitness plan for real people with real lives.

The diet suggestions are easy to prepare and use everyday ingredients. Helpful nutrition information is included so that we can all understand how to make the best food choices and become empowered to create meals that will support our fitness and health. On this diet you are allowed to eat regular meals and snacks and even to cheat! The exercise plan is a balanced program that takes just 24 minutes a day 5 days a week and includes cardio and strength training. The program is realistic for busy people.

As great as the diet and exercise plans are, the real strength of the program is in the mind. Nordine skillfully shows how it takes more than just a good plan to be successful. Becoming aware of our undermining thought patterns is the first step to changing them. Nordine demonstrates how to increase awareness, how to get out of negative thinking that focusses on what we don't want and turn instead to our core desires to develop positive motivation to get what we do want. Drawing on the wisdom of positive thinking and spiritual awareness, Nordine describes a mental fitness plan for success in attaining a desired weight, a healthy body or success in any area of life.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are really ready to change, July 1, 2007

By 

Harrison (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mind Over Body: The Key to Lasting Weight Loss Is All in Your Head (Hardcover)

If you are tired of all the gimmicks that promise you the body you want PLEASE read this book because it is a fantastic tool to take along with you on your journey. We all have had our struggles with our body weight, but this book helps you develop your core desire to change and if you want it, Nordine shows you just how to cultivate the process to becoming your core desire. This simple but successful approach to weight loss answers so many questions that we all have. As an exercise physiologist I am constantly bombarded by questions pertaining to the topics covered in Nordine's book and what Nordine has to say runs parrellel to the advice that these people need. It is everything that I always try to say. Nordine helps you to identify your goals, believe in yourself, and shows you the way. While the first part of this book helps to restructure your thinking patterns about weightloss, the second half of the book gives you no nonsense diet and exercise intruction. I have referred this book to a number of different people really working hard to find lasting weightloss, but were missing the mental training to do so. The few hours your spend reading this book will change your life in so many ways. There are so many people out their that offer weight loss advice, but it is time that people start listening to what Nordine is saying. He is a man who has lived the process of changing his life/physique and has helped hundred of people realize their dream and core desire of lasting weightloss. His book and life story are amazing, inspirational, and motivational. Exactly what you need if you are looking to really lose weight.