Book Review: "Diets Don't Work"

The book, "Diets Don't Work", written by Bob Schwartz, is compelling and informative in that it points out the flaws and consequences of following a diet. Mr. Schwartz points out that 99.5% of diets and weight loss programs fail, and that only 10 people out of 200 are able to lose all of the weight they set out to lose. Out of those 10 who lost weight, only 1 person will be able to keep that weight off for a reasonable length of time.

Mr. Schwartz further explains the huge flaws in following a diet, evidenced by his experience in helping people who wanted to gain weight. There are some people who try to gain weight and can't, no matter how much they eat. What Mr. Schwartz did was very interesting, and almost counter intuitive, but it worked. He had those people who wanted to gain weight go on a diet. Once they lost weight they were allowed to go back to eating the way they did before and sure enough, they gained all the weight back, and more. They continued the cycle of losing and gaining weight, until they had gained all of their desired weight. This example emphasizes the fact that following a diet sets in motion a roller coaster ride of losing and gaining weight, and it can be very difficult to break out of the cycle.

Being lost in the vicious cycle of failure, feeling deprived, and having the wrong mentality about food only lead to treating the symptoms of weight gain rather than the causes. "Diet's Don't Work" teaches the overweight person to think like a thin person and eat because you are hungry. Eating for any other reason only leads to weight gain. Mr. Schwartz instructs his readers on the reasons why they overeat, how to make the choice to become thin, and learning how to eat like a thin person. Mr. Schwartz teaches readers how to rate levels of hunger and eat consciously. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn how to lose weight naturally without yo-yo dieting.