I am not a big fan of diet books because the general idea for losing weight is just to eat less and move more. So many books out there give you a such a specific eating plan (“eat celery at 2pm” or “eat three almonds as soon as you wake up”) that I end up feeling like a failure when I can’t stick with it.
I am happy to report that The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The Five-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss
Instead of telling you what to eat (although it does give you some great recipes) it is based on cognitive therapy and provides a step-by-step approach to weight loss by helping you navigate what Dr. Beck calls the “5 stages of learning to eat thin” . Her techniques “emphasize preparing the mind and changing eating habits before making changes to the food you eat.”
Now this is the book for me! When I am stressed, I want to stuff chocolate down my throat faster than you can blink.
Her book is teaching me to step back for a minute and THINK about why I am stuffing down those brownies. It is also helping me with planning ahead and monitoring whether I am really hungry or just bored or stressed. I feel like I have my own (badly needed) therapist included in the 280 pages of the book!
I have not yet finished the book yet, so I cannot claim success on my eating habits yet. It has definitely opened my eyes though and I am making some very positive changes.
You can get The Complete Beck Diet for Life
I highly recommend this one gang!
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sounds interesting! Training my brain to think like a thin person..hmmm!
Annettes last blog post..Weigh in!!!!
Ive heard so much about this and havent cracked the binding yet—will you be back with more info when youre finished? will we ever be able to corral the kidlets and chat on the phone?
all the questions….
xo xo,
Miz.
MizFits last blog post..Tuesday Zoe’s Granola Testdrive.
Sounds like an interesting book. Reprogramming your brain to think like a thin person is the right approach. I once saw a program on extremely obese people (500 pounds and higher). All of them ate in the most horrific ways. However, they all thought they ate like a “normal” person. People’s perceptions of themselves and what they do are extremely powerful.
- Dave
David at Animal-Kingdom-Workouts.coms last blog post..Free Fitness Ebook
I have a couple of her other books, and am a big believer in cognitive therapy. HOWEVER, in one of the books she advocates weighing yourself pretty frequently, and I have a lot of issues with that. (I try to weigh myself as little as possible.) But i DO think that re-training our brains is not only possible, but necessary for many of us.
Hola, it’s Heather from runhlrun.blogspot.com
This book is the absolute KEY for me. I know what to eat, how much to eat, and I can tell you the points values of just about any food. But it’s the self-sabotage that derails me every time. This book has taught me the how and why. Distracting myself when I’m anxious and just want to eat (i.e. NON-Hunger), eating slower and the fullness sets in in 20 minutes — learning these skills have made me feel calmer and much more in control around food. Finally, the cookies are not in charge!!
Heathers last blog post..Today’s Successes
Thanks for the review! I love reading health books of all kinds so it’s nice to get some recommendations from across the blogosphere:) And I’ve got to say, it’s really nice to see the amount of books that are coming out these days with a focus on the emotional and mental aspect of eating well.
Sagans last blog post..Book Review: “The World Is Fat” by Barry Popkin
sounds like it would have some very good advice. i have been getting to know some of the ladies at the gym that look “naturally thin” and asking them for their family’s favorite dinner recipe.
Normal to Natalies last blog post..Final Tell All Tuesday
Dr. beck is one of the only “diet book” authors that I would actually listen to.
She is the only one speaking to the mental side of weight loss.
While I am not a big fan of the nutritional advice in the book, her mental approach will make any diet more effective.
DRs last blog post..Big Brother v.s. Childhood Obesity
This sounds like a good one!
Trenches of Mommyhoods last blog post..Protecting Our Children
I am not getting any more diet books, can they all really be ground breaking. I do not believe so.
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