Just 10 Lbs: Easy Steps to Weighing What You Want

by Brad Lamm

In Just 10 LBS, intervention specialist Brad Lamm brings a fresh eye to weight loss, focusing not on the what of eating, but on the how and why. As a companion piece to The Dr. Oz Show's major, year-long initiative to change the health of America, this book discards the notion of overhauling life with the vague dream of being thin and challengesthe reader to focus on losing just 10 pounds. What Lamm understands is that managing weight isn't just about doing crunches, running miles, or cutting calories; in fact, one of the most powerful parts of success is generally overlooked--a healthy relationship with oneself is key to any weight-loss program. In Just 10 LBS, Lamm outlines ten easy steps to help readers heal their relationship with themselves and thus change their relationship with food, breaking destructive cycles of disordered and unhealthy eating. Covering everything from body image to restrictive beliefs to developing a quiet, focusing daily practice, Lamm discusses all aspects of the emotional and self-esteem issues surrounding weight and food. And he puts them together into a 10-step program that begins with identifying your eating style--emotional eater, pleasure eater, energy eater, external eater, or critical eater--and ends with a discussion on the importance of "paying it forward," or giving back the gifts you've gotten. Also included is an action-oriented 30-day plan to help readers get a jump start on their weight-loss efforts. The effective, easy-to-follow steps in Just 10 LBS will help readers reclaim their power over food; open emotional blockages that clutter their lives; and create a lifestyle that emphasizes the mind, body, emotions, relationships, and spirit.

Genres: Fitness, Health

231 pages, Hardcover

First published January 3, 2011

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

The fact that Dr. Oz wrote the forward, should have made me run screaming the other way. This is just Atkins re-packaged with a little Deepak Chopra thrown in. The self survey questions are loaded and not helpful, and the "figure out what type of eater you are" section, does not truly work well if you are multiple types, which most people are. Basically, it boils down to avoid carbs and sweets and you will lose 10 lbs. in 30 days. DUH!

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Just 10 LBS" sells a simple, straightforward premise to weight loss by listing a guide of ten steps to take in order to improve eating habits and overall quality of life for an individual. Quoting directly from the book, Brad Lamm, a specialist in addiction who wrote the book from a perspective that weight gain/imbalance is attributed to unhealthy, uncontrolled eating patterns and unhealthy thought processes, states the ten steps as follows:

1. Live the Love-Centered Diet
2. Start a Moving Meditation
3. Develop a Daily Practice
4. Appreciate your Body
5. Love Yourself Thin
6. Maintain Loving Connections
7. Eliminate Excuses
8. Examine Your Battleground Beliefs
9. Connect with Higher-Source Thinking
10. Pay it Forward

I think one of the strengths of this book is that it's so straightforward and outlines a clear, general guide to pursuing each of these particular objectives, with a general approach to the mind-body-spirit-health dynamic. Yet, I think therein lies one of the book's biggest weaknesses - there are sections in which it's too general - and reads surprisingly impersonal for a weight loss guide. I don't say "impersonal" in terms of it being a guide that's supposed to hold your hand as you're going through these changes - that's not it at all, because I think the heart of Lamm's cause is there and it manages to be informative. Yet, it lacks a certain engagement that I think other fitness/health/wellness guides have given and have actually excelled more in their given presentation. Granted, I think a lot of this book is meant to supplement materials that one can find on the companion website (just10diet.com), but I couldn't understand why some of this information, in more detail, couldn't have been incorporated within the book itself.

Those who are looking for a more comprehensive, yet specific guide to weight loss may feel underwhelmed by the lack of expansion as to why these steps should be valuable to their lives and feel as if it is too general to address their concerns about changing their lifestyle behaviors with wider considerations. I don't doubt that there are people who would find this guide somewhat useful, especially if you're treading water as to where you want to start making behavioral, thought, and dietary changes in your life with respect to weight loss and healthy thinking, and more specifically if you have a problem with emotional/overeating and not know where to start. (The guide to the different types of eating habits in the first section is quite helpful.) For a beginner, this book is more useful. For a veteran, I don't think it would be as helpful due to its general nature.

The way this book is organized - you have the steps explained at some general length, with some healthy tidbits interspersed within the chapters for common consideration. At the end of each section are ten conclusions to think about and a myth busting factoid. It's very reader friendly in that it doesn't overwhelm one with information, but I think it lacks a distinction that sets it apart from other guides that have the comprehensive information, but easy to understand/reference material all in one place.

Overall, I appreciated the time taken to read it, but I would say that "Just 10 LBS" would be more beneficial in a general perspective/light reference guide rather than as a practical guide to weight loss, because it truly doesn't cover all the issues that go into it, and not enough, I would say, to actually enact the kind of changes that it promises to make for the individual reading it. I would say to get the most out of this book, you'd have to go outside of it for more information.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher Hay House, inc.

Overall score: 3/5

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this book for a few months now and have finally finished. It is so much more than a diet book. A good portion of the book deals with our mental attitudes and spirituality. There are lists of "Take Ten" frequently through out the book with suggestions on more than just how to lose weight but how to be happy and content. There is a section on "family coding" which I have never seen done before. Using yourself as the focal point, make a family tree out from you to those related to you and "coding" them with various factors. I did not take the time to do that. There are sections on suggested diet plans, recipes and exercises. There are "Myth Busters" throughout the book and I am currently stuck on the one about not having to be ready to succeed. I can't seem to get that one working for me at the present time. I think this is a good book and one that if the reader followed the ideas in this book would undoubtedly lose weight. I like that it is motivational in nature and focuses more on the person than the actual diet plan.

[Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book, thinking it would help me battle the reasons I never quite lose the last ten pounds and also thinking that the insight I could gain could also explain why my stack of stuff at work can be 90% conquered and then I leave the last 10% as it sits and mocks me. The book I wanted to read, however, was not this book, which instead focuses on how losing "just" ten pounds can benefit you as it provides - guess how many - ten lessons to help you do just that. I am absolutely convinced that people who need to lose weight can improve their health by losing just ten pounds and that the psychological benefits of trying to do just that instead of starting on a program to lose 150 pounds can be helpful, but I don't need to lose 150 pounds. I need to figure out why I never quite complete a project. This book was boring to me and I skimmed most of it.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on our relationship with food and the reasons we eat poorly. It takes a look at our relationship with ourselves and how that can influence us to eat badly. Improving how we view ourselves positively affects how and what we eat. There is a short quiz to help the reader identify their eating style and then there are recommendations based on the results. [return][return]What I really liked about this book was the balanced approach it took. 10 pounds may not be the total you want to lose, but it’s a small enough goal that being overwhelmed is not likely and there are significant health benefits. The recommendations are easy to incorporate into even a busy schedule. The writing style was motivating and empowering. A good read for anyone wanting to change their relationship with food and improve their self esteem.

[Lisa (Bookworm Lisa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a common sense look at our eating and personality patterns. You can choose between several profiles to determine what kind of eater you are. After you figure that out, Brad Lamm explains how we can deal with our profiles and become healthier.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of this book. Basically working on yourself, eating healthy, some exercise and you will lose 10 lbs. I think it can work.

[LINDA · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me realize that losing weight doesn't have to be so daunting. Just concentrate on 10 pounds at a time!

[Pauline MacLeod]

Didn't finish reading it because after the first few pages I realized it was not for me. I do not have food issues and I only want to lose about 7 lbs.