74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
An Empowering Book Based On Success Stories
In this highly readable and motivational book, nutritionist Anne Fletcher explains that, just as no two people are alike, there is no single right way to lose weight. Thus, this is not a diet book per se, but a list of 10 principles that successful dieters have in common, and to which I refer frequently when I find myself slipping in my resolve.
31 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
Tell me what I don't know!
Recently I'd lost 35 pounds by exercising, lifting light weights with Denise Austin tapes (she's fun), and eating a little less. However,I'd hit a plateau, and wanted some good advice that maybe I hadn't considered. I know I have to do the above things to get into shape and lose weight, it's common sense.
What this book tells me is that I have to count...
In this highly readable and motivational book, nutritionist Anne Fletcher explains that, just as no two people are alike, there is no single right way to lose weight. Thus, this is not a diet book per se, but a list of 10 principles that successful dieters have in common, and to which I refer frequently when I find myself slipping in my resolve.
Fletcher calls these successful dieters "masters:" people who have kept off at least 20 pounds for at least 3 years. (Many of her masters have lost and kept off much more.)
The two things I like most about this book are:
1) Rather than taking a theoretical and single-minded approach to dieting, the author relies on a wide variety of actual true long-term success stories and quotes the masters themselves extensively.
2) The author takes a practical, common-sense, long-term approach rather than the usual quick-fix mentality of most diet books.
Bottom line: this book worked (and is still working) for me!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I have been heavy pretty much my whole life (I'm 51) and have dieted and gained countless times. I've read MANY books about weight loss and have found some helpful, but I have never felt such a profound benefit as I have gained from Thin for Life. This may not be the perfect book for someone who needs an extremely prescriptive plan...every step written out for you, every morsel of food planned and scripted. But, if like me, you are mostly going it on your own and you are looking for tools and resources to help you, this is THE PERFECT BOOK.
What could be more motivational than a bunch of people who have not only lost weight but kept it off? I don't agree with every single person's methods of either getting it off or keeping it off; however, COLLECTIVELY, their advice is gold. SO helpful. If you are looking for that elusive key to doing this RIGHT for once and for all, READ THIS BOOK. If you just want validation that you're already on the right track, READ THIS BOOK!
Thank you to Ms. Fletcher and to all the "masters"...you have touched me, inspired me and shown me that thin for life does not have to be a fantasy. And for that, I am forever grateful.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
The good: The advice here from successful weight-losers is wide-ranging, generally useful, and presented in context so that you know something about the person's weight history and particular circumstances. Not all of it is going to be useful for any particular person, of course, but the perspective of successful people is, as another reviewer remarked, like gold.
The bad: About half the book (scattered throughout plus a section at the back) consists of the author's own weight-loss advice and diet program. This is very much oriented toward fat-as-dietary-demon. If you're using a high-protein/low carbohydrate approach, this part obviously won't be applicable for you; if you're following a conventional low-fat/limited-protein/high-carbohydrate diet, you'll find it more useful. HOWEVER...
The ugly: Be careful about the particulars of the diet advice here. The book advises use of margarine instead of butter in the meal plans, which was conventional thinking in 1994 (when the first edition was published) but is inexcusable in a book published in 2003. The author recommends using sweet snacks such as jelly beans, licorice, marshmallows, etc., and says "Sugar and low-fat sweets per se don't concern me too much as a dietician" so long as they don't contain fat. Sugar candy may have zero fat but that doesn't make it a good thing to encourage people to snack on. A dietician writing in 2003 should know better.
Summary: by all means read the book, but get it for the stories of the "masters", not the diet advice. Just about all of the "masters" had at least one thing to say that I found useful and insightful.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
10 months ago, I found this tape, by accident, in our local library. Having just started to focus on losing weight through eating right (NOT dieting! ) and exercise, I took it on a trip with me.
To this day, I remember first hearing parts on this tape like it was yesterday - the stories shared are inspiring, and common sense information that Anne shares is so to the point.
I can say without hesitation, that I've listened to this tape (I've since bought it from Amazon for myself) over 20 times since I began my weight loss. It stays in my car and I listen to it once or twice a month as time allows.
Since last summer, I've lost over 100 pounds, and attribute my success in large part to motivational books and stories, and this book is at the very top.
This is NOT a "do this and you'll lose weight" plan. It's about people who have been where I was, and how they, through common sense and sheer determination, were able to overcome their weight problem. This is more about motivation than mechanics.
Anne Fletcher, if you're out there, I've been looking for you on the Internet to thank you - post your e-mail, mailing address, whatever!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Early last year, I read the 1994 version of Thin for Life, just as I was starting to lose weight, for what I hoped was the final time. I, like others, have fought the battle my entire life. The end of 2003 found me 43 years old, in a back brace for intense sciatica and growing out of the 1x clothes. I read Ms. Fletcher's book (that had sat on my shelf for 4 years) and KNEW I would succeed and finally be Thin for Life!
Her interviews of the masters proved to me there are ways to succeed. Not through some magic pill or specific plan but by looking inside yourself and finding out what makes you tick. From there, you can look at the different options that Ms. Fletcher and the masters present and pick what fits you and your lifestyle. For me it is keeping track of everything I eat in a database on my laptop, using the elliptical I put in the living room, lots of different exercise dvd's and even some charity 5k runs. Others have used other means to succeed.
This book shows you what is out there and how we can use appropriate tools for us to reach a common goal of a fit and healthy body.
She shows us how to deal with the hard times (no one said this was easy) and gives us the coping mechanisms that she and the other masters have used. She presents the science, the facts proven though research, in such an easy to understand, very engaging format. Real words for the real world!
I've lost the back brace, the sciatica and 80 pounds! The local charities have benefited from the donation of all my old clothes. The local merchants benefit from my purchase of several new wardrobes this year.
I gave my copy to a co-worker who has lost 20 pounds, so far and I bought the new version as a replacement for my library. I have read it, finding it just as beneficial now that I am in maintenance mode, as I did when I first started. I've read several other books that have had some helpful information and THIN FOR LIFE is the ONE book I have recommended to those that want to know what my "secret" is.
Like the doctor tells you, "diet" and exercise are what works. Ms. Fletcher gives us the keys to unlock the mystery of how to unlock the healthy, thin person locked inside the big outer shell. This book is the "formula" for the lifestyle change that is the key to being the healthiest you can be.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
*See below for update! 4/00 I bought this book 7 weeks ago and have lost over 20 pounds. More importantly, I am learning a new way of eating, looking at, and thinking about food. This is not a step by step "follow this menu" diet book. It is full of advice from 100's of people who have lost weight, and kept it off for a number of years. It teaches you to implement what worked for them into what works for you. I would recommend this book to anyone needing support and motivation for whatever plan you are on. There are two companion books that are also very helpful "Eating Thin for Life" and the "Thin for Life Daybook". *Update 9/25/01, well the 20 pound loss has turned into a 120 pound loss. I am now maintaining with the continued motivation from this book. If you want to change your lifestyle, and keep it changed, this book can help. It has changed my life!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I bought and read this book just over a year ago. Having been bombarded with stories about how diets don't work in the long term like many of us have been I was really amazed to read about people who had lost weight and kept it off for years - all kinds of ways. I was convinced by the facts in "Thin for Life", and as a result got down to losing weight after 20 years of avoiding it. When friends, co-workers, and family told me it wasn't worth dieting because "I would just gain it back and more" - I was able to draw inspiration from the book and keep going. I lost 40 lbs in the first 6 months after reading the book with the help of joining Weight Watchers (only one of the many ways to do it according to the book), and have kept it off ever since. When you know that real people can become thin and stay that way for years it is possible to make your own life change.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I judge this as the best book going for motivated people wishing to lose weight. I found the stories of "plain folks" to be highly inspirational. Their tips for losing, and especially, maintaining weight loss were immensely practical. I followed the Jump-Start diet and lost 5% of my body weight in six weeks. More importantly, I was able to modify the diet so I can follow it for a lifetime. I've never enjoyed "dieting" this much!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I purchased this book when I went on a diet one year ago.
The book contains excepts from interviews of people who have
actually lost weight and KEPT it off. I found this to be
extremely motivational. It help me to see that I could make a
a change in my life that would actually last. The author
teaches you skills to make weight loss a life change.
No more yo-yo diets; it is all about long term change. I can
happily reoprt that I lost 100 pounds in that year and read
the book four times...cover to cover! I still refer to it
during moments of weakness. It is really a self esteem
booster.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
My doctor recommended this book and it was worth the money and the time. There are no magic formulas espoused, only common sense suggestions. The books mentions certain weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers, TOPS, OA, and Jenny Craig as sources of help but clearly states that we are to take responsibility for losing the weight. This book does give a sample Exchange Diet program in the back but it isn't a diet book per se. The book focuses on making changes in our lifestyle, not just in our eating habits. It talks about the need to be flexible, to have support, to engage in non-food related activities and have non-food related rewards. It talks about allowing ourselves to slip without giving up and how to deal with lapses. It recommends exercise but also tells that some Masters (people who have taken off considerable weight and kept it off) lost and maintained without exercise. It tells the reader to consider a weight loss plan that will also be feasible as a maintenance plan. It discourages fad diets and recommends sensible eating. It is a source of many good suggestions. This book doesn't make foolish promises or guarantees. It simply contains excellent guidelines to establish sensible practices for healthy mental and physical well-being.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
