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Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting
In Foodist , Darya Pino Rose, a neuroscientist, food writer, and the creator of SummerTomato.com, delivers a savvy, practical guide to ending the diet cycle and discovering lasting weight-loss through the love of food and the fundamentals of science. A foodist simply has a different way of looking at food, and makes decisions with a clear understanding of how to optimize health and happiness. Foodist is a new approach to healthy eating that focuses on what you like to eat, rather than what you should or shouldn’t eat, while teaching you how to make good decisions, backed up by an understanding of what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting is filled with tips on food shopping, food prep, cooking, and how to pick the right restaurants and make smart menu choices.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2009
229 people are currently reading
1756 people want to read
About the author
Darya Pino Rose
2 books145 followersDarya is the author of Foodist and creator of Summer Tomato, one of TIME's 50 Best Websites. She received her Ph.D in neuroscience from UCSF and her bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley.
Darya helps people get healthy and lose weight without dieting. Because life should be awesome.
She spends most of her time thinking and writing about food, health and science. She eats amazing things daily and hasn't even considered going on a diet since 2007.
Darya helps people get healthy and lose weight without dieting. Because life should be awesome.
She spends most of her time thinking and writing about food, health and science. She eats amazing things daily and hasn't even considered going on a diet since 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 11, 2013
I've read all the foodie books, The Omnivores Dilemma, Food Matters, Real Food, to name a few. Now, I will add Foodist to the list. Why bother reading another food book? Don't they all say the same thing? Well, yes and no. Some of the books come from the perspective that you should be mindful of what you eat for the good of the planet and for the good of the animals. Some want you to eat good because it's good for you. Some want you to eat real food, which means whole milk and full fat dairy because they don't want you to fall for the low-fat hype.
Foodist takes a slightly different angle, it is appealing to those that are overweight. She wants you to eat good foods because when you eat good foods, you can lose weight.
"Foodist is a training manual to make real food, and therefore real, lasting weight control, a permanent part of your life. Knowing what to eat isn't the toughest part of losing weight. There are thin, healthy people everywhere along the diet spectrum, and most of us already know that broccoli is a better choice than cheesecake. What's difficult is navigating a world that constantly steers us away from better food and better health. The challenge is actually doing what we know is best."
For those of you who have read some of the books I mentioned above, she covers a lot of the same ground. Quoting from many of the books to help her point. But where foodist shines is that it goes beyond that. It focuses on what you need to know to lose weight. Strategies. For example one of the things covered in the book is triggers. What triggers you to eat?
"When you begin to notice patterns in your journal, start paying more attention to what you're doing right before these actions occur. Are you at work? in the car? In front of the TV? Are you tired? Bored? Sad? For all habitual behaviors there is something that is triggering you to do what you do. Your job is to find the cues for all your habits, both good and bad."
After your track your eating and find your triggers, she covers shopping and cooking. Because let's face it, healthy food is not processed food - you have to process it - cook it, prepare it. She feels that cooking at home is your single biggest asset in weight control. She also discusses mindful eating and exercise - two things to help in your weight loss.
The book ends with chapters covering being a day-to-day foodist - how to handle the office and restaurants.
One point that really struck me was that the focus is on "eat more" habits rather than "eat less" habits. Focus on "eating more" fruits, vegetables, a real breakfast, fish…real food. She lists 10 simple goals to get you started eating healthy that really are simple and effective.
For example #3 - Eat something green at lunch and dinner. "This is one of those simple, easy-to-implement changes that gets you in the habit of making healthier choices on a regular basis. You don't need to go all in on salad every time, just try to include something green, even it it's a small side dish. Train yourself to eat those veggies."
A really good book, especially for someone who is wanting to lose weight or maintain their weight.
Foodist takes a slightly different angle, it is appealing to those that are overweight. She wants you to eat good foods because when you eat good foods, you can lose weight.
"Foodist is a training manual to make real food, and therefore real, lasting weight control, a permanent part of your life. Knowing what to eat isn't the toughest part of losing weight. There are thin, healthy people everywhere along the diet spectrum, and most of us already know that broccoli is a better choice than cheesecake. What's difficult is navigating a world that constantly steers us away from better food and better health. The challenge is actually doing what we know is best."
For those of you who have read some of the books I mentioned above, she covers a lot of the same ground. Quoting from many of the books to help her point. But where foodist shines is that it goes beyond that. It focuses on what you need to know to lose weight. Strategies. For example one of the things covered in the book is triggers. What triggers you to eat?
"When you begin to notice patterns in your journal, start paying more attention to what you're doing right before these actions occur. Are you at work? in the car? In front of the TV? Are you tired? Bored? Sad? For all habitual behaviors there is something that is triggering you to do what you do. Your job is to find the cues for all your habits, both good and bad."
After your track your eating and find your triggers, she covers shopping and cooking. Because let's face it, healthy food is not processed food - you have to process it - cook it, prepare it. She feels that cooking at home is your single biggest asset in weight control. She also discusses mindful eating and exercise - two things to help in your weight loss.
The book ends with chapters covering being a day-to-day foodist - how to handle the office and restaurants.
One point that really struck me was that the focus is on "eat more" habits rather than "eat less" habits. Focus on "eating more" fruits, vegetables, a real breakfast, fish…real food. She lists 10 simple goals to get you started eating healthy that really are simple and effective.
For example #3 - Eat something green at lunch and dinner. "This is one of those simple, easy-to-implement changes that gets you in the habit of making healthier choices on a regular basis. You don't need to go all in on salad every time, just try to include something green, even it it's a small side dish. Train yourself to eat those veggies."
A really good book, especially for someone who is wanting to lose weight or maintain their weight.
May 14, 2013
As a longtime reader of Summer Tomato, I am so glad Foodist is here.
This isn’t a diet book. It's a healthstyle book.
I've been on every diet under the sun and each time I start a plan, I find things about it I don't like. If I can't eat carbs, carbs are the only thing I suddenly want to eat and therefore binge on. If I was supposed to drink two shakes a day and have a sensible dinner, I wolfed down my "sensible" dinner should of burger and fries because I was starving. If I was supposed to eat nothing but plants and eliminate oils, I hit the chocolate. Chocolate is a vegetable that comes from the cocao bean, right? And forget about those drastic 800-calorie-a-day diets. I lasted until lunch.
Foodist is the first book where I never exclaimed, "No way. I'm not doing that!" But I did find myself nodding a lot.
This book is filled with common sense tips that seem uncommon after reading so many diet books. Along with common sense is the science to back it up. But this book isn't so science-y to make you feel like you need a degree to read it. It's got just enough science explained in everyday language to make you want to learn more and read the books in the bibliography.
Darya Rose's writing style is conversational, so the book is never boring. In fact, it's entertaining. How many diet books can you say that about?
Before the book's release, I read the sample in the iBookstore. I've been eating like a foodist for a few weeks now, and I have never felt deprived or tired or cranky, like I have at the start of every diet ever. In fact, I feel pretty awesome.
Knowledge is power, and Foodist gives you the power to improve your health without suffering the suckage of a restrictive, temporary diet.
June 15, 2015
Not impressed - the same "eat real food" message that can be found in a hundred other places. The "science" is pretty non-existent, unless you count Dr. Rose mentioning lab birthday parties or saying "insulin resistance" about 100 times.
I'm sure people that stop eating processed foods and start eating vegetables will feel better, but I don't think this book is the magic bullet it pretends to be.
Finally I found the tone of the book a bit too snobby. I get the impression I wouldn't want to be seated next to Dr. Rose at a dinner party.
I'm sure people that stop eating processed foods and start eating vegetables will feel better, but I don't think this book is the magic bullet it pretends to be.
Finally I found the tone of the book a bit too snobby. I get the impression I wouldn't want to be seated next to Dr. Rose at a dinner party.
May 10, 2018
2nd reading: I've read more than a few books on health, nutrition and diet in the last few years and this has to be one of my favorites. I like the emphasis the author places on whole foods and exercise. There is a positive vibe to this because the author doesn't take up space slamming the research of others. She mentions some of the other "diet plans" out there, but yet manages to use it to anchor her own ideas. I liked that. I liked this no-nonsense approach to improving health. So 4 stars .... still.
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This book was easy to get through. I didn't roll my eyes once. It contained a lot of information that can also be called 'common sense'. It wasn't peddling any type of new fad diet but how to use 'real' food to your true benefit. What I appreciated most was its emphasis on creating a log to write it all down in. NO ONE likes doing that, but I liked the importance they placed on that.
There is a lot of practical and useful information in this. I am not a dieter at all. I have always believed that exercise and wise choices were more healthful than fad diets. This book does make me want to go out and get a fitbit. Maybe for Mother's Day.
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This book was easy to get through. I didn't roll my eyes once. It contained a lot of information that can also be called 'common sense'. It wasn't peddling any type of new fad diet but how to use 'real' food to your true benefit. What I appreciated most was its emphasis on creating a log to write it all down in. NO ONE likes doing that, but I liked the importance they placed on that.
There is a lot of practical and useful information in this. I am not a dieter at all. I have always believed that exercise and wise choices were more healthful than fad diets. This book does make me want to go out and get a fitbit. Maybe for Mother's Day.
April 21, 2019
The gist of this book is to eat whole, clean, real food. It's more of a reference book for someone who has never cooked before and don't own many kitchen appliances. It is very basic, such as what foods and seasonings to have in your pantry, types of pot/pans/utensils to have, and how to make vegetables/legumes/grains more flavorful. It isn't useful for people who are already familiar with food nutrition.
November 27, 2018
At some point, Michael Pollan gets quoted, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." That also happens to be most of the advice in this book. The rest is the "move more" part of the eat less+move more equation.
The promise of "real science" from the title was not delivered.
The promise of "real science" from the title was not delivered.
May 17, 2013
This book's approach - re-wiring bad habits to make healthy choices more automatic - has definitely hit home with me. I'm a whole-foods devotee, but I occasionally get stuck in unhealthy patterns promoted by old, bad habits. Foodist offers strategies to rewrite those patterns. I feel a turning point coming on!
September 11, 2017
The author claims to give you a way to lose weight without dieting, but then tells you to track your food, exercise, give up bread and sugar (though later says you can eat a little bit)...sounds suspiciously like a diet to me. I'm sure if you followed her directives, you'd be physically healthier (if hungrier) and you might even lose some weight. It is, however, most definitely dieting.
October 1, 2021
This book in a nutshell: You can eat “intuitively” if you avoid all “bad” foods and have unlimited time and money to exclusively shop at the farmers market. Cauliflower tastes as good as French fries, you’re just doing it wrong.
Not one I’d recommend.
Not one I’d recommend.
August 11, 2016
I'm abandoning this book because i have decided I am not it's target audience. I'm getting distracted by the skinny, rich, basic girl tone and it's making me ignore the actual good points of the book, like eat less processed food. Basically, I'm a farmer who lives in the country, I know the value of a fruit or a vegetable in my, I'm going to say it, DIET. But to tout that I need to drive 40 minutes to the closest Whole Foods isn't practical for me. And I'm smart enough to know that I can buy healthy, waist cinching fruits and vegetables that are just as good for me from the local Food Lion or Piggly Wiggly as I can from a posh farmer's market or Whole Foods. You can be healthy and happy without breaking the bank.
May 29, 2013
I agree with Michael Pollack's "Eat real food, mostly vegetables, not too much."
Darya Rose tells you exactly how to do that, along with the why-- the science behind it. This has been the most helpful, real book about how to change your eating, be satisfied and happy, get to where your body needs to be, and just live. No dieting, no on-again off-again, lose and regain. Freedom!
Darya Rose tells you exactly how to do that, along with the why-- the science behind it. This has been the most helpful, real book about how to change your eating, be satisfied and happy, get to where your body needs to be, and just live. No dieting, no on-again off-again, lose and regain. Freedom!
June 20, 2013
Another book I am glad I borrowed from the library. Even better, the library was able to lend it to me as a kindle-book so it just "evaporated" on the due date without me having to remember to take it back! I say this to qualify that my notes here are impressions and recollections, no quotes exactly from the book. It's pretty amazing to think that our society is in a place where people are writing books to remind you to eat only food. Don't eat things that are not food. There is a flow chart in this book to help you decide, in situ (grocery store), if what you are thinking of purchasing is food or not. Wow! But yes, my cupboards do contain some things like a loaf of Pepperidge Farm Oatmeal bread that...may be, may be not...food...
Back to the book: I went straight to the 3rd section which seemed like it would be about how to implement her advice on a day to day basis. It made me wonder how her book was different from those of Michael Pollan and so many other diet and food books I have read. So I went back to the beginning. It seemed like she admitted this book was like Pollan's work, and also relied on Brian Wansink's work about mindless eating, but she was going to show the reader how to live their advice. Life should be awesome she says. Fruits and veggies straight from the farmer (farm stand, farmers' market or CSA) are way more awesome than those that have been grown to withstand shipping long distance, and aged during transport. She suggests not necessarily planning all your meals in advance but recommends seeing what produce you can get at the farmer's market and then finding ways to prepare it that make it taste awesome. A few recipes, that also appear on her blog, are interspersed in the book. She encourages readers to try veggies they think they don't like because maybe your taste buds have changed. She does mention the need to give it several tries, which is like making it "familiar" (one of the 5 instincts discussed in THE INSTINCT DIET). The gray box section by a woman who needed to learn to like onions and strawberries was way too long, as was the mindful eating chapter.
Some of the strengths of the book seem to be Rose's interest in helping the reader build food-choice and exercise habits that can give you a "home court" advantage. If your overall eating pattern is of whole healthy real food, then you can tolerate a sweet or processed food occasionally. She understands that with all the other decisions, demands, pressures we all face the food ones are sometimes solved for short-term expedience rather than long-term heath. Eat breakfast at home. Cook for dinner. (Oh the section on why you should learn to cook seemed to rely needlessly on gender stereotypes and be very heterosexist. I am a feminine straight woman, but I still found this annoying. She says women should learn to cook because they might be mothers some day and processed foods are worse for kids than they are for adults [not for any gestation/lactation reasons], but the idea that men might be dads some day is not on their list.) Try to make work a better environment for food and exercise (some ideas from examples).
It's no wonder she likes to focus on building habits. With a little conscious effort in the beginning, habits are more effective than trying to exert willpower all the time. She is a neuroscientist, not a nutritionist. She mentions leptin, ghrelin and something else at one point, but doesn't really into it the way Lustig does in FAT CHANCE. I would like to be able to ask her questions about how brain chemicals drive food behavior, which is touched on by Lustig, and even appears in Daniel Kahneman's book THINKING, FAST & SLOW (people drinking sugar-sweetened lemonade solved puzzles better than those whose lemonade was sweetened with sucralose) as well as Jean Fain's THE SELF COMPASSION DIET. It seems to me this is where Rose might have more to say.
There were some inconsistencies in the book. There are glib comments like about making a "fatal mistake" of going to the airport without packing your own food, but if you have good habits overall, a little airport/airplane food "won't kill you." There's a section arguing for eating only three meals a day and a section of an example food journal (her own?) showing several days of three meals/two snacks a day.
Overall, because I do have more than 20 pounds to lose and two kid-free weeks coming up, I will follow the advice in Chapter 9 and try to achieve "Recalibration." The big features I remember about this are no sugar, no wheat, no dairy; yes lentils and other beans (fear not, I have bean-o). I have heard this "no dairy/no wheat" advice from lots of folks (a "health coach," The Blood Type Diet, to name a few), and Rose doesn't really present much more evidence for supporting it, so one could wonder if it's just arbitrary lore at this point. I am pretty sure my mostly Western European ancestors relied heavily on wheat and dairy, but then again the milk was not pasteurized/homogenized and the wheat variety may have been much smaller and easier to digest. I'll see how it works out. Then again, I did go the farmer's market Saturday without a meal plan, and didn't manage to use anything I picked up until Wednesday (I have Deborah Madison's LOCAL FLAVORS cookbook for a resource), so I am not sure how well I am going to be able to implement Rose's advice.
I really like that THE FRESH 20 (subscription website) provides real food recipes and grocery lists for 5 meals a week, but I can not always get my teenagers to eat it. Maybe in three years I'll just be cooking for my husband and myself again. He never says "EEWW!" :-)
Back to the book: I went straight to the 3rd section which seemed like it would be about how to implement her advice on a day to day basis. It made me wonder how her book was different from those of Michael Pollan and so many other diet and food books I have read. So I went back to the beginning. It seemed like she admitted this book was like Pollan's work, and also relied on Brian Wansink's work about mindless eating, but she was going to show the reader how to live their advice. Life should be awesome she says. Fruits and veggies straight from the farmer (farm stand, farmers' market or CSA) are way more awesome than those that have been grown to withstand shipping long distance, and aged during transport. She suggests not necessarily planning all your meals in advance but recommends seeing what produce you can get at the farmer's market and then finding ways to prepare it that make it taste awesome. A few recipes, that also appear on her blog, are interspersed in the book. She encourages readers to try veggies they think they don't like because maybe your taste buds have changed. She does mention the need to give it several tries, which is like making it "familiar" (one of the 5 instincts discussed in THE INSTINCT DIET). The gray box section by a woman who needed to learn to like onions and strawberries was way too long, as was the mindful eating chapter.
Some of the strengths of the book seem to be Rose's interest in helping the reader build food-choice and exercise habits that can give you a "home court" advantage. If your overall eating pattern is of whole healthy real food, then you can tolerate a sweet or processed food occasionally. She understands that with all the other decisions, demands, pressures we all face the food ones are sometimes solved for short-term expedience rather than long-term heath. Eat breakfast at home. Cook for dinner. (Oh the section on why you should learn to cook seemed to rely needlessly on gender stereotypes and be very heterosexist. I am a feminine straight woman, but I still found this annoying. She says women should learn to cook because they might be mothers some day and processed foods are worse for kids than they are for adults [not for any gestation/lactation reasons], but the idea that men might be dads some day is not on their list.) Try to make work a better environment for food and exercise (some ideas from examples).
It's no wonder she likes to focus on building habits. With a little conscious effort in the beginning, habits are more effective than trying to exert willpower all the time. She is a neuroscientist, not a nutritionist. She mentions leptin, ghrelin and something else at one point, but doesn't really into it the way Lustig does in FAT CHANCE. I would like to be able to ask her questions about how brain chemicals drive food behavior, which is touched on by Lustig, and even appears in Daniel Kahneman's book THINKING, FAST & SLOW (people drinking sugar-sweetened lemonade solved puzzles better than those whose lemonade was sweetened with sucralose) as well as Jean Fain's THE SELF COMPASSION DIET. It seems to me this is where Rose might have more to say.
There were some inconsistencies in the book. There are glib comments like about making a "fatal mistake" of going to the airport without packing your own food, but if you have good habits overall, a little airport/airplane food "won't kill you." There's a section arguing for eating only three meals a day and a section of an example food journal (her own?) showing several days of three meals/two snacks a day.
Overall, because I do have more than 20 pounds to lose and two kid-free weeks coming up, I will follow the advice in Chapter 9 and try to achieve "Recalibration." The big features I remember about this are no sugar, no wheat, no dairy; yes lentils and other beans (fear not, I have bean-o). I have heard this "no dairy/no wheat" advice from lots of folks (a "health coach," The Blood Type Diet, to name a few), and Rose doesn't really present much more evidence for supporting it, so one could wonder if it's just arbitrary lore at this point. I am pretty sure my mostly Western European ancestors relied heavily on wheat and dairy, but then again the milk was not pasteurized/homogenized and the wheat variety may have been much smaller and easier to digest. I'll see how it works out. Then again, I did go the farmer's market Saturday without a meal plan, and didn't manage to use anything I picked up until Wednesday (I have Deborah Madison's LOCAL FLAVORS cookbook for a resource), so I am not sure how well I am going to be able to implement Rose's advice.
I really like that THE FRESH 20 (subscription website) provides real food recipes and grocery lists for 5 meals a week, but I can not always get my teenagers to eat it. Maybe in three years I'll just be cooking for my husband and myself again. He never says "EEWW!" :-)
March 6, 2022
6/12 in 2022// I liked this book and it’s stance on Food. Most of the information was not new to me but good reminders throughout. I need to eat more vegetables!
Notes:
Mindless margin
Find Bright spots to determine habit
Simple- Eat food
Will power
Salt in everything so decrease processed and salt veggies
Eat more veggies
Salad bar at work
So much to read about politics related to food
Loved the Quotes at the beginning of each chapter
Notes:
Mindless margin
Find Bright spots to determine habit
Simple- Eat food
Will power
Salt in everything so decrease processed and salt veggies
Eat more veggies
Salad bar at work
So much to read about politics related to food
Loved the Quotes at the beginning of each chapter
January 12, 2016
A caveat before I write this review, I was already a "foodist" by Darya's definition before I picked up this book. I bought it because I was curious to find out how she presented the information (and I generally prefer reading books to blogs). I mention this because my interest is academic rather than personal so I can't say how effective the book has been for me personally.
I've given it four stars because compared to a lot of crappy information selling you on "THE" way to lose weight, become healthy and eat better, Darya at least seems somewhat more measured and balanced.
I agree with a lot of her thoughts on habit building. Most places sell you the quick and fast method perhaps because you're likely to recommend their method while you're still in the honeymoon period of getting results. Slow methods are not as sexy and you don't get quick results and fool yourself into thinking you can return to old unhealthy ways once the diet/regime is over.
I think a lot of people have probably already commented on this but I think the unfortunate snag in this book (and also the title "Summer Tomato" of her website gives you a clue) is that a lot of people don't have access to amazing produce. I find delicious, locally produced food difficult or expensive to find where I live.
I love food and yet I find it difficult to dedicate hours of my weekend to travelling to a farmers' market. Partly because the markets I've tried here have mostly sold pricey chutneys, cheeses and cakes rather than fresh vegetables.
So if you're moving from salty, sweet, highly flavoured processed food to what seems like bland fresh food, the transition is possibly a little tough going. Especially if your cooking skills are somewhat lacking. Managing your expectations is possibly important to increase your chances of success.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend the book if you've yo-yo dieted for a long time. (See caveat above).
I've given it four stars because compared to a lot of crappy information selling you on "THE" way to lose weight, become healthy and eat better, Darya at least seems somewhat more measured and balanced.
I agree with a lot of her thoughts on habit building. Most places sell you the quick and fast method perhaps because you're likely to recommend their method while you're still in the honeymoon period of getting results. Slow methods are not as sexy and you don't get quick results and fool yourself into thinking you can return to old unhealthy ways once the diet/regime is over.
I think a lot of people have probably already commented on this but I think the unfortunate snag in this book (and also the title "Summer Tomato" of her website gives you a clue) is that a lot of people don't have access to amazing produce. I find delicious, locally produced food difficult or expensive to find where I live.
I love food and yet I find it difficult to dedicate hours of my weekend to travelling to a farmers' market. Partly because the markets I've tried here have mostly sold pricey chutneys, cheeses and cakes rather than fresh vegetables.
So if you're moving from salty, sweet, highly flavoured processed food to what seems like bland fresh food, the transition is possibly a little tough going. Especially if your cooking skills are somewhat lacking. Managing your expectations is possibly important to increase your chances of success.
Nevertheless, I'd recommend the book if you've yo-yo dieted for a long time. (See caveat above).
April 1, 2016
I was expecting more about the science of nutrition, like why fiber or protein fills you up for longer and how sugar cravings develop. Something that I could apply to my already-solid knowledge of nutrition and dieting. Instead, it's just another book about healthy lifestyle choices. Very little of the information was new to me.
I also found that I couldn't identify with the author - a size 2 who admits she never had a problem with sticking to a diet and exercise regime (but just wasn't 100% happy with her lifestyle then). She goes on to recommend ways to pretty much fall in love with vegetables and healthy food, but seems to overlook the fact that, for most people, working healthy choices into your daily routine won't eliminate the pull of fatty or sugary or processed foods. I think the average person wouldn't be able to fully embrace these healthy choices like she says...
In any case, I did note a few things that struck me.
--The idea of willpower being a limited resource, so making healthy habits is better than constantly using up your willpower on individual acts.
--Understanding the true habit that is associated with an unhealthy choice - e.g. having ice cream every night might be more of a ritual with something to eat with a spoon instead of the ice cream itself and you could eat a bowl of strawberries with a spoon instead of the ice cream.
--Chew more times and don't load the fork until your mouth is empty.
--"The average American consumed only 6.3 pounds of sugar per year in 1822, compared to 107.7 pounds at our peak sugar consumption in 1999... we ate the amount of sugar in one 12-ounce can of soda every five days, while today we eat that much sugar every seven hours."
I also found that I couldn't identify with the author - a size 2 who admits she never had a problem with sticking to a diet and exercise regime (but just wasn't 100% happy with her lifestyle then). She goes on to recommend ways to pretty much fall in love with vegetables and healthy food, but seems to overlook the fact that, for most people, working healthy choices into your daily routine won't eliminate the pull of fatty or sugary or processed foods. I think the average person wouldn't be able to fully embrace these healthy choices like she says...
In any case, I did note a few things that struck me.
--The idea of willpower being a limited resource, so making healthy habits is better than constantly using up your willpower on individual acts.
--Understanding the true habit that is associated with an unhealthy choice - e.g. having ice cream every night might be more of a ritual with something to eat with a spoon instead of the ice cream itself and you could eat a bowl of strawberries with a spoon instead of the ice cream.
--Chew more times and don't load the fork until your mouth is empty.
--"The average American consumed only 6.3 pounds of sugar per year in 1822, compared to 107.7 pounds at our peak sugar consumption in 1999... we ate the amount of sugar in one 12-ounce can of soda every five days, while today we eat that much sugar every seven hours."
April 14, 2022
The summary of the message here is that we should be eating “real” food (i.e., you should recognize it as food near its natural state). About 90% of our daily food choices are the result of habit, rather than conscious thought. This is because making decisions all the time is hard and we all get decision fatigue. There is a wonderful box that lists 42 code words for sugar. There were a couple that I didn’t recognize (e.g., muscovado, barley malt, sorghum syrup, dextrin, dried oat syrup [though the word “syrup” should have been a give-away]) and of course many that I did – but really, 42! There is an interesting flow chart of how to find “real” food at the supermarket. The book provides tips to eat more slowly and mindfully (rather than mindlessly and quickly). One, which I actually tried recently, is to eat with your non-dominant hand. Very funny experience. Eat with chopsticks. Put down your fork between bites (it’s harder to do than you think!). There are quotes to start each chapter and one I like is: “Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.” (Al Bernstein, American Sportscaster). In the pre-Victorian era sugar consumption was about 6.3 pounds/year. In 1999 it was 107.7 lbs/year (yes, that’s per person!). Apparently if you soak dry beans for at least 6 hrs prior to cooking it eliminates the oligosaccharides that can’t be digested and reduces gas production. And one research team found that saying “I don’t…” was almost three times more effective as saying “no” and eight times more effective than saying “I can’t…” when aiming to turn down an offer of food.
June 14, 2014
This is my kind of food book. It talks about eating healthier by focusing on real instead of processed foods without focusing on diet deprivation methods. Rose uses her neuroscience background to explain why relying on willpower doesn't work for dieters.
Use your willpower to build better habits instead.
Read the footnotes: they are a mix of funny and informative.
Watch out for the end of chapter 7, "Zen and the Art of Mindful Eating" if you are not currently grossed out by certain food's textures. She relays associations people have told her about foods over the years that I didn't have that grossed me out. I will try to scrub those from my consciousness. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and it's approach to building a better "healthstyle."
Have I gone all in? No, not yet, but I'm getting more mindful of my eating, focusing on "bright spots" where I'm already doing things right which I can do better, recognizing patterns in my eating.
My favorite thing about the book is the core principle that life should be awesome. Sometimes cake or dessert or a fantastic rich meal is worth eating. It's a matter of figuring out which indulgences are worth it to you and recognizing the hidden indulgences of foods pumped full of sugar and salt that are so prevalent in the US.
Use your willpower to build better habits instead.
Read the footnotes: they are a mix of funny and informative.
Watch out for the end of chapter 7, "Zen and the Art of Mindful Eating" if you are not currently grossed out by certain food's textures. She relays associations people have told her about foods over the years that I didn't have that grossed me out. I will try to scrub those from my consciousness. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and it's approach to building a better "healthstyle."
Have I gone all in? No, not yet, but I'm getting more mindful of my eating, focusing on "bright spots" where I'm already doing things right which I can do better, recognizing patterns in my eating.
My favorite thing about the book is the core principle that life should be awesome. Sometimes cake or dessert or a fantastic rich meal is worth eating. It's a matter of figuring out which indulgences are worth it to you and recognizing the hidden indulgences of foods pumped full of sugar and salt that are so prevalent in the US.
January 28, 2016
This book has an ok message if you really have health problems, but for people who want to know how to get in the best shape possible, this is probably not the right book.
She repeats the same message over and over again, "eat real food and not much", but is a little loose when it comes to indulgences.
To a vegetarian like myself this book is not much help, because even when most part of the book she talks about how great vegetables, fruits, lentils and beans are, she also states that there is no problem with the saturated fat in meat, but fails to make a good case why meat (apart from vitamin B12) is necessary or even good, and dismisses too easily the statistical correlation and studies that link meat consumption to cancer or heart diseases. I believe this is probably because this book is intented for people with obesity problems, who wouldn't buy a book that tells them in a straight and clear way that by following the SAD (Standard American Diet) they are simply eating too much meat and animal products and yes I know that is not the only thing wrong with SAD, but it is one of the worst in my opinion.
Even if this book isn't very useful to me, I really hope it helps many people to eat better, and I think some people will find usefull some tips, specially the habit changing tips.
She repeats the same message over and over again, "eat real food and not much", but is a little loose when it comes to indulgences.
To a vegetarian like myself this book is not much help, because even when most part of the book she talks about how great vegetables, fruits, lentils and beans are, she also states that there is no problem with the saturated fat in meat, but fails to make a good case why meat (apart from vitamin B12) is necessary or even good, and dismisses too easily the statistical correlation and studies that link meat consumption to cancer or heart diseases. I believe this is probably because this book is intented for people with obesity problems, who wouldn't buy a book that tells them in a straight and clear way that by following the SAD (Standard American Diet) they are simply eating too much meat and animal products and yes I know that is not the only thing wrong with SAD, but it is one of the worst in my opinion.
Even if this book isn't very useful to me, I really hope it helps many people to eat better, and I think some people will find usefull some tips, specially the habit changing tips.
July 27, 2014
There is a lot to like about Foodist. The author added plenty of personality with stories, recipes, and humor.
I think I have two problems with this book. 1) Rose really pushes hard for getting real food from farmer's markets and the like. She also points out that she lives in San Francisco, a veritable mecca for real food and farmer's markets (by her own admission). To me, this seems out of touch with what many families deal with on a regular basis. I live in a region of the country that gets cold and there isn't a regular all year market to get the freshest produce. It's hard to live by some of the advice when my reality is so different from her own experience. 2) I have children. She does not. The book has a section for discussing how to deal with children, however, I have a hard time meshing her advice while considering the challenges that come from feeding my kids.
I know I spent a lot of time focusing on the negatives of the book that I see, but this is generally a good book. I think my take-away is "prepare to wrestle with how to integrate some of the advice unless you live a very similar lifestyle."
I think I have two problems with this book. 1) Rose really pushes hard for getting real food from farmer's markets and the like. She also points out that she lives in San Francisco, a veritable mecca for real food and farmer's markets (by her own admission). To me, this seems out of touch with what many families deal with on a regular basis. I live in a region of the country that gets cold and there isn't a regular all year market to get the freshest produce. It's hard to live by some of the advice when my reality is so different from her own experience. 2) I have children. She does not. The book has a section for discussing how to deal with children, however, I have a hard time meshing her advice while considering the challenges that come from feeding my kids.
I know I spent a lot of time focusing on the negatives of the book that I see, but this is generally a good book. I think my take-away is "prepare to wrestle with how to integrate some of the advice unless you live a very similar lifestyle."
April 1, 2018
I was not ready to read a diet book, but I also realized I needed more insight into how my diet impacts my life and what to do about it.
This is not a diet book, in the sense that if I do these 5 things, don't eat these 3 things, and sacrifice a goat on the full moon my weight will come down and I'll be healthy. That's not what this book is about. It's about creating healthy habits that will last for your life. It uses 'diet' in the correct way - as the things you eat all the bloody time. Not 'diet', as in 'go on this diet and you'll lose 20 lbs'.
Which was nice.
There was a lot I already knew. There was a lot I didn't have a clue about. There were really helpful tips for how to not depend on willpower, how to really savor and appreciate your food, how to recognize what's bad for you and why it's bad, how to recognize what's GOOD for you and help you love it.
It's a really solid read for people who want to turn their health around. The added benefit is that you'll probably lose weight too. But that's not the point.
This is not a diet book, in the sense that if I do these 5 things, don't eat these 3 things, and sacrifice a goat on the full moon my weight will come down and I'll be healthy. That's not what this book is about. It's about creating healthy habits that will last for your life. It uses 'diet' in the correct way - as the things you eat all the bloody time. Not 'diet', as in 'go on this diet and you'll lose 20 lbs'.
Which was nice.
There was a lot I already knew. There was a lot I didn't have a clue about. There were really helpful tips for how to not depend on willpower, how to really savor and appreciate your food, how to recognize what's bad for you and why it's bad, how to recognize what's GOOD for you and help you love it.
It's a really solid read for people who want to turn their health around. The added benefit is that you'll probably lose weight too. But that's not the point.
July 29, 2013
This book consolidates a lot of things I've tight about eating and then adds a bunch of stuff I didn't know on top of it. Darya's ability to combine science and common sense are extraordinarily rare, especially in the realm of nutrition books. My only regret is that there isn't a clearer plan to get started, but then again, one of her points is that everybody's different, so one plan wouldn't work for everyone anyway. If you want to be healthier, you owe it to yourself to add this book to your arsenal of knowledge.
October 28, 2018
Because I like books about food, diets, and healthy eating, I borrowed this title as an audiobook from Hoopla. It turns out to be a waste of a Hoopla download (our library gives us 9 each month). The writing is dull and the ideas are completely unoriginal and boring. The author is the narrator of the audiobook and even SHE sounds bored with her own book. Save your money and your time and "pass" on this title. There are better books on the subject such as "The Dorito Effect" and "The Skinnygirl Rules".
May 12, 2013
Must read book if u r looking to improve your food intake. Mostly about the psychology of food rather than a particular diet. I was needing to move off the low carb diet so this was perfect for me.
May 20, 2013
Great book. I adore Darya & her blog.
June 20, 2017
I read this book because I like food. A lot. Too much, maybe. And the prospect of dieting is an absolute no-go for me. Ms. Rose presents lots of common-sense ways to eat more mindfully. Put down your fork between bites, for example. I participated in the two-week insulin imbalance... and spent all 14 days hangry. But, on this side of the two weeks, there were benefits. I've been making changes in what I'm eating. I still have the foods I like, but I'm trying to cook more real food, more often. I loved that Ms. Rose talked about finding your thing(s) that makes eating healthy easier. I discovered that the experience of going to our local farmer's market is a bright spot in my week, and I end up with basic ingredients that I then have to cook. And the food is seasonal, so I get variety. (Because repetition in healthful eating will chase me back to a rotation of less healthy-options.) In the Instagram chapter, there is the F bomb. Utterly useless word. I also thought that there was a bit too much of the magical wand-waving with how easy it theoretically is to eat straight-from-source products. That is not always true. There was a minor dig at vegetarians a couple of times, which also was less positive for me. However, she does also say that those who have religious/spiritual/psychological reasons to follow some dietary patterns have strength to overcome even difficult things. I found this empowering. If I can be a vegetarian over half my life, if I can fast once a month... I can choose not to eat snack food at work that I don't even love. I can choose not to finish the food on my plate when I'm not hungry anymore. I also liked the reminder that change in behavior is possible. Ms. Rose talks about her father's epiphany and how that led to lots of positive changes. Someone struggling with deeply-entrenched depression being able to make solid choices that had positive effects makes me think that I can make self-empowering choices too.
January 25, 2023
Spoilers ahead****
I think that this book is very helpful for those that have tried either many diets as I have (keto, weight watchers, and in general restricting calories) or for someone who has no idea how to eat and has never dieted or tried to lose weight. I think it’s most helpful for the latter. I learned a bit of information, but I found a lot of the beginning to be a little tedious. Still I listened all the way through. The most impactful information was all the way towards the end in chapters 13 and 14 for me because they told an anecdotal story of the author’s father who had heart issues and walked with a cane, but learned to eat much better and take care of his health by getting exercise and he turned his life around. That part resonated with me because of the poor health habits in my family. I was glad to receive more book recommendations by Dr. Pino Rose at the end of this book to continue learning about where my food comes from and how to select the best food for me.
I think that this book is very helpful for those that have tried either many diets as I have (keto, weight watchers, and in general restricting calories) or for someone who has no idea how to eat and has never dieted or tried to lose weight. I think it’s most helpful for the latter. I learned a bit of information, but I found a lot of the beginning to be a little tedious. Still I listened all the way through. The most impactful information was all the way towards the end in chapters 13 and 14 for me because they told an anecdotal story of the author’s father who had heart issues and walked with a cane, but learned to eat much better and take care of his health by getting exercise and he turned his life around. That part resonated with me because of the poor health habits in my family. I was glad to receive more book recommendations by Dr. Pino Rose at the end of this book to continue learning about where my food comes from and how to select the best food for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2018
There’s a line in this book that warns about eating anything imported from China. Don’t eat anything from China. Period. As an Expat living in Beijing, it suddenly became clear how I am going to lose weight...I hoped this book would go a little bit deeper. It was pretty basic and although it had some good suggestions, I didn’t learn much about how people actually process the foods. There were parts that seemed very elitist and then parts that explained why those parts weren’t elitist. It tried to justify the “food snobs” angle and I agree with those points. I think most people know what good food is and bad food is for the most part, but can’t find the motivation to transition into eating healthy food. This book can help you if you’re looking for a way to improve your diet.
March 13, 2017
I picked this up because I love her podcast so much (available through iTunes). She focuses less on the science of nutrition (although she's certainly willing and able to jump in with some technical explanations when needed), and more on psychological insights into how to build the right habits so that healthy eating becomes automatic. In this sense, the book is really similar to a lot of other books out there right now (e.g., the Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg). Her writing style is far more conversational, though, so I found this book easier to skim/read than others.
August 7, 2019
If the reader is new to the idea of letting go of the diet mentality and learning to have a peaceful, healthy relationship with food, this book might do the job. For me, I found it too repetitive, including referencing an anecdote from a great book on habits multiple times. I can understand citing a study, but in this case it would have been nice for the author to use a new anecdote to illustrate a point.
February 7, 2018
This fantastic - not a diet - lifestyle book is at the top of my list! I cannot recommend this enough! Drop fad diets. Drop negative self-talk. Enjoy your food - really enjoy it! I love this back to basics, no nonsense approach. I read this for the first time about a year ago and I reread sections now and then when I need inspiration.
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