Monday, October 08, 2012

Review: "Obesity Free Forever: Losing Weight from the Inside Out" by Georgene Dana Collins


Inspired by her own story of personal weight loss, Georgene Dana Collins wrote Obesity Free Forever: Losing Weight from the Inside Out to inspire others. She relates her story from the start of the book before briefly explaining how obese people are victims of discrimination and added health expenses. Those first two chapters set the foundation to the book before the author goes into details how she made it happen for her.

With “Chapter 3: Preparing to Lose Weight” Georgene Collins begins to get into how she did it. She advocates using two journals (one for food intake and one for reflection), a weight scale as well as scale to measure your food, measuring cups and spoons, and a calorie counting book. She also advocates preparing yourself with the proper mindset to take the weight off and keep it off.  Not only do you have to get yourself in the right mindset you also have to enlist the help of friends and family. You want those who know you to be working with you and not against you.

“Chapter 4:  The Process” begins on page 48 and stresses the idea that you have to know where you are, develop your own weight loss plan (consult your doctor), and track your progress. This is where the journals come into play. Not just in terms of tracking food intake, but in terms of tracking what is happening in your life that could cause you eating issues. By keeping track of what is happening in the reflection journal and how you react to events and others, you can determine where you may need to set some firm personal boundaries. This chapter also explains how to determine your body mass index and what your daily caloric intake should be as part of your weight loss plan. The author stresses again and rightfully so, that you must consult with your doctor about your personal calorie needs and that reducing caloric intake is just part of the plan that also includes exercise.

After some information about daily tracking your progress, is on to getting physically active in “Chapter 5: Exercise.”  Most of this chapter is informational in terms of the benefits of exercise, types of activity required, equipment, etc. Also included are a few exercise tips from the author such as to keep your feet dry and to lubricate the back of the heel with some anti-blister cream to prevent injuries.

Various tips on weight loss are the theme of “Chapter 6: Weight Loss Tips.”  Along with the classic ones about drinking water, adding fiber and bulk to you diet, eat at the same times each day, and getting plenty of sleep, there are many more tips starting on page 101 that you may not have thought of or ones that entirely sound wrong such as “Tip 19: Have dessert daily.”  Recommendations for this and other items are included.

There will be times when things seem to be going wrong and that is the point of “Chapter 7: Plateaus and Setbacks.”  From her personal experiences, author Georgene Davis Collins provides personal information on how to break through and continue to lose weight.

Of course, there are holidays, birthdays, and other events just lurking in your calendar waiting to trip you up. Dealing with them is the subject of “Chapter 8: Special Occasions, Travel and Dining Out.”  This important chapter begins on page 118 and is something to keep in mind as the holidays and parties approach at the end of the year.

The last chapter is one critically important for your health long term. “Chapter 9: Maintenance” explains why so many people gain the weight back and how so can take charge and prevent that.

The book closes with numerous informational appendices of nearly sixty pages.  These appendices consist of valuable information as well as advertisements for products mentioned throughout the book.  Among other things in the appendices are some of the author’s personal journal notes from August 2004 to Sept6ember 2005 when she hit her goal weight at 160, online resources, dealing with feelings, and other information.

Originally published in 2008 by iUniverse this second edition was published in 2009 by Collins Information Systems. The book shares a wealth of information on how the author changed her life. Inspirational and realistic, Obesity Free Forever: Losing Weight from the Inside Out offers practical advice to readers on how they could lose weight and change their own lives.



Obesity Free Forever: Losing Weight from the Inside Out, 2nd edition
Georgene Dana Collins
Collins Information Services, Inc.
2009
ISBN# 978-0-9824568-0-4
Paperback
192 Pages
$15.95


Material supplied by Publicist Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Exports, Inc. back in January 2010 in exchange for my long overdue objective review.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2012

No comments: