Books : Eating Less: Take Control of Overeating

Rating: - Sound Advice.
New year, new diet. The premise here is simple: there's no setup... no special foods to buy... you're not required to rid your pantry of sweets or carbs (unless you want to). It's all about making a pact with yourself and then honoring it. You're not denied anything- in fact, each time you eat you're essentially resetting the entire process. You completely control what & how much you consume.

The trick is to not think so much about losing weight (as weight gain is only a symptom of a larger problem) but to manage the addiction you have to eating. The author equates all of this to self-esteem... people with addictions have lost their self-esteem. By taking control, you can slowly start to build it again. I'm not sure I agree 100% with this part, but I do like the super-simple, easy to start right away, only two steps involved setup she's created: time & plan.

Time helps you to recognize & eliminate grazing between meals. Plan helps curb overeating. Sound simple? It is. And there's something to be said for deciding on an ongoing basis what you'll do, when you'll do it, and how much you'll do... plus if you fall off the wagon there's really not much lost. The clock & scoreboard are constantly being reset, so it's not like investing weeks in a strict diet and then have a bad day, eating everything in sight, and saying "Oh well, I've already blown it, what's to stop me now?"

All in all - sound advice and a nice change from standard weight-loss guides.

---

Rating: - Informative but not helpful
The book includes some good nutritional information.
The concept of changing your goal, focusing not on weight loss but on healthy eating is good.
So is her 'times and plans' techique (decide at the time of your next meal and plan what you will eat before you start the meal) as long as you don't use it in the inflexible manner that the book appears to imply.
So there is some good information here.
But, the book is unhelpful, and even in my opinion harmful, in its perscriptions for effecting behavioral change.
It is setting you up for failure by suggesting that the only way to overcome overeating is to sit out your cravings and resist temptations. There are both nutritional and behavioral methods for reducing cravings and easing the change of food choices.
It is an exceptionally bad idea to pile up issues of self-esteem on your relationship with food; it is hard enough to work on changing your relationship with food without fearing that every lapse is bound to be a blow on your self-esteem.

---

Rating: - Say goodbye to diets! Fantastic!!!!!
I have never been prompted to write a review before reading this book. I bought it approximately a month ago and read it over two or three days and I felt a shift in my mindset almost immediately. The book encourages the reader to eat for the sake of health and not to pander to society's demands for weight-loss regardless of consequences. The book helps the reader to recognise the minds automatic reactions to various stimuli in order to overide them; the reader can 'choose' healthy options, self esteem etc over cravings for addictive, nutrient poor options which drain the energy and increase weight.

In only one month my skin is better, I sleep better, I have more energy and my clothes are much looser...I don't know how much weight I have lost and frankly I don't care...the scales are in the bin!!!

Brilliant!

---

Rating: - Try to read it
I think Gillian Rilley should receive a Nobel Prize. She might change the name of the book: "Eating Less: Say Hello to Your Selfesteem."

---

Rating: - The Best!
I have read loads of books about diets and nutrition thinking I would find the answer to my overeating problem. I know all the theory of losing weight but couldnt actually do it! My slim husband would just say, " Stop eating so much!" But I knew the problem was in my head and likened it to smoking in its addictiveness. Now, after reading Gillians book I know I was right. I am not now afraid of food anymore. Brilliant!