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Summary: Flip the Switch : Lose the Excuses, Lose the Weight, and Get
Review: According to Jim Karas, and expert regarding diets comes to conclusion that many other diets have the wrong approach. The text is easy to read and he does not write in a condesing tone which is very prevalent in some diet guides.
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Summary: Finally, a weight loss book I can relate to
Review: As I was last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, I saw this new book by Jim Karas. I picked it up, turned it over, and right there on the back cover he lists most of the excuses I have used for years to not take control of my weight (I won't even tell you how much weight I have gained). I read Chapter Three, "I Don't Have The Time," right in the check out line and felt as if he was speaking directly to me. Yesterday, I finished the book (it's an easy, informative and often times funny read as he talks about his 15 years experience with clients) and I am ready. I've made my decision that this New Year's resolution is to "Flip The Switch" and once and for all lose weight. If you are like me and ready to do it, then this is the book for you.
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Summary: Flip the Switch
Review: At last I have found a weight-loss book that makes sense. Everytime I'm in a bookstore I cruise the weight-loss section. When I skim through the books, I always see advice like, never eat white flour, don't have a bite of food after 7:30 p.m. and never have a cocktail or glass of wine. Honestly, how can an individual live a real life with this kind of advice! Over the hollidays at a party, the subject of weight-gain, weight-loss came up and a friend mentioned Jim Karas' The Business Plan for the Body and said that Karas had a new book that had just come out. I looked for Business Plan but the store was sold out but had just received Karas' new book, Flip the Switch. I bought it and have read it from cover to cover. This is an intelligent piece of writing! One aspect of the book that really grabbed me, was the part where Karas points out that we have all been successful in so many areas of our lives in part because we believed in our ability to be successful. I know I believed I could be an attorney. I didn't approach law school with the attitude that I would flunk out. I never never thought to approach a weight-loss strategy in this manner, but it certainly makes sense. Furthermore, Karas explains that weight-loss is about assuming responsiblity for our behavior. Too many times we try to blame our genes, our schedules, our gender, our jobs. Jim makes it clear that none of these are germaine. We control our behavior. And finally, this guy lets you have a life. It doesn't matter when you eat, and in many cases, even what we eat. It's numbers, calories in, calories out. I recommend Flip the Switch to anyone who lives a real life and wants to lose weight.
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Summary: The only plan for life
Review: Finally, a book and author that give us a plan we can follow for life. I've tried every program and diet ever invented only to see my weight fluctuate between 270 and 160. Only until I read Jim's first book, Business Plan for the Body, did I find an intelligent author who lays forth a plan for the "everyday" person. His new book gives a "mental push" to anyone in this weight loss yoyo. Not having the time, money, or energy are only excuses we use to keep us from failing. Jim Karas addresses these issues (and more) and gives us a platform from which to start losing weight. I highly recommend his eating and exercise prescription as a plan for the "everyday person." His follow up to Business Plan is even better than the original as it speaks to us mentally and emotionally (two factors every other weight loss book fails to mention.)
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Summary: Very Questionable
Review: First of all, I haven't even read this book. However, I thought I'd mention that in all the 12 reviews I just read for this book, not one mentions any weight loss whatsoever. They state how good the author writes, and how the motivational tactics and shopping lists are helpful. But not one mentions any actual successful weight loss - not one in 12 reviews. Furthermore, the majority of the 12 reviews are all from the same time (12/02 through 1/03). Now this may be due to the book's release date of 12/02. But when you add it all up together, it just seems a little too suspicious -- like maybe not all of these reviews are legitimate. Guess I'll keep hunting for another book.
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Summary: Flip it!!! ........... Flip it good!
Review: Flip the Switch is an excellent book. I'm 29 and tired of being overweight. I bought this book months ago. I read half of it, then moved from Seattle to Valdez, Alaska. All the while I was moving, I could not stop thinking about this book. As soon as my shipment arrived, I found the book ASAP and finished it.
I have seen that some complain about the resistance products he promotes in his books. I look at it this way: Spend a ton of money on a gym membership or spend around $10.00 for a resistance rope - PLUS - you get to do this in the privacy of your home. This is a great idea, especially for women that have children, a job and the home to contend with.
Jim Karas was overweight for several years. He can relate to me. He revels on the fact that resistance training is the way to go and thank goodness because I simply cannot handle cardio workouts due to a bad back. The running and "stepping" in cardio is too much for me.
This is a great book for anyone but women will especially appreciate the convenience.
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Summary: I Just Read a Book that Makes Sense
Review: I am embarrassed to say that I have read almost every weight loss book ever written. I actually read Jim Karas' first book, The Business Plan for the Body, and really liked it, but as he says in Flip, never could get passed my excuses for not getting started. Well, now I am ready. His Chapter 9 "I'm A Woman" is a must read for EVERY woman struggling to lose weight. He just makes sense and explains many reasons why weight loss is harder for woman than for men. Trust me, there are no gimmicks in this book. Just good, clear advise on how to successfully lose weight. I've decided to "Flip" and I strongly urge you to as well. Once you start reading "Flip The Switch" you won't put it down. This is the best weight loss book around. His eating program allows you to eat whatever you want, just count calories. He gives you three exercise programs and even has videos that coordinate with the book.
His writing style is very smooth. I can understand how he was so successful with Diane Sawyer.
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Summary: Absolutely Fabulous Book
Review: I bought the latest diet book by Phil McGraw. It was the worst book on dieting/nutrition I have ever read. I read it and threw it in the trash. While looking at the reviews on Amazon of the McGraw book several mentioned the Flip The Switch book. I decided to order it from Amazon and let me tell you I could not put this book down. I am 56 and have been working out with a personal trainer three times a week doing strength training and lifting weights. I absolutely hate doing the cardio part. In this book he emphasizes how much more important the strength training is and you don't have to do much cardio. The whole book is so informative from start to finish. I did a lot of hi-liting of this book so that I could refer back to certain items from time to time. BUY THIS BOOK!
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Summary: If You Want To Lose Weight, This Is The Book For You!
Review: I bought this book in hardcover over 9 months ago. I thought it was just great, but I never wrote a review. When I saw Jim Karas, the author, today on Good Morning America talking about this book again, I just felt I needed to say something. I have lost over 62 pounds in the last 9 months. I have never felt so good and my husband tells me that I look better now (at 54) than I did when we got married 30 years ago. When I started the program, the pounds just fell off. Of course, I was sure that it would slow down or even stop (it had on every other diet I have ever been on). On the contrary, in addition to losing the weight, I lost so many inches. I went from a 16 to a size 6. It happened, as Jim explains it, because of the strength training instead of the cardiovascular exercise. Wow, does it work. So, now that you can get this in a paperback, I saw buy it right now. It will be the best $15 you have ever spent. If you want to lose weight, this is the book for you!
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Summary: OLD SCHOOL THOUGHT, COMMERCIAL AGENDA, NOT A DOCTOR
Review: I browsed this book extensively in a bookstore but decided not to purchase. Karas misses the mark totally on the differences between whole foods and refined carbs. The emphasis is on total caloric intake, fats are bad for you, etc. You have to count calories and estimate portion sizes and be basically a walking food computer. This is the same old-school, establishment thought that's been around for years and kept us all fat. Carbs have a very different kind of effect on our bodies and Karas misses this totally. I've lost nearly forty pounds following the general guidelines of The Schwarzbein Principle and doing aerobic--yes, cardio training--every day. Karas advises readers to "throw away their treadmill" in favor of strength and resistance training. Never mind that study after peer-reviewed study shows that for general fitness and maintenance aerobic/cardio should form the base of your workout. Could not find a single reference in the book to a study that backed up his claims RE strength training. Should not be surprised though--go to his web site and he's selling--guess what, strength training equipment! The self-talk and psychological inventories are OK, cravings and other problems are not merely "all in your head". There are profound hormonal things going on as well. Just ask your endocrinologist--not this Wharton MBA with lots and lots he wants to sell.
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