Weight Loss Boss: How to Finally Win at Losing--and Take Charge in an Out-of-Control Food World

Foreword x

Acknowledgments xii

Introduction: Staying Healthy in an Unhealthy World 1

Obesity is the great tectonic plate moving across the dinner table toward you and me-crushing our health (and our national economy). Defeat isn't inevitable! Here, my five rules for taking off-and keeping off-the weight for life.

Part I From thin to heavy and back again a weight loss odyssey

Chapter 1 Paging Dr. Freud-Early Influences and Food Attitudes 21

A look back at my too skinny youth, how genetics affect everything from fat distribution to cravings, and how yesterday's habits and sneaky behaviors affect how I lose it around food today.

Weight Watchers Profile Jennifer Hudson 36

"When I sing 'Feeling Good,' that's for real!"

Chapter 2 Letting Loose in an Obesogenic Environment 39

How a sudden change of environment (and the foods that pollute it) can bring on weight gain of epic proportions.

Weight Watchers Profile Derrick Deaton 48

"You can do this! I know you can!"

Chapter 3 Man Meets Scale 51

A wake-up call from my doctor (and his scale), my first Weight Watchers meeting, and how I finally reached my goal weight. What do I know now that I wish I knew then? The six stages of change and the two most common at-tributes of successful weight losers.

Weight Watchers Profile Edwin Hood 76

"Now I eat to live, I don't live to eat."

Part II Be The Boss of Your Own Weight Loss: Food, Tools, and Strategies to Take Charge for Life

Chapter 4 How to Make Food Your Friend 81

Introducing the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans-yes, finally, the government's making sense! Loving foods that love you back, what your new plate should look like, and how to steer clear of trigger foods.

Weight Watchers Profile Erin Meyer 102

"Live like you were dying."

Chapter 5 Rely on Habits, Not Willpower 105

The hard part of losing weight and keeping it off isn't knowing what to do. The hard part is making it happen in your life-for the rest of your life. But success is less a factor of discipline than simple repetition of good actions.

Weight Watchers Profile Carri Reiss 120

"I've become a master at substitutions."

Chapter 6 Sweat-At Love Story 123

How to make exercise a staple in your life by finding a routine to stick with (while trying out new things, too).

Weight Watchers Profile Ann Farrankop 140

"If I plan to be successful, I will be successful."

Chapter 7 The Change-Your-Lifestyle Tool Kit 143

The key tools I reach for in my superhero belt: a tracking system, my scale, the Weight Watchers meeting calendar, and new incentives.

Weight Watchers Profile Susan Brilla 162

"I love myself. I never did before."

Chapter 8 Manage Your Environment 165

We're hardwired for food lust. Can't fight it? Short-circuit it. At work and at home, learning to rewire our environment to avoid temptation in the first place.

Weight Watchers Profile Melanie Kann 184

"I'm setting goals … and surprising myself."

Chapter 9 Maintenance: How to Dance Down the Long Road Ahead 187

Now for the hard part-keeping it off by Really changing your life. Learning to stay focused, accountable, and relentless-without driving everyone around you insane.

Weight Watchers Profile Mary Dalton 204

"Arming myself-and my kitchen-put me in control again."

Chapter 10 Navigating Trouble Spots 207

How to handle those inevitable quagmires, speed bumps and detours-restaurants, holidays, and the perils of travel and vacation

Weight Watchers Profile Elizabeth Josefsberg 218

"Now I do only the things I love."

Chapter 11 Men and Weight Loss 221

Men are notorious weight deniers, but maybe Mars isn't quite as far from Venus as we thought.

Weight Watchers Profile Charles Barkley 236

"I don't feel like I'm on a diet because I'm never hungry."

Chapter 12 Nobody Eats Alone 239

Is obesity contagious? If the answer is yes, perhaps the opposite is also true-maybe fitness can also be contagious. As you change your ways, think of how you can create your own ripple effect.

Weight Watchers Profile Debbie Hugo 250

"It's not about what you do. It's about what you choose to do next."

Chapter 13 Is It Over Yet? Am I Cured? 253

There is no clear "cure" for obesity: Our bodies and minds have evolved over thousands of years to protect our fat stores. But you can get the upper hand. Here, my final key pieces of advice for losing weight and keeping it off.

Index 263