Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book changed my relationship with food completely. When I bought it about 6 months ago, I had just gained a few pounds after some big life stuff happened and just couldn't bring myself to diet it off. So I was binging a lot in preparation for this looming diet I eventually had to start. I'm not hugely overweight but like most women, I don't always feel great about my body and food choices. I was listening to NPR one day and heard a researcher talking about how dieting DOESN'T WORK, and in fact, it makes you wider in the long run. I thought this was interesting and did some research on similar topics- there are a lot of books out there about this idea! I thought this book was the best place to start. Fast forward to today. I don't binge anymore, hardly EVER. I feel very calm about food and my body. I'm not perfect (eating mindfully is hard) or model thin (but get serious). I did the steps in the beginning of just buying and eating the food I craved so badly and it was weird/hard. (You're already feeling fat and then you ate Oreos and chips and so much ice cream?? Yes I did, and then some.) And yes, I did gain some weight during this period, which was very hard to swallow on top of already feeling big. But you will find, if you indulge the cravings, they start to get fewer and quieter until "I'M GOING TO EAT EVERYTHING" becomes "I want 1 bowl of ice cream and I'm going to enjoy it and that's enough." It's subtle, but so powerful. When you don't call these foods "evil" anymore, they aren't so tempting. They're just food. Per the book, I haven't weighed myself since I started on this adventure. But I feel as if I at first I gained a bit, then am slowly losing now since I don't binge anymore. Like how weight gain sneaks up on you over time, weight loss should be the same way. I've focused much more on activity per the book (I started Zumba videos) which I also am not perfectly consistent at but more consistent than I have ever been before with exercise. If exercise is fun, it's so much easier to do. So whenever I get those "diet thoughts" I pop in the video and feel instantly more beautiful and strong when I'm done. No destructive fasting needed. Summary: The book is not a "quick fix" nor is it supposed to be. If you don't like your relationship with food, it will help you. Give up the idea of becoming a supermodel vegan and accept that it's okay to enjoy food for what it is and your body for what it is. Hopefully you will find this as freeing as I did.