Break Through Your Set Point: Stop Yo-Yo Dieting, Finally Lose the Weight You Want, and Keep It Off

By George Blackburn and Julie Corliss

Book Overview

How many times have you gone on a diet and lost a few pounds, only to hit, once again, that dreaded plateau? Many people manage to lose the first 10, 15, or 20 pounds of the weight they want to shed. Then, no matter how hard they work, they can't seem to nudge the number on the scale farther down, and often they end up gaining back the weight they lost. Finally, there is a healthy, permanent weight-loss solution that will get you off the frustrating yo-yo that often accompanies most fad diets. Dr. George L. Blackburn is the associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School and directs the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine, which investigates complex issues in nutrition and health. Based on three decades of his research and clinical practice, Break Through Your Set Point offers an exciting and effective program that will give you specific tools to help you get out of your rut and prevent those extra pounds from coming back. Your set point, or typical body weight, is determined by your genes and your environment. Many modern lifestyle habits--including getting too little sleep and eating on the run--have conspired to raise many people's set points to unhealthily high levels. According to Dr. Blackburn's theory, if you set a reasonable goal to lose about 10 percent of your initial body weight, then hold steady at your new weight without regaining any pounds for at least six months, you can reset your body's set point. And once you've reset your set point, you can repeat the cycle to lose even more weight. The body's innate tendency to protect itself against starvation explains why the body resists losing weight after a certain point. Dr. Blackburn explains the science behind the set-point theory and helps you devise a plan that works for you. With his unique, multi-faceted approach, Dr. Blackburn shows that hitting your set point is not a dead end but the first step in losing weight the right way. This book will help you overcome your weight-loss plateau once and for all.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061288675
• ISBN13: 9780061288678
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Lose Weight With Simple Changes

From:www.BasilAndSpice.com [...] Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life! Book Review: Break Through Your Set Point by George Blackburn Dr. George Blackburn of Harvard Medical School, author of Break Through Your Set Point, recommends we eat a little less at each meal. In fact, he says "There's no getting around it: to lose weight, you've got to eat less." Sound scary? Combined with exercise, the key is not to starve yourself, but to gradually reduce calories over time and eat healthy foods. Dr. Blackburn does not believe we should eliminate a whole food group because inevitably a dieter will begin to eat the once avoided foods again. First, feel full; eat a minimum of 450 calories at every major meal. So don't skip breakfast and then hear your stomach growling while you're at your desk working. Second, take your time eating. Dr. Blackburn wishes we'd slow down and pass on dashboard dining. Instead, spend at least 20 minutes munching your meal. This will enable your stomach to send out an "I'm full" message to your brain. A Set Point tip includes mentally dividing your plate into four sections. Allow yourself five minutes to eat each sections' contents. No skipping ahead either. Make this a conscious effort because the faster you gobble, sometimes mindlessly, the more calories you'll consume. Other Set Point tips include: use smaller plates for your meals; leave 1/8 of your meal on your plate; don't buy the high-calorie treats you know you might overindulge with (cookies, ice cream, etc..); eat small snacks about 1/2 hour before the main meal; consume more soup, salad, and fruit; share your restaurant meal; cut down on the amount of choices at each meal; drink or eat a meal replacer (protein shake or bar); have breakfast for dinner (cereal). Very interesting, nutritionally-minded and well researched book. 5 Stars

Setpoint Weight Is Not a New Concept

I first read about the set point theory of weight and dieting about twenty-five years ago, so the idea is not new. What is new, however, is how this author goes about explaining resetting that set point so that your body will accept the new weight and how you can reset it over and over until you reach the weight you want and keep it off. The author's credentials and experience are impeccable. If you have been trying to lose weight and there seems to be a magic number on the scales you just can't get past or you get past that number and you fight for evey pound lost and the slightest slip on your part brings back more weight than seems logical to you, or you've lost the weight over and over only to always gain back to a certain point even when you lost the weight the "right" or slow way, this book is for you.

Practical and readable

Just when you think, "Oh no, not another book of advice about losing weight," one like this comes along. I've heard for years about how we all have individual set points, but I never completely understood what that meant--or why it affected weight gain and loss--until I read this book. What's more, "Break Through Your Set Point" is full of practical tips. It provides a program for slow, steady weight loss, followed by a maintenance phase, followed by additional weight loss if you need it. This book acknowledges right up front that losing weight is hard work, and that it takes time. If you want a quick fix, this is not the book for you. But if you're smart enough to want something grounded in science rather than fantasy, buy this book. Try the advice it offers. I bet you won't be disappointed.

Great strategy for losing weight

Anyone can cook up a diet and write a book about it. You don't need to know anything about nutrition or physiology, or present any evidence that it actually works. All you need is an idea and the chutzpah to sell it. The graveyard of fad diets--along with the frustration of millions of people--testifies to this sad fact. In the field of nutrition, George Blackburn isn't just anyone. He has been at the forefront of research into how the body gains and loses weight for many years. And the book he has written with Julie Corliss isn't just another diet book. Break Through Your Set Point offers a careful, steady approach to losing weight and keeping it off. The centerpiece of Dr. Blackburn's plan is the 10% solution: lose 10% of your weight and hold steady for six months. For many people this is enough to reap important reductions in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. After six months, your body has adjusted to the lower weight (established a new set point, in the language of the book), so if you want to keep slimming, try another 10%. The idea isn't sexy, but it has sound scientific backing. Early in his career, Dr. Blackburn developed a mixture of amino acids and other nutrients that was fed to patients after surgery or an injury. It kept them from losing weight and becoming malnourished, which until then had been a common and deadly problem. This work saved countless lives. These days, with 1 billion overweight or obese people around the world, overnutrition is a huge concern. Carrying too many pounds contributes to so many health problems that the strategies for weight loss that Dr. Blackburn provides in Break Through Your Set Point will be equally as lifesaving. Pat Skerrett co-author, The Fertility Diet

Nutritional Education--summed up in one book

A new and much more realistic method for dieting!! Initially I needed to understand the science of weight gain before starting the weight loss program. It is enlightening to learn that losing 10% of my weight was the key to my initial success as well as the health benefits. I welcome this positive, more attainable approach. The silhouettes remind me daily of who I am and where I need to go for this year's weight loss program. I'm studying the smaller plate size with the visual image of dividing the plate into 4 sections of healthier choices. Finally, the 20-minute eating rule for each meal will be a challenge for me considering my busy schedule, but it clearly seems important. Having recently experienced some cardiac problems, I am particularly interested not only because of the weight control benefits, but also in knowing that some of my cardiac risks will improve. As a nurse, I find there are many new ideas in this book that will help me educate my patients. For years, I have searched for the knowledge to give them. We did not learn enough of this in nursing school. Now is the opportunity for all nurses to gain this knowledge. After studying this myself, I will refer the book to my colleagues immediately. Nutritional education summed up in one book-- great job!