Hi,

What do you guys think of Dr. Phil's recent weight loss programs? Do you think it's worth devoting time to?

I was really upset with the whole interviewing of the potential 12 people he would be helping. Some of them were just so desperate and you knew they wouldn't all get picked. It just took so much for them to be there.

I get the whole visualization thing, and I think it can be very useful. But I also think it's a double-edged sword. When I have so much weight to lose it's very easy to feel like that goal is practically unattainable.

But in general, I think his philosophy is pretty positive.

Looking for your thoughts.

Sassy

I agree that many of his ideas will help any of us in the difficult times and that getting your mind around some of them will promote success.

However, I do think that he has not taken into account the 'carb addiction' and "insulin over-sensitivity' that many of us have. It isn't will power, it's a chemical dependency that we must combat by NOT giving ourselves any of those starch/sugar carbs that got us here in the first place. As Atkins said: a balanced diet will not get us to lose weight - that's how we gained in the first place.

You'll do it - day by day or hour by hour, pound by pound. It isn't the results that matter, it's that you keep on keeping on. Each day takes you closer to health.

I'm watching and I bought his new book....I agree with you both though...He's lacking in some areas..I need to address the emotional issues that brought me here...
My heart was breaking for some of those ppl too, sassymom...I wanted to grab their hands and tell them to come on over here!!!
The previews suggest they are not all rosy in the house the 12 have been placed in...

I have watched the shows and also felt for the ones that didn't get picked. I haven't read the book but from what my friend is telling me as she reads it he may not be perfect but I think he comes far closer than anyone else. Metabolic problems aside, I think he's right on the money. None of us will maintain our weightloss (IF it has an emotional connection) unless we fix our heads along the way. I know this firsthand as I have lost many hundreds of pounds only to gain them back because I didn't fix the problems that caused them in the firstplace. I am working on those now. I think that's all he is trying to help them do. I notice he doesn't endorse any particular eating plan he only addresses "getting real" about what made them overweight to begin with. I don't think he intends to ignore actual physiological reasons some are overweight. I think he's only saying that they are all the more reason to keep fighting the good fight. I have PCOS, hyperinsulinemia and hypothyroidism and it would be very easy to sit back and say "Oh well, I am doomed and may as well not fight it." I have fought doing that many times. Being a member of the TDC makes it even more difficult not to give in as you well know. I think Dr. Phil has a genuine concern about the obese but just doen't pull any punches. He said he has members of his family that are 500 pounds so I think he is sincere. It will certainly be interesting to watch the progress!

I watched his interview with Katie Couric and was pretty impressed with a lot of what he had to say. However....when I followed the link to "get started with Dr.Phil" that was on my Yahoo home page, I was discouraged because the diet plan that was mentioned was a low-fat, low-cal, high carb-ish diet... and you have to join "E-diets" to get all the info on it.
Heres an article that describes some of the diet.

http://www.ediets.com/news/article....le_id=8393&pg=1

Also, I found this page that is another plan he supossedly told to Oprah..

http://weightlossinternational.com/oprah.html

I am going to stick with whats working and that's low carb for me....

I haven't seen the show you are talking about, but I did buy the book and started working with it last night. It is really wonderful, IMHO. I have no plans to stop lcing, but the psychological and thought provoking aspects of his book are helping me to understand myself in ways I didn't think about before, and I believe that this is an essential part in continuing with the woe and in maintenance, especially if you are a person, like me, who has a lot of weight to lose.

Already, after just a few chapters, and a lot of writing on my part, I feel a lot more positive about myself as I am now and of my accomplishments to date (50 pound loss) and don't feel so overwhelmed about what I still have to lose. As a business woman I wrote a dozen business plans, but I never really wrote one out for my self and my weight loss program. I started that last night and I was surprised at what I wanted when I reach my weight goal. It certainly wasn't just the pounds lost. And I set up a calendar with small goals so that I could actually see movement on a more consistent basis.

Dr. Atkins continues to help me save my life. Dr. Phil is helping me keep my sanity.

Anything to help keep the sanity!
I will get the book because I like how he gets straight to the meat of things <hehe>.
I never got to watch a lot of his shows, but everytime I did, I would wonder what reality check he'd make me cash in if I was to ever meet him.

Thanks for sharing your feelings about the book. Now I will make sure I get a copy soon!

I watched Dr. Phil's show today (Mon. 9-22-03) and was so upset. The overweight group was shopping for food, the two girls were looking at the salad dressings "which one should we get", "get anyone that say's lowfat." Did they
bother to look at the label, the lowfat one has way more sugar added, duh.

I had hope for Dr. Phil when he said on another show, eat things that take longer to prepare, ie: steak, thought he was heading in the low carb. direction, but now? He seems to be going in the lowfat direction.

Dr. Phil - please get with the program, you could save alot of people.

Susan

Ketodiva,

You've made me want to get the book. What more can I say? (Other than--there's no way in the world I'd go back to low fat, 'cause that's what got me here in the first place! Like Topsy, I "jist growed"! )
Jude

I too have been watching Dr. Phil. I can appreciate what he is doing with these people in "helping them get real". I think anything that you work...works! In other words I happened to find Atkins at a time when I was really truly ready to work. I for one think that low carbing is the best way to go FOR ME. I dont feel qualifed to tell other people that their way is incorrect..if it works for you then God Speed. If I had tried Atkins (wonderful as it is) six months earlier perhaps it would not have worked for me because I had not come to terms with my weight and how it was affecting my life. We have all heard from the people who "say" they have been following Atkins for six months and have managed to lose 3 pounds. For me my obesity has never been about food and it has always been emotional. Trust me no one likes french fries enough to get to 304 pounds. There are some serious underlying issues (in most cases) for us to become morbidly obese.

I am all for mental health and working through your issues. I was using food to fill an emotional void. Once I was recognizing that I felt ready to take some steps to remedy my situation. Ok now I am feeling like I am babbling. Hopefully some of you can relate to this post.

My obesity was a way for me to continue to live in chaos. I chose chaos so I would not have to deal with my internal issues. Iyanla Van Zant (sp) has a really good quote "when you see crazy coming..cross the street". Sometimes in order to keep the chaos going we invite crazy in and tell (him) to make (himself) at home...put your feet up and set awhile.

Hi All

Dr. Phil lives in his own godly world where he is the authority on everything.

Ann Louise Gitterman was here in town a couple of weeks ago with her fat flush diet. (It is low carb in nature, structured to fit the needs of women in supporting the estragen side of things.) Anyway, she has been on Dr. Phil several times with her throw sugar and processed flour away speech and Dr. Phil's wife loves Ann Louise Gitterman..... So tell me peeps, why hasn't he learned??

I bet if you examine the 12 peeps in the house, they are all insulin resistance and eat over 6 cups of sugar (carbs) per day. I feel the pain for these people, infortunately they haven't improved in their choice of a solution.

I will step down from the soap box now....

I love Dr. Phil (never missed his shows since he was on Oprah).

That said, I'm tremendously disappointed in him. Have you seen the "nutritional" bars out in stores? Some of them have four kinds of sugar! I just don't understand why he's allowed his face and name to go on these things. And they're marketed to people based on whether they are "apple" or "pear" shaped, like that matters?

I skimmed the book, and, again, I was disappointed. It's nothing I haven't read before. Of course, I've tried lots of diets before, so I've read lots of diet books.

I am glad that he didn't mention the "nutrition" bars on TV or in the book (unless I missed it). They've made me very skeptical of a man I really admired previously. I'll still watch him, but he's taken a real hit on his credibility with these food products.

Cog