Book Review- "Finally Thin"

I've posted on here before about some of the things I have found helpful in the book "Finally Thin" by Kim Bensen and well now I've finished the book and I thought I would share my review about it here.

Overall, I really liked this book. I found that the author's honesty and story is very motivational. As a person who has a lot of weight to lose it is great to know that it is possible. Reading different parts of her story I realized how similar I am in many ways and that maybe my weight is linked to more than I realized. I honestly wish that I had read this book sooner and I feel that now it has helped me process some of my thoughts and feelings and regroup some much needed motivation. While there are many great sections and tips in this book, especially the 5 steps for what you should do when you fall off program, but I think her best section is her section on motivation.

I thought I would share an excerpt about how much power the scale has over us:

"We measure the progress of our diets by the numbers on the scale. For that brief moment in time, this is what this machine on this particular floor in a room with this specific air pressure says. That's it. Nothing more. 

The scale can't measure behavior or determination, two things that are much more important to long-term weight loss than the numbers themselves. So the scale cannot be the only measure we use to feel successful."

In more detail:

"The scale can't measure your will, your drive, how much time you put into your food plan, or how many temptations you said no to. It can't tell how many old habits you broke or new, healthier habits you started. It doesn't know the effort you put in at the gym , and it doesn't care. It won't  heap praise on you because you chose the stairs over the elevator or know that you passed on a slice of a colleague's birthday cake even though you wanted it with all your heart.

Most of all, the scale doesn't have any idea how hard you're trying, or how many times you overcame a slip and got back on track when you felt like giving it all up together. Only you know that.

Every time you get on the scale, take a minute to measure what's really important  especially your behavior and your effort. We all get zapped by the scale from time to time. It's inevitable. But even if you feel as if the scale gave you a D for weight this week, give yourself an A for effort when you've had a fabulously successful week. I promise you, that effort will show up at the scale eventually."

I also appreciated her reminder that having a lot of weight to lose will actually hopefully create better odds of keeping the weight off because new habits have been formed for so long.

"If you are extremely overweight, remember, there is a real blessing to having a lot of weight to lose. Why? By the time you reach your goal, many of the new healthier habits will be ingrained because you've practiced them for a longer period of time. You'll be one step ahead in your maintenance."

Finally an overall message is that the "diet" never ends. For those of us who have made this commitment  it doesn't stop. It is a life change and it has to be or the weight will come back on. It really is overwhelming to have so much weight to lose and to feel like you will always be on a "diet." But as this book points out, everyone is on a "diet" and it is called life. So we all need to focus on losing weight the right way, forming new healthy habits, and then we've changed how we live our life.

Clearly, I would recommend this book if you are looking for some inspiration and you have a lot to lose. Does anyone have any books that they found really helpful to them on their weight loss journey? Please share!