"Winning by Losing" will motivate you to change your lifestyle and lose weight. In one section the author explains the science behind nutrition and proper diet. In another section Jillian Michaels educates the reader about exercising and working out. She explains her unique fitness philosophy with simple descriptions and straightforward illustrations of exercises and how to do them. However, maybe the most important and most motivating part of the book is the section called "Self" where Jilliana addresses the psychological aspects of weight loss. As one of other reviewers rightly pointed out, "she shows the ordinary person how to become extraordinary". It is a great book with a thorough, detailed plan for proper diet plan and exercising. You can expand your knowledge of healthy lifestyle and proper food combination by adding to the package "Can We Live 150" by M. Tombak. Extensive excerpt from the book and some free ebooks are available at Tombak's website.

I watched the Biggest Loser show and was intimidated by Michales but also really admired her fitness and physique. I really liked watching how the contestants shed the pounds. Now I'm on my own weight loss program - walking, trying to eat right, etc.. and i picked this up the other day and was really pleased. lots of commonsense advice, scientifically sound and myth busting. i'll be doing a lot of the work in the books (the journaling bits) and hope it helps me in my journey to weightloss.

I have to admit--I've watched both seasons of The Biggest Loser and Bob has always been my favorite of the two trainers. So, when I saw Jillian's book, I was hesitant at first about whether I wanted to buy it. However, I just finished reading it today and I have to say that I am impressed. She provides a lot of helpful information both on the eating side and on the exercise side. She has tests or formulas to help you--such as the test that tells you whether you are a slow, fast or balanced oxidizer...she explains how to determine your maximum heart rate so you can work out at the correct intensity, etc.

I must say I was quite surprised to see that there is only an hour of cardio (really only 50 minutes once you factor in warm up and cool down) a week in her plan. This surprised me because, watching the show for two seasons, you always see the contestants struggling and sweating on the bike, elliptical or treadmill doing cardio. Granted, Jillian's way of doing weight/resistance training will get you sweating as well!

I thought the book was strong and impressive overall. My only disappointment was in the first third or so of the book. I thought that some subjects such as emotional eating were ridiculously over-simplified and given short shrift. The message I took away from some of these chapters was "OKay, now I've explained in a page and a half why you shouldn't do that, so just get over it now, mmmkay?" I understand that no book is going to be able to cure emotional eating in a chapter, but I would have rather she admitted that she didn't have time or experience to cover it fully and perhaps suggest some additional reading rather than go with the "POOF! You're cured!" approach.

One of her real strengths is to be able to explain some rather complicated concepts about how the body metabolizes food or how the muscles work and make it readily understandable. Her book could have easily veered into the too-scientific, but it didn't. It was like sitting and having someone give you the heart-to-heart talk you know you need but have been scared to hear. Yea, she's tough, but she obviously cares as well.

This is a very good book for all beginners in the exercise/weight loss arena. Jillian dispenses a lot of tips, support and encouragement.

She also provides a test to find out what type of 'oxidizer' (the way you burn nutrients) you are which helps you decide your nutrition plan.

Jillian explains how to calculate the calories needed for each person each day and how to vary your caloric intake to keep your metabolism from slowing.

She explains carbs and the way they break down in your system and provides some insight into the GI (Glycemic Index). Jillian also goes over the good and bad fats and why you need fat in your diet.

She covers label reading and helps the reader learn how to pick out healthier foods by reading their labels. She also provides tips to reduce the calories of foods you eat and receipes you make.

Jillian goes over cardio exercise - when to do it, how often and what types work best. She then discusses circuit weight training and how often and when to participate in these types of exercises.

The last third of the book is the Exercise Index where Jillian covers a wide variety of strength training exercises and provides instructions and photos showing exactly how to perform these exercises. Included in this section is a 12 week program for the reader to follow.

All in all I really liked her book. All beginners or even those that would like to pick up and extra tip or two should give it a read. Jillian covers all the basics and a little more then some weight loss books in that she also covers doing the 'internal work' before beginning a weight loss program.

Between the internal work, the science of weight loss, the sweat part you need to do and going over basic anatomy tips this book has a little bit of everything.

This book WILL change your life! It doesn't matter if you have 20 pounds or 200 pounds to lose. This book, with Jillian's, NO BS attitude is nothing short of phenomenal! I bought it for all the people who are important in my life!