Get with the Program! (Spiral-bound)

~ (Author) "Congratulations! Whether you realize it or not, simply by picking up this book you have taken the first of what I hope will be many..." (more)
Key Phrases: aerobic rating, aerobic minutes, convenience rating, Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lose weight, get in shape, understand your emotions, and feel good about yourself. These are the interrelated goals of Get with the Program by Bob Greene, best known as Oprah's personal trainer and coauthor of Make the Connection.

Using this book is like having a personal coach working with you on emotional and behavioral changes as well as diet and exercise. Greene realizes that if you've had trouble losing weight, you need to understand your attitudes and obstacles before any diet or exercise program will work. So phase one of the program is a self-examination regarding changing your life, including written exercises to help you understand your emotions. Phase two adds aerobic exercise, without changing your diet, to rev up your metabolism. Phase three focuses on the emotional connection to eating habits, including identifying emotional eating triggers and working to overcome them. Phase four adds strength training and dietary changes.

Get with the Program is conveniently spiral-bound, so it's easy to fill in the written exercises and view instructions and photos of the physical exercises. It’s highly recommended for people who have had trouble losing weight and are serious about getting in shape--physically and emotionally. --Joan Price

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Greene's offers exercise regimens, photographs, and useful training tips for beginners or experts, and concentrates on how readers can reach their physical and mental potential. The plan is divided into four phases, and there is a section on journal keeping. The author explains how to set up a good exercise-and-conditioning program, how to increase metabolism, and how to improve one's appearance with a little mental preparation. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of attitude, eating high-quality food, understanding the connection between food and emotions, and drinking lots of water. Readers who follow his advice could learn to "live the best life possible," and become hooked on feeling good, looking good, and being good to themselves.
ayo dayo, Chinn Park Regional Library, Prince William, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743225996
• ISBN-13: 978-0743225991
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #505,009 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

168 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic advice on how to get fit, February 5, 2002

By	mirope "mirope" (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Let's be clear up front: there are no major breakthroughs or miracles in this book. Most every American alive knows what it would take to get fit (exercise) and lose weight (eat less fat and junk). To a certain extent, therefore, "Get with the Program" is just a re-formulation of the hard facts we all know. What Bob Greene has devised is a realistic and relatively painless way of adopting those healthy practices into your life on a long-term basis. There are 4 incremental stages to the program which are simple and designed for each person to follow at their own pace. This means that you don't have to wake up tomorrow morning, starve yourself and run out the door for 2 hours at the gym. Step 1 is simple: start a minimum of aerobic exercise, basic stretches and some abdominal exercises a couple of times a week. Easy enough. Once you've thoroughly incorporated that into your life, you move on to stage 2 where exercise picks up a little. Not until you reach stage 4 do you begin to actively change your eating habits; that can be months or years later. This is a fitness program that isn't intimidating and isn't going to require you to drastically change your whole lifestyle immediately in order to get results and start feeling better about yourself. This means that a lot of people who haven't been successful in weightloss or exercise programs before are finally going to succeed in making long-term changes to their lives. Again, this isn't a radical fad diet (in fact, the nutritional advice is rather skimpy - follow Greene's principals, but don't hesitate to supplement the nutritional info if you need to)- it's about making gradual changes at a pace you can live with.

132 of 138 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, practical advice for better health, January 18, 2002

By A Customer

Greene's concept of physical fitness and health is simple: eat less, move more, and you'll lose weight and feel healthier. It's time to throw away stupid fad diets which cannot be maintained for life. Greene is candid and honest about what it takes to lose weight and increase fitness. This is not a diet, nor a strict exercise plan. Rather, the phased approach to gradually increasing health and fitness makes it easy for even a sedentary individual to make a positive lifestyle change.

Although my level of cardiovascular fitness is decent (I already do the amount that Greene suggests for the final phase), I have always struggled with emotional eating. So much of this book is devoted to simple, easy-to-understand discussion of why people are emotional eaters, and what can be done to change. It has been so helpful; I have completely curbed my emotional binge eating. It hasn't been easy, but Greene's recommendations on a healthy diet have really made a difference.

This book is intended primarily for those who are looking to begin a lifestyle change, but I believe it is appropriate even for those who are already working towards their fitness goals.

144 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Focus on Daily Little Victory, March 16, 2002

By	Matthew M. Yau "Voracious reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Interesting. When I picked up Bob Greene's GET WITH THE PROGRAM, the guidelines look familiar-this is almost exactly what my fitness friend told me to do few years ago to lose weight. GET WITH THE PROGRAM is a reiteration, reformulation of the basic "double E" principles we all know-eat healthy and exercise. So there is nothing new. But unlike another recent hot pick EAT MORE, WEIGHT LESS, Greene's program is more practical and will stimulate those who want to make a difference in their physique and lifestyle.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM has 4 stages that emphasize gradual change in eating and exercise habit. Phase 1 is easy but very little people will even try because of laziness and procrastination. Phase 1 includes exercises that get us going: some stretches, some aerobic exercises, some situps, and curls for couple times a week. By doing these exercises couple twice a week, we formulate a routine which builds a mindset not to give up. I call these daily little victories. We certainly can't just go to the gym and start lifting 300 pounds hoping to change our body metabolism. But aerobic and cardiovascular excersies can help retune our strength. Start with maybe 10 situps and curls then increase to 15, 20, then 25 a set and do 2 reps of sets. These are daily victories.

Phase 2 picks up the exercise and let you perform more sets. As the program progresses toward Phase 3 and 4, you will start changing the diet and watch what you're eating. Many people misunderstood about working out as burining fat. When you work out, you burn calories. Until you create a deficit of calories in diet, you will never get rid of body fat. When all calories from food have been consumed, then the body will go about the fat stored. So incorporating a diet to workout/exercise is the key. Greene's program will help you achieve this balance. I'm excited about how GET WITH THE PROGRAM has put into a written account of what my fitness friend had told me to do. From 195 lbs (5 feet 8 inches tall), I alternated between aerobics and cardiovascular execises with increasing repetition (the daily victories), changed the diet around to create deficit in calories (about a deficit of 600 calories a day, but 1 pound of fat equal 3500 calories), I started jogging after 2 months of aerboic and cardiovascular, I lost a total of 52 pounds and got down to 143 lbs in 8 months. Focus on the little victories, start the exercises and gradually increase the repetition to create endurance and strength. Change the diet completely, cut all high-fat food like junk food, McDonalds, desserts, high-carbohydrates like pasta and rice. Cut processed sugar products like sodas and ice cream. Drink lots of water and natural freshly sueezed juices. Many programs are out there in the markets like GET WITH THE PROGRAM, success depends on personal determination and perseverance.