I read about 60 pages last night. It's interesting so far, but I haven't learning anything other than how hard it is to maintain. I guess that is the point of the book though. There were some interesting facts about how diets all started though. Although I can't fathom chewing my food until all the flavor is gone, I do believe that chewing thoroughly is far better than shoveling food down the pipe!
Isn't that history of diets just wild? There's lots more of info to come, and then there are some controversial conclusions that the author draws from the science. Much more to come!
But you're right -- a good subtitle for the book very well could be It's Hard To Maintain.
I bought this book the other day and I'm about 70 pages in. I'm looking forward to the discussion of it starting June 17, but I'll be out of town from the 15th to the 24th with limited or possibly NO internet access.
The book is very interesting so far -- the history of all the different diets is pretty freaky to read about! I love reading this because it's not like any other "diet" book -- it's actual scientific research and a bit of commentary on society as well. Good stuff.
By the way, I hope I'm not crashing the party here. I've never posted on this forum because I'm not a maintainer yet!!
Lisa, you are more than welcome here, both for the book and discussion and for anything else! We've always said that the Maintainers Forum is for everyone because maintenance starts on Day One of your weight loss. Look at you -- maintaining a 95 pound loss!! We have plenty of members who post here who aren't at goal yet.
And we really do want anyone who's interested to jump into the book discussion!
The science of the book is what both fascinates and depresses me.
I'm not sure yet what format we'll use for discussion - the book doesn't lend itself to the neat chapter-by-chapter format we used for Thin For Life. I'm taking the book on vacation with me next week so I can puzzle that one out. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll be discussing the book for quite a while, so join in when you get back into town.
Picked ours up yesterday while in civilization. Anybody else see the Colbert Report interview video on her site. Very funny. Didn't notice there was anything funny about her name until he pointed it out.
I picked up the book today. I'm not sure when I'll have time to read it, but I have it for when I find the time. I almost never buy hardcover books, but I'm really wanted to read this one anyway, so this upcoming discussion was a good reason to go ahead, buy it and read it now.
I've been morbidly obese for most of my adult life and I've yet to purchase a "diet" book of any kind. I guess I've always known WHAT to do, I just never put it into action, until now of course. But it's funny, now that I've FINALLY lost some weight I find myself wanting to read up on weightloss at every opportunity. Though I do find these books to all be very similar and not give me any new info. But this one has piqued my interest and of course I would hate to miss out on this discussion.
RR - I was always fascinated by weight loss books, but mostly SUCCESS STORIES, not really how to lose weight but stories about happy people who had lost weight! Now that I'm a maintainer, I am insanely curious about anything to do with weight loss/nutrition. Some of my favorites are What to Eat or Food Politics by Marion Nestle, UltraMetabolism, Fast Food Nation, Omnivore's Dilemna, Don't Eat This Book, Fat Land etc.
I put the book on hold at the library - but I'm #40 in line.
This one has about as much in common with a regular "diet" book as War and Peace does. It's research about diets in general, about the problem of obesity in our society, stuff like that. It doesn't have tips and tricks for weight loss, or a plan, or any of that kind of thing (at least it doesn't so far, and I don't think that's coming in the last half). I wouldn't even put this in the diet section of a bookstore. I'd probably put it in the social science section, though certainly the customers looking at diet books would be interested too!
It is in the diet section of the bookstore though, that's where I found it last night. I agree, it's not a *diet* book though from my understanding.
I've felt for a long time now that hunger and eating is a system in the body almost the same as breathing. You can hold your breath for a while, but eventually your body wins and you have to take another breath. I could diet for a while and put off my hunger for a while, but eventually, my body won and I ate to satisfy my hunger. It wasn't until I got off the refined carb/starch rollercoaster of blood sugar/insulin/hunger swings that my hunger quieted down and I lost weight. And I do think setpoints & metabolism play a huge part in determining our weight.
My understanding is that the book is about rethinking thin in terms of realizing that weight loss is less about willpower and laziness than it is about hormones and metabolisms and genetics. I should read the book before I start talking about it though.
Yeah - that's closer to how I feel. I'm not really interested in DIET books (how to lose weight - like Atkins, Sugarbusters, South Beach, although I did read/enjoy You on a Diet). I'm more interested in books that discuss the culture of food or the politics of the food industry(reading Marion Nestle's Food Politics was VERY eye opening) or about the science around food/eating/weight gain/loss (like Mindless Eating - which I should have listed before, it rocked, or the Great Starvation Experiment).