Bob Greene’s The Best Life Diet

there is a recipe section in the book. I made several this weekend & they were great. There is also a recipe book coming out on the 30th Amazon.com: The Best Life Diet Cookbook: More than 175 Delicious, Convenient, Family-Friendly Recipes: Bob Greene: Books

I will definitly get a copy

don't forget to pick up the book if you want to get started jan 7th!!!

The "homework" from this episode was to answer 5 questions. you don't need to post them here, but can if you want

1. What are you really hungry for?

2. Why are you overweight?

3. Why have you been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?

4. What in your life is not working?

5. Why do you want to lose weight?

I TiVoed it -- hopefully will find time to watch soon. The good news is I've been to the gym 7 days in a row!

and more info from oprah.com. these are the best life diet phases, incase you want to participate, but don't have the book

Best Life Diet: The Phases

Phase 1: The Rev-Up

In the first four weeks, focus on moving more and changing your eating patterns. To start, step on the scale to get your starting weight. Then, put it away!

The first step is to get moving! Activity burns calories and revs up your metabolism beyond its normal capacity, allowing you to eat more food while losing weight.

The hardest part is getting started. Determine where you are on the activity scale. If you are already exercising regularly, move up one level. If you're at level zero, go up two levels and start formal workouts right away after checking with your physician. Your body will adapt, and it will be easier to increase how much you move.

Also, start eating three meals and one snack daily. Plan to get 25 to 30 percent of your total calories from each meal, with the rest from your snack. And don't forget breakfast! It gives your metabolism a jolt and will keep you satisfied until lunch. If you wake up without an appetite, give it an hour to develop. If you're still not hungry, eat anyway.

There are a few other rules at this stage:

Eliminate alcohol (you can add it back in later).

Have a glass of water at every meal.

Take a multivitamin, an omega-3 supplement and a calcium supplement if you're not getting enough from your diet.

Stop eating at least two hours before you go to bed.

Weigh yourself after four weeks. If you dropped a pound or more per week, consider staying in this phase two or three more weeks. If you didn't lose much weight, you're right where you should be. Your body is now prepared for the aggressive weight loss that's coming in the next stage of the program.

Phase 2: The Switch

The pounds will really drop off in this phase, which should last a minimum of four weeks. Now is the time to eliminate a few foods from your diet and replace them with less fattening foods that will curb your appetite.

Find out the six foods to cut today.

In this phase, weigh yourself once a week. If the number goes up, don't be hard on yourself. Just look over the changes you've made and see where you may need to fine-tune your efforts. Also, think about increasing your level on the activity scale. This is optional, but exercise can provide some of the comfort you might otherwise find from eating, thanks to endorphins.

Reevaluate at the end of four weeks. If you've met your goal weight, move on. If you're 20 pounds or less from your goal and still losing, you have two options: Stay in Phase 2 until you reach your goal; or go to Phase 3, where you'll continue to lose at a slower rate. If you have more than 20 pounds to lose and are consistently dropping, stay in Phase 2.

If you've stopped losing and still have 20 or more pounds to go, don't be discouraged. Make sure you're following the first two phases and haven't let extra calories slip back in your diet. Keeping a food diary can help you get a good picture of what's really going on. If you've been true to the program, try cutting your calories or increasing your exercise another notch. You may have hit a plateau, and this will help jump-start your progress.

Phase 3: Happily Ever After

Welcome to the rest of your life! You don't have to incorporate all the recommendations of this phase at once, but do the best you can. Consider the way you eat and exercise as a work in progress.

Maintain the changes you achieved in Phases 1 and 2, but add some "anything goes" calories—the chance to have foods you still hanker for. Everything you eliminated in Phase 2 is now allowable. Put "anything goes" calories toward "luxury foods" that are indulgent but still have something to offer, such as dark chocolate, full-fat cheese and yogurt, pizza with whole grain crust, or a glass of wine.

The number of calories you get per day depends on your activity level:

Level 0: none

Level 1: 100

Level 2: 150

Level 3: 210

Level 4: 280

Level 5: 300

Try to eat vegetables more than any other food group. Go easy on potatoes, corn and peas because they're as starchy (and about as caloric) as grains. Try to get beans into your diet a couple times a week—they are superfoods in terms of nutrition. At least two servings of fruit are recommended a day. Also, continue to replace refined grains with whole ones. Ideally, 75 percent of the grains in your diet will be whole.

As for sweets, eat fruit anytime. Otherwise, look at the packaging: All desserts and snacks containing more than 8 grams of sugar (2 teaspoons) per serving count as "anything goes" calories.

Getting to indulge in a few more of these extra calories may be one incentive to increase your activity level, which you should do again when you enter this phase. Exercise will help you maintain the weight loss you've achieved and allow you to eat more food without regaining. It will also help slow down the aging process. Weigh yourself no more than once a week and no less than once a