Amazon.com: Martin Russell "Self ...'s review of I Can Make You Thin: The Revolutionary Sys...
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290 of 298 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "I Can Make You Thin" - Review, January 10, 2009
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.

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Showing 1-4 of 4 posts in this discussion
Initial post: Mar 10, 2009 10:42 AM PDT
 Marilyn Faust says:
It certainly makes me want to purchase this book and CD!

In reply to an earlier post on Mar 10, 2009 9:13 PM PDT
 Martin Russell says:
A bit of extra hypnosis for you in the review eh :-)

Seriously though, go ahead. And then write your own review on here to keep Paul (and me) honest.

In reply to an earlier post on Jun 11, 2009 10:31 AM PDT
Last edited by the author on Jun 11, 2009 10:39 AM PDT
 S. Adams says:
Methinks (very strongly) that Paul, in fact, IS you... Or should I say that you, in fact, ARE Paul...

Posted on Oct 14, 2009 8:28 AM PDT
 mrsprincess says:
Thanks for the great review! So many reviews cut out the "meat" of the book so it's often hard to decide if the purchase will be what you want. I am a person with a history of Eatinf Disorders and only have had Drs tell me to eat less and less and add more exercise. This leads to many more problems and more weight gain in the end. I have read the Rules of Normal Eating and Healthy at Every Size, but I need a book or books that can help me to better trust my own hunger cues without having to obey the dieter's mentality. So again thank you for this review. I understand now why I didn't want this book a year ago; I was trapped as a Dieter and this system, like other books, seemed to defy what we're all told about weight loss and better health. I am buying this book as well. I figure even if I end up with 10 books on the topic, I can apply all the best aspects to my life and get somewhere. I love the 4 Rule Priniciple. Thank you!
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