with 24vitaminsandminerals. The products’ supple-
ments were geared toward helping people with apple
or pear body shapes. The products were only on the
market for about one year.
The introduction to Dr. Phil’s book follows his
‘‘down-to-earth’’ delivery style. He tells readers that he
is not going to tell them what they want to hear. He
says that seven critical pieces, or keys, help achieve
long-term weight loss. The book is filled with personal
anecdotes, self-assessment quizzes, and chapters on
each key. Dr. Phil writes that those who have kept
their weight off use all seven keys. The seven keys are
described below.
Right thinking
Dr. Phil refers to a person’s personal truth, or
whatever it is about one’s self and the weight problem
that a person has come to believe. He says that part of
learning to lose weight is learning to get rid of thoughts
that don’t work for weight loss and instead gain access
to inner power and self-control. Dr. Phil says this
helps people break the negative cycle of failed weight
loss efforts and negative momentum. In the chapter,
Dr. Phil lists 10 self-defeating messages that people
often think about weight and weight control. For
example, those who have problems with weight may
label themselves or be labeled by others.
Healing feelings
This key refers to the way that some people eat to
medicate themselves. Dr. Phil says that often people
eat in response to negative emotions such as loneliness,
stress, or boredom. Dr. Phil says that admitting to
emotional triggers for overeating and learning to over-
come the connection between emotions and food helps
gain control over eating. The key helps to identify a
process that is broken down into five manageable
steps. Dr. Phil talks about forgiving one’s self and
about learning to cope without food.
A no-fail environment
This key helps people manage the environment so
that they can be more successful when trying to lose
weight. The book provides advice on how to prevent
needless snacking, overeating, and bingeing by remov-
ing tempting foods from the home, then from other
environments such as work. He talks about shopping
strategies, bringing healthy food choices into the envi-
ronment, and even removing large-size clothes from
the closet.Mastery over food
Dr. Phil’s fourth key advises people to control
habits by gaining mastery over food and through
impulse control. The fourth key focuses on wiping
bad, weight-gaining habits from their lives and replac-
ing them with healthier behaviors. He lists weight-
gaining behaviors and various pay-offs they offer to
people. The chapter concludes with suggested behav-
iors to replace the weight-gaining behaviors, as well as
the payoffs from the healthier behaviors.High-response, high-yield foods
In this key, Dr. Phil discusses the nutritional value
of various foods by describing a ‘‘high-response cost,
high-yield food’’ plan. Instead of offering meal plans
or calorie-cutting, Dr. Phil’s diet talks about and lists
foods that take longer to prepare and eat, and there-
fore are healthier. He contrasts these foods with those
that take little time to prepare and eat, which normally
offer higher calories and less nutritional value. He also
mentions vitamin and mineral supplements in addi-
tion to high-yield foods.Exercise
Dr. Phil calls his sixth key to weight loss intentional
exercise. He says that instead of becoming obsessed
about exercise, people need to take a balanced approach
of regular strength-building and heart-conditioning
activities to burn calories. Dr. Phil says that intentional
exercise can open the door tobody control, a state where
the body can better metabolize energy for losing weight
and keeping weight off. He breaks exercise into catego-
ries of moderate activities and vigorous activities. In
addition, the book lists the physical and psychological
benefits of exercise.Support
The final key to weight loss provided by Dr. Phil
involves social control. He says people can gain this by
having a circle of support. People in a circle of support
encourage a person trying to lose or maintain weight
and also provide accountability to help achieve weight
loss goals. He points out that the key to social support
is not just having supportive friends and family in theKEY TERMS
Metabolize—To produce the chemical changes in
the body’s living cells that provide energy for vital
processes and activities.Dr. Phil’s diet