The Diet Dropout’s Guide to Natural Weight Loss
Stan Spencer, PhD
Stress has taken over your every waking hour and you are beginning to feel the pressures of work, family and just life in general. You decide to take a long ride in your car, all alone just to collect your thoughts and clear your head. Driving through the city or town you live in you are surrounded by places that will tempt your already satiated appetite and entice you to stop, enter and buy foods that you think will make you feel better, distress you and allow you to forget your troubles. We live in a fattening food environment and processed foods are more like the norm, as our author states rather than the exception. Would you walk into a fruit store or vegetable store and buy and apple, pear or a grapefruit to satisfy your hunger? Would you rather have potato chips, donuts or an extra slice of pizza? The author explains why so many are overweight and need to readjust their thinking when it comes to food and what you will learn more about emotional eating. He starts by explaining that there are ten important aspects or reason of our food environment that sort of more than just encourage but I think tempt us to eat too much when we really know we shouldn’t. They are: Foods that Don’t Satisfy which leave us with tons of calories and wanting more. Highly Palatable Foods are next. Scientists for foods that not only taste good but also you want more of them even when you are full use this term. These foods have tons of sugar, fat or refined flour as ingredients. These are what some call comfort foods or as some refer to them as Feel Better Foods. But, that is only number two now for number 3: Calorie Heavy Foods and four: Cheap, Convenient Food. Vegetables, fresh fruits and whole grains are foods our ancestors ate and were low in calories today processed foods that many people eat fill the shelves of our markets and only serve one person and that is to help pack on the pounds and the weight as foods that are cheap and convenient like chips, cookies and other snacks. Number five ranks up there as Large Portions, Six as Passive Entertainment while watching a movie many eat just to pass the time during the movie or just to keep eating. Number 7: Convenient Substitutes for Water such as fruit juices and other sugary drinks followed by 8 misleading labels and advertising, 9 unhealthy snack foods and finally restaurants. So, before you pig out, get into your car when you are feeling low and miserable read my review or better yet this book and learn how to “Think of excess fat as a collection of bad habits,” and learn “the solution to permanent weight loss which requires permanent life changes.”
Chapter 2 goes on to tell you about Why Diets Fail but my goal is to tell you what will help you succeed according to what the author shares with this reviewer and you the reader. Chapter 3 focuses on Emotional Eating and how to quit. You are upset. You feel depressed and you need an outlet to feel better. So, you take that ride and stop at the first fast food restaurant or bakery and stock up on all of your favorites before you drive home. When you eat to “regulate your emotions, not because we are hungry, this is called emotional eating or as the author states: self-medicating which is almost like taking a drug or medicine for what you think is an illness and you are providing your own cure. Not a wise thing to do. How do we counteract this and what do we do? Chapter three focuses on the solutions to improving your emotional eating: Focusing on the Present, mental relaxation, healthy thinking, social interaction and doing something productive. These are all explained in detail on pages 10- 23. However, I will only elaborate on the ones that I tried and seem to work and the rest you will have to wisely find out for yourself.
On page 11 the author explains how to relax your mind to reduce your stress. The stress response is natural and he states beneficial. It allows us to know when our physical and mental abilities are in danger or a challenging situation. So, what do you do? The author shares daily relaxation responses to help. These techniques are sensory focused, basic meditation or repetitive physical exercise. On page 13 he lists several ways you can practice sensory focus. The other day, I came home and knew that I had over 15 books to read and review and wanted to complete as many as possible before the weekend. This is a tall order. I also wanted to make sure that I had all of my notes for the following week for my radio show. I looked over the tips and I found that when I took my morning walk I began focusing on the colors around me, the beauty of the trees and then the calmness of the park that I decided to walk to. When I came home I put on some soft music just to listen to it and relax. When your sensory focus displaces other thoughts, you will definitely relax. Read this chapter to learn more. I did. Of course being weight conscious I had to read the second on repetitive physical exercise, which really does help relief stress and definitely eliminates the desire to pig out and eat. So, forms of exercise that emphasize mindfulness, are yoga and Tai chi. I enjoy walking, running and shooting hoops with my nephews. The remainder of the chapter focuses on how to think healthfully, emotional independence, perspective and acceptance. Pages 20-21 explain how to change your way of thinking in one day and become a card-carrying healthy thinker. Sounds great to me! At the end of the chapter the author shares a Quickstart Tip and the reminder card that you can keep in your wallet in case you need a reminder. Page 23: I went to fatlossscience.org/book and I printed out the cards too. Chapter four focuses on Beat Temptation and with minimal will power.
So, what did I learn and what can you learn from chapter four: The next time you see a co-worker with candy on his/her desk: do not get tempted to try any. Don’t make excuses that just one piece can’t hurt and you have been good all morning. On page 27 the author will guide you to better eating and better choices when you answer the simple questions he poses. Remember: “A temptation is a decision that has not yet been made.” So, what are 9 ways you can curb your cravings:
- Focus your thoughts on something else
- Remember what you really want
- See the food in a different light
- Imagine eating more than you want
- Count the exercise cost
- Say you’re not interested
- Positive spin
- Mindfully accept the craving
- Take a brisk walk (secret: that’s what I do and it works)
The remainder of the chapter will help you keep from doing some binge eating, self-therapy for cravings, the card that you will need to carry with you: In Case Of Craving page 39.
Chapter Five How It Adds Up focuses on the Simple Math of Weight Loss and Chapter 6 Eat Less without going hungry which includes even a small change in the amount of food you eat each day. For example instead of mayo on your sandwich try mustard. Drink water instead of soda or a sugary drink. People the author states overeat without thinking. Poor food choices, bad habits in Chapter 6 the author shares how to change your food choices, habits and personal environment helping you to eat fewer calories. How about eating more natural weight loss foods like: yogurt, fruits nuts, whole grains and vegetables. Potion sizes are given on pages 47- 66 including how to stock these foods, how much to eat and when and creating dishes that will help you lose weight and not stay hungry. My favorite is the fruit salad with grapes and berries and cut-up fruit. I also love keeping a fresh bowl of fruit on the table. Vegetables are great I love carrots, celery and tons of peas and carrots but the author page 49 gives you other suggestions. Page 51 deals with Whole and slowing digesting grains and how to prepare them. Followed by Eating a solid breakfast, lunch and dinner and much more. Included in this chapter are what foods to avoid and why and how you what to do when you don’t want to x out or eliminate all junk foods and what you can do to get around it. Most important: Eat Mindfully, limit eating in restaurants, get enough sleep and watch less television. Chapters 7 and 8 focus on being active and boosting your metabolism without drugs. Very vital information in chapter 9 about the myths attached to weight loss. But, Chapter 10: Easiest Path: 56 ways to weigh less and the three steps to begin on pages 85- 86. First read through the 56 ways and step two rate. Put a one next to the habit that would be easiest to develop and two next the next easiest and so on. Step 3 choose two habits that would be the easiest and decide how to make them your own. The rest of the explanation you need to read for yourself. So, which two did I choose to make my own: Practicing Healthy thinking most days as in Chapter 3 and Eat vegetables or fresh fruit with breakfast most days as in chapter 6. How, you read through them and choose yours. I have all of them rated in order of difficultly from easiest to hardest. The remainder of this great resource has Simple Vegetable Recipes, Simple Whose Grain Recipes and Yogurt Recipes. Which ones did I try? Steamed vegetables and Fun Green Salads are my favorites but you need to read this great book and decide which ones you want to try and get on the road to weight loss. But, first, don’t get in that car and drive to a fast food restaurant instead follow the instructions in this book and experience being a card carrying healthy thinker.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
