Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight [Paperback]

Doris Wild Helmering (Author), Dianne Hales (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2004

If you’ve been struggling with your weight, you know how hard it can be to lose those extra pounds and keep them off. In the groundbreaking Think Thin, Be Thin, nationally prominent psychotherapist Doris Wild Helmering and award-winning health writer Dianne Hales assert that the true key to a healthy body weight is a healthy attitude toward food and exercise. Their logic is simple: Your brain ultimately controls what you eat and whether you work out. If you change the way you think, you can change the way you behave. And you can lose weight.

Using proven psychological strategies and scientifically based exercises, you will learn how to harness your thoughts to transform your behavior, body, and life. With practical advice on such troublesome issues as curbing emotional eating, motivating yourself to exercise, and overcoming diet plateaus, this book is the ideal complement to any diet and weight-loss program.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The simplistic title Think Thin Be Thin doesn't really encompass the ideas laid out in this encouraging book. Rather than designing a diet and exercise plan that promises results, authors Doris Wild Helmering and Dianne Hales focus instead on the psychology behind eating, and offer 101 short suggestions for getting healthy that can accompany any plan out there.

The tips are drawn from a variety of disciplines, including Gestalt therapy, transactional awareness, compliance theory and cognitive-behavior therapy: all these sources these translate to "there's something for everyone". Old standards like keeping a food diary and finding simple ways to burn calories (like gardening or taking the stairs at work) are mixed with creative ideas like becoming your own advice columnist for a day and watching specific comedy movies that also offer encouragement for change (think Groundhog's Day). Whether you sit down and plow through the book in one sitting or pick and choose a few tips to follow for short time periods, you'll find the positive tone both relaxing and inspiring.

While the emotional and mental aspects of weight loss are the focal point, you'll also find a few tips aimed at the more practical side, like tracking your BMI (a charted is included as an appendix) and how many calories are burned by an assortment of activities. Whether it servers as a companion to a new gym membership or a refresher course in positive thinking, this book has plenty of helpful tips to keep you on track. --Jill Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

Clinical social worker Helmering and health writer Hales (An Invitation to Health) present 101 tips for dieters who need to change not only their exercise and eating habits, but also their way of thinking in this slim but to-the-point volume. The idea behind the book, write the authors, "is that the more you see, hear, or read a message, the more positively you view it." In this case, the message is to drop weight and get moving, so the book is packed full of briskly worded, often original ways for dieters to motivate themselves. The authors make use of psychological theories (including a semantics-based exercise to encourage language awareness), meditation and chanting exercises, and calculations such as the YLL (years of life lost to obesity) to help readers refrain from overeating. Not every entry is original; readers will find familiar suggestions such as to exercise in a group and keep a food diary. Others seem excessive, especially when done in combination with different practices. How many readers could repeat an affirmation for an hour each day while keeping a food diary, exercising and literally grading their own performance? On the positive side, the book's emphasis is always on health and fitness, and binge and fad diets are actively discouraged. Overall, this book is an excellent tool for diet-minded readers who occasionally require a mental kick in the pants.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767916964
• ISBN-13: 978-0767916967
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book, March 22, 2005

By 

merlot (Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight (Paperback)

i've purchased many books on weight loss because it is a facinating topic to me and this is definitely one of the best. the points are clear and concise and they make sense. there's something in the book that will appeal to everyone. they help you make the tips actionable with advice and guidance and helpful suggestions. i feel like it has helped my thinking on my "relationship" with food. before finishing the book i'd already abandoned some bad habits and started some good ones. i think this is a book i will refer to once or twice a year as a refresher and just to pick up some extra tips that i'm not already integrating in my life. even with all the good info the book is still a quick read in simple language and visually appealing (effectively uses bullet points and charts). this book is a great compliment to any weight loss program or just for anyone who wants to learn to eat better and be healthier. i highly recommend.

my only complaint is that they don't have a table of contents that allows you to go directly to certain helpful passages, you sort of have to flip through the pages to find what was helpful.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is just what I need, January 2, 2005

By 

Rhonda Anderson "Bye bye fries" (Mill Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight (Paperback)

I've been trying to loose weight for several years but lacked discipline. This book has helped me follow easy steps to changing the way I think about food. Since starting the recommendations, I've found that I've been able to resist the foods I would normally eat while watching t.v. It's only been a few days since I read the book but feel very positive that this is the help I've always needed to loose weight and keep it off.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Really IS All In Your Mind, July 13, 2005

By 

Jia's Lala (Alton IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight (Paperback)

I've lost more than 25 pounds in seven months using the knowledge I've gained from this book. I had just about surrendered to being fat when I passed 60 and arthritis cramped my walking regimen, but Helmering got me focused on what I needed to know about food consumption for this new phase of life. I plan to lose ten more pounds to return to my ideal weight. I feel armed with information and techniques and confident of the future thanks to "Think Thin, Be Thin".