Anyone read "Diets Still Don't Work" by Dr Bob Schwartz?

[SVR28]

I'm up to chapter 5/6? (where you need to have a Thin person day) and I have to say I feel quite inspired by everything so far.

I've been reading it and doing the questions as I'm going along since Sunday evening and over the last two days or so I haven't worried or stressed about food or felt afraid of the choices I make by simply doing what the books suggests. I'm also looking at why I overeat through the exercises in the book which can be quite emotional. The exercise/questions really get you to delve into your feelings and there are some I didn't even think relevant but now realise are. Although I still don't understand what drives me to this desctructive behaviour I'm feeling closer to the answer than before. There is so much more to being overweight than mere greed or laziness that people who don't have a problem with food just can't understand.

As I said I haven't finished reading the book but so far I'm feeling really positive for the first time in a long time.

I would be very interested to know if anyone else has read this book and what you think about it.

[Penel]

I'm pleased to hear that you have found such a useful book. I would recommend the book 'Salt, Sugar, Fat' by Michael Moss, which talks about how food manufacturers have made fattening food addictive, and also 'Fat Chance' by Robert Lustig, which explains how food affects our hormones and how to stop weight gain.

Being over weight is rarely anything to do with greed or laziness. Our bodies, and the effects of food on our bodies, are complicated. One of the worst bits of dietary advice has been to follow a low fat, high carb diet!

I hope you can carry on reducing your stress levels and increase your positive feelings.

[gingernut49]

I would recommend Kate Harrison's book, "The 5:2 Diet" or Michael Mosley's "The Fast Diet". It really does work.

[Windswept1]

Hi,

Feeling positive & motivated is essential to changing eating habits so thats good news.

[Hidden]

SVR28,

Personally I feel it's only too easy to read too much about losing weight and, in some ways, it's not really so much a "reading" thing but more of a "doing" thing - like most life changes.

But I do seriously disagree about people taking a moralistic atttitude to weight loss and moral-value-laden labels being attached to the overweight people such as "greedy" or "lazy". Hell, people can be those things whatever their body weight.

It's not about morality or personal worth, it's about matching your food input to the needs of your body, so that your body doesn't store excessive fat and thereby make itself less healthy and at higher risk of a whole range of problems.

It's actually about personal choice and empowerment, breaking away from commercial or societal or family ideas of what you "should" eat and taking control of your body weight and your eating habits for yourself.

When I look back at my 'old' self, I don't consider me to have been greedy or lazy - just a bit of a numpty who didn't really recognise that I COULD do something about it.

And once I came to that realisation, I tried it and found it was true. I COULD take control of my eating and my body weight.

In the final analysis, most overweight people can - on reaching that point of realisation and making a choice to - normalise their body weight.

[featherfly]

That sounds like a interesting book where to you buy it ,in the uk as I don't ever feel like I get answers about my feelings and my repeative behaviour when I have gone to weight loss classes it's just being about amount you have lost not the reasons into why you have been driven into overeating in the first place not that I am saying that a book will totally stop me from eating too much but its a good idea to be in a releflective mood when trying to loss weight.

[SVR28 in reply to featherfly]

I got it on Amazon - there are two; the first was Dr Schwartz first book ages ago "Diets Don't Work" (long before Paul McKenna picked up on it) and then this follow up one "Diets Still Don't Work." Personally, I don't think it has got the publicity it deserves.

I have been "dieting" for years with varying degrees of success. I found myself completely obsessing over food, thinking about it constantly, I panic whenever I'm around it or have to think of what to eat. Even when eating "healthy" food I feel guilt ridden, I've lost all confidence in myself when it comes to food and I think the diet industry has contributed to these overwhelming feelings.

The past few months I've realised I can't keep doing this and apart from being a perfectly "normal" person with success in all other parts of my life why don't I have any control over my eating?

I know how to eat, I know what to eat, I know how much is too much so why don't I just do it? I've felt something was missing at the diet classes. It is surely goes deeper than stepping on a scale, having a chat about food and counting calories/points etc.

I needed to understand why. Why do I go back to my poor habits after such success to put it all on again and more besides. Why isn't it sustainable - even sensible diets like Weight Watchers.

I'm up to chapter 7 or 8 (I can't remember exactly) of Dr Schwartz book and it's about committment. It is really interesting. He makes you think and questions yourself.

It is a hard book to read because you will face a lot of your demons if you are honest with how you answer the questions. If you do decide to get the book you will need to set aside time to go through it as you will need to think quite deeply about the answers to his questions and write them down. (I have been very honest with myself and I feel quite raw but in a good way).

For me this book is filling that gap between eating right and discovering why I do what I do. I may not like the answer but hopefully it will allow me to make peace with myself and be in the frame of mind that will bring me to a lasting healthy weight with no panic or guilt about what I eat.

Good luck

[featherfly in reply to SVR28]

I feel same as you I keep telling myself I have to count weight watchers points make the sensible soups and buy veg and fruit every week but some time in the week I can't control the sensible eating and go OTT why I really don't know I have less hang ups and personal probs than I used to have but,I want to lose the weight and get to a body shape I feel right in and this book hopefully will help me be a bit more honest with myself hopefully stop and make myself think do I want this do I want waste money, any way I let you know when Ive got the book , good luck and thanks for your help.

[Hidden]

Hi featherfly,

I think the term I would use is "owning" your eating habits, body weight/shape and exercise/activity levels.

And accepting that - for most people - it IS within their ability to take control of these.

I mean my food intake is exactly that - MINE! No-one else is force-feeding me. So if it needs changing, it's just got to be down to ME.

And taking that tack was how I managed to deal with my extra weight. I realised that only one person was going to change things.

Good luck with your weight loss efforts.

[featherfly in reply to Hidden]

Yes I know it is down to self motivation and getting in right frame of mind but it is a question I have asked myself each time I have re gained weight why am I doing this and how can I simple stop the cycle.Yes not eating and buying certain foods going to exercise are all positive stuff, but I am just interested in the answers as I said you don't get that from a any weight loss classes and I am interested in that side of the healthy eating, maybe a book is not the total answer to it but who knows everyone needs hooks to cling on to on their journey and I am really glad this chat room is here to talk about these issues. Many thanks and good luck with your efforts.

[Dsdw]

I carried both books around with me from country to country, always referring back to them.. I got such relief when I read the first book diets dont work, instant freedom and weight loss was effortless. I ate ONLY what I really really wanted, I had a strawberry sundae for lunch at an important business meeting and onl wanted half, I knew I could have another one whenever I wanted, instant freedom and no stressing or even thinking about food. I even forgot to eat at times or I would have fries and gravy for the day, that's all I wanted.