The Big Fat Truth: The Behind-the-scenes Secret to Weight Loss

BOOK: The Big Fat Truth: The Behind-the-scenes Secret to Weight Loss
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Praise for
The Big Fat Truth
and JD Roth

“To lose weight for good, you need to become a beast—a beast who crushes your workouts, who can outsmart temptation, and who has shed the fat in your head. On
The Biggest Loser,
JD Roth was the guy who could wake the beast within anyone. With
The Big Fat Truth,
he can wake the weight-loss beast in you.”

—JILLIAN MICHAELS,
The Biggest Loser

“JD Roth has a passion for making this world a better place and a unique experience helping people change their interaction with food. His ideas are as original—and professional—as any I have heard on this important question. His views are inspiring, and they will help you lose weight forever.”

—T. COLIN CAMPBELL, PhD,
bestselling author of
The China Study

“A lot of people who want to lose weight think food is the enemy. I’ve devoted years to combating that mind-set, introducing America to real, healthy, comfort food. JD Roth will shatter it in minutes—and show you how to slay the mental hang-ups that are the real enemy of lasting weight loss and absurdly good health and happiness.”

—ROCCO DISPIRITO,
chef, TV host, and author of
Now Eat This!
and
The Pound-a-Day Diet

“JD is a reality engineer who possesses the gift to create the real we all want!”

—ASHTON KUTCHER

“On camera, you see incredible stories of transformation . . . but off camera is where the magic happens. Yes, you need to diet and exercise to lose weight, but making the heart and mind connection—with yourself and with others—is what will change your life forever. No one knows how to make that connection better than JD Roth.”

—CHRIS AND HEIDI POWELL,
Extreme Weight Loss

“I respect JD Roth’s total commitment and passion for helping people live their best life possible. Through his time with
The Biggest Loser
he learned it was not just about a physical transformation but an emotional shift that helped facilitate that external change. So whether you need to lose 10 pounds or 110 pounds,
The Big Fat Truth
will be a helpful resource of information and inspiration.”

—GABBY REECE,
volleyball player, sports announcer, model, and author

“JD Roth throws out a life line to those who want to lose weight. He’s a powerful compassionate ally whose tough love approach will absolutely help you shed extra pounds.
The Big Fat Truth
is your answer to a healthier, lighter you!”

—MING-NA WEN,
actress and founder of WENever

“JD Roth will cheer louder for you, fight harder for you and believe more in you than you may even do for yourself…. [W]hile reading his book you will feel his inspiration, devotion, commitment, and passion to make our bodies less heavy and our hearts more full.”

—IDAN RAVIN,
author of the nationally acclaimed
The Hoops Whisperer
and a world-renowned trainer who has worked with superstars such as Stephen Curry, James Harden, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony

“JD Roth embodies empathy and compassion, two qualities that are exceptionally rare is this industry. His lessons and examples make this book a must-read.”

—TIM GUNN,
Project Runway

“This book isn’t about weight loss; it’s about life gain. JD is the ultimate coach. He encourages, believes, motivates, and, above all, loves those who don’t love themselves. Thank you, JD, for giving the best of yourself to help others.”

—CHARISSA THOMPSON,
co-host on
Fox NFL
and
Extra

“I had the opportunity to work with JD for many years on
The Biggest Loser
. This is definitely a man that thinks outside the box. He is passionate about what he does and he believes with his whole heart that we all can and, more importantly, all
deserve
to live the life that we are meant to live.”

—BOB HARPER,
The Biggest Loser

“JD’s unparalleled positive energy is contagious. He motivates and inspires even the most pessimistic, and has bottled his message of positivity in this book!”

—HARLEY PASTERNAK, MSc,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Body Reset Diet, 5-Factor Diet,
and
5-Factor Fitness

“Though the process of weight-loss is a complex one, and controversy may exist in the medical and nutritional worlds about how to best accomplish this goal, one thing is certain: it all starts with the mind-body connection. No one knows this better than JD Roth. If he could write a prescription for that, it would be ‘inspiration: take one daily; repeat indefinitely’!”

—JENNIFER L. ASHTON, MD, FACOG
, ABC News Senior Medical Contributor on
Good Morning America
and co-host of
The Doctors

“JD has a way of finding the best in everyone. With his book, he’ll help you find the best in yourself!”

—DOLVETT QUINCE,
The Biggest Loser

NOTE TO OUR READERS

The information in this book should not be substituted for, or used to alter, medical therapy without your doctor’s advice. For a specific health problem, consult your physician for guidance.

Contents

Foreword by Holly R. Wyatt, MD

Introduction

Part I: Identify the Problem

CHAPTER 1:
Are You Ready to Lose Weight? No, I Mean Really, Truly Ready?

CHAPTER 2:
Think You Can, Think You Can’t—Either Way, You’re Right

CHAPTER 3:
Listen To What (the Right) People Are Trying to Tell You

CHAPTER 4:
Failure and Drama Can No Longer Be Your Happy Place

CHAPTER 5:
Stop Looking out the Window and Look in the Mirror

CHAPTER 6:
You Are Not Fat because You Love Food—No One’s
That
Hungry

Part II: Make a List of Things You Need to Do

CHAPTER 7;
Be a Contestant on Your Own Reality Show

CHAPTER 8:
Break Down and You’ll Break Through

CHAPTER 9:
Keep Your Promises

CHAPTER 10:
Stop Being a Puppet—Pull the Strings of Your Own Life

CHAPTER 11:
Shout It from the Rooftops

CHAPTER 12:
Stay Out of the Crack House

Part III: Now Go Do It!

CHAPTER 13:
1 Change a Week = 52 Changes a Year

CHAPTER 14:
Shake Up Your Life

CHAPTER 15:
Get an Education in Nutrition

CHAPTER 16:
Learn to Love Exercise

CHAPTER 17:
Do the Impossible

CHAPTER 18:
Make Mistakes—Then Move On

CHAPTER 19:
Keep the Pounds from Coming Back

CHAPTER 20:
Pass It On

APPENDIX:
Thirty Days to the Life You’re Dreaming Of

Resources

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to all the people who quietly go about changing their lives for the better. They don’t make excuses, they don’t try fad diets, and they commit to keeping their promises. They tell themselves that they deserve a better life, then they go about making it happen. They are everyday people who were not happy with how they felt about themselves or how they looked in the mirror, and unlike most everyone else in the world, they did something about it.

These people are
you
. I salute your courage in taking on the challenge that lies ahead. And I know you’re going to turn what once seemed impossible into your new happy place.

It’s always too soon to quit.

Foreword

I remember the day I first met JD Roth. It was the final casting week of Season 4 of the TV show
Extreme Weight Loss,
and JD was flying into Denver to inspire the potential new cast members as they prepared for their amazing challenge of losing a life-changing amount of weight in just 365 days. I have to admit I was a little nervous about this meeting and, frankly, very skeptical. Weight loss is my passion—and my specialty. I have spent my career as an academic doctor and researcher studying body weight regulation and designing state-of-the-art interventions to help people lose weight and keep it off. Over the last 20 years, I have worked with Dr. James Hill to develop cutting-edge weight management programs, making the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center the preeminent place in the world to lose weight and transform your life.

While I was enthusiastic about the collaboration between our center and
Extreme Weight Loss,
I was unconvinced that JD, a very lean and fit executive TV producer, could possibly understand what it takes for severely obese, very out-of-shape individuals to achieve permanent weight loss. Obesity is a serious medical disease, and it deserves the very best evidence-based treatment. In the back of my mind I was preparing for what I might have to “undo” after he left to make sure we really got the cast off on the right path for success. To be honest, I was ready for damage control.

To my very relieved and pleasant surprise, JD ended up teaching me a lot about what is really important for effective weight loss. He absolutely does know what it takes to be successful in long-term weight loss. I am happy to report that over the next two years we partnered very productively with JD and
Extreme Weight Loss
. JD’s famous casting pep talk is one of my favorites. It is totally aligned with the ways we think about transformative weight loss at our center, and I admit I’ve borrowed many of his inspirational stories and mantras to motivate some of my toughest patients.

It turns out JD has a true gift, a natural insight into what it really takes to help people lose weight and succeed in life. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been shocked by this. As a successful TV producer, he is a student of human nature, of how people react in different situations and how real and deep emotions are usually what rule people’s outward behavior. The stories he told on
Extreme Weight Loss
exemplified his ability to find and link that deep emotion to each cast member’s goal of losing weight and changing their life . . . the essence of lasting success. He inherently understands that weight loss has to be bigger than a diet and exercise plan. Yes, he is a wildly successful producer, but he is also one hell of a life coach. His tell-it-like-it-is tough love approach is coupled with a true love for every cast member. That makes him a very rare individual who can make people at any size or fitness level believe they can succeed and inspire them do the hard work it takes to win the obesity battle.

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