YOU: ON A DIET: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO EASY AND PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS

In support of what another reviewer has written, I would like to say that the 10-point plan for weight control is spot-on. I have sought out and engaged in a weight control philosophy that is nearly identical to the one apparently offered in this book. My weight has gone from 217 to 183 lbs without ever feeling like I was on a "diet". It's really about simply changing one's lifestyle and the way one looks at food. If this book reinforces these points, then it's well worth purchasing. By the way, point #1, walking for 30 minutes per day, is the single best thing you can do for your health. I know because I started doing it three years ago and have never looked back. Fish swim, birds fly, and man walks. Good health and happiness to all!

Loading a book with humorous caricatures, myths, and factoids is a risky undertaking, when readers expect doctors to remain "formal". But, the authors have opted to present hard science in simple artistic format and succeeded in rendering it palatable, at least for the segment of readers interested in the mechanics of disease. The gamble with caricatures added a legendary aura to the book that will endure for future generations. The main contribution in the book, beside its educational style, is emphasizing the "waist size" as a reliable index for healthy living. The authors advanced their argument through physiological reasoning. They focused on the omental and skin fats and intestinal infection and inflammation in relation to waist size. Thus, the smaller is the waist size, the lesser the inflammation and the depot of fat that hinders health. The book falls into an introduction, 12 chapters, and three appendices that could be summarized as follows. Introduction: "You: On a Diet. Work Smarter, Not Harder" introduces the reader to the main idea of the book. That is management of waist size through understanding the biology of eating. It tests the reader's common knowledge through a multiple choice test that targets the various aspects of the history and science of eating Chapter 1:" The Ideal Body: What Your body Is supposed to Look Like" discusses the interplay of genetics and environment in shaping our physique. Chapter 2: "Can't Get No satisfaction: the Science of Appetite" describes the rule of the central nervous system in controlling satiety through hormonal feedback from the stomach, intestine, and fat. It simplifies matters through two hormones: Leptin for satisfaction and Ghrelin for hunger. Chapter 3: "Eater's Digest: How Food travels through Your Body" describes, in an educational style, the journey of food from mouth, tongue, stomach, intestine, colon, to liver, heart, muscles. Its humorous caricatures make it invaluable and entertaining. Chapter 4: "Gut Check: The Dangerous Battles of Inflammation in Your Belly" describes the first battle of digestion between the body and food intake within the intestine. The outcome of digestion affects the liver, skin, and general health. Its main hostile participants are inflammation and infection. Omental, skin, and liver fat replete from the ingested food. It considers the intestine as the second brain by virtue of its millions of neurons and 95% of whole body serotonin. Chapter 5: "Taking a fat Chance: How Fat Ruins Your Health" dwells on the omentum fat, described in chapter 4, and extends its effects to arterial narrowing and mechanical hindrance of breathing and mobility. Arterial narrowing deprives the whole body of its health causing cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Omental fat is claimed to be more ominous than subcutaneous fat because the omentum lies on the solid vital organs while the subcutaneous fat is peripheral and remote. Chapter 6: "Metabolic Motors: Y

As a healthcare professional, I have read (and tried) many of the diet books out there. This book is an amalgam of the very latest knowledge on weight and waist management. It provides an integrated approach - diet, exercise, supplements, behavior modification,etc. - which is essential for long-lasting success. It is easy to read, easy to understand and easy to follow. And the humor, denigrated by some, is immensely appealing to me, adding a breath of fresh air and wit to a topic that can be ponderous and confusing...I was laughing out loud last night while re-reading a particular section. I highly recommend buying your own copy as you will want to keep referring to it.

Finally, I had a book in hand BEFORE I watched Oprah!! This book is great, full of no-nonsense information that is inspiring and easy to put into practice. I love watching Dr. Oz when he is on Oprah. His plan is logical and practical. That makes it doable. I have already begun to make changes to my routine. That alone has me feeling inspired and hopeful!