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352 of 375 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Making it Happen, April 2, 2007
I have lost 90 pounds using the principles and techniques in this book. How can that be true when the book has been out for only one week? No tricks here - early in 2006 ( a year ago) I began a self-designed plan of eating right and exercising based on 2 things: 1. my many years of familiarity with every new diet and nutritional research discovery regarding weight loss; and 2. participation in a cognitive therapy-based group called DBT which teaches skills to increase emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, etc. A couple of months ago I started getting the Amazon plogs regarding Dr. Beck's new book, and I enthusiastically pre-ordered. After almost a year of steady weight loss and working my way up to walking 3 miles a day (with Leslie Sansone DVDs)I had stalled out at minus 90 lbs, and need to lose about 30 more pounds. Receiving the book, I was amazed, because almost everything I did to motivate myself over the last 13 months was contained in this work. Of course, the principles are set forth much more methodically, professionally, and with more of a well-developed theoretical basis, than in my home-made plan, but every sentence in the Beck Diet rings with honesty, integrity, thoughtfulness, compassion and hope.
To be more specific, the book does not contain a "diet" and you are told to find a suitable nutritious food plan to follow, along with an exercise plan of your own. The strategies presented in the book do indeed 'talk' you through cognitive retraining techniques which change your thoughts about food and eating and hunger: identifying positive outcomes; ways to make a choice NOT to indulge; how to effectively deal with set-backs and limit the damage done; how to say no to friends /family who show love by sharing good food (I'm Italian; I know a LOT of them!)
Interestingly, in the first 2 weeks you don't diet at all - this is time spent planning and strategizing to re-train your thoughts. This involves completing motivational cards where you write statements to counteract any sabotaging thoughts that will come up. I found the process to be so similar to the strategies I used when I was successful in meeting the inevitable temptation, so I know that it works "in action."
On the 15th day you start your eating plan, and each day you have a checklist for reviewing the motivational materials (Advantage Cards, for example, list what YOU want to accomplish in losing weight.) Some of the basic concepts are to pre-plan for dangerous situations, acknowledge your accomplishments even if not perfect, and realize that resisting hunger and cravings is possible when you commit to using the skills Dr. Beck presents.
I have read many, many books both on weight loss and psychology, and this book is "the one" for me, and I hope for you. You have to be willing to think ahead about eating, hunger and cravings. You have to commit to following the techniques daily. If you do, this WILL WORK!!!!
I am going to be bold enough to add one additional technique that worked very well for me, and that is to "Redefine Your Treats." I admitted to a friend one day that I am basically 'treat-driven.' That is, I feel deprived and inferior in some way if I can't have a dessert, or eat a hearty portion of food. So I redefined treats - to me now it is buying bottled water; drinking Harry and David Tiramisu Coffee (no calories!!); playing Sudoku on the computer for 20 minutes. I feel like I'm indulging but it has nothing to do with actual food. So if you are "treat-driven" like me, try defining and then indulging in your own rewards.
Reading this book made me feel positive; it made me feel like I can make it happen to lose the remaining pounds; it made me admire and respect Dr. Beck for producing a non-judgmental, encouraging, 'mindful' book that is written in an engaging style. I recommend it with 90 stars and more to come.
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136 of 149 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE Diet Book for me!, May 15, 2007
Six to eight years ago, I stopped spending money on diet related products. Because nothing has worked for me. Maybe initially they seemed they were working, but it was just temporarily. I saw one diet book, while I was just browsing around on amazon, "you on a diet", I thought I might wanna try that, thinking like "who knows maybe this is the thing for me", so I bought it. Even though I spent lots of money on diet products, as a book, "you on a diet" was the first book for me on dieting. And, in couple of months I purchased some other diet books, hoping one would include the missing ingredient on those.
This book,Beck Diet Solution was just released, and was at the best sellers list. I read the description. It sounded very promising, but since, at that moment I already had couple of diet books which none of them really fit in to my problem, I was skeptical. For two weeks, everyday I read the reviews, trying to see if some of the reviews was gonna convince me. I finally got it, I am so glad I did. Because that was the kind of help I was looking for.It is tryin to solve my physchological problems about eating and it is triying to re-program my brain about food.
I knew myself, I can never count calories, I can never follow a menu plan written by some other people, I can never count my steps, I can never count carbohydrates, etc...etc... My diet should be without all these stuff. So that's why this is the book for me.
She, the author asks you to make your eating plan, or if you want you can use any diet that already is out there. For me, I created my own eating plan.
Then, she just teaches you some skills which is the missing skills in people who struggle with weight and skills which all the thin people has. And these skills/behaviors are not difficult to adopt. All you need to do is just practice, practice and practice... until they are your habits. Everyday, for fourty two days, you keep learning one skill at a time, until you complete all of them in that given order. You may take your time if you need, as she suggests. For example I am in my 13th day, but it has been already 23 days since I had started. Some examples of the skills are, first day you write down the reasons you wanna get thin; third day, you learn and practice sitting down whenever you eat; fifth day, you start to practice to eat slowly, and so on. At the end of the program, you have all the equipment to think like a thin person, and to be a thin person. So far I have lost 6 pounds, and I feel like I will be able to follow my plan for a long time. She gives you that confidence. She sounds very sincere about the advice she gives. And she just takes you step by step through the journey and to the very end of the journey. With other diet books, I felt like I am just left somewhere with the tons of information I did not know what to do with, or maybe they just dictate you what to do, or sometimes have fun with your eating habits, and you feel insulted and hopeless. But in this book, BDS, I felt some love and caring about the people, she sounds like she truly wants you to lose weight.
By the way, I never write a review even though I enjoy reading them. That's how happy I am, it made me write one:) I hope this review is helpful for the people who cannot decide whether to buy it or not.
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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inside the Mind of the Thin, December 8, 2009
This book uses cognitive psychology to help you lose weight. Cognitive psychology is based on the concept that the way you think affects how you feel and what you do. Cognitive therapy, then, helps you identify your self-defeating thinking and helps you respond to it so you can feel better and behave in helpful ways. Instead of leading you step-by-step through a diet plan, this book addresses the psychology behind why you can't get yourself to follow one and lose weight. In this book, you pick the diet (and an alternative as a back up), and the book helps you follow it.
The set-up of the book is a six-week plan. Week 1 is laying the groundwork, where you pick 2 diets. Week 2 is getting prepared to diet, Week 3 is starting the diet, Week 4 looks into responding to sabotaging thoughts, Week 5 is about overcoming challenges, such as staying in control when you go out to eat, and Week 6 is fine tuning things.
All-in-all, I'd have to say that its a great resource to address the psycholgical side of eating. There's no magic to it, just a little looking inside yourself and addressing any barriers you have that may be holding you back. Readers may also benefit from Exercise Beats Depression as well.
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