Dr Phil McGraw

You are so much more than what people have done to you, and to let that define you, would be a tragedy.

This is no dress rehearsal.

Loving smart means believing in you, your worth and your value.

I’ve talked to so many people, men and women alike, that get overweight and their self-esteem just goes in the tank. They think they’re judged. They think they’re unattractive.

I think I’ve got the best staff in television.

How often, for example, have you said or heard someone else say, “All I really want in this life is to be happy”? It sounds like a commonsense answer, but as a life goal, it is destined for failure. My dog, Barkley, wants to be happy. Does that mean that the two of you want the same things? I don’t think so. I’ll bet everything I own that you and Barkley define happiness very differently. So unless you’re willing to settle for someone scratching your belly and letting you sleep under the coffee table, you might want to be a little more precise about what you as a unique individual really want.

First, you’re going to have to stop using food for anything other than nutrition. You cannot continue to use food to celebrate, or as a companion, or for entertainment, or comfort. You cannot medicate yourself, your mood, or pain with food.

The time is coming when man will be able to determine the length of his lifespan by controlling his diet.

I’ve talked to so many people, men and women alike, that get overweight and their self-esteem just goes in the tank. They think they’re judged. They think they’re unattractive.

Obesity has overtaken cancer as the No. 1 cause of avoidable, preventable death in American society. It’s an epidemic-level problem.

Get up each morning, look at yourself in the mirror, and see yourself not as someone who is overweight or out of shape, but as the someone you will become.

Successful weight loss takes programming, not willpower.

What I want people to do is what’s healthy for them.

Experts indicate that you should aim for consistent weight loss of about one to two pounds per week, so you should remain realistic—you aren’t going to lose 40 pounds per week (no matter what any diet product claims).

I don’t care how pumped up or psyched you are to start a new diet or a new program – that emotion will fade.

Now ask yourself if you’re really going to spend the rest of your life on one of those ridiculous diets. The honest answer is, no, you won’t. So, that means you might lose weight while you’re on it, but you’ll probably gain it back when you’re off it because you haven’t made any real lifestyle changes.

You’re FAT – and don’t try to sugarcoat it, because you’ll just eat that, too.

Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life.

Now, my body fat runs around 18 percent, which is normal and, you know, kind of in the middle of normal, actually.

A year from now, you’re gonna weigh more or less than what you do right now.