Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Weight Solution

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

I have to admit that I was a sceptic initially, everyone nowadays seems to have the "ultimate diet". Dr Phil starts by ridding you of the concept of a diet straight away, only a lifestyle change leads to successful, permanent weight-loss. I was inspired, I now go to the gym regularly, I do things at my own pace. I realise it is consistency not how fast you go on the treadmill on a particular day that leads to weight loss. The Dr Phil line of foods are so helpful in avoiding dangerous cravings, and with his step-by-step explanations I have been able to bring back some kind of order and structure to my meals. I love his matter-of-fact approach, it just made it all so much easier to stomach!

This books is a platform for motivational speaking. It has wonderful ideas, however, it's up to the reader to implement them.

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.

Good, practical, common sense approach to dieting. None of these miracle diets that you can see around... -- Enjoy your food, eat most of the foods you like, just chew them well, follow some simple food combination guidelines, and don't let your stomach direct your actions! In that sense the book reminds me of another great book titled Can We Live 150 Years? Get them both and safe of shipping charges

I thought I'd find some helpful insights in this book. There is nothing new here. This is the same message we've always heard in new packaging. That's not to say the message is wrong (diet, exercise, behavior modification). Unfortunately, this packaging includes McGraw making insulting comments on nearly every page. Comments like getting "your fat behind" to the gym and other remarks are insulting to people who struggle with a not-simple-to-solve problem. Perhaps the author thinks that this is part of his well-known 'folksy' style. I was offended, however. Not recommended.

With this line Dr. Phil begins his newest, ingenious work into the mind and behavior of humans. His last few books have dealt with people in relationships, people in general (and how they must focus on the person within to express and live the life they were meant to), but now he has focused on a group of people very close to his heart- people who are overweight. For anyone who doesn't know obesity, as Dr. Phil has explained a number of times, runs in his family and was the main cause of his father's death. I believe that the subject for these reasons is one that he takes very seriously. He is not doing it for money. It is so easy to look at the hard façade that he expresses and see that Dr. Phil truly does care about this subject. I found that the book better expressed his tenderness toward this subject- on the show I find that he is usually quite guarded when it comes to personal feelings.

As someone who has fought my weight my entire life I understand what it is like to have people in your family that you watch struggle everyday as well. It begins to break down your will power and it breaks down your belief that you will ever be able to be any thinner or live any better than them. You lose confidence in yourself when you see what obesity does to others around you who seem to be fighting it. My mother was always on a diet- always gaining instead of losing in the end. I watched as fad after fad caught her and my attention as well as I watched us get bigger and bigger.

This up and down and up and down begins to make you feel like a lesser person. When I picked up the Ultimate Weight Solution I will admit that I was just looking for another quick fix; it doesn't matter how many times he said it wasn't that is what I am always looking for really. But the first page struck me so hard that I put down the book and called my mother, because in that first page I felt as though he was talking to me. He was telling me about my life and he was about to help me change. I made the decision right then that this plan was the one for me and so far I have not been disappointed. It will take me time but day by day I am preparing myself and my home and I am trying to make the decisions that I believe will help rather than hinder me from having a better, thinner life. The Ultimate Weight Solution gave me hope and I a life to look forward to- I hope it does the same for you.

I bought both the audio and the book of this, and am still in the process of going through... But so far, I find Dr. Phil's concept to be very helpful. We all KNOW how to diet, but we have to deal with WHY we over-eat in the first place, or it will all just come barreling back. His writing is easy to read, it isn't boring blah blah blah stuff, and his audio version is nice to listen to with his soft Southern Drawl. Once finished these, I know I will refer back to them again and again... Especially the CD.

As a veteran of the diet wars, i must admit to some skepticism when beginning this book. BUT-- i had seen enough people achieve success with it to make it worth the read. And i've tried enough different eating styles (body type diet/grapefruit diet/starvation/all protein/no meat/low carb/no carb...to name a few) in the name of weight control to make reading The Ultimate Weight Solution a worthwhile venture.

So often we humans become trapped in our own dysfunction, products of an accumulation of bad experiences and years of wrong thinking. Dr. Phil is able to lead through the process of challenging those thoughts and the truths we have internalized from those bad experiences. Making use of the exercises in the book (yes, it takes time but is well worth it) and filling out the assessments regarding my habits helped me see the areas where I wasn't being entirely honest with myself or where I needed to make adjustments.

The book is filled with practical help. Dr. Phil makes the point that you can't simply remove something from your habits without replacing it, and he gives abundant solutions to walk through the process of changing your views to support a healthy mental/emotional/physical lifestyle.

I'd recommend this book to anyone whether they want to lose 5 or 500 pounds. I for one would like to have comfortable control of my weight rather than my weight controlling me--and this book is helping me achieve just that.

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.

Weight is multi-factorial... but many things must be addressed before you can *successfully* change the scale forever. There are sensable dietary suggestion in this book but they are way into the book...

Much of the beginning of this book is about working on yourself and how you got into the shape your in. How you *made it okay to look like you do*...how you *made it okay*... yes... that was a new concept for me to consider and a very important one. There are a number of self tests intended to give you insight and I must admit I learned a few things about myself (which I wasnt expecting). Currently I am actually successfully dieting but was quite nervous about putting it back on or lapsing on the plan I am on.

Dr Phil is correct. A *diet plan* will not solve my problems... the problems are separate. It's how I got here... And there is work to do before I am ready to be thinner... I respond to Dr Phils style altho I am aware that some do not. If you are someone that does this is an excellent book. If you are ready...and you may not be... for some exploration about why you have the weight this book is wonderful. Give it, and yourslef a chance.