Weight Loss for People Who Feel Too Much; Colette Baron-Reid

 

Title: Weight Loss for People Who feel Too Much
Author: Colette Baron-Reid
Publication Year: 2013
Publisher: Crown
Edition: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Date Completed: February - 2013
Rating: 4/5 
Recommend: yes

Many people who have struggled with weight issues are emotional eaters who tend to use food as a coping strategy.  This is especially true for many sensitive people.  In Weight Loss for People for Feel Too Much, the author has developed  a 4-step, 8-week program to help such individuals identify and understand the real reason they battle with emotional eating, instead of recognizing  triggers such as, feelings of empathy, sadness, fear, anger etc. The author writes about "empathy overload" and how sensitive people are especially affected by the plight of others, both humans and animals, and how too much television, news and violence is not a good a thing for these individuals. 

This isn't a diet plan that has you limiting calories or counting points, or even restricting your choices to eating special foods. The author does highly recommend eating a plant-based diet, and organic foods whenever possible. It is also important to be aware of how your body reacts to the foods that you do eat. Do certain foods you eat trigger cravings and overeating?  

One thing the plan requires is journaling -- a lot of it -- mornings and evenings to help you get in touch with your feelings.  Although I'm not the type to journal about feelings, I did find that after finishing this book, evening without doing the journal writing, I now find myself analyzing what's going on in my brain when I feeling like munching endlessly. Often, I find it is boredom, or on occasion it's been that I've been thinking about a situation someone close to me is dealing with or thinking about something someone has said to me. Then at other times, it seems that a lot of the cravings go back to childhood where treats were given as a cure for sadness or even as a substitute for quality time with a loved one. There is also a spiritual "higher power" aspect to this book which will get different reactions from different readers.

The author has used this program with private clients, and there are many reviewers who seem to see this as some sort of breakthrough cure-all plan -- to me it's not.  Would I recommend this book to people struggling with dieting for years? Yes, I would, as there is some good information that may help some people refocus and "think" about what is really bothering them when they reach for something to eat that has little nutritional value. It's not, IMO, a plan that would be easy to follow 100%.