[sarahyu]

Book Review:
Thin Commandments Diet The 10 No-Fail Strategies For Permanent Weight Loss. By Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.


This is a great book! It doesn’t start with the diet part of losing weight. It starts with strategies, how to prepare yourself to lose weight.

I’ve only finished the first 4 chapters but I wanted to share a couple points that I think really apply to me, maybe it will shed some light for other people too:


Calories are only half of the weightloss equation...welcome to the other half.

Strategy is stronger then willpower
Think historically not calorically
The problem may be in the food, not in you
Structure gives control
Separate mood from food
Take control of your favorite foods
Slips should teach you, not defeat you
Stop feeling deprived
Treat your calories like dollars
Losing weight is half the job; keeping it off is the other half

The F-Q Principle (page 29-30 chapter 2 thinking historically not calorically)
One of the hallmarks of a trigger food is that at the beginning of a diet, you usually give it up, out of an intuitive feeling that it will impede your weight control. But once you’ve lost an amount of weight that pleases you, you feel it’s “safe” to go back to it. At first you are very focused on not abusing that food. You’ll only eat one cookie or a single bread stick and walk away from the rest. But, it’s the beginning of the road backward, although you seldom realize it. If you are thinking calorically, the logic of going back to your old ways proves almost irresistible in the coming days: you had a cookie and didn’t put on any weight so why not do it again? and again? I call it the F-Q principle because once the frequency starts to increase, invariably the quantity will increase as well, until it reaches the amount it was before. And you will gain back all the weight you lost before. Thinking calorically, there is nothing wrong with eating a cookie. Yet this behavior is a bridge back to a pattern of behavior that may be marked by a long history of over eating proving once again that history comes before calories.

Pg 63 (chapter 4: Structure gives control)
“E.A.T.” The Expanding Appetite Theorum: Appetite expands to consume the amount of food presented. At an all you can eat buffet you eat more then a place where the chef places your food on a plate. If you buy the largest box of popcorn at the movies, you’ll eat more popcorn then if you had bought the smallest.

The more precisely structured your food is, the less likely you are to overeat it. Examples: 1 serving of potato if baked is one potato, but you don’t know where to stop if they are mashed. Fresh fruit-if you have a bowl of cut up fruit in the fridge you tend to eat more then if you ate a whole apple or orange. People eat with their eyes as much as they eat with there mouths. The larger serving available the more you will eat.

Many people are Unophobic. Do you feel deprived if you see 1 lonely piece of anything on your plate? A slice of bread or an egg. Do you instantly cheer up if your food has a mate? Cut your serving in half!

(I thought this was funny, because I do think that eggs need to come in 2's and bread does seem lonely if there is only 1, I just thought I was silly )

[Schatzi]

Sarahyu, what a great post! I see myself in these ..specially think historically not calorically.. I also "suffer" from what I call "portion distortion". What I think is 1 serving could feed a family of 5.

Thanks for sharing!

[Jen415]

Originally Posted by Schatzi

Sarahyu, what a great post! I see myself in these ..specially think historically not calorically.. I also "suffer" from what I call "portion distortion". What I think is 1 serving could feed a family of 5.

I have the same disorder....think there is a 12 step program for it?

[sarahyu]

Me 2, who ever says that a container of cool whip is 32 servings obviously has not seen my servings. And jello pudding-how can a small box be 4 servings, yes I know that it's 2 cups of milk but hey, it's milk right? Can't be bad.

Everyone elses 1/2 cup of icecream is a tennis ball size, when I make mine, it's more like a softball size or is it a bigger? I have to really keep an eye on portion sizes because I'm a fast eater and finish what's on my plate before I realize I'm full.

It's amazing the things we learn about ourselves, and it all helps us to be better in control of what we eat. Yeah!

Sarah

[JustJess]

I read it 2wks ago-learned a lot of intersting stuff. Like the Neuropeptide Y link-how it can trigger cravings for foods you don't even like-how when you eat when very hungry it can imprint a future craving for this food. ANd I like the way he stresses the importance of food history-how a single cookie may be 70 cal to one person but can lead to 5,000 cal to another.

I also liked the discussion of "boxing in" certain foods (only eating them at predertermind times/events) and "boxing out" others-agreeing to sacrifice certain trigger foods in the name of good health and a healthy weight. He explains that it's best to see it as a liberation rather than a sacrifice bc once you decide that is a red light food you no longer find yourself debating and justifying eating it.

I also like the discussion on the thermogenic affects of certain foods-the only turn off was the emphasis on those dang Scandanavian Crackers And it's not really focused on whole foods as much as low-fat foods.

[sarahyu]

Yes, those stupid crackers. Can they really be that good? It's just a cracker! I've never even seen them in the store.

I haven't gotten to the diet part of it yet.

Sarah

[Artemis__]

Sarah,

I've heard a lot about this book, and will be very interested to hear what you think of it when you have finished it.

I'd like to know if it "fits" with SBD, mainly because I've tried everything out there, and SBD seems to be the best plan for me. I dont want to read something new that doesnt fit and start off doing something different again.

It sounds very interesting so far.

Please keep us updated!

[spillthebeans]

I am getting this book..so interesting, thanks for sharing this info...I relate! ARghhh, unfortunately.

[JustJess]

From the SB angle the actual eating plan DOES focus on ways to stay full and not trigger sugar cravings like having protein for breakfast and a protein snack between 3:00-4:00pm etc... but he does rate a list of the "best" diet-friendly foods-all processed. So the actual eating plan would be closer to Phase 2 or 3. Still, the rest of the book was the best part-lots of NEW info (which is pretty hard to find these days) And I really feel like it can help anyone regardless of what WOE they're doing-in fact he mentions that many of his clients follow South Beach, WW, Jenny Craig etc...

[sarahyu]

I think the first half of the book is helpful no matter what eating plan you use. It's all about strategies, how to change what we've been doing in the past so we can have permenant weight loss this time. LIke I mentioned earlier, he doesn't even start on his diet until the last 1/3 of the book and then a lot of it is recipes. From what I've scanned it looks like it's basically phase 2 of SBD, maybe with a few different things.

I'm basically going to continue with SBD and incorporate some of his ideas about staying on tract. They are so good.

I never recommend books unless I absolutely love them, this is a definate "You have to read this book if you are struggling with the cycle of weight loss and regaining!" Check your local library. That's where I got my copy. I never buy books when I can borrow them. I am taking extensive notes, I find that I retain a lot more when I take notes.

Sarah

[sarahyu]

Strategy is stronger then willpower.

When food is concerned we often act like children, wanting our way no matter what, blocking out the negative consequences; focusing on a few minutes worth of taste that fills the mouth and lingers for a short while, while completely denying the obvious and discomforting costs.

Foods are not free; you have to wear them for years to come. You can’t eat it all and still be thin.

This scale reviews basic skills and attitudes that you should be maintaining as part of your healthy life way of thin. With it you can track changes in your control skills and thinking in much the same way a diabetic tracks blood sugar. These questions reflect the actions of those who succeed at weight control.


New Scale for dieting Ask your self these questions once a week:

1. Am I going more then 3-4 hours without eating?
2. Am I failing to plan? Letting supplies of healthy foods run out? Going into food situations hungry? Failing to prepare for high-risk food situations and failing to carry a snack?
3. Am I avoiding foods I have a long history of abusing?
4. Am I keeping my moods out of my foods? Am I not eating out of boredom or anger and am I reminding myself in stressful situations that “this is not about food”?
5. Am I keeping problem foods out of the house or out of sight?
6. Am I avoiding high-risk situations (reading dessert menus, looking at the dessert cart, dining in restaurants buffet or family style service)?
7. Am I maintaining finger control? Avoiding mindless nibbling?
8. Am I eating too much of the right foods on my plan?
9. Am I watching for the hidden calories that stop weight loss, salad dressings, butter, oil, sauces and side dishes?
10. Am I reminding myself that this is not about deprivation but doing what works for a happier, healthier life?

Keep a food diary.
Those that maintain a written record of what they’re eating each day lose more weight and do significantly better at keeping it off then those who don’t.

Write down everything you eat, including nibbles. To help identify your patterns, circle your errors: foods that you may have eaten in excessive amounts, foods not on your eating plan, foods with hidden calories.

Think historically not just calorically

Think about your food history-what are your eating patterns?

What are your trigger foods? Your comfort foods? What will you over indulge on a regular basis?

What are the trigger behaviors? Some people are “finishers” (clean plate club) or a nibbler at parties, do you skip meals, food shop after work, wait so long to eat that you arrive at a restaurant staring and you demolish the bread basket before you even order?

What are your trigger times? Most often it’s later afternoon, evenings while waiting for dinner and weekend afternoon at home.

The problem maybe in your food not in you

Neuorpeptide Y: The missing link in craving control
Your response to food is primarily in your own hands. A classic example of how your behavior influences the control of appetite and the success of your diet is the case of neuorpeptide Y.

Have you ever notices that if you’ve gone a number of hours without eating, skipped meals or just eaten too little, by a certain part of the day, usually the late afternoon, your appetite starts to rev up? Well, so does almost everybody else’s.

Why is that? Studies suggest that this clockwork craving may be caused by surging levels of a protein neuorpeptide Y, which may contribute to a “stimulatory effect on food intake, particularly carbohydrate ingestion.”

“If the body has been deprived of sufficient calories during the day, the levels of metabolic regulator neuorpeptide Y will rise once one starts eating. This leads to greater cravings for food, especially carbohydrates…At this point, it’s hard to resist the body’s chemical signal to consume. You turn into an eating automaton, without being aware of it. If you think you’re an intelligent, responsible person, it’s spooky how little control you have over this.”

Neuorpeptide Y is so powerful that it imprints whatever you eat on an empty stomach on your brains craving control center. And these foods, especially simple carbs like sweets, refined flour products and baked goods-deactivate your appetite control mechanism and may ignite increased cravings for more and more even though you intend to “have just a little.”

It’s very critical to understand the interaction of all these processes, which combines to make so many people feel like they lack willpower to fight their seemingly insatiable appetite. When the truth is if you have gone beyond a few hours without eating, then having a cookie, that cookie, instead of satisfying you, becomes a turbocharged appetite stimulant causing you to over eat.


If you sleep too little, you could eat too much. Sleep deprivation is known to jump-start your appetite, particularly carbohydrate cravings. Studies have shown both in animals and humans that being deprived of sleep increased both appetites and food consumption.

Structure gives control:

What all diets have in common is structure. They all achieve weight loss because they give you a blueprint for eating. So why do the vast majority of people who lose weight on diets fail to maintain that weight loss?
When dieters are taught to focus exclusively on calories and carbs, they don’t see anything wrong with fiddling with the structure of their diets. They are led to believe that all that really matters is the “calorie budget”. My client Paula was doing beautifully on her diet until she went back to skipping breakfast because that was her history since childhood. She began “making up” the calories with pizza for lunch. Similarly Sandra eliminated her mid afternoon snack, figuring she’s “lay away” those 200 calories and “spend” them on a dessert after dinner. Ed started his diet by studying low calorie menu plans and prepared all his meals at home. Three weeks later, when he’d lost enough weight to wear his tennis shorts without embarrassment, he went back to eating at his favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant, figuring he could just as easily find low-calorie foods for his plate so it wouldn’t be a problem.

The standard diets actually encourage people to play around with the diet, yet they fail to teach you the right strategies to keep you from returning to out-of-control eating. They don’t help you see the critical connection between structure and weight control.

What is structure?
The timing and frequency of your meals. Do you have established times to eat and do you stick with them? Do you wait until hungry? Do you skip meals? Do you eat quickly?

The type of meal you eat. Is it a real meal or a quick snack in place of a meal? Is it adequate to carry your through the day?

How your home food shopping gets done.
Time of the day and what is bought?

The ways your meals are served- Buffet or family style? Individually plated? Standing up?

Your eating structure is either a bridge to control or it promotes failure in weight loss. People with weight problems are most often people who have no structure in the critical areas of eating behavior.

Structure is the craving killer.
“The Four S’s”: Seeing, Smelling, Stress and StarvationAlmost all cravings come from the Four S’s. They throw a lethal curve at your ability to control what you eat. We are powerfully guided by our senses. Marketing people do everything in their power to keep the food in front of your eyes and if they can get you to smell the food when you are hungry, that’s even better.

By giving yourself a solid structure of frequent meals and snacks everyday, you protect yourself against the siren songs of the Four S’s. It’s simply a physiological fact that if you go too long without eating, your blood sugar falls and you are more prone to feel stressed and irritable. You may not be aware that you are setting yourself up to be overcome by cravings since your mind is preoccupied with the activities of the day. But as soon as you encounter the sight or smell of a food you like, it will have an impact on your appetite that is a thousand times more powerful then if you encountered those same foods on a full stomach. Your chances of being selective about what you eat and the amount you eat now are almost nonexistent.

When you wait until you feel hungry before you eat, you jump-start the production of neuorpeptide Y which can lead to uncontrollable cravings. And once this happens it’s like losing the brake on your appetite and you become an eating automaton.



Do you want me to stop? I'm only up to chapter 4. This is such great stuff. I've recognized so many things that I do myself. It's really helped motivate me to change what I'm doing in my life now.

Sarah

[Schatzi]

Sarah, you are a gem! Thank you for giving so much of your time to share your lessons learned and information from this book. I know I am just one of many that are very grateful

[sarahyu]

Weekends tend to be my problem times, I can do pretty well through the week but once I lose the structure of work and not being allowed to eat at my desk, boredom sets in and the horrible munchies attack. I can go through quite a bit of food while I'm watching TV.

This Saturday morning, after I finished my running class and getting the groceries, I sat down in front of the tv. Slowly and quietly the insidiuos muchines starting taking ahold of me and I was wondering the kitchen cabinets wondering what I could munch on. I thought about what I had read last week and decided to figure out what was triggering this munchy attack.... And then it dawned on me... The 4 S's. I was watching cooking shows on PBS. I was seeing all that food being prepared and listening to them talk about how good it smelled and tasted. I turned off the tv and found something else to do with my hands for the afternoon and didn't eat anywhere near the amount of food I usually go through on a weekend. Yeah for learning!

Sarah

[Schatzi]

Way 2 go Sarah on using the tools of the knowledge you've gained!

We were bottling our wines at the winery yesterday and they always have a yummy buffet with all these wonderful foods. I put on a small plate only those foods that I felt were OP...and controlled my portion size I passed by the cake ....only to be confronted with a bowl full of nuts. Nuts are my biggest trigger food...so I thought about them historically-- and how I have "abused" them ... and I passed them up...(now they did try to call out to me in their little siren song... but I turned a deaf ear!)

I think I shall award each of us BEACH BADGES for Jobs WELL DONE!

[sarahyu]

I want to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" but I'm afraid I'll want to eat a vat of chocolate when I get out. I guess I'll have to make sure I have eaten a full meal before I go and sneak in some healthy veggies sticks to snack on

Sarah