Transformational Weight Loss

by Charles Eisenstein

Subtitled "A personal revolution for food and body sanity," this book describes an alternative to the treadmill of self-denial, self-control, and dieting. It begins with the insight that if trying hard didn't work, trying harder is doing more of what doesn't work. There are very few guidelines about what to eat and not to eat in this book. Instead it presents a whole new way of eating, a new way of seeing food, exercise, and the body. Revolutionary, it also strikes a deep chord of common sense. Among thousands of diet and nutrition books on the market today, this book is a profoundly new voice, especially for anyone ready to transform the condition of obesity and all the mental, emotional, and spiritual conditions that go along with it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Self Help, Food

148 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2007

About the author

Charles Eisenstein is a teacher, speaker, and writer focusing on themes of civilization, consciousness, money, and human cultural evolution. His writings on the web magazine Reality Sandwich have generated a vast online following; he speaks frequently at conferences and other events, and gives numerous interviews on radio and podcasts. Writing in Ode magazine's "25 Intelligent Optimists" issue, David Korten (author of When Corporations Rule the World) called Eisenstein "one of the up-and-coming great minds of our time." Eisenstein graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy, and spent the next ten years as a Chinese-English translator. He currently lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and serves on the faculty of Goddard College.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book I have read by Eisenstein, and although it was my least favorite, it is still very good. "Transformational Weight Loss" is very similar to "Yoga of Eating," although the ideas seem better developed. It was written specifically with obese or overweight people in mind, but I found that it contains good advice for everyone. Eisenstein does a great job of showing how all desires and needs in life connects with food. He shows that people often substitute food for desires that they need to fulfill, so they chronically overeat because they are using food in place of unmet needs like connection, love, freedom, identity, and the sense of adventure. The other big thing I took away from this book was that people tend to overeat because they are eating "fake" food, and so their bodies feel the need to keep attempting to grab nutrition from food that has very little. These people are chronically malnourished, and often perpetually dehydrated as well. Similar to the Michael Pollan book I just read, "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," "TWL" encourages common sense practices like eating real food instead of processed junk, engaging in daily movement, and only eating when we are truly hungry.

What is interesting about Eisenstein is that he often gives advice that people want to hear, but phrases it in a way that won't enable them to take it in a negative direction. For example, he says that people should eat what they want, when they want. But he wants us to really pay attention to the entire experience of eating food - how it tastes, how it makes us feel, etc. Eisenstein advises against conventional Western approaches to exercise, explaining that most people hate exercise because it becomes routine, or that it feels too much like work. When advice is phrased like this, it seems incredibly easy to gain control of not only our relationships with food, but also all of the connected aspects of life.

I definitely liked "TWL," and would recommend it to everyone! It's not mind blowing, but it makes a lot of sense and may help us evolve into a species that make more sensible decisions. I look forward to reading more from Eisenstein - he is a superb writer who puts forth fresh ideas that agree with me.

[Zimfelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles could easily have titled the book "Transformational muscle gain", or "Transformational Attunement", and even "Transformational Love". The content of this book deals with the many dysfunctional modes of thought which permeates western society and whose effects inflicts unimaginable pains upon the human body. He presents an alternative that can have transformational effects not only on weight loss, but also on all the many yokes of modern living.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about way more than just losing weight. It's an excellent book on feeling your feelings so they can move on.

[Devin Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I are fans of Eisenstein's philosophical works. We quoted from 'The More Beautiful Worlds Our Hearts Know is Possible' in our wedding vows.

When I perused some of his other works, a diet self-help book seemed to stick out and break the pattern. I'm always interested in nutrition and weight loss info so I was interested to hear his take.

His approach is refreshingly direct and rooted in the lógic of our bodies. It seemed to make sense to have a more philosophical perspective on weight management because most self help focused more on "how" then "why" and few essential activities of our daily living touch holism as much as our food intake.

Reminiscent of mindful eating, but, to me, feels a little more flashed out than slowing down and awareness. Good book in a surprising way

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of the infinite in it. Lots of self-acceptance and gentleness talk. Nothing new for me personally but it's always a good reminder and there are some really nice expressions of those ideas here. I kept coming up with small objections or questions, specific things in my life that came up while reading. I think by the end of the book the author had addressed all these. This was super pleasing and made me feel that this book was really well-thought out. There is a lot of pure positivity and encouragement, but there is real content here as well and I think that the optimistic tone of this book is spot on for people reading it to solve a problem.

[Teresa Keever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but Yoga of Eating is better

[Lois Kailhofer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book applies the ideas of mindfulness in the area of weight loss.

Don't drink unpasteurized milk. Say no to diphtheria.

[Justine Camacho-Tajonera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes a lot of sense. It's not a diet book. It's not an exercise book. It's a book that reminds me that if I want to change one aspect of myself...I need to change my whole life. Correction: transform my whole life. I read this book in one day. It's not a very long book. It's also free to read. The author makes it optional for the reader to pay. If the reader wants to donate to a charity instead... it's okay. I thought that was really fantastic. It's all part of the author's "gift economics" view. Everything is a gift. If we just set aside our need to acquire and "make mine" and consume and consume...we would actually have a very healthy life (as individuals, as a community and as a world). It was the perfect book to finish by New Year's eve. The author also wrote Sacred Economics and the Ascent of Humanity (both on my reading list).

[Michael Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on the emotional side of dieting and how to eat effectively, lose weight, and feel good about yourself at the same time.

[Arran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.