The Shift

July 1, 2013
Good Morning America contributor and businesswoman Johnson’s wakeup call? A carefully placed comment by a higher-up female executive convinced Johnson that her job was at risk due to her nearly 60 pounds of excess weight. Confronted by the possibility of losing her dream job, Johnson began her transition from a lifelong battle with the scale to a positive commitment to her own health and wellness. In this breezy, yet surprisingly intimate chronicle, the author traces her journey to slimness, one bite, step, and weigh-in at a time. Johnson reveals her painful past as a mostly confident girl who suffered secret shame over her weight, traces the multiple diets she embraced and abandoned, and shares her victories and setbacks. While her commitment to long-term change is commendable, occasional oversharing about buying Spanx, her reinvigorated sex life, or even the joys of her country home may be too much information for readers looking for diet tips. Additionally, her strict approach should not be taken as a health manual (and those with health problems should not adopt her rules without consulting a physician). Regardless, Johnson’s positive message and commitment to sustainable long-term behavioral change make for an inspiring read. Agent: Heidi Krupp, Krupp Kommunications.

August 1, 2013
One woman's journey of weight loss. "I spent decades under the misperception that my weight was just another thing beyond my control," writes Johnson in her honest narrative about her decision to lose more than 50 pounds. Fearful that her job as a contributor to Good Morning America was on the line, she decided that her work and her happiness were more important than anything. She knew she had to lose the weight. Over the years, Johnson had tried a variety of diets but had always given up when she had not reached certain goals fast enough. Then she went right back to eating large amounts of food and felt terrible when the weight returned. What she needed was a mental shift: "I realized that what I put in my head is far more important than what I put in my mouth." With this basic philosophy to lean on, Johnson began the slow process of learning to eat smaller portions, eating healthier, low-carb foods, and learning to say no when people tempted her with high-calorie foods. Gradually, the weight began to drop, and Johnson discovered she liked her leaner body, the way it moved and looked in the new clothes she bought for herself, and the energy and sex drive she discovered as she inched toward a smaller waistline. In straightforward prose, Johnson admits there were moments, even days, when she was tempted to splurge and did; she didn't discover some quick fix to drop weight. Although she avoids listing her starting weight, with her new determination, Johnson dropped more than 60 pounds and is still losing. Her sincere desire is for other overweight women to learn what she has: that "the perfect moment to start is, and will always be, right now." Nothing groundbreaking, but a candid and inspiring true story of conquering obesity.

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