The Life You Want: Get Motivated, Lose Weight, and Be Happy

by Bob Greene, Ann Ph.D Kearney-Cooke, M.S. R.D. Janis Jibrin

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WEIGHT AND CLAIM THE LIFE YOU DESERVE! Bob Greene has helped millions lose weight and get in shape with his life-changing Best Life plan. Now Oprah’s most trusted expert on diet and fitness teams up with psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke and nutritionist Janis Jibrin to zero in on common barriers to weight loss success. Together, they will offer practical tips and explore the latest science on emotional eating and lack of motivation. REWIRE YOUR BRAIN TO OVERCOME OVEREATING CONQUER EXERCISE AVERSION TAME YOUR SUGAR, FAT, AND SALT CRAVINGS TRANSFORM YOUR BODY IMAGE INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS While the basic principles of weight loss are simple enough, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a struggle. The Life You Want delivers the information and inspiration you need to overcome each obstacle—once and for all.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Health

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2010

About the author

Bob Greene is a personal trainer who writes on health and weight loss. He works and writes with Oprah Winfrey.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely written for people like ME - emotional eater/junk food addict. It definitely helped me understand why I struggle so much with giving up bad eating habits. I appreciated how the authors described why we are wired with a sugar-, fat-, salt-loving brain, and that it is possible to rewire our brains. It's work, but it's possible! So instead of beating myself up for maintaining the same old dirty habits, I can motivate myself to keep doing better, and one of these days, saying "no" to junk food won't be as difficult as it is now.

Favorite quotes:

"In most cases, the biggest barriers to losing weight and keeping it off are related to the way you think, how you feel, and how you manage your life."

"The majority of people who succeed at weight loss have the same built-in inclinations and susceptibilities as you; they've simply been able to overcome them or at least manage them. And not because they're superhuman. Most of them have successfully changed what gives them pleasure and increased their tolerance for discomfort because they've changed the most important thing of all: their minds."

"When you know which foods you should be eating but can't seem to do it, it's often a sign you need to increase your resources or decrease your demands."

"The goal of this plan is to break the old habits--eating too many high-calorie foods--and create new, benign, or healthful habits. Because the pathway in the brain from trigger to treat is well worn, and, literally, the path of least resistance, breaking the habit may prove tough. You'll probably slip up here and there; that's a normal part of the process. Keep at it, and you'll find that you're giving in less and less and feeling more and more in control."

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Bob Greene's other books as well, but this one finally feels real and sounds more like it is in his own voice. This is not about a specific diet or exercise regimen though there is good information included. Rather, this is finally tackling the barriers that prevent people from achieving goals. Very pragmatic and supportive, yet it has a "no more excuses" feel, too.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! One of the better self-help/motivational works for weight loss, weight loss maintenance, and fitness.

[Wanda Presley · Rating 2 out of 5]

In depth exploration of psychological reasons underlying overeating and how to overcome that issue. Well written and thorough; however, not exactly what I sought.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this. Lots of great ideas. Thought it would be all about weight loss but it covers more than that.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could, I would give this book 3.5 stars. This book is great, but it is designed for a very specific demographic. I am not really someone who struggles with my weight or has had life long "weight issues," and that is the kind of person this book is for. It is not what I was looking for. Although it is motivating and has some good information, this book is more therapeutic for someone overweight with no background in exercise and is really starting at square one.

I wouldn't recommend this to just the average person trying interested in losing weight. For me, it was not a lot of new information. This book would be great for somebody who had no knowledge of how to eat right or healthily, how to exercise, and had serious body consciousness.

One neat this was that it had worksheets in the back of the book to use as you read the book, but I never used them since they were the same things I was already doing with various websites.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a lot of great tips and inspirational thinking in this book. My big issue with it is the excessive focus on solving emotional problems. There's the implication that when emotional problems are solved the weight will come off. First off, I reject that the premise that obesity comes from some psychological issue. But -- and this is even more important -- it's not necessary to *solve* psychological issues in order to lose weight. Eat and move like a thinner person and you will lose weight, even if other issues remain. My concern is that people with weight to lose end up with an excuse for postponing it with the popular misconception (spread in this book) that they need to come up with The Big Cause of their excess weight before going after it.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really learned a lot about myself by doing the exercises in the book. It is one of the few times that I have journaled and taken notes while reading a book (you don't know me but I never do that).

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that has issues with food and/or exercise.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this I read every word and parts I skimmed (like the part for people who don't like to exercise since that's not my "issue"). There were some helpful activities I plan to try, but I didn't walk away from the book thinking oh my gosh I have the answer now!

[K. East · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here if you are a reader of other nutrition or exercise guides, but it is thorough and readable. It would be a better choice than most for people confused by why their yoyo dieting doesn't seem to change anything.

[Becky Schulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing really new - emotional eating, finding motivation, etc. Personal stories added to my enjoyment and my connection to the content.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great info on the practical and psycological areas of weight loss. Respectful, mature and realistic.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

No earth-shattering revelations here folks... Same old, "You eat too much, so start a good diet and exercise more" book. I GUESS it could be motivational for some. ;) -e

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

No big revelations in this one. I was hoping for some inspiration to keep pushing me to my goals, but I felt like it was very dry.

[Manal Marghalani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book ,resourceful ,so motivational&psychologically orinted
loved it sooooo much .