Diets Don't Work: Now You Can Become "Naturally Thin" Step-By-Step When All Else Fails [Paperback]

Bob Schwartz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1996

A commonsense approach to permanent weight loss draws on the latest research to help readers discover why they have not lost weight and to introduce effective methods for losing weight without dieting. Original. IP.

Product Details

• Paperback: 149 pages
• Publisher: Breakthru Publishing; 3 edition (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942540166
• ISBN-13: 978-0942540161
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost 25 pounds in 15 years, May 6, 2004

By 

India Starker "WakeMeGently" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diets Don't Work: Now You Can Become "Naturally Thin" Step-By-Step When All Else Fails (Paperback)

This book changed my life. I dieted (aspiring dancer and all that) from age 12 to age 28, when I stumbled upon this book. From age 12 to 28 I gained 30 pounds (105 to 135). After reading the first few pages of the book when I was 28 (1988) I had a revelation. And I stopped dieting. I am now 43. I weigh 110. It is hard to learn to accept yourself and refocus your life. You must drop the priority "if only I was thin." It's not that important. When I read the book I could not believe the part about the woman only eating part of a chocolate mousse. Believe me its true. Dieting damages your natural system of satiety. It takes about ten years to heal. When you are healed (and you will be if you stop dieting) you do not know if there is chocolate in the house. You can eat it. Or not. You can even eat a lot of it. I'll eat a big bar when I want. When you are healed and your satiety is fixed there will be times when you just don't want any. I've had chocolate go grey because it was forgotten. You owe it to yourself to heal. Life is much better. The important rule I retained is *only eat delicious food*. Now can't you live with that?

Remember: The 1200 to 1800 calorie diets that women go on correspond to the figures of starvation published by the World Health Association. Symptoms are: inability to concentrate and a general slowing down of the body (to save energy). And we expect starving people in the west to be productive?! Dieting is a barbarous practise similar to bloodletting for fever.

Stop dieting. Join the world. The ten years you need to heal will pass anyway.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works by treating the *cause* of your weight problem, July 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Diets Don't Work: Now You Can Become "Naturally Thin" Step-By-Step When All Else Fails (Paperback)

This is a practical book in the spirit of the writings of Geneen Roth and others who emphasize self-trust in eating. What's great about this book is that it's a workbook format that enables you not just to read about the philosophy, but to put it into practice and discover the ways that it has practical significance in your life.

When I first read this book, I completed the entire thing, writing directly in it (as the author recommends), and I put it into practice in my life as well. After reading it and following the recommendations, I lost 30 pounds that I have not put back in the 5 years since I read the book. After about six months of following his advice, I started to habitually experience cravings for foods traditionally considered healthy---lots of fruits and veggies, salmon, that sort of thing.

In the years following this change, my cholesterol also went from over 250 to well below 200, although I didn't work directly on changing the composition of my diet. I just ate the foods asked for by my body. The composition of my diet did change, but not by force. It was a natural shift, and my diet also continued to include foods Not traditionally considered healthy (such as Orange Chicken from Panda Express---a sugary, deep-fried concoction).

The down side is that I didn't carry the advice through entirely. I would like to lose more weight, but I haven't followed through completely in that I still use food when I am feeling exhausted and for entertainment. To let go of the way I've used food for my entire life has been hard. The changes in my diet (craving healthier foods and so forth) has remained, however, and I've never gained back the weight I lost using this approach.

The up side is that this book gives you the opportunity to choose to live differently. During the time I lost weight with this book, I did so without becoming more obsessed with food and exercise, but less obsessed. Other times I've lost weight, I've done so feeling more and more like who I am is not to be trusted. This offers an approach that has the potential to *solve* your weight problem, rather than only treat its symptoms.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life changes, October 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Diets Don't Work: Now You Can Become "Naturally Thin" Step-By-Step When All Else Fails (Paperback)

I bought this book in a last ditch effort to lose weight. I have to say, when I began reading , I couldn't put this book down. I kept nodding my head and saying "that's me exactly!" I didn't even mind doing the excercises. They made me face realities that I knew existed but didn't want to see. This book made me understand that being fat was more of an emotional factor than a physical one. I began to eat out of true hunger,and in the last 6 months I have lost 56 pounds. I'm still working on it, but with the info I learned in this book, I know I'll never be fat again,because this time, I didn't diet(they don't work)I changed my life.