Few things in life are simple and straightforward, and losing weight is no different—it's not easy, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to pull a fast one. Winning by Losing is a comprehensive, inspirational, and real solution to your weight problems. Taking a triple-threat approach, Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels identifies and illuminates the three keys to health and lasting weight loss so that you can become a winner in mind, body, spirit, and life. Focusing on both the psychological aspects of being overweight as well as nutrition and fitness, Jillian's program is designed to help you safely shed weight fast.

So, are you ready to chuck the excuses and the quick-fix fantasies and get real about what it takes to change your life for the better? If so, this is the book for you. Come on. Losing has never felt so good!

If you are a fan of the Biggest Loser then you will get Jillian's humor in the book and also that she is a hard core trainer who will drill knowledge into your head for your own sake. This book is informative and gives you a good approach to starting weight loss and will keep you smart about choices.

Overview: the self (behavior, pysch) stuff is excellent, the workout stuff is beyond excellent, the diet stuff is meh.

Jillian's workouts are brutal and effective. They just are. And, really, the only effective workouts are brutal, so suck it up: you want to get lean, right? Rather than prescribing the usual "3 days cardio, 2 days strength" stuff, she has you doing four days of circuit, one day of cardio (keeping your heart rate at 85% of max for 50 minutes!) "to rest your muscles,"(ha) and two days of nuthin. The circuit, for those of you who aren't familiar, is what you see those poor Biggest Loser contestants doing on TV when they're redfaced and sweating heavily: it's a way of getting your heart rate WAY up there by doing, for example, 15 pushups then 15 squats then 15 pushups then 15 squats then 15 pushups then 15 squats NEXT CIRCUIT QUIT WHINING 15 tricep dips 15 crunches etc etc. A circuit is typically made up of an upper body exercise and a lower body one: J says doing this causes your heart rate to shoot up because you're pushing the blood to the upper body, then the lower, over and over again. You do each circuit 3 times without resting, then move to the next one.

So it's brutal, like I said. But it makes you strong and lean. And it makes you feel like you can do anything.

The "self" section is also effective. Figuring out why we do what we do (mindlessly snack, overeat) is an important tool in changing our behavior. So is the positive thinking stuff, something that doesn't come naturally to this reviewer.

Why the four stars? After all the explanation of how many calories you should be taking in daily and what your metabolic "type" is, there is very little guidance on how to put a meal together. Okay, I should be eating 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. Now how do I do that? Do I eat a bunch of veggies and an egg or two? You can always refer to "the Zone" books for advice on this if you're a balanced oxidizer because that's the dietary model followed (40/30/30). But apart from a few recipes (many using fake stuff like Splenda, sweetened whey powder, etc.), you're on your own.

This item arrived promptly as promised - the book was new as described. I have never had a problem purchasing from Amazon or it's contibutors. Great book - my daughter loves it!

This is one of the best fitness books I have ever read. Jillian Michaels explains everything in simplified manor. I've been reading this book and following her plan and I have never felt better. I lost 12lbs in one month. I highly recommend this book.

I only used this book for the exercise portion, so I can't comment on the diet portion. But this book is well worth the price for the workouts alone! Once I really followed the workouts schedule as prescribed, I dropped a size in about 6 weeks after a really long plateau.

I disagree with the posters who complain this is too basic, or there is nothing new to learn. The exercises may not be complicated, but that does not mean they are not effective. I had spent over 2 years with a trainer doing weight workouts, but this workout on my own helped me drop another size after I stopped working out with him.

The magic is in the way she composes the workouts. The workouts are amazingly effective if followed the way she lays them out. The combination of lifting with short bursts of cardio really firms up your muscles while burning fat. This type of workout produces more of a leaner/sculpted look, it's not intended for building mass or bulk.