Rating: 
Summary: Very Very Very Basic...Good for those truly new to exercise
Review: I was disappointed with this book...but perhaps it is because I've moved way beyond where this program starts. This is a program truly for beginners to exercise...absolute beginners. I like that Bob does not focus on changing one's diet until you establish exercise as a routine; however, I do not agree with him on holding off strength training until the very end. Muscle burns fat--and can be just as, or even more effective than aerobics alone. Still, if you're new to exercise...this book will walk you through a gentle program which should have you exercising regularly in a few months. Another great book for beginners is Glen Gaesser's "The Spark."
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!!
Review: I've been on Weight Watchers for 13 weeks and have lost 27 pounds but I needed a program to get me "going" again because I have reached a plateau. Having seen Bob Greene on Oprah I decided to try his book. I started reading and couldn't put it down. I've never read a "self-help" book that I didn't get totally bored with after the first chapter. This book explains why my body functions as it does, why I gain a couple of pounds after loosing 4, etc. I have a much better understanding of my body and my emotions. I am also a smoker and I feel that this book will be the catalyst I need to stop the nasty habit once and for all. Thanks for such an eye-opening and informative book and thanks to Oprah for really putting it out there.
Rating: 
Summary: Basic Diet Stuff
Review: If you have never read a diet book before than this one is as good as any. The author addresses all aspects of dieting and exercise. My disappointment was that you have heard it all before. I have had success on Weight Watchers, Body For Life and the South Beach Diet. My problem is that after the initial excitement wears off, I don't maintain the program. I was interested in this book because the other reviews indicated that it addressed emotional aspects of over-eating. Specifically, boredom, stress, etc. But I was really disappointed when he discussed these issues because he wrote a little blurb on each aspect and then gave some personal story. To me it was childish psychological advice.
For example, he discusses binge eating. Now I am only about 10-15 pounds overweight and I can eat properly all day and then right before I go to bed ruin my diet and eat 3 doughnuts or some other high caloric food. His belief is that it is often related to some childhood trauma and that seeking professional help may be the answer. I dont know about you but I am not going to seek professional help to lose 15 pounds.
Then he suggests to eat wisely. He has a chart that actually says if you want to eat fudge, then choose fruit. If you want cake, choose skinless grilled chicken breast. Duh? I did not make that up. Here's another one. If you want to eat pie, then choose soup. Is he kidding? I guarantee that I will never eat chicken breast instead of accepting a piece of birthday cake.
Okay I don't want to just bash the book. Everything he writes is probably dietetically correct. It's just that I have read them all and done most of them and I have yet to experience one that worked long-term. The one that I had the most success is Body For Life of which I lost 40 pounds and as I mentioned I have put back 10 to 15.
Good luck. Nothing new to report.
Rating:
Summary: A self help book with a difference
Review: In a world overcrowded with self help books, this one stands apart. Instead of gimmicks, obvious advice, and shortcuts, this one offers a sensible combination of real work and no nonsense discipline It doesn't offer quick weightloss by eating banana kiwi shakes or something equally absurd, but rather gradual and lasting improvements in weight and fitness through serious exercise, more sensible and balanced eating and, perhaps most significantly, dealing with PSYCHOLOGICAL issues that lead many of us to overeat. Don't waste your time with the "get fit in 10 seconds a day while eating as much as you want" books. Get real with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Focus on Daily Little Victory
Review: Interesting. When I picked up Bob Greene's GET WITH THE PROGRAM, the guidelines look familiar-this is almost exactly what my fitness friend told me to do few years ago to lose weight. GET WITH THE PROGRAM is a reiteration, reformulation of the basic "double E" principles we all know-eat healthy and exercise. So there is nothing new. But unlike another recent hot pick EAT MORE, WEIGHT LESS, Greene's program is more practical and will stimulate those who want to make a difference in their physique and lifestyle. GET WITH THE PROGRAM has 4 stages that emphasize gradual change in eating and exercise habit. Phase 1 is easy but very little people will even try because of laziness and procrastination. Phase 1 includes exercises that get us going: some stretches, some aerobic exercises, some situps, and curls for couple times a week. By doing these exercises couple twice a week, we formulate a routine which builds a mindset not to give up. I call these daily little victories. We certainly can't just go to the gym and start lifting 300 pounds hoping to change our body metabolism. But aerobic and cardiovascular excersies can help retune our strength. Start with maybe 10 situps and curls then increase to 15, 20, then 25 a set and do 2 reps of sets. These are daily victories. Phase 2 picks up the exercise and let you perform more sets. As the program progresses toward Phase 3 and 4, you will start changing the diet and watch what you're eating. Many people misunderstood about working out as burining fat. When you work out, you burn calories. Until you create a deficit of calories in diet, you will never get rid of body fat. When all calories from food have been consumed, then the body will go about the fat stored. So incorporating a diet to workout/exercise is the key. Greene's program will help you achieve this balance. I'm excited about how GET WITH THE PROGRAM has put into a written account of what my fitness friend had told me to do. From 195 lbs (5 feet 8 inches tall), I alternated between aerobics and cardiovascular execises with increasing repetition (the daily victories), changed the diet around to create deficit in calories (about a deficit of 600 calories a day, but 1 pound of fat equal 3500 calories), I started jogging after 2 months of aerboic and cardiovascular, I lost a total of 52 pounds and got down to 143 lbs in 8 months. Focus on the little victories, start the exercises and gradually increase the repetition to create endurance and strength. Change the diet completely, cut all high-fat food like junk food, McDonalds, desserts, high-carbohydrates like pasta and rice. Cut processed sugar products like sodas and ice cream. Drink lots of water and natural freshly sueezed juices. Many programs are out there in the markets like GET WITH THE PROGRAM, success depends on personal determination and perseverance.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic advice on how to get fit
Review: Let's be clear up front: there are no major breakthroughs or miracles in this book. Most every American alive knows what it would take to get fit (exercise) and lose weight (eat less fat and junk). To a certain extent, therefore, "Get with the Program" is just a re-formulation of the hard facts we all know. What Bob Greene has devised is a realistic and relatively painless way of adopting those healthy practices into your life on a long-term basis. There are 4 incremental stages to the program which are simple and designed for each person to follow at their own pace. This means that you don't have to wake up tomorrow morning, starve yourself and run out the door for 2 hours at the gym. Step 1 is simple: start a minimum of aerobic exercise, basic stretches and some abdominal exercises a couple of times a week. Easy enough. Once you've thoroughly incorporated that into your life, you move on to stage 2 where exercise picks up a little. Not until you reach stage 4 do you begin to actively change your eating habits; that can be months or years later. This is a fitness program that isn't intimidating and isn't going to require you to drastically change your whole lifestyle immediately in order to get results and start feeling better about yourself. This means that a lot of people who haven't been successful in weightloss or exercise programs before are finally going to succeed in making long-term changes to their lives. Again, this isn't a radical fad diet (in fact, the nutritional advice is rather skimpy - follow Greene's principals, but don't hesitate to supplement the nutritional info if you need to)- it's about making gradual changes at a pace you can live with.
Rating: 
Summary: Unscientific and improvised analysis
Review: Like many fitness gurus who resort to training as an escape from learning science, math, and the other related disciplines, yet believe that they could master the complexity of these integrated fields, without even touching a text book, Bob Greene embodies such naïve and simplistic approach. In this book, he improvises many flawed information, believing that the folks training for fitness are the last people to discover his lazy and flawed interpretation of the physiology of fitness.
Although he states that this book is not about fitness or diet, yet he deals solely with fitness and diet claiming to enhance health and emotional well being. He describes FOUR phases for accomplishing that goal as follows:
(1) Phase One is preparation in which he recommends drinking a minimum of 6 glasses of water daily.
(2) Phase Two is revving up your metabolism in which he recommends drinking a minimum of 7 glasses of water daily.
(3) Phase Three deals with emotional eating in which he recommends drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water daily.
(4) Phase Four deals with emotional well being in which he recommends drinking 9 glasses of water daily.
So, if the 6, 7, 8, and 9 numbers do not raise your suspicion about the irrationality of this author, hold your breath, for you will have to unlearn all common knowledge and relearn new flawed information from this book, as follows:
(1) On page 59, the author states:
"Physically fit individuals store considerably more water than unfit individuals. This explains how a very fit person can weigh much more than their appearance would suggest".
He does not cite a reference for such simplistic explanation. One would assume that a physically fit person has better cardiovascular condition that manages water storage more efficiently without accumulating body fluids. He explains that based on the glycogen contents of fit muscles, while ignoring the increased calcium storage in fit people that adds to their bodyweight.
In that page also, he states: "daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal water cycles fluctuation is not fully understood" without citing any reference for such bizarre phenomena that he alone believes in.
(2) On page 66, he defines "metabolism" as the rate that your body burns calories and that `rate' is the key word. He thus does not understand that metabolism is a process of assimilating biological products.
(3) On page 67, he erroneously states:
"There is no way to measure the rate of burning calories directly other than feeling perspiration and getting clothes more loose after exercise."
He thus does not understand the basic physiological experiment of measuring caloric expenditure that many high school kids learn in high school.
He erroneously states that "when you're dehydrated, you eat more" and calls that "artificial hunger". That is very bizarre way of interpreting physiology.
(4) On page 107, he claims that research proves that 30 to 40 minutes per week of aerobics is adequate, without citing any source for that research.
(5) On page 109, he erroneously claims that low intensity exercise burns lots of calories but makes you get "very hungry" and eventually eat back all of the burned-off calories. There is no justification for that false claim.
(6) On page 117, he states that alcohol contains 7 calories per gram without stating which type of alcohol. The USDA National Nutrient Database gives less than 3.83 Calories/ gram of WHISKEY, other alcoholic beverages contain less than that.
(7) On page 152, he claims that starting training with weights in phase One will increase your appetite, which is another bizarre discovery.
(8) The book has 72 blank sheets, for the reader to fill in, out of 200 pages of the whole books. There are no references.
Rating:
Summary: Show Up for Yourself and Improve Appearances!
Review: Mr. Greene's book is a delightfully low-impact way to improve your health, appearance, conditioning, and weight. The book is built around his experience as a personal trainer and exercise physiologist to get your body moving in more helpful ways. You set the pace, and you decide how much improvement to make. If you want to make more improvement, the advice is here. Like most books about health, the "solution" reflects the author's perspective and experience. Mr. Greene knows exercise, so you get a lot of exercise. But he fleshes it out with good information on water, food, and mental preparation. If you think you would like to exercise more, this book will please you. If you don't think you want to exercise more, then this book may not appeal to you. In addition, the book focuses on women in the text and in the photographs. So many men won't feel like this book is aimed at them. If you are a man and want exercise advice, try Body for Life which has photographs of women and men. Overall, I suspect that people with Type O blood will benefit the most from this book, as long as they avoid wheat products. The book starts with working on having you drink more water, understand your mental attitudes towards making personal improvements, and make a commitment to get healthier. Before you are done, you will sign a contract with yourself. Personally, I thought that the contract would have been more appealing if it had been rewritten to be more explicit about changes in your life other than food changes. So consider rewriting it to make it more powerful for you. Gradually, you add drinking more water, stretching, aerobic exercise, reducing your alcohol consumption, stopping emotionally driven eating, and finally adopt a better diet and do some light lifting. The whole focus is on increasing your metabolic rate so you burn fat, build some muscle, and get properly hydrated. My prediction is that most people will at least improve their hydration and flexibility as a result of using this book. That would be a fine result. If you get further, that's great! I really liked the way the book combined a spiral binding with a hard cover so that it lies flat. As a result, you can study a page without using your hands to hold the book down. There are also lots of logs to fill out so you can keep track of how you are doing. If you are like me, you will do better by writing down how it's going. Every time I measure my behavior, I am astonished at how much I learn about myself. With this book, there's no excuse for not learning about your behavior patterns in ways that will probably improve your habits. Make progress, one step at a time.
Rating:
Summary: Nice program, but . . .
Review: obviously more of a "self-help" guide for beginners. I find his nutritional guidelines lacking in that there is NO mention of protein or dairy products. That seems a serious omission to me. The weight training guide is bare minimal. But, overall, I think this would be a GREAT starting point for anyone just beginning their fitness quest.
Rating:
Summary: book hits nail on the head
Review: One of the things I learned was about personal commitment to one's self. By regards of others I may not have a huge amount of weight to lose but I've benn procrstinating about it and worried that this will become a lifestyle choice. Sure I look fine now but I'm still pretty young and this has to be a lifelong commitment. I got moving with Oprah and Bob in the 90's and did a massive turnaround but then I got into the work swing and got complacent, not to mention being so close to Delmonicos! I love food, to eat it and to cook it but the simple mathematics is that I have to exercise more calories than I consume. Simple as that. And something really BIG, you're suppose to feel slightly hungry. I think thats a great point, most peopel believe you're suppose to constantly be full.
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