The Spark: The 28-Day Breakthrough Plan for Losing Weight, Getting Fit, and Transforming Your Life Paperback – January 25, 2011

I can tell you honestly that I have not finished reading The Spark book - I am on chapter 5. However, I am on the website, and I am LIVING proof that THE SPARK works! I joined the website sparkpeople.com on 6/18/12 as I was looking for a simple food/nutrition tracker and a fitness tracker was the bonus. What I found blew me away.All these years, millions of people have been using this tool and since I don't watch TV during the day, don't read magazines nor the newspaper, I had never heard of this site before. But when I went exploring, I was amazed to find that no one pushed certain foods on you, there was no signing up for advertisements that clog my inbox, and as soon as I clicked to subscribe to the site, there were comments from people all over the world telling me they were just like me. This was really a cool place to be and by the following morning I was a full-funtioning Sparker!I love the fact that the only commitment they ask you to make - which does not profit them at all - is to just move for 10 minutes a day. 10 MINUTES. It's not like they were trying to sell me food packages, or charge me for using their site. Everything is free (like eDiets was back in the day) and there is so much information that you can get lost in all the exercise articles, videos for all kinds of workouts, recipes you can make that are healthier, or you can add your own recipes to see what nutrients really are in what you are eating. PLEASE, you have to know what you are eating. And I am NOT a proponent of organic or "diet" food. I just had bacon and cheddar stuffed burgers for dinner last night.But one thing really got my attention. I had been sedentary, well almost immobile, with arthritis and chronic pain for 4 years. The Spark has exercise videos that we can do while sitting in a chair! Entire cardio videos for someone who has issues standing up! Have you ever seen that anywhere? NO!I know this is a lot about the website, but you really get to better know THE SPARK by living in the website every day and making healthier lifestyle choices and you don't have to give up anything you love - like chocolate, they urge you to eat cocoa or dark chocolate and not a TON of it. THE SPARK teaches you that you need to do everything in moderation. Key word there.I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and there are at least 2 teams where that is what they focus on and it brings so many people together and I hear all da, "I never knew I could lose weight or exercise with RA". These women are FIERCE and exercise almost every day just so we can keep up our ability to move as close to normal as any "fit" person can.If you are looking for the life-changing book, THE SPARK is definitely what you are looking for. It teaches you to look at yourself as a role model and makes you realize that "dieting" is a dirty word that you should avoid. It's all about changing your lifestyle in simple "baby steps" to become a fitter, healthier you. And I can attest to losing 22 pounds since 6/18/2012 and I only work out in my home as I am disabled. I even had a broken leg for 3 or the 4 months that I have been a member and I stil lost 22 pounds! And I still have to lose 78 more to be at a normal BMI. But I am on my way and making strides toward it every day.My advice, buy it and read it. It's not expensive and can never be called a waste of money if you want to make small changes that will impact your life tremendously. And for those of you who think I am preaching about the book - sign on to the webiste and look me up under user name ANGRITTER. You can see just how much I love THE SPARK!!

I had seen The Spark being offered for quite a while and I'm not typically one to read motivational books. I figured I get enough motivation from the SparkPeople site --- for free --- why pay for a book?? Well, I bought the Kindle version for $5 because I've been yo-yoing for several years and figured it's time to mix things up. Five dollars isn't much of an investment and with Kindle's text-to-speech feature, I can listen to it during my commute. Listening to books during the commute greatly reduces road rage and if traffic is a little heavy, I really don't mind because I get an extra few minutes with my story.Anyway, this morning, I started The Spark. I am so very glad I did. Chris' story is VERY inspirational and he didn't use diet and exercise to lose weight --- he never had a weight problem. Instead, he used diet and exercise as a way to become a better person, a more courageous person who overcame his insecurities, a driven person who met challenges head on and won. As I listened to the book, I thought of my weightloss goals but more importantly, I thought about my career goals...my life goals.I'm 36 and I've spent the last 3 years working towards a career change. I've met the goals I've laid out for myself. Now, a mere 18 months from taking that leap, I'm doubting myself. I've gone over all of the plans and back-up plans and back-up to the back-up plans (yes, I over analyze) and in theory, it all works out........but what if I missed something??Chris' story is all about taking a leap of faith just like this one I'm about to take. He shares how he survived and how diet and exercise were key building blocks of his success. A healthy diet combined with regular exercise routine definitely has it's physical benefits --- a trimmer, more toned you. But it also has emotional and cognitive rewards as well. All of those rewards combine to make one very awesome package. Reading The Spark is encouraging. I'm only a couple of chapters into it but I look forward to finishing it......and reading it a 2nd and likely 3rd time to ensure I truly absorb all I can out of this book.I have renewed faith that I will shed the last 20lbs I want to shed (I've already lost 15 that I've kept off with SparkPeople's help). I also have renewed faith that I will succeed in my career aspirations as well. It's still scary, but I'll get there.If you're reading this and you're even slightly hesitant about purchasing the book, please do. It won't change your life.......it will encourage you and give you tools so YOU can change your life.

This arrived very promptly and in excellent condition. I've not finished it yet, but joined sparkpeiople.com a short while ago and am getting excellent use out of the varied content.The book is a helpful addition to the tools found on the site and serves as a brilliant motivator. So far, so good, it seems to be working - my enthusiasm for exercise has vastly improved with attainable goals being set. Tracking nutrition is a real eye opener and has really helped to improve my diet and portion size.Motivational book, if you read in conjunction with the website tools, then you should be on a good path to a healthier you!

Wasn't really for me but it has a number of merits and may work for you. You do need to be happy with the community 'feel good' factor and to be disciplined, though.

T he best book I have ever read on weight management, written by someone who has needed to lose weight. With out then writing a book about it in HIGH FALUTING WAY.

A very interesting read and am glad that I bought it as has helped me a lot with my weight loss

Don't read this if you just want a magic answer. The information is solid and inspiring. But you will have to do something about yourself. Well worth the read.