The Spark

“I love that Chris cares so much about helping people. His honesty and The Spark’s no-nonsense approach make taking control of your life and achieving your weight management goals seem easy.” — Lisa Lillien, New York Times best-selling author and creator of the Hungry Girl brand

“How do you ignite the spark to lose weight? How do you keep that spark going so you can keep the weight off? This terrific book educates you and—just as importantly—motivates you to eat and exercise in a healthy and sane manner that you can keep up to become healthier, fitter, and thinner.” — Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., author of The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person

“Chris Downie is Sparking a revolution of lifestyle transformation. The Spark is a royal win-win. The book lays down the blueprint for healthy living and the Website provides an easy way for people everywhere to connect with like-minded folks. Downie’s passionate message is inspiring a growing, vibrant community of millions of Americans to use their newfound health and fitness to achieve lifelong dreams.” — Pam Peeke, M.D., MPH, FACP, Chief Medical Correspondent for the Discovery Health Channel and author of Fight Fat after Forty, Body for Life for Women, and Fit to Live

“The Spark strips away all the diet fads and baffling jargon to tell you what you really need to know about getting healthy. With sound advice, simple plans, and jaw-dropping before-and-after photos, The Spark will help you spark a revolution in your own life.” — Shauna Reid, author of The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl

“The SparkPeople program has had such great success because it’s a sustainable solution that works over time. There is great magic in this approach.” — Dave Ellis, RD, CSCS, one of America’s top sports nutrition experts; client teams include winners of Super Bowls, the World Series, and college National Championships

“Everyone has the opportunity to make a difference in the world. This book is a great start to make a difference for yourself and everyone around you.” — Jeff Skoll, founder & chairman of Participant Media and the Skoll Foundation, and first full-time employee and former president of eBay

“The Spark is more than just another ‘diet book’—it provides a roadmap to a transformative health experience. It hits all the core elements of a healthy lifestyle and does so with energy, vigor, and a true sense of optimism that comes through on every page.” — Martin Binks, Ph.D., clinical director & CEO, Binks Behavioral Health, assistant consulting professor at Duke University Medical Center, and author of The Duke Diet

“This is an inspirational account of how one man started a dynamic movement which is helping people around the world fulfill a fundamental human longing—to achieve a healthy life within a supportive community of peers. More than a feel-good story, The Spark shows you how to harness positive thinking, implement sensible plans, and join a vibrant community. As a physician and researcher focusing on weight management, I’m thrilled to have this tool as a complement to the SparkPeople.com community.” — Kevin O Hwang, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of internal medicine, research scientist, and weight-management specialist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston