Customer Reviews

I Can Make You Thin: The Revolutionary System Used by More Than 3 Million People (Book and CD)

5 star:		(163)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

For almost 3 years now I have been handing this book and 'mind-reprogramming' CD to every patient who comes to me to lose weight, or who is caught up in the mentality of diets, scales, cravings, or overeating.

I am *delighted* that this version of "I Can Make You Thin" is finally available on Amazon.com rather than having to hunt it from the UK site. The long wait is over!

At the risk of making this book seem too simple, here are Paul McKenna's 4 golden rules...
1. When you are hungry, eat.
2. Eat what you want (not what you think you "should".)
3. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.
4. When you are full stop.

I've seen other "I Can Make You Thin" reviews that dismiss the 4 rules as just obvious common sense. I'm not sure what common sense they can really mean since the rules make a mockery of the majority of get thin / lose weight approaches around. Rule 2 in particular certainly disagrees with the 'common sense' that I was taught as a medical doctor.

Even if the rules are common sense, McKenna needs to be given great credit for showing people HOW to live these habits. Hopefully you are buying this for the results, not just to have a fun read and a relaxing, new-wavy listen.

Yes, the coverpages are a bit hypey, but the inside is less so. The book is refreshingly thin :), jargon-free, and entertaining.

McKenna's style also involves techniques such as tapping (TFT/EFT), hypnosis and NLP . Hypnosis is what first made Paul famous, and I've seen NLP Practitioners review this and say they knew all of these tricks before. In NLP terms Paul is saying that the Golden Rules are the "model" for being "naturally thin". Just knowing all the geewiz psych techniques won't help if you have the wrong model as I suspect most NLPers do.

More importantly, you don't need any of these techniques to apply the 4 golden rules and lose weight.

Most people can go the book & CD, discover the Aha moments, and get started on transforming their relationship with food and their weight straight away.

There might be a group of people that could eat according to the 4 rules and not be thin, but I agree with what Paul says. For myself, I'm yet to meet such a person.

I have counseled people who thought it didn't work for them, but it turned out they hadn't gotten the rules into their behavior, so here are some extra pointers...

- Just listening to the CD over and over doesn't seem to be enough. The book plays a big part too. Expect to re-read the book at least once. You can succeed without the CD, so if it doesn't suit you, no sweat.

- Don't add more rules. Extra rules almost always conflict with the four golden rules. Must eat breakfast? No. Just eat when you are hungry. Have to eat only fresh food? Check you really want to eat it, and whether you might want to eat anything else a bit more. Etc, etc.

- Having trouble visualizing? Just act 'as if' you are visualizing, or on the CD just leave it to Paul.

- Don't make exercise the focus. Improved fitness will improve your chances of living longer, but unfortunately the best research evidence is that exercise doesn't help much in losing weight. Keep to the four rules, which are all about food and getting back in control.

- If you have a question or a difficulty, the answer is somewhere in the book. The book alone truly is comprehensive (unlike watching YouTube videos or reading this review.) Indeed the updates have covered the two or three remaining gaps I had found before, including the extra information for self-sabotage issues.

In summary, McKenna is not the only person to propose this way of eating, but his is the most accessible version I know about. His is also the most likely to reach out from the page and permanently change your thinking and your behavior, and thereby your weight.

You can buy his measly book just to prove Paul wrong :)

Oh and then come back here and add your own review. Let people know what your results have been, whatever they are. No one book/CD can fit everyone but "I Can Make You Thin" deserves way more reviews here on Amazon from people just like you who have been wondering if this might just be what you need.

If this review helps, please click "YES" below.

I have lost 60 pounds since mid-July using this system. I can't say it's always been easy; changing habits of a lifetime never is. I CAN say I've never felt deprived, starved or desperate like I have on diets. I'm a "real" mom who doesn't have anything to gain or lose by recommending this product. It works.

If you're reading these reviews, what you really want to know is: does it work? YES!!!! Buy it, read it, do it. Listen to the CD religiously. Watch the pounds melt away and enjoy the change in your life. You've been looking and waiting for a magic pill, well the magic is here, just not in the form of a pill.
I'm a 60 year old mex-am. raised on the border on a high fat diet, yet I was thin (5.0 ft. & 98 lbs) until I hit 40. A traumatic experience threw me into a depression and I steadily gained (and lost and gained through diets) weight until I hit a high of 144. Last year at this time I had managed to start the year at 134. The weight gain made me even more depressed and I was in a vicious cycle. Then around this time last year I heard a commercial announcing McKenna's upcoming T.V. show. I was desperate for change and thought it sounded too good to be true, so I googled McKenna and wound up on the Amazon site in the U.K. and read a ton of reviews just like this one. Sounded good. Then I saw the T.V. show. It made sense. But what really struck me were the PEOPLE doing the testimonials. Not all had reached their goal weight yet, and yet there was a radiance that they all exuded that made me jealous. These were no teary eyed testimonials as I'm used to seeing with say Richard Simmons or any of the other lose weight infomercials. These were happy people, not hyper, not hysterical, just calm, happy in their skin, with an "all's right in the world" attitude. There was no dichotomy of the fat me and the thin me, or the old me and the new me. It was just that's where I started, here's where I am. For me this has been the real gold in Paul's system and losing weight is just the cherry on the cake. He enables you to love yourself once more, right now, right where you are, not tomorrow when you "lose the weight" as a type of self reward.
So I spent about 60 dollars to get the book w/CD from the U.K. the last day of March of last year (2008). It's the best thing I've ever done for myself. It was money well spent. I'm now at 120 lbs, that's 14 lbs lighter than last year at this time, but I no longer obsess about the weight. I know I'm losing and it's on auto pilot now. I can lose faster if I follow rule #1 more religiously, that's the hard one for me. You see, rule #1 says: Eat when you're hungry. But that's not permission, it's a command. In other words, don't let yourself get ravenous, because then you lose all control. After decades of skipping meals and starving myself, it's hard to make that a priority. But when I do, I lose faster. I might as well tell you that rule #3 is also hard. It says: when you eat, do nothing else but eat. I'm used to eating at the computer, in front of the t.v. and while I'm on the phone. BUT if YOU follow his rules to the letter, YOU WILL LOSE THE WEIGHT. And the best part for me, is that I've made peace with me. I can love myself again just as I am, right here, right now. And that attracts positive people like flies to honey. You can pick me out in a crowd, because I'm the one that radiates joy and confidence. Isn't that worth 15 bucks? (for me, it was worth the 60)
P.S. re: the one star rating on this book. If you read the review, you'll see that the person never even tried Paul's method. Yep, if you don't try it, it's absolutely not going to work for you.

*** Review Update ***
I've been on this diet for ten weeks and have lost 21 lbs, so about 2 lbs/week which I understand is a safe weightloss rate. I like the feeling of control that this program gives me. It is interesting how little food it takes to make me feel full, now that I'm eating slowly and paying attention to my true hunger. Also, I've been exercising regularly (cardio, 30-40 minutes a day, 5 days a week) which helps keep the weight coming off steadily.
***

I liked this book, but be forewarned that it is an unconventional weightloss program that relies on a few simple eating rules (eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full kind of thing), along with neuro-linguistic programming techniques (think Anthony Robbins) to "recondition" your mind. Some might be put off by the pop psychology approach, and you might feel silly doing some of the exercises. However, I do think that by keeping an open mind and giving the techniques in the book an honest try you could successfully lose weight. The book is very brief - I finished it in under two hours. My hardcover copy included a self-hypnosis CD that reinforces the mental conditioning stuff.

I liked the program in the book because it is simple and concise, yet touches on all of the essentials (eating behavior, emotional eating, food cravings, body image, and exercise). Another thing I liked is that it does not contain any nutritional advice, food lists, recipes, or other dietary suggestions. In fact, the program requires you to eat precisely what you want to eat and not what you may feel you should eat. As I said, it is a short book so nothing is covered in great depth, but it is meant to be very simple and practical, not long-winded and philosophical.

For almost 2 years now I have been handing this book and 'mind-reprogramming' CD to every patient who comes to me to lose weight, or who is caught up in the mentality of diets, scales, cravings, or overeating.

At the risk of making this book seem overly simple, here are Paul McKenna's 4 golden rules...
1. When you are hungry, eat.
2. Eat what you want (not what you think you "should".)
3. Eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful.
4. When you are full stop.

I've seen other "I Can Make You Thin" reviews that dismiss the 4 rules as just obvious common sense. I'm not sure what common sense they can really mean since the rules make a mockery of the majority of get thin / lose weight approaches around. Rule 2 in particular certainly disagrees with the 'common sense' that I was taught as a medical doctor.

Even if the rules are common sense, McKenna needs to be given great credit for showing people HOW to live these habits. Hopefully you are buying this for the results, not just to have a fun read and a relaxing, new-wavy listen.

Yes, the title and the back cover is a bit hypey, but the inside is less so. The book is refreshingly thin :), jargon-free, and entertaining.

McKenna's style also involves techniques such as tapping (TFT/EFT), hypnosis and NLP . Hypnosis is what first made Paul famous, and I've seen NLP Practitioners review this and say they knew all of these tricks before. In NLP terms Paul is saying that the Golden Rules are the "model" for being "naturally thin". Just knowing all the techniques won't help if you have the wrong model as I suspect most NLPers do.

More importantly, you don't need any of these techniques to apply the 4 golden rules and lose weight.

Most people can go the book & CD, discover the Aha moments, and get started on transforming their relationship with food and their weight straight away.

There might be a group of people that could eat according to the 4 rules and not be thin, but I agree with what Paul says. For myself, I'm yet to meet such a person.

I have counseled people who thought it didn't work for them, but it turned out they hadn't gotten the rules into their behavior, so here are some extra pointers...

- Just listening to the CD over and over doesn't seem to be enough. The book plays a big part too. Expect to re-read the book at least once. You can succeed without the CD, so if it doesn't suit you, no sweat.

- Don't add more rules. Extra rules almost always conflict with the four golden rules. Must eat breakfast? No. Just eat when you are hungry. Have to eat only fresh food? Check you really want to eat it, and whether you might want to eat anything else a bit more. Etc, etc.

- Having trouble visualizing? Just act 'as if' you are visualizing, or on the CD just leave it to Paul.

- Don't make exercise the focus. Improved fitness will improve your chances of living longer, but unfortunately the best research evidence is that exercise doesn't help much in losing weight. Keep to the four rules, which are all about food and getting back in control.

- If you have a question or a difficulty, the answer is somewhere in the book. The book alone truly is comprehensive (unlike watching YouTube videos or reading this review.) Indeed this updated version covered the two or three remaining gaps I had found before, including the extra chapter which covers self-sabotage.

In summary, McKenna is not the only person to propose this way of eating, but his is the most accessible version I know about. His is also the most likely to reach out from the page and permanently change your thinking and your behavior, and thereby your weight.

You can buy his measly book just to prove Paul wrong :)

Oh and then come back here and add your own review. Let people know what your results have been, whatever they are. No one book/CD can fit everyone but "I Can Make You Thin" deserves way more reviews here on Amazon from people just like you who have been wondering if this might just be what you need.

If this review helps, please click "YES" below.

This book is for the emotional eater. I love how Paul McKenna explains that the only reason people aren't skinny is because they eat when they are not hungry and they keep eating even though they are full. Its amazing how some of these habits were never taught to me. I was taught to eat everything on my plate even though I was full. And that is where my weight gain started. Its like everything in the book is the common sense that no one ever taught you, and people are puzzled as to why they are overweight. This book will teach you everything. It is really easy to read and I read it in about 2 hours.

What really helped though was listening to the CD every day. His hypnosis CD really works... I have been looking for ways to change my habits for years but this really gets to you on a subconcious level. Its not dangerous at all. In fact, its life changing for the better. I have been reading about dieting for years and nothing has worked except for this. It brings your self esteem up, changes your eating habits and cravings, and really helps you loose weight.

This book has really changed my life and I'm so happy that I have found it. If you do the CD everyday after reading the whole book, you'll know what I mean.

When I saw Paul McKenna's TV show last year, I thought a lot of what he said made sense, but I never tried to apply any of his advice to my life. Since I bought and read the book last week, I've made it my mission to apply the golden rules to my eating habits. A lot of what he says is practical advice but he gives you brand new ways to change your approach to food.

The biggest change I've noticed so far is going out to eat. I went to dinner at a restaurant yesterday and I ate slowly and noticed when I felt full like Paul McKenna says. When I was full, I still had over half of my steak left. I got a doggie bag and had it for lunch today. I haven't had steak for lunch in years and it saved me a trip to the local deli for a sandwich.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who has tried and failed on other diets or anyone who can't always control what kinds of food they have for meals (like parents who eat what their kids eat). It's a quick read and he's got a great writing style. Highly recommended.

I ordered the book and CD after I saw Paul on TV for the first hour of his TLC series. I sort of laughed to myself and thought "good one - he must have given me a hypnotic suggestion to order it."

I have listened to the entire 5-part series on TV, read the book, and have listened to the CD at least once every day (sometimes more). In 3 weeks I have lost 15 pounds. I find it completely amazing that anything so simple, natural and respectful could be so effective. But it is. I am a real person with a job, a home, a real life and everything, and this is the first time I believe that I will be able to lose the weight I need to lose and keep it off.

It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not - just try it. One of the great things about this program is that all the information is on the website for free, including helpful videos. There's no hidden secret that you have to pay for - but the CD is extremely helpful and being able to read the book is really nice. www.mckenna.com

Don't keep looking for outside sources to tell you what to eat, when to eat, etc. Give Paul's FOUR GOLDEN RULES a try and find out that they work from the inside out.

Hypnotist Paul McKenna uses neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to teach readers how to slowly become thin using the power of the mind. The author purports that people become overweight because they eat when they are not hungry and continue to eat when they are full. Interestingly many of us were forced to eat all the food on our plates before we could leave the table or eat dessert, so this notion of stopping eating with food on your plate must be unlearned. (Personally, I believe pushing back from the table is more difficult than not taking the first bite.)

The book is not a diet book with food information and diet planning, but rather it is aimed at your relationship with food, such as emotional eating, and emphasizes a psychological approach. Paul advocates eating what you want rather than what you think you should eat. He also discourages feeling guilty about your eating.

The book is very small (144 pages), to-the-point, and includes a CD with auditory effects and background New Age music (probably to enhance the hypnotic effects) that is designed to help tame food cravings and support the book's message. It also includes some Frequently Asked Questions to serve as a quick reverence. This book should help people who want to begin getting in touch with how they relate to food on an emotional and mental level.

I like the idea of recognizing and getting free from the unhealthy relationship people often have with food. Fundamentally, eating is designed for nourishing ourselves not providing emotional comfort. In addition to the valuable mental approach, my research suggests that meal timing, nutrition, and other factors are also important for being thin and strong. I also like this book because (unlike most weight loss books) it is not about food and eating, which after all is what makes people overweight to begin with. Author of THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong Live Your Dreams

I was quite sceptical about this at first but willing to give it a try. I don't care for the title but other than that i'm amazed at it - i'm not craving chocolate,sweets or anything in fact. Even though, in the book it says eat what you want and not what you feel you should be eating. You might feel a little foolish when you start listening to the CD but that soon goes. It is very relaxing. This book tries to stop the guilt you feel between yourself and food, and to make you appreciate yourself.