The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom    Dr. Phil McGraw Order:  USA  Can Free Press, 2003 (2003) Hardcover, Audio, CD, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Melissa Parcel If you are looking for another diet to help the pounds magically melt away, this book is not for you. But if you're serious about changing your thinking and attitudes about the way you eat and the way you handle your weight, then The Ultimate Weight Solution will provide tools to help you make progress. Dr. Phil McGraw, best-selling author and television counselor, has researched psychological, medical, and nutritional resources to provide sound information. After counseling people for over thirty years, he has come to understand what works and what doesn't for permanent lifestyle changes and weight loss. He begins by 'Getting Real About You and Your Weight.' He reviews his seven keys, and talks about why they work when other programs have failed, emphasizing how important it is to remain accountable for making the changes required. There is an entire chapter dedicated to helping the reader develop realistic, attainable goals, to write them down and calculate a 'Get Real' weight. After a quiz to determine whether you are ready to embark on this journey, comes the first key, 'Right Thinking' -'Change your thinking to change your weight. Get rid of self-defeating thought patterns, believe that you will succeed ...' This key helps us to deal with all types of internal dialogue and to combat wrong thinking. Key Two, 'Healing Feelings,' talks about stress and emotional eating. Key Three, 'A No-Fail Environment,' helps the reader to change environmental cues in order to champion weight management. Key Four, 'Mastery Over Food and Impulse Eating,' discusses habits, behaviors, and payoffs related to overeating. Throughout each of these chapters, readers are encouraged to complete written exercises and examine their own thoughts and motivations thoroughly in order to create change. Key Five, 'High-Response Cost, High-Yield Nutrition,' shows how to distinguish between foods that take a great deal of work and effort to prepare and eat (and are therefore healthier) and those that provide excess calories in relation to nutrition. Charts, menus, and do's and don'ts are outlined to encourage success. Key Six, 'Intentional Exercise,' analyzes the benefits of exercise, motivation, and specific programs to provide maximum benefit from physical activity. Key Seven, 'Your Circle of Support,' talks about sabotage and accountability. Dr. Phil then discusses people who are weight loss resistant and how to overcome the issues involved. Finally, a frank chapter tells the reader that 'Weight is Managed, Not Cured,' and how this translates into weight control that lasts. You might think that this all sounds like common sense, things you should already know and be able to put into practice. But the author delves deeper and forces the reader to 'Get Real' about their thinking and their weight. My family members have read this book and we've started putting the suggestions into practice. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. It's eating healthier, getting active, and figuring out why the weight is there in the first place. I particularly relate to the case study examples he uses; they help me to see how my own life is affected by my thinking and actions. The passage in the beginning of the book that gives me the most motivation states, 'My father used to tell me, 'When you kill time, remember you can't resurrect it.' So I can assure you, at this precise time next year, your weight will be higher or lower than it is right now. It will not be the same; the choice to reduce it or let it pile higher and higher is entirely and unquestionably yours.' If you are looking to reduce your weight for a healthier, happier, longer life, then today is the day to get started, and The Ultimate Weight Solution can help you succeed. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews