Review: Helpful advice on how to find your path
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 5, 2013
I, like many people, have read quite a few books and articles on weight loss. I've also bought the DVDs, gym equipment, apps, etc. Though I'm already on an established route to better health, I found this book to be very helpful as I continue.What's different about this book? It doesn't go into huge explanations about how metabolism works. I found this refreshing because, well, most people by now know the basics and really that's all you need for better health. Unless you have specific health issues (in which case you should talk to your doctor and not follow a book), all you need to know is that if you burn more than you eat, you lose weight. I've picked up books that feel the need to explain every little process my body is doing. I'm not even close to being a scientist so it makes little to no impression on me.This book instead spends most of the time talking about your mindset. There are so many worksheets (and links to download the pdf versions) that I think it'd be impossible to not have some sort of revelation about your eating habits. While the title refers to emotional eaters, I think anyone struggling with any bad habit would find these activities helpful. To me, the book seemed more about discovering how your mind works and why than specifically about preventing late-night binges. Which is really the point. It goes in great detail about external motivation and internal motivation. When I worried only about the size of jeans, I never made progress. It wasn't until I decided I wanted to be healthy so I can be a good wife and mom someday--I suspect it's much harder to get into that lifestyle after the fact--that I saw a real change. Like I said, I picked up this book after that revelation, but it is helping me understand how I've made things different this time and how to continue making things better.One thing I really appreciated about this book is that the advice is varied. When she talks about destressing, she doesn't give just one method, she gives several and then tells you to think up more for yourself. She urges the reader to keep trying something because if you don't put in a good-faith effort, you'll never know if it actually works. But she doesn't tout any one way to improve sleep or mood and stress levels. She just explains why you really need to do those things and lets you find your own path. And there's no diet plan or exercise plan involved. There's a worksheet to figure it out yourself. Books in this genre always feel like they're trying to be one-size-fits-all but that's just unreasonable. There's no such thing in any aspect of life. Instead of looking to someone else to tell you what to eat or what sort of exercise to do, we should instead look at what motivates us and what we enjoy and go from there.If you're worried that the book is too short, don't be. It's so activity-based that if you do all the worksheets and assignments like she says, you don't feel like the book is too short at all. And because it's about delving deeper into why you are in the boat you're in, it really shouldn't be 300+ pages. She explains her philosophy and her background and gives great examples to illustrate her point. But she isn't telling you about yourself; you're doing that work on your own. Which is how it should be. No author who has never met you is going to be able to explain why you avoid cupcakes for weeks and then eat two dozen at once. And it really isn't as simple a problem as a lot of people think. If you go through just the first couple chapters, you'll start to realize that there are so many reasons people end up in the same position, binging in secret and thinking only negative thoughts about themselves. You can focus on developing new habits, but until you really understand how you got here in the first place and figure out a reliable reason to change, those habits won't stick.I strongly recommend this book if you're like me and try every new diet and gadget that comes out without success. Until you find something bigger to motivate you, it only makes sense you'll be stuck in the same rut; it's what I battled for so many years. And if you're on a path with the mindset of "It'll be different this time," this book can go a long way in helping you define the problem, define your goals, and reach them.