There has been a request to start a Dr. Phil Book Study here in 300+. It was done about a year ago, but there are so many new people since then that it was thought to be a good idea.

Greetings to all lurkers and posters.

This is going to be a new thread topic focused on "studying" Dr. Phil's The Ultimate Weight Solution. We invite you to read the entire book or take it one chapter at a time, following the discussion within this thread.

Each Monday we will start discussing a new chapter for that week. This will be a 12 week program. We hope all of you join in every week.

It is recommended you have a pen, pencil and/or a colored highlighter with you as you read.

Mark every word, sentence, phrase or paragraph that hit home for YOU.

Read each chapter as if you are going to be tested .. (You're not going to be tested.)

Then come to this thread and share what hit home for you... what you took away with you from that chapter and how you are incorporating it into YOUR life.

Feel free to post often ... you may get a dozen different topics you want to share per each chapter.

I know many can read the entire book in an evening... others will need a week... while some of us may need the entire 12 weeks. There are 12 chapters ... plus a few extra topics at the end. But the idea of this thread is to share what we learned from each chapter and learn from others insights.

You do not have to be a Dr. Phil fan... many here are not. BUT... let's face it... we can all learn something new that just might be what will make a difference.

Each Monday anyone can feel free to copy and paste this introduction and then start the new study. Be sure to title it Book Study /Chapter #/ date-date.

We are looking forward to reading everyone's input.
(Introduction courtesy of determinedtosucceed 2004.)

Hey looky here, we have a thread! Thank you thinkingthin, excellent moderation going on here! You are all over this!


I just took a look back to see what I had highlighted and wanted to post something to get the ball rolling. The first thing that jumps out at me is on p.7. "If you are going to get started on the right path to change, there is one important precondition...you must rid yourself of that gnawing and overpowering sense of urgency and panic...words like you have be skinny by summer....tormenting you to the point of making want to give up before you start."

Ain't that the truth? I'm thinking about that, okay, not to dive in so hard without first getting my head together would be setting myself up for diappointment again, then again Phil (we're on a first name basis Phil and I) has us establishing goals. I'm just reminded of that. Will have to think about that and read it again.

But right now, I gotts scram. Mom stuff to do.
Sarah

I bought Dr. Phil's book back in September when I first joined this sight/started trying to improve my health. It is one of many books on weight loss I have bought in the aim of putting a plan together for myself. I'm not a Dr. Phil fan so his book is at the last of my list to read......until this thread that is?

I'll go home tonight and pull it off my bookshelf to see if I'm ready to tackle it.

Hi Marcia. Me too. I'm not a great fan of Dr Phil but I did buy his book, I think when it first came out, and it has sat on my shelf. I'm not sure why I decided to start it now. I've trying to screw together the courage to start another diet plan, not sure what to do, not finding enough motivation (wrong choice of words, I have over a hundred pounds of motivation!). Anyway, I think I chose to work on the DrP book because I know I need to work on my head. Hopefully this approach will yield better results than all the other ones that I failed.

Hey Sarah and Marcia,

I just went out for my lunch hour and bought the book. My plan is to keep it here at work and read during my lunch hour. Home time is filled up with baby and "fun" reading, which for me right now is the 6th Harry Potter book.

Sarah, I liked the quote about riding yourself of the urgency and panic as well. It seems like I have lived my entire life doing just that....thinking "Oh God...I've got to lose this weight RIGHT NOW." And getting just mentally wigged out before I even begin. When I think about it, I see that is one of the biggest road blocks I face each time.

I also like the concept of the "get real" weight. I have never in my life been skinny. I will never be skinny. I look at the women in my family and I know that we are BIG women...even the ones of us who are "healty". For me to crave seeing myself as a size 6 is not only laughable, but it truely sets me up for heartache and failure. So, for me, I am shooting for 170 lbs, which will be about a size 14-16. The smallest I have ever been has been 220 and I was an 18-20 then, so I think that the 170 is reasonable. But truthfully, I think about the way I looked when I was 220, and it really wasn't bad at ALL. And I may at some point in time up my "goal" to 190 or so. Regardless, I want to be the healthiest I can be for ME so that I can enjoy many years with my child and my family.

Look forward to getting to know you ladies and reading more.

Very good points, now I have to reach back into the recesses of my mind and remember what was in Chapter 1! I started Chapter 3 last night, so I will chill out and let others catch up, re-read and mark stuff - you ladies are so thorough here, no wonder everyone is losing weight! "Highlight and read like I am going to be tested" that is a good way to ABSORB more. I tend to devour books (like food) and then afterwards I am asking myself what happened!

Am I the only one that loves the way Dr. Phil writes the way he talks on TV? LOL I feel like he is right there on the bed next to me as I read (okay sitting in the chair across from the bed) No Dr. Phil fantasies here! Hubby really does not like Dr. Phil cuz he is jealous of his wit! I try to read him the good quotes and he tells me "I have heard that before". Oh, I don't care, a bit of jealously is good for a marriage.

So where was I going?....

Yes - urgency and panic over losing weight! Hm... I have that, but then I have panic and anxiety all the time, that is kinda how I am, but I get his message. You have to do it with a clear head. Sarah is right - you can't "scare" yourself into changing something like an eating pattern or a messed up relationship to food that you have established over a life time in some cases? Definately in my case! I remember reading that part now and yes, I was in a tiz at first, due to medical issues, but now - I just look at that as a signal to start the change. Some people need motivating factors that might not be pleasant, no? Sarah made a decision on her own, time to change and she is working towards that - I have made that decision a million and one times and it was not until one million and one with an AMEN from my doctor, that it stuck?

Angela you are so on target about self image and "the get real" weight. I don't know how old you are but when I tried dieting in the past (in my 20's) - my expectations were so whacked! I was not thinking super model, but praying to par down to a 10/12, which was never gonna happen! But that is okay - a 1X is fine with me, as long as I am healthy, that is SUPER and will suit me just fine. I am the only one that has to be happy in my body. I am sure a stealth version of me would make others happy too, but I am in this for me - this is for my health and welfare, the rest of the riders...in the backseat!

Okay ladies, it has been real, but my cable modem is down and I type way to fast for this old dail up stuff, so I will catch up with you all in the mornin!

Take Care ~ Lose BIG!

Abbie:-)

Hello ladies. I pulled the book out but only glanced at a few pages. I'm enjoying my "fun" reading too much to stop for Dr. Phil. But I will finish chapter one by Sunday.

I've never been in a frenzy to lose weight, even with my health problems. Even when I started in September, there was no sense of urgency about it. To quote a guest on the Food TV show Weighing In "I know what I need to do, I'm just not doing it."

I also know I'm never going to be skinny. I have pictures from my childhood where I was skinny but by the age of ten, that was no longer the case. My mother was a big woman and so was her mother. My father's people were mostly large people too. When I say large or big, I don't mean fat - I think the term these days is big boned. When I joined the gym, I told my trainer I thought I should be about 150 lbs. She plugged that into the gym's program and it came back that that would be too low a weight for me; they recommend a goal weight of 170lbs.

Back with my thoughts on chapter one by the end of Sunday.

Have a great day!

This seems like it will be a very encouraging thread. The thing about the panic rings TRUE!!! Having very little patience to begin with makes it all the more difficult.