_Keeping it off_ book

Jenny wrote:
|| Roger,
||
|| One thing that book didn't discuss, because the lab research hadn't
|| been done was the effect of the massively readjusted Set Point on
|| long term maintenance.
||
|| I read somewhere that there may be a strong variation in whether or
|| not people have a strong set point. Those that do, may find it
|| impossible to maintain massive weight losses, and they are the ones
|| who show up at obesity clinics. The people who successfully lose and
|| maintain do not, which skews the statistics.

Interesting....I've never heard of the notion of a "strong" set point. Boy,
it's a little scary to think about, when you think about it.

What does a set point do to your body -- if you lost to a point below your
set point, will you just be hungry or will you just have appetite, no matter
what kind of food you're eating? If I had a set point, I think it is
somehow wired into my soul because I just like to eat.

||
|| I sense a certain amount of set point going on in my body--there's no
|| question it wants to weigh more and I can't just eat without
|| thinking the way I could when I was younger and not gain. But I
|| think that long term success is more possible than some of the more
|| recent books and lab research would suggest. That book is great
|| because they did find a large group of people who kept a lot of
|| weight off for a long time, which is what we all want to know is
|| possible.

Right.

||
|| -- Jenny - Low Carbing for 5 years. Below goal for weight. Type 2
|| diabetes, hba1c 5.7 .
|| Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!
||
|| Jenny's new site: What they Don't Tell You About Diabetes
|| http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/
||
|| Jenny's Low Carb Diet Facts & Figures
|| http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/
||
|| Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
|| Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm
||
||
|| "Roger Zoul" wrote in message
|| ...
||| Cubit wrote:
||||| Great stuff. I felt the summary probably covered everything I
||||| needed, but I bought a copy anyway, just in case the summary
||||| webpage goes away.
|||||
||||| Amazon used books were too pricey, but I found a hardback copy on
||||| eBay for $3.50 plus $2 shipping.
|||||
||||| my ended eBay purchase: http://tinyurl.com/6ny8e
|||||
||||| I'm concerned that I too spend too much time focusing on my diet.
||||| Maybe that will change, when I'm no longer restricting my calories
||||| to a 1400 per day average. Someday, 1600 per day should be much
||||| more comfortable.
|||||
|||
||| Keep in mind that what is reported in that book is just one study
||| and what it reports, while certainly interesting, shouldn't be
||| taken as gospel truth. I personally feel that if I don't put
||| considerable focus on my diet (i.e., what & how much I eat) on a
||| constant basis that I will just drift back to 367 lbs or die on the
||| way. I think that's just the way it is for me.
|||
||| More research needs to be done along the lines of what's in this
||| book. I'm going to buy a copy, too.
|||
|||
|||||
||||| "Ignoramus13725" wrote in
||||| message ...
|||||| I am reading a book _Keeping it Off_ by Robert Colvin and Susan
|||||| Olson. This is an old book from 1985, I bought it used from
|||||| Amazon.
||||||
|||||| The book is excellent and a summary of it is available at
||||||
|||||| http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/success.htm
||||||
|||||| The book is a great read and I highly recommend it. It describes
|||||| what
|||||| is common amongst successful maintainers, which are defined as
|||||| people who
||||||
|||||| - lost over 20% of body weight
|||||| - kept it off for 2 years
|||||| - are not more than 5 lbs away from their lowest weight
||||||
|||||| The discuss the traits amongst those successful people, how they
|||||| think about weight loss, what they do, what they do not do etc.
||||||
|||||| There are very few books about weight maintenance, probably
|||||| because so few people can get to the point where they need to
|||||| maintain weight,
|||||| and even fewer of them actually maintain the loss. According to
|||||| authors, only 2% of those who started dieting can maintain
|||||| successfully for 2 years.
||||||
|||||| Unfortunately, the authors are psychologists, and looked at those
|||||| successful dieters from only psychological point of view. (I am
|||||| not done with the book yet). I wish they tried to look at the
|||||| somatic differences, if any, between successful and unsuccessful
|||||| dieters.
||||||
|||||| It also does not do a good enough job at comparing those
|||||| successful people with controls who have not managed to be as
|||||| successful. So, they could fall into a trap of describing their
|||||| common traits that did not make a difference. Both of them had
|||||| prior clinical
|||||| experience with "treating" obese dieters, with little (average)
|||||| success, so,
|||||| hopefully, they could detect those success traits based on their
|||||| experience.
||||||
|||||| All in all, it is a great common sense book that describes what
|||||| works.
||||||
|||||| The great majority of maintainers lost weight on their own, not
|||||| on any sort of commercial programs. All of them had an epiphany
|||||| at some point, which has been my experience exactly. They are
|||||| all very aware of their current weight and they actively manage
|||||| it. Again, my experience. They moved away from food obsessions
|||||| and food takes little place in their life, which I cannot say
|||||| yet about myself, although it
|||||| has been getting a tad better later.
||||||
||||||
|||||| i

Jenny wrote:
|| Roger,
||
|| One thing that book didn't discuss, because the lab research hadn't
|| been done was the effect of the massively readjusted Set Point on
|| long term maintenance.
||
|| I read somewhere that there may be a strong variation in whether or
|| not people have a strong set point. Those that do, may find it
|| impossible to maintain massive weight losses, and they are the ones
|| who show up at obesity clinics. The people who successfully lose and
|| maintain do not, which skews the statistics.

Interesting....I've never heard of the notion of a "strong" set point. Boy,
it's a little scary to think about, when you think about it.

What does a set point do to your body -- if you lost to a point below your
set point, will you just be hungry or will you just have appetite, no matter
what kind of food you're eating? If I had a set point, I think it is
somehow wired into my soul because I just like to eat.

||
|| I sense a certain amount of set point going on in my body--there's no
|| question it wants to weigh more and I can't just eat without
|| thinking the way I could when I was younger and not gain. But I
|| think that long term success is more possible than some of the more
|| recent books and lab research would suggest. That book is great
|| because they did find a large group of people who kept a lot of
|| weight off for a long time, which is what we all want to know is
|| possible.

Right.

||
|| -- Jenny - Low Carbing for 5 years. Below goal for weight. Type 2
|| diabetes, hba1c 5.7 .
|| Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!
||
|| Jenny's new site: What they Don't Tell You About Diabetes
|| http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/
||
|| Jenny's Low Carb Diet Facts & Figures
|| http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/
||
|| Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
|| Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm
||
||
|| "Roger Zoul" wrote in message
|| ...
||| Cubit wrote:
||||| Great stuff. I felt the summary probably covered everything I
||||| needed, but I bought a copy anyway, just in case the summary
||||| webpage goes away.
|||||
||||| Amazon used books were too pricey, but I found a hardback copy on
||||| eBay for $3.50 plus $2 shipping.
|||||
||||| my ended eBay purchase: http://tinyurl.com/6ny8e
|||||
||||| I'm concerned that I too spend too much time focusing on my diet.
||||| Maybe that will change, when I'm no longer restricting my calories
||||| to a 1400 per day average. Someday, 1600 per day should be much
||||| more comfortable.
|||||
|||
||| Keep in mind that what is reported in that book is just one study
||| and what it reports, while certainly interesting, shouldn't be
||| taken as gospel truth. I personally feel that if I don't put
||| considerable focus on my diet (i.e., what & how much I eat) on a
||| constant basis that I will just drift back to 367 lbs or die on the
||| way. I think that's just the way it is for me.
|||
||| More research needs to be done along the lines of what's in this
||| book. I'm going to buy a copy, too.
|||
|||
|||||
||||| "Ignoramus13725" wrote in
||||| message ...
|||||| I am reading a book _Keeping it Off_ by Robert Colvin and Susan
|||||| Olson. This is an old book from 1985, I bought it used from
|||||| Amazon.
||||||
|||||| The book is excellent and a summary of it is available at
||||||
|||||| http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/success.htm
||||||
|||||| The book is a great read and I highly recommend it. It describes
|||||| what
|||||| is common amongst successful maintainers, which are defined as
|||||| people who
||||||
|||||| - lost over 20% of body weight
|||||| - kept it off for 2 years
|||||| - are not more than 5 lbs away from their lowest weight
||||||
|||||| The discuss the traits amongst those successful people, how they
|||||| think about weight loss, what they do, what they do not do etc.
||||||
|||||| There are very few books about weight maintenance, probably
|||||| because so few people can get to the point where they need to
|||||| maintain weight,
|||||| and even fewer of them actually maintain the loss. According to
|||||| authors, only 2% of those who started dieting can maintain
|||||| successfully for 2 years.
||||||
|||||| Unfortunately, the authors are psychologists, and looked at those
|||||| successful dieters from only psychological point of view. (I am
|||||| not done with the book yet). I wish they tried to look at the
|||||| somatic differences, if any, between successful and unsuccessful
|||||| dieters.
||||||
|||||| It also does not do a good enough job at comparing those
|||||| successful people with controls who have not managed to be as
|||||| successful. So, they could fall into a trap of describing their
|||||| common traits that did not make a difference. Both of them had
|||||| prior clinical
|||||| experience with "treating" obese dieters, with little (average)
|||||| success, so,
|||||| hopefully, they could detect those success traits based on their
|||||| experience.
||||||
|||||| All in all, it is a great common sense book that describes what
|||||| works.
||||||
|||||| The great majority of maintainers lost weight on their own, not
|||||| on any sort of commercial programs. All of them had an epiphany
|||||| at some point, which has been my experience exactly. They are
|||||| all very aware of their current weight and they actively manage
|||||| it. Again, my experience. They moved away from food obsessions
|||||| and food takes little place in their life, which I cannot say
|||||| yet about myself, although it
|||||| has been getting a tad better later.
||||||
||||||
|||||| i

On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 16:40:51 -0400, "Jenny"
wrote:

Ig,

Reading that book (which I found in our public library) really helped me.
Though the focus is on the psychology, there's quite a bit on the
physiology, too.

It was interesting to me that the successful dieters lost weight on all
kinds of different regimens and diets, but that the researchers found the
common threads no matter what the food plan.

I also found it helpful to see that contrary to what the people selling gym
memberships tell you, exercise was helpful mostly after the weight was lost,
and it was not necessary for the weight loss to occur. Most women started
exercising after losing a lot of weight (like I did) and did very well.

I know so many people at the gym who work out four times a week and have
only lost 2 or 3 pounds all year (these are people who need to lose 30 or 40
lbs.) So I liked having it made clear that exercise is NOT the magic bullet
for weight loss, calorie restriction is. I also found it interesting to
look at the calorie levels at which people lost and maintained no matter
WHAT diet.

I find it refreshing to hear this. I believe, for myself at least,
that only about 10% of the weight loss is down to exercise, the rest
is down to diet. OK, maybe more muscle loss along with the fat, but
still I don't find exercise has much impact on my rate of loss - and
certainly it's extremely easy to eat way beyond the effects of any
amount of exercise and cancel it out.

I like the idea that exercise can be more important if you're trying
to maintain. I think exercise is very important, apart from weight
loss, and plays a big part in learning to love and care for your body
and keep it well maintained for life.

janice
233/179/133

On Thu, 9 Sep 2004 16:40:51 -0400, "Jenny"
wrote:

Ig,

Reading that book (which I found in our public library) really helped me.
Though the focus is on the psychology, there's quite a bit on the
physiology, too.

It was interesting to me that the successful dieters lost weight on all
kinds of different regimens and diets, but that the researchers found the
common threads no matter what the food plan.

I also found it helpful to see that contrary to what the people selling gym
memberships tell you, exercise was helpful mostly after the weight was lost,
and it was not necessary for the weight loss to occur. Most women started
exercising after losing a lot of weight (like I did) and did very well.

I know so many people at the gym who work out four times a week and have
only lost 2 or 3 pounds all year (these are people who need to lose 30 or 40
lbs.) So I liked having it made clear that exercise is NOT the magic bullet
for weight loss, calorie restriction is. I also found it interesting to
look at the calorie levels at which people lost and maintained no matter
WHAT diet.

I find it refreshing to hear this. I believe, for myself at least,
that only about 10% of the weight loss is down to exercise, the rest
is down to diet. OK, maybe more muscle loss along with the fat, but
still I don't find exercise has much impact on my rate of loss - and
certainly it's extremely easy to eat way beyond the effects of any
amount of exercise and cancel it out.

I like the idea that exercise can be more important if you're trying
to maintain. I think exercise is very important, apart from weight
loss, and plays a big part in learning to love and care for your body
and keep it well maintained for life.

janice
233/179/133

Dr. Taller used blood tests to confirm compliance (or not) in his high
fat
low carb patients. He claimed that *all* of his complying patients lost
weight. He said that those eating such a diet bottom out at 11% body
fat.
He used safflower oil for much of the fat in his diets. This encourages
me
to believe that any type of fat will work. Each of the high fat
proponents
seems to pick a different fat source for their theory.

Any references?

Dr. Herman Taller wrote "Calories Don't Count" in 1961.

Bruce Fife's books push coconut oil.

I have forgotten the name of the guy touting Macadamia nut oil.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
What does a set point do to your body -- if you lost to a point below your
set point, will you just be hungry or will you just have appetite, no
matter
what kind of food you're eating? If I had a set point, I think it is
somehow wired into my soul because I just like to eat.

The set-point is just the weight your body tries to aim for. If you're above
it, you feel less hungry and get satiated with less food. If you're bellow
it, you feel hungry, satiate less quickly and crave calorie dense food. The
appetite is still bounded (i.e., you will eventually feel satiated), but it
will push you into eating more calories than you need to maintain. That's
just part of the natural weight regulation system. That's why people who
diet bellow their natural weight have a hellish time with hunger, while
people who are very obese can lose their first pounds very easily with
little hunger (as long as they don't starve themselves). Your set-point is
supposed to remain pretty stable, though some things can change it over time
(heavy exercising, drugs, menopause, smoking, hormones...).
Of course, the fineprint of the set-point issue is that it is not aware of
fashion, personnal preferences or even insurance companies policies (bmi).
Some people just have a high set-point, and a natural weight at a bmi of 28
for instance. But if they just eat intuitively, they will remain at that
weight, instead of moving up the scale. One theory on the increased rate of
obesity, and especially of super-obesity, is that many naturally heavy
people have been pushed on a diet bellow their natural weight, resulting in
a lot of yo-yo and moving up the weight scale. There an egg and chicken
problem with diets and obesity, each tends to feed the other.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
What does a set point do to your body -- if you lost to a point below your
set point, will you just be hungry or will you just have appetite, no
matter
what kind of food you're eating? If I had a set point, I think it is
somehow wired into my soul because I just like to eat.

The set-point is just the weight your body tries to aim for. If you're above
it, you feel less hungry and get satiated with less food. If you're bellow
it, you feel hungry, satiate less quickly and crave calorie dense food. The
appetite is still bounded (i.e., you will eventually feel satiated), but it
will push you into eating more calories than you need to maintain. That's
just part of the natural weight regulation system. That's why people who
diet bellow their natural weight have a hellish time with hunger, while
people who are very obese can lose their first pounds very easily with
little hunger (as long as they don't starve themselves). Your set-point is
supposed to remain pretty stable, though some things can change it over time
(heavy exercising, drugs, menopause, smoking, hormones...).
Of course, the fineprint of the set-point issue is that it is not aware of
fashion, personnal preferences or even insurance companies policies (bmi).
Some people just have a high set-point, and a natural weight at a bmi of 28
for instance. But if they just eat intuitively, they will remain at that
weight, instead of moving up the scale. One theory on the increased rate of
obesity, and especially of super-obesity, is that many naturally heavy
people have been pushed on a diet bellow their natural weight, resulting in
a lot of yo-yo and moving up the weight scale. There an egg and chicken
problem with diets and obesity, each tends to feed the other.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
What does a set point do to your body -- if you lost to a point below your
set point, will you just be hungry or will you just have appetite, no
matter
what kind of food you're eating? If I had a set point, I think it is
somehow wired into my soul because I just like to eat.

The set-point is just the weight your body tries to aim for. If you're above
it, you feel less hungry and get satiated with less food. If you're bellow
it, you feel hungry, satiate less quickly and crave calorie dense food. The
appetite is still bounded (i.e., you will eventually feel satiated), but it
will push you into eating more calories than you need to maintain. That's
just part of the natural weight regulation system. That's why people who
diet bellow their natural weight have a hellish time with hunger, while
people who are very obese can lose their first pounds very easily with
little hunger (as long as they don't starve themselves). Your set-point is
supposed to remain pretty stable, though some things can change it over time
(heavy exercising, drugs, menopause, smoking, hormones...).
Of course, the fineprint of the set-point issue is that it is not aware of
fashion, personnal preferences or even insurance companies policies (bmi).
Some people just have a high set-point, and a natural weight at a bmi of 28
for instance. But if they just eat intuitively, they will remain at that
weight, instead of moving up the scale. One theory on the increased rate of
obesity, and especially of super-obesity, is that many naturally heavy
people have been pushed on a diet bellow their natural weight, resulting in
a lot of yo-yo and moving up the weight scale. There an egg and chicken
problem with diets and obesity, each tends to feed the other.

Ig,

Since the book was written when low carb was going out of fashion and looked
at people who had lost weight many years in the past and kept it off, many
of their dieters were low carbers (including, for example, all those on
plans like Weight Watchers which was low carb back then).

No one in their right minds would have done a high carb, low fat diet in the
1970s since we all knew back then that bread and potatoes and cookies make
you fat, whether with butter or not!

-- Jenny - Low Carbing for 5 years. Below goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.7 .
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Jenny's new site: What they Don't Tell You About Diabetes
http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/

Jenny's Low Carb Diet Facts & Figures
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm


"Ignoramus26161" wrote in message
...
In article , Jenny wrote:
Ig,

Reading that book (which I found in our public library) really helped
me.
Though the focus is on the psychology, there's quite a bit on the
physiology, too.

First of all, thanks for posting a review of that book that prompted
me to buy it.

There is not that much regarding physiology, in it. I personally
prefer to look at physiology because solutions in that area are more
concrete and can be evaluated. Psychology is more nebulous.

It was interesting to me that the successful dieters lost weight on all
kinds of different regimens and diets, but that the researchers found
the
common threads no matter what the food plan.

Yes. I liked that they mostly were absolutist regarding giving up
sugar. I was quite disconcerted by their conclusion that they were
almost all lowfatting, which would be a diet that I would not enjoy at
all.

I also found it helpful to see that contrary to what the people
selling gym memberships tell you, exercise was helpful mostly after
the weight was lost, and it was not necessary for the weight loss to
occur. Most women started exercising after losing a lot of weight
(like I did) and did very well.

But, Jenny, men started much earlier, I started walking in the first
days after my epiphany.

I know so many people at the gym who work out four times a week and have
only lost 2 or 3 pounds all year (these are people who need to lose 30
or 40
lbs.) So I liked having it made clear that exercise is NOT the magic
bullet
for weight loss, calorie restriction is. I also found it interesting to
look at the calorie levels at which people lost and maintained no matter
WHAT diet.

to me, exercise is a way to keep good mood, eat extra food, and feel
good and look good.

It's worth remembering that the book was written back when low carbing
was
just going out of fashion so many of the long term diet success stories
in
the book were low carbers.

low fatters?

I am reading a book _Keeping it Off_ by Robert Colvin and Susan
Olson. This is an old book from 1985, I bought it used from Amazon.

The book is excellent and a summary of it is available at

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/success.htm

The book is a great read and I highly recommend it. It describes what
is common amongst successful maintainers, which are defined as people
who

- lost over 20% of body weight
- kept it off for 2 years
- are not more than 5 lbs away from their lowest weight

The discuss the traits amongst those successful people, how they think
about weight loss, what they do, what they do not do etc.

There are very few books about weight maintenance, probably because so
few people can get to the point where they need to maintain weight,
and even fewer of them actually maintain the loss. According to
authors, only 2% of those who started dieting can maintain
successfully for 2 years.

Unfortunately, the authors are psychologists, and looked at those
successful dieters from only psychological point of view. (I am not
done with the book yet). I wish they tried to look at the somatic
differences, if any, between successful and unsuccessful dieters.

It also does not do a good enough job at comparing those successful
people with controls who have not managed to be as successful. So,
they could fall into a trap of describing their common traits that did
not make a difference. Both of them had prior clinical experience with
"treating" obese dieters, with little (average) success, so,
hopefully, they could detect those success traits based on their
experience.

All in all, it is a great common sense book that describes what works.

The great majority of maintainers lost weight on their own, not on
any sort of commercial programs. All of them had an epiphany at some
point, which has been my experience exactly. They are all very aware
of their current weight and they actively manage it. Again, my
experience. They moved away from food obsessions and food takes little
place in their life, which I cannot say yet about myself, although it
has been getting a tad better later.


i

Ig,

Since the book was written when low carb was going out of fashion and looked
at people who had lost weight many years in the past and kept it off, many
of their dieters were low carbers (including, for example, all those on
plans like Weight Watchers which was low carb back then).

No one in their right minds would have done a high carb, low fat diet in the
1970s since we all knew back then that bread and potatoes and cookies make
you fat, whether with butter or not!

-- Jenny - Low Carbing for 5 years. Below goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes,
hba1c 5.7 .
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Jenny's new site: What they Don't Tell You About Diabetes
http://www.geocities.com/lottadata4u/

Jenny's Low Carb Diet Facts & Figures
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm


"Ignoramus26161" wrote in message
...
In article , Jenny wrote:
Ig,

Reading that book (which I found in our public library) really helped
me.
Though the focus is on the psychology, there's quite a bit on the
physiology, too.

First of all, thanks for posting a review of that book that prompted
me to buy it.

There is not that much regarding physiology, in it. I personally
prefer to look at physiology because solutions in that area are more
concrete and can be evaluated. Psychology is more nebulous.

It was interesting to me that the successful dieters lost weight on all
kinds of different regimens and diets, but that the researchers found
the
common threads no matter what the food plan.

Yes. I liked that they mostly were absolutist regarding giving up
sugar. I was quite disconcerted by their conclusion that they were
almost all lowfatting, which would be a diet that I would not enjoy at
all.

I also found it helpful to see that contrary to what the people
selling gym memberships tell you, exercise was helpful mostly after
the weight was lost, and it was not necessary for the weight loss to
occur. Most women started exercising after losing a lot of weight
(like I did) and did very well.

But, Jenny, men started much earlier, I started walking in the first
days after my epiphany.

I know so many people at the gym who work out four times a week and have
only lost 2 or 3 pounds all year (these are people who need to lose 30
or 40
lbs.) So I liked having it made clear that exercise is NOT the magic
bullet
for weight loss, calorie restriction is. I also found it interesting to
look at the calorie levels at which people lost and maintained no matter
WHAT diet.

to me, exercise is a way to keep good mood, eat extra food, and feel
good and look good.

It's worth remembering that the book was written back when low carbing
was
just going out of fashion so many of the long term diet success stories
in
the book were low carbers.

low fatters?

I am reading a book _Keeping it Off_ by Robert Colvin and Susan
Olson. This is an old book from 1985, I bought it used from Amazon.

The book is excellent and a summary of it is available at

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/success.htm

The book is a great read and I highly recommend it. It describes what
is common amongst successful maintainers, which are defined as people
who

- lost over 20% of body weight
- kept it off for 2 years
- are not more than 5 lbs away from their lowest weight

The discuss the traits amongst those successful people, how they think
about weight loss, what they do, what they do not do etc.

There are very few books about weight maintenance, probably because so
few people can get to the point where they need to maintain weight,
and even fewer of them actually maintain the loss. According to
authors, only 2% of those who started dieting can maintain
successfully for 2 years.

Unfortunately, the authors are psychologists, and looked at those
successful dieters from only psychological point of view. (I am not
done with the book yet). I wish they tried to look at the somatic
differences, if any, between successful and unsuccessful dieters.

It also does not do a good enough job at comparing those successful
people with controls who have not managed to be as successful. So,
they could fall into a trap of describing their common traits that did
not make a difference. Both of them had prior clinical experience with
"treating" obese dieters, with little (average) success, so,
hopefully, they could detect those success traits based on their
experience.

All in all, it is a great common sense book that describes what works.

The great majority of maintainers lost weight on their own, not on
any sort of commercial programs. All of them had an epiphany at some
point, which has been my experience exactly. They are all very aware
of their current weight and they actively manage it. Again, my
experience. They moved away from food obsessions and food takes little
place in their life, which I cannot say yet about myself, although it
has been getting a tad better later.


i