diets and weight loss

I was so excited when I got this book but then I read it. I was so disappointed with the lack of practical advice. The authors are quick to point out that copying thin eaters' habits is not the most important part of this weight-loss book. They want you to explore the spiritual depths first, which I think is great but it is eating less and doing more that contributes to sustained weight-loss and everyone knows this. I was hoping to find inspiration and realistic instruction on how to stop eating when full. I found none in this book whatsoever. I found the book to be highly disappointing.

I bought this book on a whim, because i no longer do diets. I was looking for a new way to think about my body, having finally come to terms that i am heavy, my mom was heavy, i better get used to this body.

I started reading this book a year ago, and read only half way through it. I put a bookmark in the book, and said to myself, ok, when i have time, I'll go back and finish the book.

About a month later, I started thinking about what I had read, that judging what I put in my mouth doesn't work, that my body is craving things but communication with the brain isn't working because of all the ideas i have about food. And i decided to give it a short try. What the hell, if I failed, I would just gain a few more pounds, and if I succeeded, I would lose pounds.

I followed the weird-sounding advice in the book. I stopped judging food as good or bad. I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I bought whatever I wanted at the grocery store. I went out of my way to satisfy my hungers.

After a while, I got tired of all of the potatoe chips and chocolate ice cream, and said, okay, I am ready to figure out what I am after when I am foraging. Then I realized i was looking for salty or crisp or crunchy. And it was then that I was able to take control of my food intake. Because I started to realize what I was looking for.

Dieting doesn't work because it doesn't teach you to nourish your needs. This book teaches you how to identify what you need, if it's love, or hugs or nourishment, or if it's really food. I am still following this book a year later, and finally ready to pick it back up and re-read the first half. I quit smoking in December, a pack and a half a day, and gained about ten pounds. In the last six months I have not only lost those pounds, but another two or three.

In the interim I have also been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, reflux (severe) and a misshaped duadenum. I have also identified that I have trouble swallowing (it's painful). I always knew I had TMJ. If I had not been following this book, I hate to think what would have happened to me in trying to treat my hiatal hernia and reflux. Since I was already rethinking eating, I was able to take this medical information and integrate it into what I had already found out about my "food trip".

Am I still too heavy? Yes. Am I eating less as a result of this book? Yes. Am I more picky about what goes into my mouth? Yes. Do I starve myself? No. Do I feel undernourished. No. Have I lost weight? Yes. Was it overnight? No. (But then, I didn't gain it overnight either.)

This book is a hands-down winner.

Some of the chapters in this book were a bit 'far-fetched' to me. However, the other chapters gave me so much insight that I have read them over and over again. This book gives the reader the tools needed to modify their eating patterns. If you are having a hard time starting or sticking to a healthy diet this book may be just what it takes to motivate you.