Books I Like

I am a voracious reader, and when I get into something, I want to read any and everything that will help me understand it.

These are some books that have been extreeeeeemely helpful to me in this journey.

The First Year: Type Two Diabetes by Gretchen Becker

When I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes, I was in such a whirl of confusion, distress, anxiety, fear, and worry. I didn’t know what to do, what to eat, what to think. It was very upsetting. Somebody recommended this book to me and it was a lifesaver, a real grounding that helped me sort things through. The author is both an RN and a diabetic person herself, so she knows of what she speaks. VERY helpful.

The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like A Thin Person by Judith Beck

When I was first considering a diet lifestyle change, most diet books were enough to send me screaming into the hills (or the nearest ice-cream shop). I was very skittish, very wary, defensive, resistant and just plain not ready for anybody to tell me to eat baby carrots. I needed to be calmed down psychologically.

This book was the first “diet” book that really felt like it was speaking my language. I thought of it as the “diet whisperer” book. When I read this book, I truly felt “seen” for the first time. It wasn’t just saying stupid stuff like, “When you’re stressed, take a bubble bath instead of eating a whole cheesecake!” It helped me really understand and analyze all the stories I tell myself in  my head that end up sabotaging any weight-loss hopes. All the justifications, lies, slippery little hopeful ideas that I have that let me “get away with” once again doing something that I know is not in my best interest.

I had never read a book before that made me feel so busted, and yet so SEEN. It was a huge relief, and one that really got me started on this path. When I first opened her book it brought tears to my eyes because I never really thought what she was saying was possible, that I could actually do things to make my brain act differently, so that my hands/mouth would also act differently. But turns out I could.  I also love that this book solely concentrates on the psychological aspects of things, and lets you choose our own sensible food plan. I like that it wasn’t all mixed up together, because when I was reading this I wasn’t really ready to think about specific foods. I consider this a fantastic entry-level book for people who are terrified by the idea of dieting making lifestyle changes.

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, by David Kessler

I read an interview with this author and immediately knew that I wanted to read this book. For one, I was comforted by the fact that he had struggled with food and compulsive eating himself. Secondly, he is a physician and scientist, so I thought he’d have some interesting knowledge to impart. Thirdly, I found the photo of the carrot cake on the book jacket irresistable (his case in point!)

His research into WHY so many Americans overeat, and find it utterly impossible to STOP, is thorough – sometimes a bit redundant, but very thorough, and fascinating, and horrifying. The food industry is spending billions of dollars basically manufacturing versions of crack. They’ve been able to figure out exactly WHAT makes food “craveable” and yes, truly irresistable, and they’re exploiting it to the max. It’s no coincidence that Kessler headed up the FDA and was one of the champions against the tobacco industry. He’s proven that there is no difference with the food industry, and that they are working every angle possible (visual images, scents, flavor combinations etc) in order to make a hefty profit, and the peoples’ health be damned.

The second half of the book, the “fight back” portion is really helpful, and really good, but I think it could have been developed more, and the first part condensed a bit. (do we really need pages of pages of what on one hand is “exposing” the advertising of food like Cinnabons? I know he was telling me how evil they are, but the elaborate descriptions really made me want to eat one) The solutions have to do with being completely AWARE that the FI (food industry) is trying to snooker you every which way, and giving you tools to stay out of their grasp. One solution, obviously, is to stay the hell AWAY from “food” manufactured by large companies (chain restaurants and packaged food). And then some other useful suggestions.  I thought this book was both illuminating AND helpful. Two thumbs up.