The 9 Truths about Weight Loss: The No-Tricks, No-Nonsense Plan for Lifelong Weight Control

"The 9 Truths uses the razor's edge of science to cut through the nonsense from pseudogurus," promises author Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D. This refreshingly credible book may not tell you what you want to hear, but it does give you the straight facts about dropping excess pounds. For example, Truth #1 is "Your body will resist permanent weight loss": it won't be easy, and "only highly intensive and consistent efforts at weight control really work." That doesn't mean eating 400 calories a day--it doesn't mean going "on a diet" at all. It does mean a consistent, lifetime program of cutting as much fat (Truth #5) and sugar as possible, paying careful attention to the amount of food you take in, and exercising every day (Truth #7). Log your food and exercise 75 percent of the time (Truth #6)--people who do this lose more weight and maintain that weight loss better than people who do not. Forget the contradictory diet fads, whose authors "seriously distort nutritional science." Every "truth" here is research based--and he points out which bestselling diet books are not. (Don't miss his analysis of the Zone diet!) The book delivers on the promise of its subtitle, "The No-Tricks, No-Nonsense Plan for Lifelong Weight Control." The 9 Truths About Weight Loss is not a diet, but it tells you exactly what kinds of lifestyle changes you need to make to get lasting results. This is what works. --Joan Price

Forget fad diets-here's a proven program based on good sense and good scienceHere are just a few of the bewildering pseudoscientific suggestions found in some of the bestselling diet books: abandon starch; eat all the fat you want, but count protein grams; eat dessert, but no fat; never mix proteins and carbohydrates; customize your diet based on your blood type; forget counting calories; seek emotional solutions to your weight issues. Even books that are based on sound scientific principles generally tell only half the story.

The 9 Truths about Weight Loss is the long-awaited antidote to the scores of diet fads that have, in the long run, failed for so many frustrated people. In a program built on years of scientific research and practical experience, Daniel S. Kirschenbaum covers every aspect of losing weight and keeping it off. He shows how attacking weight loss is essentially an athletic challenge and reiterates the necessity of both sensible eating and tracking your food intake. He reminds us that it's natural for our bodies to fight weight loss, and as a psychologist, he shows us how to get through the inevitable emotional roadblocks. Going beyond try quick fixes, The 9 Truths about Weight Loss provides a positive, manageable program for the millions of Americans committed to controlling their weight once and for all.

Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. He also currently directs the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Chicago. Kirschenbaum has consulted with corporations, including Weight Watchers, and his program is orsed by the American Council on Exercise.