Hmmmm, I'm not sure what to make of this. I'd be curious to read his whole book. The idea of the book is 101 ways that the thinking of fat people differs from fit people. This link shows a short interview of the author.
I have not read the book, so I'm giving my opinion on just a summery, but from what I saw of this I both agree with him and disagree.
I strongly support that food (sugar) has an addictive quality. I believe that the addiction is no different than cigarettes, drugs or alcohol, but that this is not mainstream enough for people like this author to understand that its not just about willpower. Now the cohosts do mention smoking (I believe eluding to the fact that there is an addictive component to eating) and the author agrees that smoking cessation is about mental toughness too. This makes me think that he is ignoring all scientific and social indications that willpower is not typically effective in stopping an addictive substance, so on that level I disagree with him and question his knowledge on the subject. I would be surprised if he actually did any research prior to writing this. Because of this, he loses quite a bit of credibility with me.
However, I do agree with him that there needs to be a stronger mentality among people trying to lose weight, myself included. While I believe that there are very large obstacles to weight loss, I believe that some people are over weight because they refuse to acknowledge these obstacles, take responsibility for their actions, and do not seek to change behaviors that have not worked or have failed them before, or put in the effort to employ those new behaviors in an effort to lose. This seems especially true if the behavior is out of their comfort zone or requires more effort than they want to give.
I do subscribe to the drill sergeant mentality. I find it motivating, though I realize not everyone agrees. But this is his approach. I have to admit though, that the drill sergeant approach typically isn't effective if the person being addressed doesn't already have it in them to respond to that type of motivation or they don't have the mental strength to use it to move forward rather than seeing it as criticism. In other words, I don't think his book is going to help a lot of fat people get fit.
What do you think?
http://www.today.com/id/32272548/ns/.../#.Uxsyfr4o5jo