The Tops Way to Weight Loss: Beyond Calories and Exercise

Weight loss is about people, not calories. Too many other books focus on diet and exercise but neglect the personal, relationship, and spiritual factors that are the real keys to successful weight management. Drawing on the inspirational stories of the successful members of the international nonprofit, weight-loss support group Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS), the organization’s psychologist, Howard J. Rankin, shows you how to harness your personal power and the power of others to lose weight and keep it off.

Successful weight loss is personal transformation. Dr. Rankin shows you how to mine and maintain your motivation by finding the real meaning in your weight-loss efforts. Extracting key principles from the incredible success stories, the author not only provides practical steps but also shows how they can be implemented in the context of everyday, busy lives. In addition to motivational strategies, easy-to-follow advice is given in the critical areas of self-management, emotional eating, bingeing, adaptive thinking, and temptation management. People don’t lose weight in a social vacuum, they lose weight in the context of their relationships. So, at each step, Dr. Rankin shows how to enhance your program by using one of the most valuable resources available— the power of others.

Howard J. Rankin, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with an international reputation in the areas of relationships, wellness, and weight loss. A former academic who has written more than 50 scientific papers and edited prestigious, scholarly journals, Rankin has held appointments at the universities of London, Oxford, and South Carolina. He’s been a consultant to the World Health Organization, and he’s the psychological advisor to the international nonprofit weight-loss support group Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS). He has written several books, including Inspired to Lose, ISBN: 0965826147; 7 Steps to Wellness, ISBN: 0965826112; 10 Steps to a Great Relationship, ISBN: 0965826120; and Power Talk: The Art of Effective Communication, ISBN: 0965826139. Rankin’s work has been frequently featured in the print media, and he has appeared many times on radio and television. His pioneering work on temptation management was featured on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20.