The Spirit Moves: For this Portland fitness pro, working on the outside begins with working on the inside

Victoria Johnson had overcome many things in her life: poverty, racism, obesity, anorexia, bulimia. As a fitness professional she'd tested and trained thousands of people and produced more than two dozen exercise videos. She'd transformed her own body and life and become a trainer and motivational speaker to help others do the same.

Yet only about 10 percent of her clients were having what Johnson would call success — reaching their goals and maintaining them, without her help, for at least three months. Ten percent.

Three years ago, Johnson had an epiphany. She stopped analyzing every detail of her clients' diets. She shifted focus from the science of exercise and weight loss to the individual person and her or his responsibility, choice and action. She switched to an approach that requires tapping into the spiritual, balancing it with body and mind, and concentrating on one's destiny and greater purpose.

Now, she says, closer to 50 percent of her clients meet their goals within three months.

In her second book, "Body Revival" ($12.95, Health Communications), Johnson outlines this new approach.

Nutrition and exercise basics still are cornerstones: She advocates a diet consisting of 50 percent of calories from low-glycemic-index complex carbohydrates, 30 percent from lean proteins and 20 percent from monounsaturated fats, and advises following her Optimum Foods list for nine weeks. Her exercise program calls for aerobic activity at least three days a week plus three days of her Vertical Training, a combination of dance and fitness movements with light resistance training designed to develop strength without adding bulk.

But Johnson's emphasis is on the spirit. She contends that we acquire extra weight because we're trying to fill a spiritual void. "Inside every pound of fat your body doesn't need," she writes, "is something you were trying to avoid, buy, hide, cover up or destroy."

The book's "I Can" Plan invites us to identify our own purposes in life, develop new ways of seeing ourselves, and take three steps every day, summed up as, "You've got to pray, you've got to weigh, you've got to pay."

With "pray," Johnson primarily is indicating "to God," although she acknowledges people can have other sources of strength, such as friends or counselors. "Weigh" means to weigh oneself as well as the choices we make. And we "pay" for those choices by exercising, to use up the calories taken in.

Now based in Portland (and at www.victoriajohnson.com), Johnson was born in Ruston, La., one of 11 children supported by their father's migrant work. When she was 5 the family moved to the Yakima Valley, not only for the more plentiful work but also the chance at a good education in nonsegregated schools. That worked for Victoria — she went on to Eastern Washington University and Kinman Business University in Spokane. But she'd long struggled with her weight, reaching 176 pounds on her 5-foot-3 frame, until the threat of diabetes triggered a renewed commitment to God and to changing toward a healthier lifestyle.

Her current mission includes trying to revise the way we think about fat. Since technically a calorie is a measure of energy, and consuming excess calories creates body fat, she writes, "You don't have too much fat; you have too much energy!" and so we need to find ways to use up that excess energy.

Johnson's enthusiasm easily comes through in the book, which includes some memorable tips, such as this one following advice to avoid eating chicken or turkey skin because they're high in fat: "Besides, that's where the sweat glands are!"

She's even more ebullient in person, whether it's holding up her old size 16 "petite" jeans or pulling out a lumpy yellow pyramidal candle that represents one pound of fat. Johnson did both recently, when we met at a table outside a Mercer Island Starbucks. It wasn't long before the two women at the next table took notice.

"Is that a candle?" one asked. Soon Johnson was leaning over their table, not only explaining the candle but hearing about the women's weight-loss tribulations, encouraging them, sitting down to talk some more, getting out her book, signing it, and leaving it with them, even though it was the only copy she had on her.

Other recent books to catch my eye:

• "ABSolution" by Shawn Phillips ($28.50, High Point). Older brother of "Body for Life" author Bill Phillips, Shawn Phillips has answered so many questions about how he got his stunningly ripped abdominal muscles he decided to write a book. He reveals his program, including a portion-controlled diet of lean protein and complex carbohydrates, select supplements, exercises for the abs and rest of the body, and high-intensity interval training.

• "The Men's Health Belly-Off Program" by the editors of Men's Health Magazine ($19.95, Rodale) offers a weight-training exercise plan and a diet with 25 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 45 percent carbohydrates, plus "Belly Buster" stories and tips from men who've found success.

• "The Whole Man Program" by Jed Diamond ($24.95, Wiley) offers advice on nutrition, exercise, sexuality, spirituality, relationships, emotional help and careers to help men over 40 "reinvigorate" their lives.

• "Renegade Training for Football" by John Davies ($34.95, Dragon Door) advocates "brutally hard work" with a variety of equipment and training techniques to develop range of motion, agility, linear speed, strength, and work and spiritual capacity.

• "The Body Sculpting Bible for Men" and also " . . . for Women" by James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera ($17.95 each, Hatherleigh) each has more than 300 pages of exercises, nutritional tips, psychological tricks, meal charts and workout graphs, plus five fitness plans, information on supplements and specialized needs, and a 14-day body-sculpting workout.

• "When Your Body Gets The Blues" by Marie-Annette Brown and Jo Robinson ($22.95, Rodale) outlines how a simple, drug-free treatment of light, exercise and vitamins can help women overcome a common syndrome that leads to overeating, low energy, irritability, sleep difficulties, daytime drowsiness, mild depression and other symptoms. Brown is a professor in the University of Washington's School of Nursing.

• "The Fitness Factor" by Lisa Callahan, M.D. ($24.95, The Lyons Press) contends that exercise is the best medicine for a lifetime of wellness. It guides readers to develop customized workout programs to achieve health and fitness goals.

• "The Smart Weigh" by Pam Smith ($21.95, LifeLine) presents a seven-week, five-point plan for losing weight (strategic eating, movement, breathing and hydration, rest, treating yourself well) and includes a 24-Hour Binge-Recovery Program.

• "The American Yoga Association's Beginner's Manual" by Alice Christensen ($15, Fireside) is a revised and updated version of a 1987 book, featuring more than 300 photos, three 10-week programs and special routines for special needs.

• "Journey into Power" by Baron Baptiste ($27, Fireside) presents the author's "Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga," which is based on a daily power yoga practice and also includes parts on mental transformation, a cleansing diet, meditation and taking the practices into daily life.

• "Jivamukti Yoga" by Sharon Gannon and David Life ($16, Ballantine). The authors outline a "uniquely American" style of vigorous yoga that they developed and feature at their two studios in New York City.

• "The Chronic Pain Solution" by James N. Dillard ($24.95, Bantam). A New York M.D., chiropractor and acupuncturist describes conventional as well as alternative treatments for many types of chronic pain and advises patients on choosing and communication with their health-care providers.

• "Wellness Foods A to Z" by Sheldon Margen, M.D., and the editors of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter ($39.95, Rebus), includes an overview of eating for optimal health, a guide to vitamins and minerals, and nutrition facts, shopping tips and advice on preparation for more than 500 fresh and whole foods.

• "Dr. Shapiro's Picture Perfect Weight Loss 30 Day Plan" by Howard Shapiro, D.O., presents side-by-side photographs of food choices in a month-long diet, showing how food choices can affect allowable portion sizes. How, for example, substituting a filet mignon for prime rib can save 150 calories, or choosing new potatoes with chives instead of a twice-baked potato with cheese can save 230 calories.

• "Carol Guber's Type 2 Diabetes Life Plan" by Carol Guber ($25, Broadway) draws from the author's experience of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes four years ago. It presents an overview of the disease and includes a simple, step-by-step plan for weight loss and healthy eating.

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. She can be reached at 206-464-8243, mmartin@seattletimes.com or P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.