When I first bought the book, it scared me some, because I thought you had to follow the diet to their exact specifications. Unfortunately, I personally didn't care for the recipes in the book and I was stuck on this fact until I realized that I could adapt the food and recipes to my liking, and it has worked out well for me.

The Owner's Manual For Waist Management reminds me a lot of the low fat diet I followed years ago, only it allows more fat, nuts, and oil-good oil like canola and olive oil. Anything from the produce department is allowed as a rule. Pre-packaged food is discouraged, but the diet police won't come after you if you do eat it.

This easy to follow diet removes the junk from your diet-the junk carbs, fat and calories. You will start to recognize high fructose corn syrup as your enemy. It encourages you to eat natural, whole foods-whole grains, whole wheat, and oatmeal and advises you to stay away from white flours.

You'll finally learn how to read labels, and separate fact from package advertising. You'll learn what the difference is between a package that advertises 100% whole wheat and what it actually contains.

You'll gain understanding into how your body can naturally take you to a healthy weight with the proper foods and activities.

You will learn to make dieting automatic and a part of your everyday life.

You'll lose inches and pounds. I started the diet in January, 2007 and at this writing, I've lost 35 pounds and 7 ½ inches from my waist. I do not exercise the way the You: on a Diet recommends, otherwise I'm sure I would lose more inches.

You'll discover that it's OK to make mistakes-if you make a mistake, just make a You Turn. This is important. How many times have you gone on a diet only to blow it and then just give up? A You Turn will keep you from giving up and help you to succeed on your weight loss journey.

The You: on a Diet doctors stress the dangers of Omentum, a band of fat that lives around your waistline, under your stomach muscles, and the effects omentum has on all of your vital organs.

You'll withdraw from sugar as well. In fact, I consider this the most critical part of the diet, and very important for me. If you can get through the first, and even the second week, you will be well on your way to eliminating sugar from your diet-and you won't even miss it! The diet allows for dark chocolate occasionally. I find that when I do eat it (for me, it's once a month, usually, but you can eat it more often) I enjoy it immensely.

I have found that the junk food cravings we are all so familiar with go away completely. No longer do I crave Doritos and ice cream. The cravings I do have are for healthy food, and I eat them without guilt.

The Owner's Manual For Waist Management talks to you in layman's terms - you won't need to be a rocket scientist in order to understand it. I highly suggest you buy the book and start the diet.