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AC: The Power of Appetite Correction
The Power of Appetite Correction is a new approach to fat loss based on 10 years of user experience with intermittent fasting and the author's 2005 introduction to intermittent fasting, The Fast-5 Diet and the Fast-5 Lifestyle. The focus of AC is getting your body's built-in appetite center working correctly as it does for animals in the wild and for most people outside of calorie-rich fast food cultures. Correcting appetite means that comfortable, sustainable lifestyle weight loss and weight maintenance can be achieved with no calorie counting required and no food off-limits.
From The Power of Appetite Correction :
"...our culture has shoved your mustang body into a carousel-horse existence with a cotton candy diet."
About the
Dr. Herring published The Fast-5 Diet and the Fast-5 Lifestyle in 2005 and it continues to be one of the most sustainable and successful approaches to intermittent fasting for weight loss and weight maintenance. Since then, he has maintained contact with thousands of "Fast-5ers" and, through these conversations and new research, developed the insights featured in The Power of Appetite Control .
From The Power of Appetite Correction :
"...our culture has shoved your mustang body into a carousel-horse existence with a cotton candy diet."
About the
Dr. Herring published The Fast-5 Diet and the Fast-5 Lifestyle in 2005 and it continues to be one of the most sustainable and successful approaches to intermittent fasting for weight loss and weight maintenance. Since then, he has maintained contact with thousands of "Fast-5ers" and, through these conversations and new research, developed the insights featured in The Power of Appetite Control .
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2015
823 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
June 10, 2018
Very well written without a lot of filler. Gets straight to the point, which is appreciated! Another solid argument for IF and the benefits.
Of specific interest to me was the point made that any 'tweek' you make to your diet (adding a food - subtracting a food - meal times, etc) needs a solid 3 week test to see if it makes a difference in your success.
A good reference to keep on hand and I appreciate that it was offered as a Kindle Unlimited.
Of specific interest to me was the point made that any 'tweek' you make to your diet (adding a food - subtracting a food - meal times, etc) needs a solid 3 week test to see if it makes a difference in your success.
A good reference to keep on hand and I appreciate that it was offered as a Kindle Unlimited.
August 30, 2020
Introduction
I'm gonna be giving you a review of this book AC: The Power of Appetite Correction by Bert Herring, MD. Appetite Correction is just another way of saying Intermittent Fasting. I'll be going over what every chapter in the book talks about and also I'll be telling you why I think it's a good book and a bad book at the same time. The book is divided into three sections each with their own set of chapters. There's the learning section with a bunch of chapters. There's the doing section with sixteen different tools and then there's a conclusion which also has several chapters in it.
Part 1 - Learning
The first learning chapter is called Starting Line and it talks about the fact that you have a condition - the excess fat. And you have a problem that causes the condition to happen. And you need to solve both of those problems. You need to get rid of the excess fat but you also need to solve the underlying problem which led to the excess fat. Pretty simple. One of the problems with this book is that he talks a lot without actually offering any solutions. It's like the next chapter, which a really short one. It's called Monetizing Misfortune and he basically questions why we keep eating when we know the benefits of not eating. He says that he's gonna address that but he doesn't actually address it in the chapter. So he spends two full pages talking about the fact that it happens. That may not sound like much but he does that a lot of that in this book. Talking about things and I keep reading thinking like, get to the point already, let's move on, but he never gets there. That was a small annoying aspect of this book.
The next chapter is called Info Clutter and I kind of liked what he does in this is chapter to be honest. He talks about who gains from you overeating and who gains from you not overeating. He points out that there's lots of gains to be made in society by people that sell things and want you to buy things. And there's not so many people that actually benefit from you maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For example a supermarket tabloids offering ways to lose 23 pounds they gain from the fact that you buy these magazines because you're overweight. He gives lots of other little examples like diet book authors and publishers and stuff like that. (He admits that he's one of them himself which which I find a little bit amusing.) He points out as well that the people that gain from you not being fat and overweight are very few. There's people like you and your family and your insurance company and employer and that's about it really. I found that chapter interesting.
The next chapter talks about appetite versus hunger. I kind of liked this. I like the fact that it points out that there's a difference between you needing to eat and you wanting to eat. Lots of losing weight is managing your wanting to eat because even if you want to eat that doesn't mean you should. That's a problem that I deal with myself a lot. I want to eat something but I don't really need to eat anything right now I just feel like. Again, he points out that that's a problem, but doesn't give so many solutions, in this chapter at least, but there you go.
In the next chapter he talks about the differences between humans and animals. Animals will eat until they're full and then be done. They won't eat until they get hungry again. People, on the other hand, well you know that people eat a lot differently than that. The chapter after that is just a follow-on chapter basically saying the same thing.
But the chapter after that is kind of interesting. It goes through some terms that you might like to be aware of and what they actually mean. Like fat, fat versus weight, diet versus lifestyle, intermittent fasting, metabolism, metabolic rate. I think it's pretty good.
In the next chapter after that he talks about the different types of hunger which is interesting. I didn't know that there were different types of hunger. Somatic hunger and limbic hunger are the two that he goes into in depth. And then there's also mouth hunger and clock hunger. You can kind of guess what those two are, although the first two were new to me.
The next chapter goes through some myths. Like the myth that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Is it really? He says it's a myth! He gets into hypoglycemia and misunderstandings about that. He touches on the myth that fasting burns muscle. Lots of people think that if you fast you burn your muscle mass he goes into why that's a myth. So that's interesting.
The next chapter talks about your goal body. In other words lots people have a target of losing, say, 10 pounds. He questions why that is your target. 10 pounds it's such an arbitrary number. Rather you should be asking what kind of body you want to have. What body would you be comfortable living with for the rest. That's the way you should be looking at it instead of trying to lose X number of pounds when that X is just an arbitrary number. This actually helped me because I'm trying to lose 20 pounds and then after I thought about that I thought why 20 when I rather prefer to get into some old clothes that I haven't worn in a long time. Or would I rather look a certain slimness rather than necessarily losing 20 pounds. I know recently I was talking to a guy (he's taller than I am) and he already weighs 35 pounds less than me and he's trying to lose weight. And I'm like, if I was that weight I'd be perfectly happy and yet he was complaining about his paunch and his jowls. It got me thinking that maybe looking at a certain number is not what I should be doing but rather I should be asking if I want to have a slim belly. Do I want to thin out my face a little bit. Some interesting food for thought that's for sure.
The next learning chapter is weighing yourself. If you're trying to lose weight of course you have to weigh yourself and keep track of your progress. This chapter basically talks about being realistic and what you can expect. Like if you're gonna go and sweat on a treadmill for an hour and then weigh yourself expecting to way significantly less well then you're mistaken. That kind of thing.
The next chapter talks about controlling your "apestat" - your appetite. Like the fact that you can train your appetite so that you eat only when you need to, and go from there.
The last learning chapter talks about some of the gremlins that can get in your way when you're trying to establish good eating habits. I'll list a couple of them here. Social occasions which are almost always food centered. Meal schedules which encourage you to eat at certain times of the day even if you're not hungry. Easy and quick preparation of food thanks to tools - think about how much you would eat if it took you a lot longer to prepare the food. Those are just a couple examples.
Part 2 - Tools
Section 2 of this book includes several tools that you can use in your weight loss journey.
The first tool is Your Compass. It's basically saying that if you're gonna lose weight you really need to have a baseline from which to start. One known to you so that you know if what you're doing is good or bad. So the author gives bunch of different suggestions for things that you can measure. Like you can measure your waist, your weight (obviously), your BMI, and all sorts of things. There are lots of things you can do here. You can go to your doctor to see about some stats about your body that you cannot find out easily by yourself. You can get some numbers so that when you are on your journey you can check against those numbers and see how you're doing.
Tool number two is A.C.E.S. - Appetite Correction Eating Schedule. It talks all about your 19-5 eating schedule. The author recommends that you to start fasting for 19 hours a day and eating for 5. Personally I don't use those numbers. Mine are more like 6 and 18. This is the chapter where we actually get down to the real information that we've been waiting for. This is the halfway point of the book and it's finally it's finally getting to the good stuff. This is what I was reading this book for - eating schedule and what's all involved. ANd that starts in this chapter.
Tool number three is Address the Stress. The author says here and I quote "When stress of any kind climbs our automatic systems kick in and interprets this as a need to prepare for the impending unavailability of food." In other words you need to manage stress in your life. This chapter talks all about managing stress - taking a stress inventory, addressing it, and managing it.
Tool number four you probably saw this one coming from a mile away and that is Exercise. I'm not going to go into this much more than that - it's pretty obvious but that's what this tool is talking about. Make sure you get your exercise - a sedentary lifestyle is not a good thing.
Tool number five is Be the Wild Mustang! By "wild" it means to eat food that takes a while to prepare. If you think about an orange juice for example - it's the predigested serving of three to eight oranges. So imagine sitting down with eight oranges and eating every one of them. This chapter talks about the fact that you should respect food that takes a little while to prepare and a little while to eat and that these things are good things not bad things. We're too stuck in a society that believes in fast food - quick and cheap and easy to make. This tool talks about the fact that you should be thinking the opposite.
Tool six is meal composition - basically he talks about miscellaneous little things that you can eat and that you can't. Like diet sodas, stevia, savory over sweet, soup, salad, things to avoid, add some new things to your diet, etc. Then on the last page there's a little summary table - quite handy.
Tool seven is Finding Your Healthy Tribe. In other words you want to hang around with people that also think like you do. In other words, they're trying to get fit and eat well just like you want to. Because it's a lot easier to do that when you're doing it with somebody else.
Tool number eight is portioning - just getting your portion sizes right. That's all the chapter's about.
Tool number nine is meal dynamics. It's not just important what you eat but how you eat. Examples include the order of the food that you eat, when you eat, how fast you eat, and stuff like that.
Tool number 10: decision-making. Things like: are you gonna decide what you're gonna eat and how much you can eat when you're starving? Things like that.
Tool number 11 is to experiment. Do you wonder if having coffee with cream versus having coffee without cream makes a difference? Personally, I'll try it out, and this little chapter just says to try things out and experiment. But you need to give each experiment enough time like a month. Try cream in your coffee for a month and see if it has any effect, and compare it to another month of coffee without cream and see what the difference is. Do you lose weight or do you not lose weight? Do you feel better or worse?
Tool number 12 is awareness. Be aware that the people out there in the media don't care what's best for you. They just want to sell you stuff and they'll do anything to do it. So be aware of that and figure that into your decision-making when it comes time to decide on how you can eat, when you're gonna eat, how you're going to exercise etc.
Tool number 13 is affirmations. This came up in the other book that I did a review on - Tiny Habits. In that book they're talked about the fact that you have to give yourself little affirmations like little congratulations when you've done something well. This book says it too. It's something I don't do enough but I really think I should do more of. If I succeed at doing something or doing it well or something I hadn't done before, I should give myself a little kudo - a pat on the back kind of thing. This chapter is just like two pages but I think it's good advice.
Tool number 14 is hybridize. That is hybridize different kind of dieting plans. In other words, there are many kinds of diets like Atkins and keto. There's tons of different diets out there - figure out works for you. Appetite correction / intermittent fasting - what this book is all about is - talks about when you can eat and certain aspects of diet like that, but it works well with other diets too. If you want to mix two together, like if you want to only eat in a certain window like twelve o'clock to five o'clock sure but what do you eat? Maybe what you eat in that window is defined by the Atkins diet.
Tool number 15 is to protect your sleep. In other words you need to have a good night's sleep. So many people don't do that, and the advice is obvious, but this chapter goes over it. It's just two pages but yeah - sleep is good.
Tool number 16 is to declutter your intake. In other words, take a look at all the vitamins pills and other things that you're taking. If you're eating a healthy diet then maybe you're not going to need all of these things. So take a really critical look at what you're putting in your body and see if it's a good thing or a bad thing and if you really need it or not.
Part 3 - Conclusions
Okay so those are the tools he mentions. That's the biggest section in the book - the tools. And at the very end of the book he goes into a couple concluding chapters. They're all pretty short.
The first concluding chapter talks about when you attain your goal body. You can go into a kind of maintenance mode because you don't need to lose weight anymore you just need to maintain weight. Things kinda change, so that's what this chapter talks about.
The next concluding chapter talks about appetite correction for kids. Can kids be part of an appetite correction intermittent fasting program? Yes they can and this chapter talks about that a little bit. It's a little bit longer than some of the other chapters. That's not saying much - it's like three pages - but there you go.
The last concluding chapter of the book basically talks about what it's like to be on an intermittent fasting routine. The chapter gives you a little bit of encouragement to go and do it and that kind of thing.
So what do I think of this book?
Well, I do intermittent fasting which is what the book calls "appetite correction" and one of the big problems I have is that I feel hungry all morning long before I get to eat at 12:00. And that's one of the things that I was hoping the author would address in this book and well, he doesn't. I know some other people have told me that they've just gotten used to it and they're okay and they don't feel hungry in the mornings but that's not me. And I've been on this program for several months now and I still get really hungry every morning. And it's frustrating. And does he address this at all? No he doesn't.
GoodReads doesn't have enough space for the rest, so you can watch my concluding thoughts on my YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzMd...
I'm gonna be giving you a review of this book AC: The Power of Appetite Correction by Bert Herring, MD. Appetite Correction is just another way of saying Intermittent Fasting. I'll be going over what every chapter in the book talks about and also I'll be telling you why I think it's a good book and a bad book at the same time. The book is divided into three sections each with their own set of chapters. There's the learning section with a bunch of chapters. There's the doing section with sixteen different tools and then there's a conclusion which also has several chapters in it.
Part 1 - Learning
The first learning chapter is called Starting Line and it talks about the fact that you have a condition - the excess fat. And you have a problem that causes the condition to happen. And you need to solve both of those problems. You need to get rid of the excess fat but you also need to solve the underlying problem which led to the excess fat. Pretty simple. One of the problems with this book is that he talks a lot without actually offering any solutions. It's like the next chapter, which a really short one. It's called Monetizing Misfortune and he basically questions why we keep eating when we know the benefits of not eating. He says that he's gonna address that but he doesn't actually address it in the chapter. So he spends two full pages talking about the fact that it happens. That may not sound like much but he does that a lot of that in this book. Talking about things and I keep reading thinking like, get to the point already, let's move on, but he never gets there. That was a small annoying aspect of this book.
The next chapter is called Info Clutter and I kind of liked what he does in this is chapter to be honest. He talks about who gains from you overeating and who gains from you not overeating. He points out that there's lots of gains to be made in society by people that sell things and want you to buy things. And there's not so many people that actually benefit from you maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For example a supermarket tabloids offering ways to lose 23 pounds they gain from the fact that you buy these magazines because you're overweight. He gives lots of other little examples like diet book authors and publishers and stuff like that. (He admits that he's one of them himself which which I find a little bit amusing.) He points out as well that the people that gain from you not being fat and overweight are very few. There's people like you and your family and your insurance company and employer and that's about it really. I found that chapter interesting.
The next chapter talks about appetite versus hunger. I kind of liked this. I like the fact that it points out that there's a difference between you needing to eat and you wanting to eat. Lots of losing weight is managing your wanting to eat because even if you want to eat that doesn't mean you should. That's a problem that I deal with myself a lot. I want to eat something but I don't really need to eat anything right now I just feel like. Again, he points out that that's a problem, but doesn't give so many solutions, in this chapter at least, but there you go.
In the next chapter he talks about the differences between humans and animals. Animals will eat until they're full and then be done. They won't eat until they get hungry again. People, on the other hand, well you know that people eat a lot differently than that. The chapter after that is just a follow-on chapter basically saying the same thing.
But the chapter after that is kind of interesting. It goes through some terms that you might like to be aware of and what they actually mean. Like fat, fat versus weight, diet versus lifestyle, intermittent fasting, metabolism, metabolic rate. I think it's pretty good.
In the next chapter after that he talks about the different types of hunger which is interesting. I didn't know that there were different types of hunger. Somatic hunger and limbic hunger are the two that he goes into in depth. And then there's also mouth hunger and clock hunger. You can kind of guess what those two are, although the first two were new to me.
The next chapter goes through some myths. Like the myth that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Is it really? He says it's a myth! He gets into hypoglycemia and misunderstandings about that. He touches on the myth that fasting burns muscle. Lots of people think that if you fast you burn your muscle mass he goes into why that's a myth. So that's interesting.
The next chapter talks about your goal body. In other words lots people have a target of losing, say, 10 pounds. He questions why that is your target. 10 pounds it's such an arbitrary number. Rather you should be asking what kind of body you want to have. What body would you be comfortable living with for the rest. That's the way you should be looking at it instead of trying to lose X number of pounds when that X is just an arbitrary number. This actually helped me because I'm trying to lose 20 pounds and then after I thought about that I thought why 20 when I rather prefer to get into some old clothes that I haven't worn in a long time. Or would I rather look a certain slimness rather than necessarily losing 20 pounds. I know recently I was talking to a guy (he's taller than I am) and he already weighs 35 pounds less than me and he's trying to lose weight. And I'm like, if I was that weight I'd be perfectly happy and yet he was complaining about his paunch and his jowls. It got me thinking that maybe looking at a certain number is not what I should be doing but rather I should be asking if I want to have a slim belly. Do I want to thin out my face a little bit. Some interesting food for thought that's for sure.
The next learning chapter is weighing yourself. If you're trying to lose weight of course you have to weigh yourself and keep track of your progress. This chapter basically talks about being realistic and what you can expect. Like if you're gonna go and sweat on a treadmill for an hour and then weigh yourself expecting to way significantly less well then you're mistaken. That kind of thing.
The next chapter talks about controlling your "apestat" - your appetite. Like the fact that you can train your appetite so that you eat only when you need to, and go from there.
The last learning chapter talks about some of the gremlins that can get in your way when you're trying to establish good eating habits. I'll list a couple of them here. Social occasions which are almost always food centered. Meal schedules which encourage you to eat at certain times of the day even if you're not hungry. Easy and quick preparation of food thanks to tools - think about how much you would eat if it took you a lot longer to prepare the food. Those are just a couple examples.
Part 2 - Tools
Section 2 of this book includes several tools that you can use in your weight loss journey.
The first tool is Your Compass. It's basically saying that if you're gonna lose weight you really need to have a baseline from which to start. One known to you so that you know if what you're doing is good or bad. So the author gives bunch of different suggestions for things that you can measure. Like you can measure your waist, your weight (obviously), your BMI, and all sorts of things. There are lots of things you can do here. You can go to your doctor to see about some stats about your body that you cannot find out easily by yourself. You can get some numbers so that when you are on your journey you can check against those numbers and see how you're doing.
Tool number two is A.C.E.S. - Appetite Correction Eating Schedule. It talks all about your 19-5 eating schedule. The author recommends that you to start fasting for 19 hours a day and eating for 5. Personally I don't use those numbers. Mine are more like 6 and 18. This is the chapter where we actually get down to the real information that we've been waiting for. This is the halfway point of the book and it's finally it's finally getting to the good stuff. This is what I was reading this book for - eating schedule and what's all involved. ANd that starts in this chapter.
Tool number three is Address the Stress. The author says here and I quote "When stress of any kind climbs our automatic systems kick in and interprets this as a need to prepare for the impending unavailability of food." In other words you need to manage stress in your life. This chapter talks all about managing stress - taking a stress inventory, addressing it, and managing it.
Tool number four you probably saw this one coming from a mile away and that is Exercise. I'm not going to go into this much more than that - it's pretty obvious but that's what this tool is talking about. Make sure you get your exercise - a sedentary lifestyle is not a good thing.
Tool number five is Be the Wild Mustang! By "wild" it means to eat food that takes a while to prepare. If you think about an orange juice for example - it's the predigested serving of three to eight oranges. So imagine sitting down with eight oranges and eating every one of them. This chapter talks about the fact that you should respect food that takes a little while to prepare and a little while to eat and that these things are good things not bad things. We're too stuck in a society that believes in fast food - quick and cheap and easy to make. This tool talks about the fact that you should be thinking the opposite.
Tool six is meal composition - basically he talks about miscellaneous little things that you can eat and that you can't. Like diet sodas, stevia, savory over sweet, soup, salad, things to avoid, add some new things to your diet, etc. Then on the last page there's a little summary table - quite handy.
Tool seven is Finding Your Healthy Tribe. In other words you want to hang around with people that also think like you do. In other words, they're trying to get fit and eat well just like you want to. Because it's a lot easier to do that when you're doing it with somebody else.
Tool number eight is portioning - just getting your portion sizes right. That's all the chapter's about.
Tool number nine is meal dynamics. It's not just important what you eat but how you eat. Examples include the order of the food that you eat, when you eat, how fast you eat, and stuff like that.
Tool number 10: decision-making. Things like: are you gonna decide what you're gonna eat and how much you can eat when you're starving? Things like that.
Tool number 11 is to experiment. Do you wonder if having coffee with cream versus having coffee without cream makes a difference? Personally, I'll try it out, and this little chapter just says to try things out and experiment. But you need to give each experiment enough time like a month. Try cream in your coffee for a month and see if it has any effect, and compare it to another month of coffee without cream and see what the difference is. Do you lose weight or do you not lose weight? Do you feel better or worse?
Tool number 12 is awareness. Be aware that the people out there in the media don't care what's best for you. They just want to sell you stuff and they'll do anything to do it. So be aware of that and figure that into your decision-making when it comes time to decide on how you can eat, when you're gonna eat, how you're going to exercise etc.
Tool number 13 is affirmations. This came up in the other book that I did a review on - Tiny Habits. In that book they're talked about the fact that you have to give yourself little affirmations like little congratulations when you've done something well. This book says it too. It's something I don't do enough but I really think I should do more of. If I succeed at doing something or doing it well or something I hadn't done before, I should give myself a little kudo - a pat on the back kind of thing. This chapter is just like two pages but I think it's good advice.
Tool number 14 is hybridize. That is hybridize different kind of dieting plans. In other words, there are many kinds of diets like Atkins and keto. There's tons of different diets out there - figure out works for you. Appetite correction / intermittent fasting - what this book is all about is - talks about when you can eat and certain aspects of diet like that, but it works well with other diets too. If you want to mix two together, like if you want to only eat in a certain window like twelve o'clock to five o'clock sure but what do you eat? Maybe what you eat in that window is defined by the Atkins diet.
Tool number 15 is to protect your sleep. In other words you need to have a good night's sleep. So many people don't do that, and the advice is obvious, but this chapter goes over it. It's just two pages but yeah - sleep is good.
Tool number 16 is to declutter your intake. In other words, take a look at all the vitamins pills and other things that you're taking. If you're eating a healthy diet then maybe you're not going to need all of these things. So take a really critical look at what you're putting in your body and see if it's a good thing or a bad thing and if you really need it or not.
Part 3 - Conclusions
Okay so those are the tools he mentions. That's the biggest section in the book - the tools. And at the very end of the book he goes into a couple concluding chapters. They're all pretty short.
The first concluding chapter talks about when you attain your goal body. You can go into a kind of maintenance mode because you don't need to lose weight anymore you just need to maintain weight. Things kinda change, so that's what this chapter talks about.
The next concluding chapter talks about appetite correction for kids. Can kids be part of an appetite correction intermittent fasting program? Yes they can and this chapter talks about that a little bit. It's a little bit longer than some of the other chapters. That's not saying much - it's like three pages - but there you go.
The last concluding chapter of the book basically talks about what it's like to be on an intermittent fasting routine. The chapter gives you a little bit of encouragement to go and do it and that kind of thing.
So what do I think of this book?
Well, I do intermittent fasting which is what the book calls "appetite correction" and one of the big problems I have is that I feel hungry all morning long before I get to eat at 12:00. And that's one of the things that I was hoping the author would address in this book and well, he doesn't. I know some other people have told me that they've just gotten used to it and they're okay and they don't feel hungry in the mornings but that's not me. And I've been on this program for several months now and I still get really hungry every morning. And it's frustrating. And does he address this at all? No he doesn't.
GoodReads doesn't have enough space for the rest, so you can watch my concluding thoughts on my YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmzMd...
March 2, 2022
This is Nonfiction/Health. This is yet another Intermittent Fasting book. The info felt usable for anyone thinking of giving this "lifestyle" a try. The author goes over a lot of the WHY this would be beneficial in a super simplistic way. So yay for that when it comes to the newbies.
I think the only problem I had was that it was pretty much "my way or the highway". There are actually multiple ways to incorporate IF into one's life, not just this one. Now even with that said, the author does go on to say after you've given his way a shot, then and only then, one could feel free to make adaptations. So 3 or 4 stars.....I don't know. I think I'll go with 3. The audio narrator was not at all fun to listen to (same last name as the author....wife? relative? NEVER a good idea.) Maybe a little passion would have made this a little more palatable.
I think the only problem I had was that it was pretty much "my way or the highway". There are actually multiple ways to incorporate IF into one's life, not just this one. Now even with that said, the author does go on to say after you've given his way a shot, then and only then, one could feel free to make adaptations. So 3 or 4 stars.....I don't know. I think I'll go with 3. The audio narrator was not at all fun to listen to (same last name as the author....wife? relative? NEVER a good idea.) Maybe a little passion would have made this a little more palatable.
November 26, 2023
I found this book very interesting. Such as: When we are born and are babies, we eat when we are hungry and when we don't want any more, we are done; nothing can get that baby to open up for more. Look at animals in the wild.....none of them are overweight. They eat for hunger and survival.
To correct the appetite, it won't be a diet in the customary sense of the word. It will be a personal, customized Appetite Correction lifestyle: a set of choices, habits and activities that works for YOU and with YOUR body rather than against it.
Deep within our brains our appetite (the drive to eat) is generated by the appetite center. It is one of the many functions maintained by the body's "autopilot" system. It is at the core of the brain alongside other basic functions that are essential to life. The appestat in the brain determines that you need to eat and you WILL eat unless the drive is overridden by another brain-core system such as fight or flight. The appestat initiates eating behavior and overrides the objections coming from the cortex.
So for so many people to be overweight something is confusing a lot of appestats, because appetite is clearly driving people to eat when they don't need to. You can't directly adjust your appestat, but by exerting your conscious control on some things, you can influence your appestat so that the amount it drives you to eat is corrected to where it should be.
Which brings us to the point of this book in how to correct your appetite. The author gives you the rules (for those rule loving people/"how do I do this?") as well as a "toolkit" to help you tweak and customize behaviors (affirmations, portions, exercise, etc) to make this a comfortable fit with your life that you can maintain indefinitely. You can use this way of eating along with any diet choice you prefer (vegetarian, vegan, low carb, Mediterranean, etc).
To correct the appetite, it won't be a diet in the customary sense of the word. It will be a personal, customized Appetite Correction lifestyle: a set of choices, habits and activities that works for YOU and with YOUR body rather than against it.
Deep within our brains our appetite (the drive to eat) is generated by the appetite center. It is one of the many functions maintained by the body's "autopilot" system. It is at the core of the brain alongside other basic functions that are essential to life. The appestat in the brain determines that you need to eat and you WILL eat unless the drive is overridden by another brain-core system such as fight or flight. The appestat initiates eating behavior and overrides the objections coming from the cortex.
So for so many people to be overweight something is confusing a lot of appestats, because appetite is clearly driving people to eat when they don't need to. You can't directly adjust your appestat, but by exerting your conscious control on some things, you can influence your appestat so that the amount it drives you to eat is corrected to where it should be.
Which brings us to the point of this book in how to correct your appetite. The author gives you the rules (for those rule loving people/"how do I do this?") as well as a "toolkit" to help you tweak and customize behaviors (affirmations, portions, exercise, etc) to make this a comfortable fit with your life that you can maintain indefinitely. You can use this way of eating along with any diet choice you prefer (vegetarian, vegan, low carb, Mediterranean, etc).
March 24, 2020
Appetite Correction means you lose fat without counting calories or using brute-force will power. You eat all you want, but you want less and feel full with less.
Dr. Herring was IF before IF was cool. He has one basic rule for intermittent fasting: Eat within five consecutive hours. Example: if you open your eating window at 2:00 p.m., be ready to close that window at 7:00 p.m. Herring clarifies that the eating window is not an obligation to eat, but an opportunity. Also, don't eat continuously for five hours.
This semi-intuitive approach makes someone who can be a voracious eater — say, me — nervous. However, I have experienced the lack of appetite during fasting windows. It's truly a marvel. I still need work on eating to satiety and not beyond it.
It takes three weeks of a change before you can evaluate its effectiveness. This is true for the "adaptation" stage, where your body adjusts to this schedule. But it also applies to tweaks you make to get beyond the dreaded plateau.
A random point to ponder. Drink martinis, not margaritas. I laugh, remembering when I was doing Weight Watchers: if I lost even .2 pound, when I came home, Curt made me a margarita. I don't know if I could ever enjoy a martini, but I see the doctor's point that margaritas and daiquiris are sugar bombs.
Dr. Herring was IF before IF was cool. He has one basic rule for intermittent fasting: Eat within five consecutive hours. Example: if you open your eating window at 2:00 p.m., be ready to close that window at 7:00 p.m. Herring clarifies that the eating window is not an obligation to eat, but an opportunity. Also, don't eat continuously for five hours.
This semi-intuitive approach makes someone who can be a voracious eater — say, me — nervous. However, I have experienced the lack of appetite during fasting windows. It's truly a marvel. I still need work on eating to satiety and not beyond it.
It takes three weeks of a change before you can evaluate its effectiveness. This is true for the "adaptation" stage, where your body adjusts to this schedule. But it also applies to tweaks you make to get beyond the dreaded plateau.
A random point to ponder. Drink martinis, not margaritas. I laugh, remembering when I was doing Weight Watchers: if I lost even .2 pound, when I came home, Curt made me a margarita. I don't know if I could ever enjoy a martini, but I see the doctor's point that margaritas and daiquiris are sugar bombs.
December 23, 2019
Very good book on the powers of appetite correction with intermittent fasting. Basic overview of fasting, but what I really gleaned from AC: The Power of Appetite Correction by Bert Herring is how fasting helps my body overcome decades of unintentional abuse.
Herring is the author of The Fast 5 Diet and the Fast 5 Lifestyle. The AC: The Power of Appetite Correction book is an updated version of both, but it focuses on why fasting works. Straightforward and to the point, Bert Herring gives the reader the opportunity to dive deep into our habits and patterns by opening the door to a better understanding of why our bodies will hold onto fat. He also explores the myths that our food industry have created and looks at different types of hunger. Some may say this is an easy read...and it is.... but it is also wonderful at opening doors into our behavior and traits so that we can have the progress and the goal body that we want.
Very affirming, positive book! Highly recommend~
Herring is the author of The Fast 5 Diet and the Fast 5 Lifestyle. The AC: The Power of Appetite Correction book is an updated version of both, but it focuses on why fasting works. Straightforward and to the point, Bert Herring gives the reader the opportunity to dive deep into our habits and patterns by opening the door to a better understanding of why our bodies will hold onto fat. He also explores the myths that our food industry have created and looks at different types of hunger. Some may say this is an easy read...and it is.... but it is also wonderful at opening doors into our behavior and traits so that we can have the progress and the goal body that we want.
Very affirming, positive book! Highly recommend~
August 22, 2020
Dr. Bert Herring is an idol of Gin Stephens, author of "Fast. Feast. Repeat" and two other books about Intermittent Fasting not to mention two podcasts about the same. Gin Stephens is an idol of mine; ergo, I wanted to check this book out.
AC is a solid look at what does and doesn't lead to successful weight loss and weight maintenance. I like the measured approach -- no food groups are considered off limits and there's a heavy emphasis on intuitive eating. Although this latest version has been updated, the book still feels a bit old fashioned. The ideas that might have been revolutionary when Herring first published it (weight loss is a billion dollar industry! the people selling you their wares don't actually care about you once they have your money!) are common knowledge now.
Still, it's worth a read if you want a more complex understanding of weight and weight loss than just calories in/calories out.
AC is a solid look at what does and doesn't lead to successful weight loss and weight maintenance. I like the measured approach -- no food groups are considered off limits and there's a heavy emphasis on intuitive eating. Although this latest version has been updated, the book still feels a bit old fashioned. The ideas that might have been revolutionary when Herring first published it (weight loss is a billion dollar industry! the people selling you their wares don't actually care about you once they have your money!) are common knowledge now.
Still, it's worth a read if you want a more complex understanding of weight and weight loss than just calories in/calories out.
January 19, 2024
If you already know and have read anything about Intermittent fasting, you won’t learn anything new from this book, written in 2015. The only appetite control he is referencing here is using the five hour eating window that he wrote about in his previous book. His folksy manner of writing made it a frustrating read for me. I was expecting much more after hearing so many people in the IF community recommend this book.
January 17, 2020
A great companion to Dr. Fung’s book, Obesity Code, which gives a great scientific but easy to understand explanation of Intermittent Fasting. This book delves a little deeper, but still keeps it simple, describing appetite correction. Take home message is pick an IF schedule, be consistent, and make small changes to find what will work for you. It’s a slow but sustainable process.
October 6, 2017
Most of the time I read something is an easy read, I think of minimal thought required. I realize that's not smart. Dr. Herring's AC: The Power of Appetite Correction is an easy read, but I found myself thinking throughout. The "tools" provided to equip one's self for health and particularly weight loss are practical and necessary for long-term success. Herring leads much of the science to others. This is a great book for beginners interested in correcting what many perceive to be inherited or learned. One's appetite can be corrected. Read this and learn not only the beginning steps but a lifestyle that is more than feasible.
February 29, 2020
I didn't get as much out of this book as I expected, but it's not because of the book as much as from my engagement in the Delay, Don't Deny community and related books.
I got a lot out of the different types of hunger: Appestat-real, Somatic, Limbic, Clock, Visual, and Mouth. I'm hoping that I can learn to recognize the different types of hunger to achieve better control. After using IF for over a year, I think my biggest issue is the Limbic hunger, which is the drive to continue eating once you're full.
In the end, I have a few take-aways from this book, so I'm glad I read it. I would have gotten more if I had read it a year ago when I started fasting.
I got a lot out of the different types of hunger: Appestat-real, Somatic, Limbic, Clock, Visual, and Mouth. I'm hoping that I can learn to recognize the different types of hunger to achieve better control. After using IF for over a year, I think my biggest issue is the Limbic hunger, which is the drive to continue eating once you're full.
In the end, I have a few take-aways from this book, so I'm glad I read it. I would have gotten more if I had read it a year ago when I started fasting.
February 7, 2019
Good beginner's guide to Intermittent Fasting, but not very much scientific explanation. I find understanding the science to be extra motivation, so I think I prefer Dr. Fung's Obesity Code. This is a quick, easy read.
June 30, 2018
Not impressed. It was long winded and poorly written.
December 18, 2018
Good info that is not particularly well written. And actually, is quite snarky in multiple sections. I totally embrace the concept, lifestyle and information ... just not the style of communication.
October 1, 2023
Super interesting look at how we can help our bodies relearn healthy eating (no fad diets required)!
A clear, well-rounded, and scientific look at how, with the help of fasting, whole foods, and few easily-incorporated tweaks, we can teach our bodies to eat without gaining weight.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean we can eat everything, anything, and all the time, but it does mean that our bodies become in-tune with their own needs (thanks, appestat!), so that we eat everything we desire…and no more. No counting calories!
As someone living an intermittent fasting lifestyle, I found it very helpful to see the evidence and tricks presented to me in a way that could enhance my fasting practice and lead me to even more health benefits!
One small nitpick: this book does have a tendency to repeat itself or make the same point twice in different ways, so I do think it could be shorter and more concise, but I don’t think this makes the book any less worth reading! I found it super fascinating and a very valuable read! :)
A clear, well-rounded, and scientific look at how, with the help of fasting, whole foods, and few easily-incorporated tweaks, we can teach our bodies to eat without gaining weight.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean we can eat everything, anything, and all the time, but it does mean that our bodies become in-tune with their own needs (thanks, appestat!), so that we eat everything we desire…and no more. No counting calories!
As someone living an intermittent fasting lifestyle, I found it very helpful to see the evidence and tricks presented to me in a way that could enhance my fasting practice and lead me to even more health benefits!
One small nitpick: this book does have a tendency to repeat itself or make the same point twice in different ways, so I do think it could be shorter and more concise, but I don’t think this makes the book any less worth reading! I found it super fascinating and a very valuable read! :)
April 3, 2018
Worth the read if your tired of counting calories
Dr. Herring does a very good job describing the importance of appetite correction. Do you want to get away from calorie counting and calorie restricted diets? This book teaches you all you need to begin on a journey of intermittent fasting. One thought I will carry with me is this quote “Focus on eating until you're no longer hungry, rather then stopping only when you're feeling full (stuffed.)”. Rather than focus on calorie intake focus on eating until you are no longer hungry. Lord knows there is plenty of fat reserves if the body requires more fuel unless you’re walking around with 6% body fat.
Dr. Herring does a very good job describing the importance of appetite correction. Do you want to get away from calorie counting and calorie restricted diets? This book teaches you all you need to begin on a journey of intermittent fasting. One thought I will carry with me is this quote “Focus on eating until you're no longer hungry, rather then stopping only when you're feeling full (stuffed.)”. Rather than focus on calorie intake focus on eating until you are no longer hungry. Lord knows there is plenty of fat reserves if the body requires more fuel unless you’re walking around with 6% body fat.
April 12, 2024
Great read with lots of information that doesn’t go along with SAD (standard American Diet). The 19 hours of fasting and 5 hour window of eating is a life changer for folks that are used to the 3 square meals a day along with numerous snacks. Plus our American mentality as taught to us by our USDA about our daily nutrition needs— how can a person fit 2 cups fruits, 3 1/2 cups veggies, 6 ounces grains, 5 1/2 ounces meats/protein, 3 cups dairy in 5 hours? Maybe we have been given some bad information by our government in order to support agriculture? This book makes you think about what kind of diet we need for a healthy lifestyle. I highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2024
I was not impressed with this book. There are so many great books about Intermittent Fasting, this one just renamed this style of eating and added a lot of fluff for volume. I'm an adult, I didn't need 30 different examples about the differences between humans and wild animals. I'm quite aware that lions and monkeys aren't buying snacks from the vending machine or sodas at a convenience store or raiding their refrigerators at night or over-indulging at the local bar. And using the word "body" 49 times in a paragraph was also unnecessary.
October 9, 2017
Useful resource
I like intermittent fasting (IF) and if you do too, this might be a useful resource for you. I consider Dr. Jason Fung to be the ultimate resource but his books are heavy on science so many people struggle to get through them. This book is an easier read and concentrates mostly on the 19/5 Version of IF. 19 hours is long enough to control your appetite and not so long that you can't make it to your 5 hour eating window.
I like intermittent fasting (IF) and if you do too, this might be a useful resource for you. I consider Dr. Jason Fung to be the ultimate resource but his books are heavy on science so many people struggle to get through them. This book is an easier read and concentrates mostly on the 19/5 Version of IF. 19 hours is long enough to control your appetite and not so long that you can't make it to your 5 hour eating window.
May 5, 2020
This book has so many great ideas. It is a good tie-in to intermittent fasting. If you've ever wondered why animals in the wild never have surplus fat but domesticated animals (and people!) do it's because of all the bad information we've received about when and what to eat all our lives. Hint: we should listen to our bodies not the people trying to sell us food, supplements, weight loss schemes, exercise equipment, etc. Hint #2: three meals a day is so 20th century....
August 16, 2020
Worth the read.
If you are a person who struggles with losing weight the “right” way please read this book. There is a different way. One of my favorite quotes is “If you keep doing what your doing you will keep getting what you got”....Henry Ford. The author allowed me to learn more about why traditional “diets” aren’t sustainable. He also helped me to understand how and why AC is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
If you are a person who struggles with losing weight the “right” way please read this book. There is a different way. One of my favorite quotes is “If you keep doing what your doing you will keep getting what you got”....Henry Ford. The author allowed me to learn more about why traditional “diets” aren’t sustainable. He also helped me to understand how and why AC is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
September 6, 2020
This is an overview of intermittent fasting using the 19-5 approach (you only eat during a consecutive 5 hour period each 24 hours). It includes some tips for easing your way into this approach as well as some explanation of the principles behind it. Not having read this before I started with 20-4, I have already passed most of these milestones, but it does provide a good overview and some responses for those who criticize the idea of IF.
March 12, 2021
This book had some great information regarding our ability to control appetite and what the new age foods and propaganda have done to us as a whole and the impact it has had on our lives and health. It is nothing I didn't already know but it just solidifies my growing knowledge of how massive this issue is in our present day lives. Food is not food anymore and because of that our ravenous appetites are out of control.
March 16, 2022
Have you ever seen an overweight deer? Or a fat coyote? How about an obese mountain lion? No? Me either. Its because wild animals only eat when they are actually hungry and they have to put in an honest effort to eat a meal of unprocessed garbage.
This book is about resetting your appetite, losing weight, and getting healthy. I learned about the different types of hunger along with tips for a healthier lifestyle and the many benefits of fasting.
This book is about resetting your appetite, losing weight, and getting healthy. I learned about the different types of hunger along with tips for a healthier lifestyle and the many benefits of fasting.
April 16, 2024
A basic overview of intermittent fasting that focuses on habits and patterns of why we eat - it’s not our fault, the food industry uses subtle messages to encourage us to eat - and how to form healthier patterns. The author provides a series of “tools” to get started. I do love the Brussels sprouts test in the last chapter: if you’re really hungry, Brussels sprouts will be appetizing and you’ll want to eat them. For a more in-depth look at IF, look for books by Dr. Jason Fung and Gin Stephens.
July 10, 2019
Love the straightforward, simple way this book is written! It makes all the sense in the world and it’s crazy we aren’t taught this more...but then no one would make money off of us! I’ve been losing weight with intermittent fasting since January and this book just encouraged me more! It’s a lifestyle. No dieting necessary!
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December 30, 2019Very great discussion on how to achieve Appetite Correction by the author of The Fast 5! Fasting for 19 hours a day seems impossible, but Dr Bert Herring is wonderful at teaching how to go about implementing an intermittent fasting/ eating program to change your life. Wonderful!! I use it to control and reverse my insulin resistance!!!
December 23, 2022
The main message is fasting leads to appetite control.
I liked about the book is the explanation of the appestat and how it is affected by marketing and different types of foods.
However, there was a lot of fluff that I found very outdated such as how to deal with people who are against fasting...
I liked about the book is the explanation of the appestat and how it is affected by marketing and different types of foods.
However, there was a lot of fluff that I found very outdated such as how to deal with people who are against fasting...
November 5, 2023
I listened to this on audible and the reader was monotone and boring. It has some value and common sense, like the more carbohydrates you eat the more carbohydrates you will crave. I might pick up the hard copy sometime at a thrift store, and see if the written book makes it better. I didn’t agree with his stance on sweeteners; , the latest research also disagrees.
November 20, 2023
Read for personal interest. Personally I felt everything you needed to read is included in the free, shorter book available from the author's website, but I'm giving an extra star because this is one of the few books in the subgenre that unapologetically confronts late stage capitalism as an environmental factor.
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