The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom (Hardcover)

by Phil McGraw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Self-improvement guru Phillip McGraw knows you're looking for "something that melts fat off like sun melts ice," but, he reminds you, "losing weight is not 'quick and easy' and you know it." McGraw, one of Oprah's favorite sidekicks and host of his own television show, promises that you will succeed with his methods, because you will change "from the inside out." McGraw's 7 Keys are sound--not quick. First, you have to understand and face your "personal truth"--what you think about yourself and your weight--and replace toxic messages with positive thoughts. Next, step by step, you learn how to counter emotional eating, change your environment, master impulse eating, choose foods, adopt an exercise habit, and assemble a support circle. Each step is clearly explained and personalized with case studies, fill-in charts, and self-tests. His nutrition plan emphasizes foods with high nutritional yields for few calories, and that cannot be eaten quickly (generally because they're high in fiber), so you're less likely to overeat. McGraw is the author of Life Strategies, Relationship Rescue, and Self Matters. Here he offers his unique, , tell-it-like-it-is, take-no-prisoners style to help you change "what you eat, why you eat, where you eat, when you eat, and how you eat," all in an individualized approach that's bound to be effective. Highly recommended. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly
Host of an eponymous TV show, Dr. Phil (Life Strategies; Relationship Rescue; etc.) here ventures into the world of diet books with a plan that's apt to appeal primarily to desperate chronic dieters. For over three decades, he says, he's counseled patients both morbidly obese and dangerously thin, helping them confront why they set their minds to fail at weight management. He looks carefully, for instance, at why people overeat in response to problems, or why they surround themselves with unhealthy snacks and people. While it's refreshing to see a diet book geared toward the psychology behind weight gain (instead of one that faddishly recommends a few specific foods to eat and to avoid), McGraw tends to complicate his advice with unnecessary jargon. For example, instead of asserting that dieters should feel free to reward themselves for working out, he offers a treatise on "consequating your exercise behavior" using "contingency management." What everyone else would call "whole foods," McGraw refers dubs "high-response cost foods," and touts this as a revolutionary approach to dieting. The book's title is also slightly misleading, since each of the 7 "keys" includes a multitude of internal steps, some of which require lengthy "self-audits" in order to progress. Readers might have appreciated interviews with McGraw's former clients-he says he had an "80-plus percent success rate" in the eight years he focused on morbidly obese patients-and a little less psychobabble. That said, with his multitude of fans and his frank tone, this latest volume should sell like whole-wheat hotcakes.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st Edition edition (September 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743236742
• ISBN-13: 978-0743236744
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (274 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,878 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

486 of 521 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diet book?, September 20, 2003

By	Fab (Chicago, USA) - See all my reviews

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.

464 of 498 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new?, October 20, 2003

By	Diane Hamilton "lady_in_pink" (Milwaukee, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

160 of 171 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, November 13, 2003

By A Customer

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.