Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom

5 star:		(188)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

I think that based on the numerous one-star reviews I read those checking the postings may be confused. So, as a long-time past student (11 years) whose curriculum has been in medical studies and clinical nutrition, here are a few facts to make it easier on you.

1) Most dieticians I have encountered in my life have neither been thin, nor obese. However, they have been overweight. Well, 9/10. It is a fallacy to believe that just because you know something, you will apply it. I tell you, many cardiologists emphasize the need for any physical activity, yet fall short of carrying out their own advice, just like many MDs are not shying away from alcohol consumption, low fat foods, and smoking, which they all know is wrong. So, saying that Dr. Phil is overweight and that as a result, he should not be writing about weight loss strategies is plain ignorant. He is 6'4" and weighs 240lbs. Now, he is, indeed, overweight. Someone of his stature based on the dietetic currents 16 from Ross Labs in Columbus Ohio (reference used in clinical nutrition) is considered overweight.

2) The title of the book reads "ULTIMATE WEIGHT SOLUTION: THE 7 KEYS TO WEIGHT LOSS FREEDOM". It is NOT passed as a diet book. And though you may read on and see people's main critique that they have not learned nothing new does not mean that it is bad. We all know we should be eating less. We all know we should be more active. We all know that fat is not great (though necessary to some extent). The real question is to figure out whether we are actually applying that wise wisdom? Well, are YOU? If not, maybe you just find it hard to do it with your stressful life, your busy occupations, your family responsibilities. And that is where this book comes in, because it hands over strategies for you to incorporate those skills in your life. Now, note also that he does not mean to make you skinny or thin. He wants you to lose weight that you are suffering from, no more, no less!

3) Many claim that he is not an MD. And indeed, he's not! However psychology is the study of how the mind responds to certain stimuli. While an MD (psychiatrist) is focusing on physiological changes, Dr. Phil approaches from a psychosocial front claiming that by changing a few things in life, the emotions that lead you to eat less can be isolated and dealt with step by step.

4) about complaints that there is no weight loss plan, here is a newsflash! That is exactly what has made the USA as fat as it is. Lasting weight loss takes time and dedication. There is no ONE weight loss plan that fits all. Whoever tells you that is a fallacy. You may want to believe it because it is easier to deal with than to look at one's life and feel like a failure. Think about that too. You have to come up with your own needs based on your lifestyle, family life...

This being said, I don't deny that with some experience you can come to the same conclusions. However, I think that many people are stuck in a maze not knowing what to believe. This is information you can believe. It is important to eat less and encompass some physical activity. However, for the critic about the lack of physical activity that you may read in other postings, the person should have been a little more in tune with the fact that weight loss is the ultimate goal to prevent further cardiovascular diseases, diabetes diagnoses (type 2) skeletomuscular problems. Muscles weigh a lot. Dr. Phil's goal is to lose weight. Once you have got that one down, he tackles the physical activity. Remember, walking 5 times a week for 30 minutes allows you to lose 20 lbs without changing anything else in your diet. Now, I am sure it is not that hard to realize that a lot of people may be wondering where that 30 minute time frame is coming in. And that is where Dr. Phil comes in by showing you the strategies to allow such a routine to take place.

My husband recently lost 25 lbs using this plan. He desperately needed to be educated on portion control and using starchy carbohydrates as a staple. As a result of my support in my husbands efforts, I lost 8 lbs. This was solely due to cutting out refined sugar, dialing up the fiber, putting concentration on protein, and watching out for saturated fats. Honestly, I didn't need to lose a pound, but I have never felt so healthy and lean. I am a personal trainer, and was fit to begin with.

You must take this plan to heart. If it doesn't strike a cord, then you're not in it to begin with. This book gave us the tools to adopt a new lifestyle of eating. I will not say diet, which is the key to its success. This book is the real deal...not a fad.

My friends are actually amazed with the amount of food that I eat in a day considering that I eat 5 times per day. I am 5 feet tall and I weigh 100 lbs. soaking wet. When I bring meals to work, my co-workers gather round to see the culinary treat du jour.

I would love to recommend a cookbook that helped us in our efforts to re-think lowfat. The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook. A must. Tone down the fat, Pump up the flavor. This book gives you the breakdown on portion size, calories, fiber, sugar, fats and carbohydrates. It works in harmony with everything Dr. Phil is trying to teach us about the way we, each and everyone of us, should be eating.

I would like to share that I am a 47 year old mother of three. I have battled weight all of my life because I love food. I swear my metabolism slammed on the breaks when I hit 40. I have finally reached a very comfortable place with my relationship with food. I never, and I emphasize never, feel deprived. I have acquired a new joy for meal planning.

You can't buy this book looking for a miracle. The first week is hard. You will literally detox from the crap you're used to eating. Week two, you begin to coast, and then suddenly you realize you've created a new lifestyle.

I've only started reading the first two chapters of this book, and already I find myself considering new possibilities about how I view myself and food!!!

I was very disappointed to read the disparaging comments about this book and its author. I think people who expected to find something new here a) Don't get it; b) Are looking for a magic bullet; c) Just need something to complain about.

THERE IS NOTHING NEW ABOUT DIETING! Eat less, move more... it's that simple! In fact, if you've ever read the Bible, you know that a few thousand years ago Solomon had already declared that there was "nothing new under the sun" way back then!

Losing weight is all about common sense. That's what I expected from Dr. Phil which is exactly why I picked up his book in the first place. What Dr. Phil does that many psychologists simply aren't good at is take what is common sense and get you to accept it. For some people, like me, it means leading them to the point where it almost seems like it was their idea in the first place. Dr. Phil has a way of doing that for me.

This is not a book about a diet, like South Beach or Atkins, where you learn to control food, but never get your mind and heart in order. This book is about changing the way you look at yourself, why you want to lose weight, what you expect to happen when you reach your goal, what are you willing to do to make that happen. Bottom line... Phil cuts the crap about dieting!

So, the naysayers are right, there is nothing new here... just the plain honest-to-God truth, and that's exactly what I was looking for!

I have read the book through real thoroughly. Now I am reading it a second time to really remember what is says. From the moment Dr Phil says I have to start living a healthier life NOW I started to do so. For over a month now, I - a huge sugar addict and couch potato - have not eaten any sugar and exercised every day. Dr Phil gives the tools to handle every situation that occurs in this process. For example, if I raid my cupboards at night there is nothing there anymore and the impulse goes away. That is programming yourself for success. For the first time in my life I feel that I am in control over what I eat. For the first time in my life I feel how great it is to exercise. I am NOT on a diet. I have changed my lifestyle and I want to live this way my whole life. Dr Phil has managed to help me in a way that an endless number of doctors over the years have not been able to.

I have read many diet books and been on many diets. I believe that I can speak with some authority on the topic of dieting advice and I say what Dr. Phil has done here is remarkable. From the first chapter I felt moved emotionally. A few chapters in the reader is asked to begin writing about themselves. I set the book down for several weeks because I knew that if I moved forward there would be no going back. I would not be able to pretend that I would take care of my weight at some nebulous point in the future. I would either have to deal with my weight or completely accept that I would always be fat. If you have never struggled with weight then I doubt you can understand how terrifying that was for me. I was afraid to make that emotional commitment to a course I did not know if I would be successful at. You see, as long as I hadn't really attempted to get fit I could always cling to the hope that I might someday.

Well I picked that book back up and I finished it and it was remarkable and life changing. I can think of no better way to review the book than to tell you of my experiences after reading it.

From my earliest childhood it was an accepted fact that I was overweight, my parents said so as did my siblings and most of the neighborhood. The larger I became in life the more I fit my own self image of myself as a fat person. I refused to be in pictures from early childhood and at one point went through all of the family pictures and cut up or burned all my photos. After I finished the book I went to visit my Mom, I had the urge to see myself growing up fat. My intent was to fix in my mind how fat I had always been to give me stronger motivation to change. I had an eye opening discovery ahead of me.

What I saw for the first time is that I was not a fat child, I could have stood to lose five or ten pounds throughout my childhood, but only the most pessimistic observer could have described me as fat. To put in another way I had such a strong self image of myself as fat that I didn't match my own image until I weighed well over 300 pounds. When I read the book I weighed 474 lbs., that was almost three months ago.Today I weigh 428 lbs. I work out six days a week with a trainer alternating weights and cardio. I can walk for miles without pain and in fact am planning to spend a lot of my summer hiking in the beautiful wasatch mountains.

The reviewers who've said that there is nothing new in this book are missing the point. As far as the "diet" itself goes of course they are right, the message there is essentially eat right and exercise. What is remarkable and new with this book is that Dr. Phil addresses what is stopping you mentally from changing your life. While this may not be what everyone needs (it certainly was not what I thought I needed) it has changed my life. And you know what? I was right, once I turned that next page there was NO going back!

I am fat because 1) I eat too much and 2) I don't exercise enough. It's as simple as that.

I realized through reading this book how OUT OF CONTROL I was with food and how absolutely lazy I'd become. Food is not life. Food is merely a way to keep experiencing everything else in life. Why did I struggle with this for so many years?

This book provided me with the insight to realize many things about my eating & exercising habits and gave me the tools to
RE-LEARN how to take care of my body. I don't know why this book is so life-altering, but it just is. I'm not a fad-diet person, I have NEVER read a self-help book before, so my overwhelming support on this book shocks me. But it's awesome.

I've done the diet/exercise thing before and usually lasted a week before failing miserably. But this time, there's a whole different approach. The challenges I experienced before that would normally crush all hopes of weightloss are no longer a big deal. I accept the challenge for what it is, understand how I need to handle it, and I move on.

BTW, my husband doesn't get it. But then again, he is in perfectly health and body and drinks 6 cans of Pepsi a day and ALWAYS has a candy bar for lunch. He doesn't have to "get it" because his experience is totally different than mine.

As a medical doctor (MD) who treats overweight persons, I found this book useful to recommend to certain of my patients. Not all people with obesity have emotional issues that need addressing, but many do. I think Dr. Phil has done us a favor with his practical, down-to-earth approach on dealing with these kinds of issues. He has helped a lot of people with a very difficult and life-threatening problem.

For those reviewers who ignorantly refer to Dr. Phil as "obese", you need to get your facts straight - at 6'4" and 240 pounds he is NOT obese. His BMI (body mass index) is 29 which ranks him as "overweight" not obese.

I have a word for the doubters. To say that an overweight person is not qualified to write a book about weight control is rather absurd. Does he claim to be perfect? Aren't we all "works in progress"? It is the equivalent of saying that Billy Graham shouldn't talk about sin because he himself is not perfect.

Additionally, I thought it rather comical that most (if not all) of the 1 star reviews were written by what seemed to be angry and immature people with some sort of anti-Dr.Phil or anti-psychologist agenda. My advice to most of those writers is GROW UP - it'll do you (and the rest of us) a world of good !!

For those interested in a helpful resource that addresses an important aspect of weight control (and relapse avoidance), I recommend this book.

The bad reviews seem to only be able to say a very few things: Phil is fat, Phil is not qualified or this diet plan does not work.
People who have read this book and liked it though seem to have more down to earth commentary in comparison. They talk about the ways in which this book has changed their lives, not about how much they hate someone else. I have been working for a professional counseling service for the past 3 years and I have seen a lot of people in the office with real problems. The people who seem to actually get better and take steps in their life to improve it seem to be the ones that begin the counseling with a more positive attitude. They are the ones that no matter what their problem is they are not mean and seem to try to take an active part in their recovery. Meanness, and calling someone obese fat or whatever else is very mean when the person works so hard to keep their weight down, seems to produce more problems than it solves.
We acquired a copy of Phil's new book for our office and I have read it cover to cover during my lunch breaks. I think that the Ultimate Weight Solution tries to get people into the positive, no holds barred attitude that gets results when you are counseling. Phil doesn't take no for an answer.

Yes, you are going to change your life.
Yes, you can change your habits.
Yes, you are a good person.

I believe that this approach works, maybe not for everyone but it will for the millions out there that read Dr. Phil and watch him or simply listen every once in a while to his advice.
Meanness breeds meanness- hope breeds hope. I think that if you are someone who believes deeply in hope and the power of positive thought than you are the right person for this book.

This book changed my relationship with food and my body. I had always been challenged by my weight. We all know the stories of the ups and downs of weight loss. I understand now that my battle with weight loss is over. FOREVER. This book is the ultimate solution if you want it to be. Dr. Phil tells you that you have to be ready to commit to the 7 keys. You have to be open minded and if you aren't... it simply won't work for you.

I went from a size 16 to a size 2!!!! An honest size 2 in jeans even. I am a HUGE believer.

With the help of this book, I finally decided to change my body shape for the first time in 15 years. At 41 with two small children, I know that there is no magic bullet to changing the shape of your body. It takes a lot of hard work: exercising, eating for better health and not using food as an emotional comfort blanket. We all "know" all the things Dr. Phil goes over in this book -- but obviously if you're reading this review you too have never stuck to them. His discussion on emotional eating really changed how I view food. So maybe we all know how to lose weight already but the tools have never really been presented this clearly, with such wonderful motivation. You have to be ready to make such a change in your life -- you are still the one that has to do all the work. My extra motivation came from going from a size 12 to a size 6 in 5 months. If you are ready for a change and willing to put in some hard work, buy the book -- believe me, the payoff is huge.