100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan

A 44-year-old woman that has struggled to lose weight for a number of years writes this review. The combination of too much work, and not enough sleep and exercise resulted in "excess storage tissue" as my darling husband likes to call it. If you have ever struggled with excess weight and couldn't motivate yourself to stick with a diet for the long haul you should read this book. The book is subdivided in 10-day blocks as follows: 1. Set up for success 2. Put food in its place 3. Conscious eating 4. Listen to your body 5. Jump-start motivation 6. Emotional eating 7. Triggers and word play 8. Growing stronger 9. Long-term success 10. Put it into action This book is written in 2 page chapters that you are suppose to read each day. The author presents a very concise and thought provoking idea each day. Then the author asks you to think about the topic and what it means to you and answer a question or two. By honestly answering the questions in this book I was able to identify long held beliefs that were not serving me well. As a victim or sexual assault in my freshman year of college I connect thinness with danger, subconsciously. This book helped me to bring these thoughts to the surface so that I could recognize them and deal with them before they showed up on my hips. I am not trying to imply that someone with deep-seated underlying issues is the target audience of this book. What I am trying to convey is that I think this book can help the casual dieter, or those that have issues that go deeper. If you are honest with yourself when you answer the questions each day you might be surprised at what bubbles to the surface. The book is written in a very pleasant conversational tone. The author is in no way condescending, like some other books I have read on the topic. The ideas the author puts forth are very simple yet effective. If you are looking for an awareness of what you do that has caused excess weight to accumulate you will learn something about yourself and your habits reading this book. This book is also full of tips and tricks to keep you on track. In my opinion this is a very useful book from the perspective that it altered my thoughts about food. I recommend this book to anyone that is struggling with excess weight.

If you have ever struggled with erratic weight gain, inability to stay on track, no willpower, then this book is for you. It gives you 100 days of easy to read, easy to understand tips for success and help with all those problem areas. I suffer from depression and very low self-esteem and this book helped me tremendously. I use it in conjunction with Linda Spangle's other book, "Life is Hard, Food is Easy". Both these books have changed my life and my outlook on food. Food is no longer my enemy and I no longer fear the stronghold it once had on me. Do yourself a favor, invest in both these books. You won't be sorry.

This book is excellent. I read it everyone morning. It gets me going for the day. I am a graduate student, and I am guilty of reading during class. A student next to me asked what I was reading, and I showed her. She borrowed it, and for about 14 of my 100 days I didn't have it. I had to get it back for my remaining days. Also, when I wanted to eat something that I shouldn't, I would grab the book and reread a section. The book is interactive and ,therefore, less monotonous.

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (3/06) There are many books on the market about dieting, most of them being a specific diet. Linda Spangle, a registered nurse who is a nationally recognized authority on emotional eating and psychological issues of weight management, provides the reader with mini-lessons that keep the dieter committed for 100 days. It is believed that after 3 months the tools received will become daily tools. In Spangle's 20 years career working with overweight individuals, she finds that most dieters start strong but after three to four weeks they "fall off the wagon." Her first suggestion is to choose the best diet plan. She provides a quiz on www.thedietquiz.com to help the reader choose the appropriate plan for them. The second step is to commit to doing the plan for 100 days, completing one lesson per day. Spangle's third step suggests the reader track their progress as well as record the answers to the daily assignment. Spangle's daily lessons are just that - a lesson. For example, day 17 is "Stop Wasting Food." Her lesson starts off with the question "Do you tend to always clean your plate?" Most of us probably answer "yes." Spangle then has the reader reflect where they first heard that comment and more than likely, like myself, were told that leaving food on the plate wasn't fair to the starving children in the world. As the two page lesson continues Spangle asks the reader to make a commitment not to waste food by putting it into the body. It's all about making a mental shift. At the end of each lesson Spangle has a "today" section. This is the "to do" list and for day 17 she suggests: * Throw some food away. It can be a tiny amount or a large amount. Remember, by wasting it into the garbage, you're not wasting it into yourself. * In your journal, list the foods you let go of today. Make a note about how it felt to throw food away, then add a few thoughts on how you'll manage leftover food in the future. * Write down a few ways you can prevent having excess food around in the first place. I believe that Linda Spangle has a concept that should work for any dieter. Her bottom line is to stop emotional eating. Through the mini-lessons that Spangle provides, we learn that it is our commitment and motivation that will lead us to healthy patterns and a shift in consciousness. Having a healthy body is in store if one makes the commitment to change old patterns, and in a mere 100 days.