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The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size
From the bestselling author of The Artist's Way, a revolutionary diet plan: Use art to take off the pounds! Over the course of the past twenty-five years, Julia Cameron has taught thousands of artists and aspiring artists how to unblock wellsprings of creativity. And time and again she has noticed an interesting thing: Often, in uncovering their creative selves her students also undergo a surprising physical transformation-invigorated by their work, they slim down. In The Writing Diet, Cameron illuminates the relationship between creativity and eating to reveal a crucial equation: creativity can block overeating. This inspiring weight-loss program, which can be used in conjunction with Cameron's groundbreaking book on the creative process, The Artist's Way, directs readers to count words instead of calories, to substitute their writing's food for thought for actual food. Using journaling to examine their relationship with food-and to ward off unhealthy overeating-readers will learn to treat food cravings as invitations to evaluate what they are truly craving in their emotional lives. The Writing Diet presents a brilliant plan for using one of the soul's deepest and most abiding appetites-the desire to be creative-to lose weight and keep it off forever. I'm a creativity expert, not a diet expert. So why am I writing a book about weight loss? Because I have accidentally stumbled upon a weight-loss secret that works. For twenty-five years I've taught creative unblocking, a twelve-week process based on my book The Artist's Way. From the front of the classroom I've seen lives transformed-and, to my astonishment, bodies transformed as well. It took me a while to recognize what was going on, but sure enough, students who began the course on the plump side ended up visibly leaner and more fit. What's going on here? I asked myself. Was it my imagination, or was there truly a before and an after? There was! -from The Writing Diet
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
153 people are currently reading
1139 people want to read
About the author
Julia Cameron
105 books2,315 followersJulia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years, with fifteen books (including bestsellers The Artist's Way, Walking In This World and The Right to Write) and countless television, film, and theater scripts to her credit. Writing since the age of 18, Cameron has a long list of screenplay and teleplay credits to her name, including an episode of Miami Vice, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film, God's Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making film, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. Her profound teachings on unlocking creativity and living from the creative center have inspired countless artists to unleash their full potential.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
November 24, 2009
What I like best about this book is its presentation. The information provided is not necessarily new and profound, but the way it is presented really works for me. The chapters are very brief and each ends with a writing exercise. Because of the chapters' brevity, I was able to read one each morning. It served as a kind of diet devotional. It gave me the motivation to start my day in a positive frame of mind. Cameron explains the importance of eating clean and this makes a lot of sense especially with all the mysterious "additions" that are now included in many of our foods. However, she recommends "diet" foods that include artificial sweeteners which I personally believe are not part of clean eating. I found the exercises to be effective and the personal and client testimony/dialogue to be inspirational. I especially like Cameron's emphasis on living in the moment even when we have chosen to eat something that is not healthy for our bodies. We do not have to continue our unhealthful eating for the rest of the day (as we often think) but can instead forgive ourselves immediately and start over right at that moment. Writing daily, in what Cameron calls "Morning Pages", can really help to uncover hidden links between food and emotions (both negative and positive) as well as other issues we may not be aware of that sabotage our efforts towards a healthier life. Anyone who is focusing on leading a healthier life and building a positive relationship with the food they eat should read this book. They will come away with many great tools - such as four questions to ask before making the choice of what and when to eat - to help them on their journey. This is a book that should be read more than once. I recommend reading it again and again as a daily dose of inspiration.
May 20, 2010
Julia Cameron is not a doctor, a nutritionist, or any other kind of diet expert. She is, as she says, "a creativity expert [who has:] accidentally stumbled upon a weight-loss secret that works." (xv) Well, sort of. She found that participants in her 12-week creativity unblocking course were also finding themselves eating better and losing weight as they followed her daily assignments of writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling and taking a 20-minute walk. Oddly enough, as they began to notice their own thought patterns and get more exercise, they lost weight! Go figure.
Cameron does have some good tips in the first section of this book - there is a lot to be said for writing down both what one eats and what one is thinking about when reaching for snacks while trying to change habitual patterns. There is a lot of "recovery speak" in this book, from using HALT (checking to see if you're hungry, angry, lonely, or tired) to finding a "body buddy" to check in with daily. Meanwhile, the Culinary Artist Dates are not unlike the Artist Dates she recommends in The Artist's Way.
The second part of the book (making up about three-quarters of the text) is a collection of short essays about various topics confronted by Cameron and her students as they set out to use the "writing diet". The essays are repetitive and do not flow naturally from to the next. They also reveal that Cameron's version of Clean Eating includes a whole lot of artificial sweeteners and a somewhat disturbing view of exercise as a tool for "making up for" eating off-plan.
There's very little here that isn't covered elsewhere, and better, by other authors.
July 30, 2018
2.5 stars, rounding down
This book is mostly valuable for the journaling exercises (aside from telling you to write your morning pages, of course). Other than that, I found a lot of this problematic because there's an emphasis on how someone is overweight BUT has a pretty face or is accomplished BUT carries too much weight instead of it being about how the person would like to lose weight. There's also an emphasis on "clean" eating and "legal" foods, so for someone who has seriously disordered eating or struggles with a lot of food issues, I would tell them to skip it. I'm at a place where I can ignore all the stuff that makes me roll my eyes, but others may not be as easily able to do so.
This book is mostly valuable for the journaling exercises (aside from telling you to write your morning pages, of course). Other than that, I found a lot of this problematic because there's an emphasis on how someone is overweight BUT has a pretty face or is accomplished BUT carries too much weight instead of it being about how the person would like to lose weight. There's also an emphasis on "clean" eating and "legal" foods, so for someone who has seriously disordered eating or struggles with a lot of food issues, I would tell them to skip it. I'm at a place where I can ignore all the stuff that makes me roll my eyes, but others may not be as easily able to do so.
October 11, 2015
Currently Reading (10/10/15): I saw this at the library booksale today, and thought why the fuck not? My expectations are low, but the book is nice looking. :P
Need to be reviewed.
Need to be reviewed.
July 5, 2012
Definitely a different concept. It was an interesting read.
Before you snack/eat, you should question why you are eating and ask yourself four questions:
1. Am I hungry?
2. Is this what I want to eat?
3. Is this what I want to eat now?
4. Is there something I can eat instead?
There are lots of writing exercises to do to help you figure out why you do what you do in different situations.
I know why I eat/overeat. I enjoy the taste and sensation of food. And I do eat when I'm not hungry so I know I have to keep occupied and distracted. I tend to be fairly social which means eating out a lot where I don't make the right choices.
A lot of the book seemed to focus on sugar cravings and better ways to replace them. For me, I crave chicken wings and junk like that more than anything. Alas, an apple won't replace that.
For me, it's all or nothing. I'm either on track or I'm way off. I've got to learn that there is an in- between.
Before you snack/eat, you should question why you are eating and ask yourself four questions:
1. Am I hungry?
2. Is this what I want to eat?
3. Is this what I want to eat now?
4. Is there something I can eat instead?
There are lots of writing exercises to do to help you figure out why you do what you do in different situations.
I know why I eat/overeat. I enjoy the taste and sensation of food. And I do eat when I'm not hungry so I know I have to keep occupied and distracted. I tend to be fairly social which means eating out a lot where I don't make the right choices.
A lot of the book seemed to focus on sugar cravings and better ways to replace them. For me, I crave chicken wings and junk like that more than anything. Alas, an apple won't replace that.
For me, it's all or nothing. I'm either on track or I'm way off. I've got to learn that there is an in- between.
December 26, 2017
The concept of creativity blocking overeating and overeating blocking creativity is appealing to me. Although I just began the three pages of daily morning pages and have begun to record my food and drink, I feel as though this will help me shed some pounds. I have recently come to the realization that I am bored and have probably been using food as a way to entertain myself. I have also come to other realizations during my morning pages. If nothing else, I will definitely benefit from the daily habit of morning pages and recording what I eat.
June 24, 2021
I love Julia Cameron and I read this book when it first came out in 2007. I reread it as part of a group study in 2021, while I reinvested in my diet and exercise post-lockdown.
I was very aware of the changes in thinking about bodies and diet; this book has not aged well. Language about "good" and "bad" behavior around food, as well as "forbidden foods" fell flat for me. And while Julia definitely rejected the pursuit of the airbrushed Hollywood body, she still, at the time, argued for a slender body being a "right-sized" one. Since I actually *do* want to return to the more slender body I once had, this didn't bother me too much, but I did find the sort of "moral" language around food choices to be unhelpful. It made me realize how much has changed in the way we talk about bodies since 2007.
What I did enjoy--and the reason I wanted to join a group around this book in 2021--was to re-investigate ways I may be using food as a substitute for creativity. The journaling assignments at the end of each chapter asked questions that are good reminders for me, and I do plan to revisit them with "pen in hand" later. (I was listening to the audio version of this book.) I liked the suggestion to ask myself deep questions about why I am eating, and what is going on in my creative and emotional life that I may not have investigated, and that I may be "quieting" with food.
I was very aware of the changes in thinking about bodies and diet; this book has not aged well. Language about "good" and "bad" behavior around food, as well as "forbidden foods" fell flat for me. And while Julia definitely rejected the pursuit of the airbrushed Hollywood body, she still, at the time, argued for a slender body being a "right-sized" one. Since I actually *do* want to return to the more slender body I once had, this didn't bother me too much, but I did find the sort of "moral" language around food choices to be unhelpful. It made me realize how much has changed in the way we talk about bodies since 2007.
What I did enjoy--and the reason I wanted to join a group around this book in 2021--was to re-investigate ways I may be using food as a substitute for creativity. The journaling assignments at the end of each chapter asked questions that are good reminders for me, and I do plan to revisit them with "pen in hand" later. (I was listening to the audio version of this book.) I liked the suggestion to ask myself deep questions about why I am eating, and what is going on in my creative and emotional life that I may not have investigated, and that I may be "quieting" with food.
March 11, 2015
1.5 stars. The book's basic concept is using writing as a sort of mindfulness meditation to help you discover productive and unproductive patterns in your life, diet, etc. While I found the chapter on Morning Pages to be quite useful, as well as some tidbits from other chapters, overall I kept getting hung up on two things. First, the author isn't a therapist, doctor, dietician, etc, although she did provide common sense advice: be more aware of what and why you eat, eat healthy things, add exercise to your life. Second, many parts of the book seemed triggery, from the perspective of someone who went through (successful) eating disorder treatment 25 years ago. When I realized that, I skimmed the rest, then put the book away.
April 8, 2015
I was very apprehensive going in to this book. Because, to be honest with you I hated "The Artist's Way" series by the same author and was dreading that this book will be as bad. But I was wrong. To my surprise I really liked this read. And am actively using it's recommendations. It is refreshing to have a diet advise from a person who is not a nutritionist that actually works in real life!
It's also surprisingly pumped me up about my writing too, and this month being the CampNaNoWriMo month for me, this "side effect" is so helpful to my word-count.
I probably won't read anything else by the same author, it's just my personal preferences at work here, but there is a high probability that I will be re-reading this particular book later.
It's also surprisingly pumped me up about my writing too, and this month being the CampNaNoWriMo month for me, this "side effect" is so helpful to my word-count.
I probably won't read anything else by the same author, it's just my personal preferences at work here, but there is a high probability that I will be re-reading this particular book later.
July 30, 2018
I actually think this is a brilliant book. The fact it took me 9 years to finish it is a reflection on my loathing for self-help books. But really, this is a super sensible approach to dieting because it's not really a diet - it's about the habits and emotions we have around food. I think anyone can use the tools, regardless of their chosen specialty diet. And the advice and stories about tough issues in the rest of the book are terrific. Of course, I don't apply her advice perfectly, but tools like H.A.L.T. have been helpful to me frequently.
July 25, 2024
This book is very much like the author’s The Writing Life with its focus on morning pages, artist dates, and walks in nature. Here she describes how participants in her writing courses have shed weight as they have committed to writing in their morning journals, dealing with memories and feelings they’ve long-buried. As she is not a nutritionist, she stays close to recommending a Mediterranean-style diet as that has worked for her. Overall, I’d recommend The Writing Life over this one, but the case studies and more recent student feedback were interesting.
January 3, 2023
I picked this up because I am struggling with body image and because I've heard great things about The Artist's Way, and a friend is reading it.
Honestly, I'm very conflicted.
On the one hand, it's full of things I fundamentally disagree with, from things that are presented as factual statements which can't be further from the truth (like that writing a lot will make you thin, or that "overeating" leads to creative blocks) to terminology about food that makes me cringe (calling foods "legal" is just one). It's the same diet industry nonsense I've spent a long time hating.
On the other hand, there are things in here that are very specifically useful to me. I do not struggle with disordered eating, partly because I refuse to consider foods legal or illegal. What I do struggle with is stress, eating my feelings, and replacing adequate sleep with fuel for my brain.
The mindfulness parts of this book are the most appealing to me, and things I've learned from years of trying to take care of my body. There are some real nuggets of wisdom for anyone trying to care for their body, weight loss or not. I just wish it didn't have so much nonsense in it that makes it hard to stomach, pun very much intended.
It's based on the Artist's Way framework, with an emphasis on Morning Pages, and includes Artist Dates, but food dates, and those are kind of cool. The author encourages people to mindfully eat what they want and explore, using (among others) the example of a person who was on the quest for the best cheeseburger and was working on trying all of their local spots week by week.
I can't say I would recommend this to very many people. Too many people I know and love have been actively harmed by precisely the kind of mindset this book espouses. I think I will benefit from some of the things in it personally, which is why I'm feeling so conflicted.
In my line of work as a nurse, I know that the things that keep one person alive would kill another. While that's true in an individual sense, I do overall think this book has more negatives than positives in terms of what it contributes to diet culture. But it does have some positives.
Honestly, I'm very conflicted.
On the one hand, it's full of things I fundamentally disagree with, from things that are presented as factual statements which can't be further from the truth (like that writing a lot will make you thin, or that "overeating" leads to creative blocks) to terminology about food that makes me cringe (calling foods "legal" is just one). It's the same diet industry nonsense I've spent a long time hating.
On the other hand, there are things in here that are very specifically useful to me. I do not struggle with disordered eating, partly because I refuse to consider foods legal or illegal. What I do struggle with is stress, eating my feelings, and replacing adequate sleep with fuel for my brain.
The mindfulness parts of this book are the most appealing to me, and things I've learned from years of trying to take care of my body. There are some real nuggets of wisdom for anyone trying to care for their body, weight loss or not. I just wish it didn't have so much nonsense in it that makes it hard to stomach, pun very much intended.
It's based on the Artist's Way framework, with an emphasis on Morning Pages, and includes Artist Dates, but food dates, and those are kind of cool. The author encourages people to mindfully eat what they want and explore, using (among others) the example of a person who was on the quest for the best cheeseburger and was working on trying all of their local spots week by week.
I can't say I would recommend this to very many people. Too many people I know and love have been actively harmed by precisely the kind of mindset this book espouses. I think I will benefit from some of the things in it personally, which is why I'm feeling so conflicted.
In my line of work as a nurse, I know that the things that keep one person alive would kill another. While that's true in an individual sense, I do overall think this book has more negatives than positives in terms of what it contributes to diet culture. But it does have some positives.
July 28, 2019
I thought this book sounded cool. I love to journal and sure I want a yummier body. Who doesn’t? Duh!
So not the read for me. It dragged.
Prayer, gratitude, visualization, journaling, healthy eating, occasional treats, exercise, fun and sex are things that keep me healthy and deadly delicious.
So not the read for me. It dragged.
Prayer, gratitude, visualization, journaling, healthy eating, occasional treats, exercise, fun and sex are things that keep me healthy and deadly delicious.
April 17, 2018
did all the exercises and it was a waste of time.
May 27, 2021
The tasks in the first half of the book are useful, but the beauty standards pervading the book make me wince, and much of the health information is outdated. The useful information could be summed up as: “do morning pages, do weekly artist’s dates for food, walk, and use the HALT method from AA. Maybe collage yourself skinny.”
May 24, 2017
I started out with hopes that this book would be different - and it appeared to be in the beginning. The first chapters about getting back in touch with your creative side and digging deep to get in touch with what you really want reasonated.
Then it went off the rails. Suddenly it started sounding like every other "program" out there:
- Keep a food diary
- Keep a list of your "trigger foods" and avoid them.
- Substitute something "healthy" for that piece of cake (or cookie or pie.)
- Drink some water to make sure you're really hungry and not just thirsty.
And on....
She seems to recover by the last two chapters when she returns to the topics of eating to calm emotions and how writing and other creative practices can help fix this, but by then I was done. I didn't want another "program" masked by some feel good writing exercises - many of which are better described and "fleshed out" in her book The Artists Way (Which I have and return to when I feel myself stuck in a creative rut.)
Unfortunately, I think that this book just repackaged many of the same dysfunctional behaviors that many well-meaning diet and exercise programs endorse, but in the end they don't really fix the problem.
Buy The Artist's Way instead.
Then it went off the rails. Suddenly it started sounding like every other "program" out there:
- Keep a food diary
- Keep a list of your "trigger foods" and avoid them.
- Substitute something "healthy" for that piece of cake (or cookie or pie.)
- Drink some water to make sure you're really hungry and not just thirsty.
And on....
She seems to recover by the last two chapters when she returns to the topics of eating to calm emotions and how writing and other creative practices can help fix this, but by then I was done. I didn't want another "program" masked by some feel good writing exercises - many of which are better described and "fleshed out" in her book The Artists Way (Which I have and return to when I feel myself stuck in a creative rut.)
Unfortunately, I think that this book just repackaged many of the same dysfunctional behaviors that many well-meaning diet and exercise programs endorse, but in the end they don't really fix the problem.
Buy The Artist's Way instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2016
This took me forever to get through. Though there are some good ideas about writing out your feelings instead of just hitting the refrigerator, some were just bizarre. For example, one young man was celibate and the recommendation for losing weight was to find someone to have sex with because that was his real problem. Give me a break! Another one was to get a "friendly" mirror. In other words, shop for a mirror by looking at your reflection until you find one that makes you look slimmer. That is supposed to be most accurate one. Buy several and put them around your house. How many pounds can a mirror take off?
The first few chapters did have a lot of insight into how our feelings are reflected in our eating behavior. The techniques for writing down your feelings instead of just turning to food are good and I got a lot out of them, but towards the end, the book got repetitive.
My recommendations are to get the book from your library and read the first 6 or so chapters and any that seem meaningful. There certainly is enough to make it worth while.
The first few chapters did have a lot of insight into how our feelings are reflected in our eating behavior. The techniques for writing down your feelings instead of just turning to food are good and I got a lot out of them, but towards the end, the book got repetitive.
My recommendations are to get the book from your library and read the first 6 or so chapters and any that seem meaningful. There certainly is enough to make it worth while.
February 3, 2017
I was describing this book to my therapist and he said, "Wow, that sounds kind of shame-y." And that it is. I felt unrepresented in this book, and the further I went, the more it felt like the author would have run screaming in the other direction the moment she saw me. There were so many lines like "So-and-so is ten pounds overweight!" or "So-and-so is 5'7" and weighs 175 pounds!" As someone who's struggled hard to get her weight under 300 pounds and who, frankly, would kill to be 175 pounds, it was discouraging to hear things like this. I think the largest size mentioned in the book was a 16, and it was presented as if it were HUGE. Once again, as a former size 24, a 16 sounds pretty damn good to me.
The first few chapters were helpful, especially the Four Questions (it had never occurred to me to ask, "Is this what I want to eat?"), but the further into the book I got, the less helpful it was, and the more fat-shaming it became. Don't recommend.
The first few chapters were helpful, especially the Four Questions (it had never occurred to me to ask, "Is this what I want to eat?"), but the further into the book I got, the less helpful it was, and the more fat-shaming it became. Don't recommend.
April 24, 2019
This book does have the word diet in it, so I should not be surprised by all the fat phobia inside. Nevertheless, all the references to carbs being “bad” and the endless alternative adjectives for “fat” had me really annoyed.
I am a Mindful Eating teacher and I was interested in the writing aspect of this book. Cameron’s idea of writing whenever you have what she calls a “snack attack”, instead of eating is a really great awareness strategy. The section on questions to ask when you want to eat is also great.
But, in the end, I cannot approve of this book for anyone who is working to break free of our diet obsessed society. Listening (I did the audio book) to the narrator repeatedly describe people being bad for eating some ice cream and praising someone for eating plain popcorn (who likes plain popcorn!?!) was torture.
I am a Mindful Eating teacher and I was interested in the writing aspect of this book. Cameron’s idea of writing whenever you have what she calls a “snack attack”, instead of eating is a really great awareness strategy. The section on questions to ask when you want to eat is also great.
But, in the end, I cannot approve of this book for anyone who is working to break free of our diet obsessed society. Listening (I did the audio book) to the narrator repeatedly describe people being bad for eating some ice cream and praising someone for eating plain popcorn (who likes plain popcorn!?!) was torture.
January 14, 2014
That a book like this exists is just awful. There are actually a lot of good ideas in it, and as someone who works with writers a lot, and who tries to be healthy and happy, I say some of he things in here myself. But seriously? With all one can do with writing, what we are supposed to do is _diet_ with it? Uh, no.
January 5, 2021
It being January I thought I’d start the year reading this ‘diet’ book. I’m a fan of Julia Cameron but this book was not good. There was so many instances of disordered eating and disordered thought processes, parts of it were like a prescribed eating disorder. This would have been better as a blog post and just stuck to journaling about feelings and weight loss.
September 11, 2019
I love Julia Cameron. Love her.
She has a such a "favorite aunt who's going to tell you the facts without hurting your feelings" sort of vibe.
All of her books about writing (that I've read so far) demystify the writing process and make it something that anyone can - and should - do. This takes the concept of "anyone can write" and extends that to "if you can write, and you like it, you can use writing to aid you in losing weight/eating healthier."
Or, put another way: "You won't eat your feelings if you first write down what's eating you."
It's so simple it's genius, especially if you already use your writing as a form of self-therapy.
Keep a separate notebook. Write down what you're thinking, what you're feeling, how things are going, what you're worried about - and THEN consider what you're going to eat. Use your notebook as a completely non-judging confidant about what's troubling you. Use your creative output (not necessarily your therapeutic pages) to fill your days so you aren't constantly thinking about what you're going to eat next.
I've lost weight before and I wish I had read this then. Losing weight is simple, but by no means easy. (If it were easy everyone would be perfectly trim.) Any tool you can put in your weight loss/health improvement toolkit is something worth picking up.
She has a such a "favorite aunt who's going to tell you the facts without hurting your feelings" sort of vibe.
All of her books about writing (that I've read so far) demystify the writing process and make it something that anyone can - and should - do. This takes the concept of "anyone can write" and extends that to "if you can write, and you like it, you can use writing to aid you in losing weight/eating healthier."
Or, put another way: "You won't eat your feelings if you first write down what's eating you."
It's so simple it's genius, especially if you already use your writing as a form of self-therapy.
Keep a separate notebook. Write down what you're thinking, what you're feeling, how things are going, what you're worried about - and THEN consider what you're going to eat. Use your notebook as a completely non-judging confidant about what's troubling you. Use your creative output (not necessarily your therapeutic pages) to fill your days so you aren't constantly thinking about what you're going to eat next.
I've lost weight before and I wish I had read this then. Losing weight is simple, but by no means easy. (If it were easy everyone would be perfectly trim.) Any tool you can put in your weight loss/health improvement toolkit is something worth picking up.
June 22, 2017
I had mixed feelings about this book. Cameron makes some good suggestions: curtailing overeating by examining your feelings and making deliberate choices about food. The anecdotal evidence (from her students' personal triumphs) is heartwarming and encouraging. However, there were instances when Cameron went over-the-top. In one case, she described how sharing a single dessert after dinner left her reeling, unfocused, and unable to concentrate. If a friend described such an experience to me, I would urge her to see a doctor at once because that sounds like some kind of metabolic disorder (or some kind of psychosis). I suspect Cameron was dramatizing her dessert experience to make a larger point but I just didn't think it was helpful. The book's overall tone seemed to blur the line between people trying to lose a few pounds and people in need of professional help. I came away feeling like neither audience had been properly addressed.
March 14, 2022
The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write are two of my favourite books that I keep in my bookshelf to go back to every few years. It helps me think and write better.
This book however has some interesting lessons and some valuable advice but the process is simple and repetitive.
But Julia doesn’t claim to be a nutritionist. She’s only writing from the view point of a successful idea of morning pages which she brings to food, dieting, exercise, affirmations. She tells you what to write in the morning pages to help with your diet plan. But you need to figure out your own diet plan. She advocates clean eating which is different for different cultures and also for different bodies.
You know what you need to do to lose weight. Learn to say no without regret or guilt.
You don’t need a book to tell you.
This book however has some interesting lessons and some valuable advice but the process is simple and repetitive.
But Julia doesn’t claim to be a nutritionist. She’s only writing from the view point of a successful idea of morning pages which she brings to food, dieting, exercise, affirmations. She tells you what to write in the morning pages to help with your diet plan. But you need to figure out your own diet plan. She advocates clean eating which is different for different cultures and also for different bodies.
You know what you need to do to lose weight. Learn to say no without regret or guilt.
You don’t need a book to tell you.
May 1, 2022
I enjoy Julia Cameron and this book is no exception. However, as someone who has spent the better part of their life on the diet wagon, there are some parts of the book that I find troubling. More than anything, I enjoy the idea of journaling whenever you feel like snacking or bingeing. I think that is great advice. And it's true that food can be a substitute when other parts of our lives are out of balance. The part that I disagree with is the idea that foods are labeled as good or bad or that eating less of the things you enjoy is healthy. Also, weight loss and health are not the same things. Someone can be healthier at 200 pounds than they were at 130 pounds.
Writing is simply one tool to add to your health toolbox, even if weight loss isn't a goal for you. Learning to feel good about yourself and your choices should be the priority.
Writing is simply one tool to add to your health toolbox, even if weight loss isn't a goal for you. Learning to feel good about yourself and your choices should be the priority.
September 23, 2022
The last thing any of us really need is another diet book giving impossible and ineffective advice. This book doesn't give advice on how much to exercise, what your heart rate or BMI should be or how worthy of love you could be if only you didn't like bread.
This is a book about getting in touch with your creativity, being in the creative flow and moving your body with that flow. It's about writing yourself right, feeding your food for thought rather than numbing your thoughts with food. It's more about being a writer, and expressing yourself to find yourself back in your body,your life, your being- which will probably change to reflect all that.
I enjoyed the short chapters and writing exercises and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in both writing and feeling more comfortable and creative.
This is a book about getting in touch with your creativity, being in the creative flow and moving your body with that flow. It's about writing yourself right, feeding your food for thought rather than numbing your thoughts with food. It's more about being a writer, and expressing yourself to find yourself back in your body,your life, your being- which will probably change to reflect all that.
I enjoyed the short chapters and writing exercises and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in both writing and feeling more comfortable and creative.
March 10, 2018
Basically this was The Artist's Way for people wanting to lose weight. She includes all of the traditional advice: exercise, eat sensibly, figure out your triggers, log your food, find an accountability partner, etc, and adds on Morning Pages (write three pages longhand first thing in the morning with no editing) and Culinary Artist Dates (once a week go try some new food or go to a Williams-Sonoma or someplace similar for inspiration).
Ms. Cameron maintains that most people overeat because they are unhappy about some area in their life, and writing/journaling will help them identify their core problem and offer solutions as they continue to plug away at getting to know themselves better. Rubbish? Maybe, but also maybe worth a try!
Ms. Cameron maintains that most people overeat because they are unhappy about some area in their life, and writing/journaling will help them identify their core problem and offer solutions as they continue to plug away at getting to know themselves better. Rubbish? Maybe, but also maybe worth a try!
February 20, 2019
For fans of Julia Cameron's writing who also struggle with weight issues. This book belongs to the 'Healing Through Writing' classification and I can see it would be a helpful beginner's book to introduce the idea of linking creative therapy to helping with weight issues, exploring deeper areas of trauma and self-limiting beliefs. Those who cannot afford therapy or have easy access to it might find this book enlightening, in terms of helping to understand where one's body issues might stem from. I'm a big fan of Morning Pages and Artist Dates, which helped me connect with my creative spirit many years ago, through reading The Artist's Way. So, I would recommend this book - which uses the same tools among others, but in more focused ways.
February 4, 2022
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this. I was just intrigued by the concept of using writing to reach a goal. I haven't read any of her other things, so I picked this one up since I am working on taking off the 10 pounds I gained over the holidays. It has some good ideas. I didn't do any of the writing she advocates or really any of the "assignments", but reading this caused me to be more aware of what I was putting into my body. I've lost 5 of the 10 pounds I gained, but I think most of that is because I am back to my normal eating and exercise routine and I'm not eating all the holiday sugar filled fat bomb foods. I may get her book The Artist's Way because I like the idea of using writing as a positive force in our lives.
December 26, 2024
I’m going through my kindle trying to finish books I started but left hanging around 20-50% and this is one of them. There are a lot of things I like about this book, even though a fair percentage of the content will be familiar if you’ve read and worked with The Artist’s Way. I like that she emphasizes the emotional aspects of eating first and that she at least attempts to resist the constant societal noise about thinness. But I felt like there was still a strong backbeat of fear and deprivation that kept breaking through. Possibly it’s just because parts of the book haven’t aged well-the South Beach diet, for instance. But I do feel like some of the written exercises are helpful.
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