Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin and Free

by Susan Peirce Thompson

Bright Line Eating has helped thousands of people from over 75 countries lose all their excess weight and keep it off. Are you ready to join them?

In this book, Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D. shares the groundbreaking weight-loss solution based on her highly acclaimed Bright Line Eating Boot Camps. Rooted in cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, and biology, Bright Line Eating explains why people who are desperate to lose weight fail again and again:

It’s because the brain blocks weight loss.

Bright Line Eating (BLE) is a simple approach designed to reverse that process. By working with four “Bright Lines” — clear, unambiguous, boundaries — Susan Peirce Thompson shows us how to heal our brain and shift it into a mode where it is ready to shed pounds, release cravings, and stop sabotaging our weight loss goals.

Best of all, it is a program that understands that willpower cannot be relied on, and sets us up to be successful anyway.

Through the lens of Susan’s own moving story, and those of her Bright Lifers, you’ll discover firsthand why traditional diet and exercise plans have failed in the past. You’ll also learn about the role addictive susceptibility plays in your personal weight-loss journey, where cravings come from, how to rewire your brain so they disappear, and more. Susan guides you through the phases of Bright Line Eating—from weight loss to maintenance and beyond—and offers a dynamic food plan that will work for anyone, whether you’re vegan, gluten-free, paleo, or none of the above.

Bright Line Eating frees us from the obesity cycle and introduces a radical plan for sustainable weight loss. It’s a game changer in a game that desperately needs changing.

“Bright Line Eating ushers in an end to cravings, an end to dieting, an end to that constant, exhausting, soul-sucking loop in your head about food and calories and pounds. . . . Living Happy, Thin, and Free is your birthright.” — Susan Peirce Thompson

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help, Food, Nutrition, Cookbooks, Diets

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 21, 2017

Reviews

[Abchap · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got a little confused about this book.
It starts with the standard disclaimer about the content not being medical advise and in the event you use the information in the book you do it at your own risk blah blah… ok
Then the author spend a whole chapter self reflecting on her life and how she went from being a heavy drug addict( i mean acid, exctasy, crystal meth, cocaine, crack…) to becoming a PhD.
OK, I can deal with a little background even if it seems a little stretched ( I wasn’t there so I can only applaud and not judge).
The other chapters use the author PhD credentials to send us into four wonderful chapters on the brain functions and how it relates to addiction then making the jump into food addiction.

From the get go I got the impression that avoiding sugar and flour will free me from obesity. Well, there is more, I also need to limit my meals to 3 squares meals a day ( why three and not two or five ?), not graze in between those meals AND drastically limit the amount of food during those three meals.
Anyone following these restriction would definitively loose weight but would they really be happy and free ? that can be debated!
I mean some people are happy counting points and do well with the system, some people are happy with six meals a day and do well with it, some graze the right food all day and do well with that too !

And just when I am ready to adopt the belief that both sugar and flour ought to be eliminated few things happen
1- A chapter on children diet which allows children to have flour because they exercise enough to eliminate it ! why cant adult do the same ? but what about the addiction part ?
2- The author recall a time when she went to Australia, and went from a size 4 to 24 in 3 months !! that is 10 sizes, so roughly over 100 pounds in 3 months ??
3- She warns about over fattening meals which will detract from the weight loss….. so no sugar, no flour, food size restricted and now fat content too ?
4- As tools to help control one food ‘ obsession’ she advise prayer to God and meditation ! really ? right out of the food addiction 12 steps book !
5- exercise ? no exercise while loosing weight and NO mention of any afterwards.
6- travelling with a food scale and packing food, pages and pages on how to calculate timezone proper spaced meals… on and on about the packing

I personally did not enjoy the multiple testimonies in the book. Most felt extreme to me, like the people were so unhealthy one wonders how they survived long enough to see the light and follow the program who saved them. With BP in crazy crazy ranges to blood work so bad they should have been hospitalized, to years of extreme malnutrition ….

So I went from reading a fascinating book on brain cognitive functions to a so-so diet book all the while not relating to extreme people testimonies!
Many, many, let me say MANY many books have been written on diverse extreme diets, some more sensible than other, the vast majority written by doctors ( either MD or PhD ) I simply fail to see what this one is adding to the mix. I am in NO way arguing about the science nor about the potential benefits of going off of sugar and flour as they are most probably unhealthy for us the same way heavy washed&processed meat is bad for us, the same way extreme consumption of processed milk or soy is bad for us.

I have simply failed to see how getting “extremely” structured following a “very” regimented and limited diet will make anyone Happy or Free.
the support offered outside of the book and the BLE community is most probably a plus but I dont to see how much more of a plus they offer compared to others meetings ?

That being said, as readers are always eager to find new miracle recipes for the perfect diet I am sure that the book will be successful just based on its title of ‘living happy thin and free’.

[CS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

DNF at 33% or chapter 7 - which was about 6 chapters more than this deserved. Please also note, I removed this from my "nonfiction" and "nutrition" shelves, because this horrible woo encouraging eating disorders does NOT belong among the other books on those shelves (and given what is on those shelves, that is saying a lot!).

How to Develop an Eating Disorder in 4 Easy Steps:

1) No sugar. EVER. No agave, honey or those horrible artificial sweeteners. No dried fruit or juice - EVER. Why? Because it looks like cocaine and heroin. Source? Some starved rats engorged on sugar rather than cocaine, therefore sugar addiction! (Not saying I 100% disagree but the science as she relays is sketchy)

2) No flour. EVER. NONE OF IT. No white, wheat, oat, rice, nut or anything. Why? Because it looks like cocaine and heroin, therefore it too is addictive. Where’s the science? It’s coming, I SWEAR!

3) Eat 3 meals a day. “Then shalt thou eat to three meals, no more, no less. Three shall be the number of meals thou shalt eat, and the number of the meals shall be three. Four shalt thou not eat, neither eat thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be eaten, then thou shalt stop thine fatty self from stuffing thine flabby face even if thou ist hungry for legitimate reasons!” Snacking? HEATHEN! What is WRONG WITH YOU!

4) Weigh everything. Need to taste the sauce you’re making for dinner? HEATHEN! Scotch tape that sinful mouth! Use a scale for EVERYTHING for extreme freedom.

This diet is one of the most awful ones I’ve ever read, up there with Jon Gabriel and the gluten-free “Wheat Belly” and “Grain Brain” duos.

Just because someone has “PhD” after their name does NOT mean you should listen to their diet quackery!!!

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

When the author speaks about the science, she is brilliant. She definitely shows what is unhealthy about refined sugar. However, much of this book departs from the science into the author's private experience with food addiction, and the habits and thinking that helped her overcome it. Her personal story adds a great deal to the book, but her private solutions do not. She tries equating flour, even whole grain flours, with sugar. She fails to make her case. Unfortunately, she give us no science. Her comparison of flour and cocaine--showing that both look similar and are somehow therefore similarly addictive--is ludicrous. She talks about how her husband threatened to leave her because she was so obsessive about her diet, and all of the strange behaviors she adopted to help her give up sugar and flour. She says that obsessiveness will not be required, and yet her program is exactly that. Asking people to give up not only all sugar, but all flour is already a lot to ask. To then insist that they also need to get up early in the morning to engage in rituals like reading diet books, and meditating for half an hour at a stretch. Then spending time each night before bedtime planning out the next days food in excruciating detail and contacting a friend to commit to eating nothing but that, then to spend another half hour writing in a journal--come on! While I believe in journaling, and meditation has enough science to convince me that it is health promoting, I don't believe that this much time and thought are required to lose weight. This is just all in keeping with the author's obsessive-compulsive personality. For those who share this personality, this book may be for you. For the rest of us, this program will be asking too much.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books with science on nutrition and exercise physiology. This one scored points for new, neurological research--including exploring data that the brains of the obese and the aneorexic are very similar, self-sabotage neurology, and hormonal effects on the brain. The author presents reasoned strategies and ideas for brain "reprogramming" for lasting healthy success.

That said, I can't ever get past the "revival" tone of this (and many other) self-help style books. The strategies for self-reprogramming make sense and have some embedded flexibility . . . but I'm suspicious of her overall, ultimate solution: weighing regimented meals for the rest of your life. To me, that seems like hanging on to the addicted/eating disorder brain, clinging to control with a vice-like grip. Add the churchy tone of her reprogramming advice, the sales pitch for "boot camps," and the twelve step roots waters down the credibility of the core scientific information. So the science is sound, but the leap from there to the author's method is a rough gap.

Take what you like and ditch the rest.

[Cate · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a relief to have a neuroscientist so clearly explain that I’m not just a weak-willed person because of my weight, despite success in so many other areas of my life. My brain has been hijacked. My ever-worsening battle with my weight is mainly due to the Standard American Diet. I had no idea. The mere thought of giving up my beloved pastries practically had me breaking out in hives, which just proves the point: I’m a 10 on the susceptibility scale. This book beautifully and clearly opened my eyes to the scientific reality of sugar and flour addiction, along with strategies to make a complete life change. I have had so many yo-yos with my weight over the years that I had given up and tried to just accept myself the way I was. Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson has given me hope that I can once again face the mirror and the camera without flinching, shop for sizes that I thought I would never see again, and return to the activities I had relinquished because of joint pain.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been doing Bright Line Eating since June 24 2016, and I've lost nearly 50 pounds. I'm a slow loser, but the program is amazing. What is most amazing is that my brain has set down new fiber tracts and no longer craves sugar and flour products. Who knew clean healthily prepared food tasted so good? I am confident that following this program will see all my excess weight gone (20 more pounds), and that I will be able to maintain my right-sized body for the rest of my life.

[Hero · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the first part of the book let's talk about how willpower is useless to help with dieting. In the second half, I'll explain how drawing a (bright) line in the sand is the perfect diet. No flour. No sugar. And how do you stick to that? Why, willpower of course!

[Mehrsa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin, maybe, but happy and free? No way. Weighing every single thing you eat? And no exercise? This is crazy-making! I mean, maybe the book was not written for someone like me. I don't have weight to lose, but I do like to stay healthy and I do watch what I eat and like to exercise. So perhaps if someone has a lot of weight to lose and they have an obsessive personality, this plan might work. I am all for cutting out flour and sugar--I think that's sane advice. The rest of it seems excessive. I still think the best weight loss book out there is the obesity code. In that one, the author uses science the whole time. In this one, there's a section of excellent science and then she veers off into a cultish formula. One of the "testimonials" during the end said something like I don't have to ask any questions I just do the system. Creepy.

[Katie Alender]

This book veers from science into orthorexia. Of course you're going to lose weight on this diet, it's incredibly controlling. You can lose weight doing anything if you restrict your eating and do everything to the extreme.

With both of my daughters, I had to do strict elimination diets while nursing because of food sensitivities that caused them digestive issues. Those were some very bright lines and I lost a lot of weight very fast. But that's not sustainable, not without putting an unhealthy level of focus and control on what you're eating.

You can be addicted to not eating things just as you can be addicted to eating them. Without balance, you don't have a diet. What you have is disordered eating. I'm not keeping this book in the house because I don't want my daughters thinking about food this way.

[Brown Girl Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly restrictive diet, however I have picked up some helpful hints to eat more healthy. I'd love to banish sugar completely from diet,except for fruit of course, but I know how hard that is...

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book; great system. I've lost 25 pounds in three months, but more importantly, my health is much better: my fibromyalgia outbreaks have stopped, my blood pressure has come down, and I even think my memory is better. I honestly love how I feel when I am off sugar and flour. And THAT is the miracle.

[Happyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you feel that donuts and cupcakes are calling your name, this may be the book to help you resist their siren song. Developed and written by a behaviorist and former addict (crack, crystal meth, and food), this is the food version of going cold turkey. Bright lines are the lines you do not cross, reducing the willpower-sapping decisions you need to make each day and instilling life-long habits of healthy food boundaries. No added sugar and no flour since she states these foods act like drugs. Similar to cocaine and heroin, neither of which are addictive if eaten in their whole food state, sugar (including artificial sweeteners, dried fruit, and fruit juices) and flour (of any grain) cause your dopamine receptors to demand more, setting off an addictive cycle that makes eating normal portions difficult. These foods also increase insulin secretion, leading to leptin resistance reducing leptin’s ability to turn off hunger. Alcohol is also prohibited since it too obviously acts like a drug, has calories, and leads to poor decision making and other issues. Other bright lines include only eating three meals 4-6 hours apart with no snacks and sticking to precise portions weighed with a food scale. The portions for the weight loss portion of the plan are breakfast: 1 protein, 1 breakfast grain, 1 fruit; lunch: 1 protein, 6 oz vegetable, 1 fruit, 1 fat; and dinner: 1 protein, 6 oz vegetables, 8 oz salad, and 1 fat. Food is liberalized, on a somewhat complicated schedule, once you approach your goal weight.

What some people may love is that exercise is prohibited during the weight loss phase of the program. Rationales for the exercise prohibition include the need to exercise sapping your willpower reserve, some people using exercise as an excuse to eat more, and evidence showing that exercise isn’t especially effective for weight loss. The focus of this program is to get your eating under control without distractions. Exercise does return once you reach goal weight for its many health benefits and evidence supporting its weight maintenance power.

I can’t speak to whether this plan works in the long term. Every diet book claims to have a lifetime weight loss solution. It may be worth a try for those who really have disordered eating, although I can imagine some would argue that this plan’s strict guidelines could backfire. And it seems to in the beginning for the author. One time, after a year or two of success with the program, she finds herself fantasizing about cake in front of a bakery, tempting her to go back the next day to actually buy a cake, which then sets off a three-month binge resulting in her ballooning from a size 6 to a size 24. Plus the program seems to require a great deal of emotional support, just like an AA program. The author repeatedly states that eventually the habits will be ingrained and you’ll automatically follow the program but the need for support appears to be on-going. Just as with other plans, I could see people moving on and letting themselves slide. At the same time, there is something to be said for establishing firm boundaries. As the author repeatedly notes, the more you do what you commit to doing, the more integrity you build within yourself. Plus, it’s surprising when you do give up something completely, like for those who give up animal foods or gluten, you find it easier to say no since there are no exceptions.

I received a free eBook of this title pre-publication from NetGalley. Two downsides of this version is that the pre-pub eBook didn’t always translate the food charts well (still not sure of the appropriate portion sizes for the plant-based proteins) and the websites listed for additional resources were incorrect. I imagine both of these problems will be corrected in the final book. It also would have been nice if the book included sample menus, both for omnivores and plant-based eaters, to translate the portion sizes into actual meals. Perhaps sample menus are in the resources?

Overall, some interesting ideas about eliminating trigger foods, portion control, and limiting eating opportunities. How invested someone would be in this plan would depend on how committed they are to the process and if they could live without sugar, flour, and alcohol in their lives.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been doing BLE for a year and have come to understand my relationship to food and myself in a much clearer way...this is a sustainable, do-able program that supports a new relationship with food through mind, body and spirit... the book is a great guide and resource... to get the full experience one needs to experience SPT's blogs, the community support and work all of the tools, not just follow the food plan- it's so much more that "just" a food plan!!! This has the potential to significantly change people's relationship to food around the world!

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

CONTROL.

If I had to sum up Susan's book in one word that would be it: CONTROL. She strikes me as a control freak to the utmost. I don't say that as a negative punch at her, it's just true. Her story was very interesting and this book was like one part memoir, one part science journal analysis and one part diet plan. Not equal parts, but all were covered in the book.

I read this book because I know someone who is/was on her plan and the premise intrigued me. Susan's "bright lines" are boundaries she sets up about food and eating and they are mandatory boundaries not to be crossed at anytime: no sugar (fruit is ok), no flour (no, not even almond or coconut flour - nothing ground up into fine powder), 3 meals a day, controlled portions. If you strip away the emotion and the commentary, she's basically just restricting calories and putting you on a low carb diet. I have no doubts she has seen the results she boasts - if someone really was taking their food scale to restaurants and weighing out their portions or planning out their meals to the ounce and not deviating at all, one single bit then yeah, I would expect them to lose weight.

I think the most ironic thing in the book is Susan's drawn out explanations of will power and it not being a thing and then the whole remainder of the book basically making a person rely on will power to eat this way. If you love the facade of being in control and love micro managing, then this may be the diet for you! If not, try something else. This plan will take a TON of detail and preparation and a lot of time to weigh, measure, pack, etc. Despite her chapter on traveling and eating this plan on the go, I think the reality is that most people won't make these efforts.

The one beef I have with her, that happened early on was when she suggested lying to friends when you're new to the plan and trying to explain why you're avoiding sugar and flour. She actually suggested people tell their friends/colleagues that you are "allergic to flour/sugar/etc now" and explain your avoidance on a food allergy!?! As a #foodallergywarrior and food allergy mom, this made me so upset! I won't get on my soapbox and go on and on, but I just want to say I did NOT appreciate the apathetic attitude she has toward food allergies and that single paragraph was responsible for me withdrawing trust in the author.

Pros of the book: The author read it and I enjoyed her voice and how she read the book (tempo, inflections, etc.) and the case studies were also interesting. Obviously she's found what works for her and I'm glad to hear she's no longer suffering from her alcohol and drug (and food!) addictions.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weight loss doesn't begin in the gut, or the mouth, the kitchen or the gym. Weight loss begins in the brain. Understanding how our brain is wired, how we respond to stimuli, and how we operate in a willpower deficit will begin to open your eyes to how you make decisions in all areas of your life.

Even if you don't have a pound to lose and you're extremely healthy, the science and data behind this book will be helpful for anyone in your life and fascinating. Entirely based in scietific fact, data and testing, Bright Line Eating doesn't start with weight-loss. It starts with understanding your brain. Susan Thompson is a brilliant and engaging woman who has spent her life reasearching and attempting to understand how each of us undermine our own goals and dreams. Not just in the arena of scales and weight loss, but in every area of our lives.

As I began to grasp the ideas foundational to this way of life, I began to realize the far-reaching implications of the discoveries that science is making in regards to how our brain works. When we truly grasp our finite amounts of will-power, and how over taxed our decision making systems our in our current culture, I believe that we will make massive strides forward in reaching our potential.

With a background in psychology and neuro-science, Thompson doesn't hold back at all but gives us as many studies and tests as one book can handle, all the while keeping us engaged with realistic and results-oriented application and her engaging and easy-to-relate-to writing style. Without being gimmicky or pushy, Susan shares what has changed her own life, what she struggled with and what eventually led to her freedom.

And freedom is certainly what this is all about. In any area of life it is discipline that brings freedom. If you look at classically trained artists, musicians, authors, chefs, architects, what allows them the freedom to be creative is the very boundaries and rules that they live by. Music that is allowed to follow no pattern, no laws, no rules is disharmonious and chaotic. The same is true for how our bodies run. If we learn to live by the rules that allow them to function at their optimal levels, if we walk the paths laid out for us by those who have gone before, we begin to see vitality, joy, harmony, health, energy and enthusiasm. What often feels like strict rules in the beginning will bring freedom once the practice has led to automaticity. Whether you're playing scales on the piano or weighing food on scales in a kitchen, the key to freedom, the path to happiness, comes from learning and following the basic guidelines. Susan has thoughtfully and completely laid out those guidelines in this book. They are not complicated. That's not to say they're easy. They are not easy at first. However, the reason we are still overweight as a culture is because we keep aiming for the "easy" way. And its not working. The "easy" way is fat. The difficult way is life. But its worth it.

This book tells you why nothing has worked before. Then it lays out step-by-step what will work. NO matter who you are. NO matter what your story. And it works. I have been following this for a month and have lost 11 pounds! I'm not to goal weight yet, but I am totally impressed with the science, sincerity and simplicity of Susan's Bright Lines!

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, the wild variety of reviews on this book are really interesting. I guess its a love it or hate it situation.
I got this audiobook from the library, expecting very little. Usually non fiction on audio is not my thing. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the scientific information presented in the first half of the book and also deeply moved by the author’s own story of addiction, pain, and recovery. My own sister literally killed herself with food so I relate very strongly to the despair and pain and uncontrollable cycle of gain and loss that most food addicts go through. The author’s story is believable and makes a compelling case for changing your approach to eating.

In a society full of fat, sick and unhappy people its hard to deny that there needs to be a revolution in what we eat.

I completed the 14 day challenge with Bright Line eating and definitely recommend it to people who feel like they need to get control of their impulses. It was eye opening to start weighing my food and realize that I’ve been shortchanging myself for years on how much vegetables I should be eating. I am an advocate of time restricted eating and intermittent fasting but my favorite book on the subject doesn’t have enough structure for me. Bright Line Eating delivers that structure.

This is a good book about a plan that a person could live with long term.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hard to rate, but I rounded up instead of down. I liked the author's use of science. This was very 'sciency'. That part was fascinating to read. I liked that. She covered addiction and the effects that it has on hormones and the brain. She also used lots of studies, but even with that said, she said a lot of other things with no sources mentioned, leading me to think if it was just her personal experience with helping others.

Now this was a little on the extreme side.....no snacking.......no sugar........no sugar substitutes....no flour of any kind ....ever. Ever. Ever. So if you are a grazer, this info. may put you into a cold sweat.

This book brought back memories of when I needed to lose 5 - 15 pounds back in college. I'd cut out snacks and if it I had to lose it quick, I also cut out a meal a day. I became acquainted with hunger but it always worked. The author mentions the possible hunger you may experience by following this plan. I had to laugh at that because I've been there. While she doesn't say eliminate a meal a day, the no snacking whatsoever rule brought back memories, but she also has you measuring everything you put into your mouth.

The negative about this was that this book sounded like a big commercial for her website and her facebook page. That is always bothersome for me. However, I found some of the advice practical and I liked the way she explained all the details. So if you struggle with food addiction, this might be the plan for you.

[Pericles · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book DOES NOT deliver on what it promises: the science of living happy, thin free. This is not a science book about eating habits (and how to correct them), it is yet another book to SELL a diet program, that STARTS with good science.

I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book. Dr. Susan Pierce Thompson explains how she went from a drug addict to a PhD in Neuroscience and how that helped her challenge the "modus operandi" of our brain in need of certain substances. Then she explains that sugar and flour are bad for you because they are highly addictive and that you eat them just for a FIX, like drugged people consume their drugs. Finally she explains how you need to have a bright-line rule (a clearly defined rule with no room for varying interpretation) about NOT eating sugar and flower, AT ALL, forever, and about portions and meal times.

It was good until she explained the science, but then every other chapter encourages you to go to her website and take her QUIZ, which you don't see the results unless you give them your e-mail address. And that's AFTER you paid for the book. It also brings dozens of case studies about people who lost a lot of weight, but that doesn't help the science case for the book at all. I'm sure people lost weight using this program, but people also loose weight with other programs.

Overall, highly disappointed as I feel like after having paid for the book, It's only trying to persuade me to join the program for a fee.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes this is a diet book and many of the recommendations will not be a surprise to anyone who has tried and failed on a diet. Thompson's approach is different though and I think she's on to sometime. In this book she focuses on why diets inevitably fail and she makes a convincing argument it's because flour and sugar are addictive and even the smallest amounts create cravings that are as powerful as what happens in drug addiction. She outlines a plan to wean oneself of the addiction and it's pretty extreme but I can see how it would work. This isn't a diet for everyone but is certainly one to consider for those who've tried and failed at many diets and also for folks who have an addictive personality. She has a self-test so you can find out if you have a food addiction. There's lots to eat on the diet but flour and sugar are banned.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the e-review edition of this book.

[Jim Strasma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The key learning for me in this book was that when whole grain is ground into flour, and when whole fruits are blended into a smoothie, their glycogen index rises - a lot, turning them from health foods into foods as bad or worse for me as sugar. A second important learning was that it is important to intermittently fast, defined as going at least 4 hours between meals during the day, and at least 12 hours overnight.

I'd already almost completely eliminated sugar from my diet, but was still slowly gaining back weight I'd so carefully lost back in 2004-2009, until I also eliminated all sugar substitutes (suggested by this book, but I'd already recently done the same before reading it), and then eliminated all flour and all fruit juices, and committed to only 3 meals a day, 4+ hours apart, with a 12 hour fast overnight.

Now I'm losing the excess weight easily again. But as a "sugarholic" (a 10 on the author's scale), I will have to continue this eating plan the rest of my life, just as if I'd been an alcoholic.

The author also has lots of other ideas, that may or may not be important or proven. For now, what I'm applying is working, so I'll add in more ideas if and when they are needed.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's call a spade a spade, shall we? I understand that many people have lost weight with the plan described in this book, but do NOT tell me it's NOT a diet. Cutting out sugar and flour, weighing your food, and eating three times a day - and ONLY three times a day, no matter what - looks an awful lot like a diet to me.

I do actually agree that some people have an extreme sensitivity to sugar and white carbs; I'm pretty sure I'm one of them. But cutting out whole categories of foods, and obsessively planning and weighing everything you eat...how is this not restrictive eating? Therefore, how is this NOT a diet?? Just reading about journaling my food, weighting and measuring every bite I take, and thinking about never, ever having a dessert or even bread again in my lifetime sets off all my triggers from years of restricting and obsessing about calories and scales. No thank you!!

The community formed around these principles seems very supportive, and I might incorporate some of the ideas into my own meals, but a diet is a diet is a diet. Only recommended if you want a very structured, strict way of eating for weight loss.

[Alias Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

No added sugar. No flour (whole and refined). Weigh all your food. Three meals no snacks at the same time each day. Daily journal, meditation and readings and no exercise and more time consuming rituals. Not realistic for most and I don't really know how healthy this is. Seems obsessive to me. Author had massive drug problem. Perhaps people with a highly destructive addictive personalty might benefit from this plan. This seems very similar to a 12 step type program. Oh and you have to pay for her Boot camp and online groups.

[Robin Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever tried to lose weight on multiple programs and were unsuccessful...this book is for you! With this program I was able to lose 90 pounds and keep it off! Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson is amazing and wants to help people not just lose the weight but keep it off forever! I had given up hope of ever losing the weight and tried Bright Line as a last ditch effort! Now I'm finally living in a right sized body and am truly Happy, Thin and Free!

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The BLE program truly is amazing. I would not say the book was incredibly well written, though. Kind of average. But the program is AMAZING! It works! I am about 160 days in, approaching goal weight. Happier than ever before. Thinner than at any time since early college. No cravings. No hunger.And it is pretty darn effortless (took some effort at the beginning). I have very few thoughts of food during the day. Compared to a year ago, a miracle.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book seems to be one very long advert for the authors diet programme.

The science parts are interesting but it’s all about the testimonials and getting you to buy into the authors diet programme

Save your time and money... don’t eat sugar and don’t eat any kind of flour.

[Cindy Marsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, I think I've found the approach to weight management that works for me, or that gives the missing piece to my lifelong puzzle. After more than four months keeping my bright lines bright with immersion in a 14-day challenge, boot camp, and now membership in "Bright Lifers," I have taken off almost thirty pounds and am at my lowest weight in a quarter century. That's pretty promising!

I pre-ordered the book in connection with the 14-day challenge that introduces the whole system of bright line eating, and I highly recommend this low-investment way of testing it out. Bright Line Eating is "not for those who need it, but for those who want it." It requires going a different direction than our culture is going, and in a snapshot, this is what a typical food day looks like for me: for breakfast I have oatmeal (or sweet potato or potato or rice or a limited selection of dry cereals), eggs (or other protein), and fruit; for lunch ten ounces of salad (usually) with protein and a serving of fat and one of fruit; for dinner the same as lunch but without the fruit--I usually have cooked veggies at dinner. What's radical about the bright lines I follow is this: those meals include NO sugar or substitute of any kind, NO flour (any grain/starch processed down to easily-digestible form) or anything made of flour, NO snacks--the three meals provide all I need, and ALL foods carefully weighed and measured.

Why all this precision? That's the secret--it turns out that for those of us who are sensitive to the processed form of foods (particularly carbohydrates), our brains get hijacked by the "sugar hit" when those foods hit our digestive systems, with a similar effect from overeating of any foods, and we've known the misery of being trapped in that cycle of hunger/indulgence/false-hunger/indulgence as our weight has climbed. Susan Peirce Thompson has studied it all as a neuroscientist and lived it all as a highly-addictable person who kicked drugs and alcohol at age 20 or so but then fell into the prison of food addiction. And she's found a way out, based in part on the work of 12-step programs but brought into a more scientific realm and with upbeat social support to sustain it.

The formula works--for unprecedented numbers of people who have been trapped in the past but are now living happy, thin, and free. I've got the happy and free--I love my food and feel great, which has never been the case with previous attempts to control my weight. And I'm getting the thin, one day at a time.

For some the book may be all that is needed to "get" the program, but if it seems impossible to attempt or difficult to sustain, I invite these folks to check out the website for the opportunity to join our "tribe" and get happy, thin, and free with us!

[howardnstephanieestes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an outline for developing healthy eating practices for people who have obsessive or addictive habits with food. Personally, the most valuable pieces of this book are the bright lines (no sugar or flour, eating three meals daily with no snacks and measuring food quantities) and the method for constructing meals. Thompson's reflections on building the habit of nutrition and tuning out the distractions of work, tv and devices during meals really spoke to me. I know how bad it feels to be disappointed in myself for lacking the willpower to maintain good habits and feel these parameters, instead of harshly limiting my diet, have transformed my relationship with food. Steadily gaining weight as I approach my 50's is no longer inevitable. I will admit, I am not journaling or meditating, but have not needed to do so to follow the guidelines described for the eating plan. Some of us will need more support than others. One thing is for certain: when I don't eat sugar or flour, I can regulate my eating habits without struggling. I would like to address the concerns from other reviewers about her parallels between sugar, flour and drugs like heroin and cocaine. The comparison is based on the process of refining and interaction with the brain. No one will become addicted to heroin from eating poppy seeds. The process of refining, concentrating and pulverizing the compounds profoundly speeds the rate at which they interact with receptors in the nervous system. Refining and concentrating natural sugars into sweeteners (added to much of the shelf-stable food we buy) or pulverizing them into easily digestible smaller bits mean we are eating highly concentrated quantities of these foods that interact with our nervous system. Wheatberries are fine to eat. Flour is not. That's the parallel.

[Yvonne S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well. Huh. Writing this feels a wee bit akin to coming out. Hi, my name’s Yvonne, and I’m an addict. Really, I am. Love me those sweets, and breads, bagels and pasta, and pizza. They are addictive. I’m telling myself they are poison to keep myself from eating them now. I’m convinced this book has the brain and body science of eating and weight gain or loss just right. I’ve committed to the program described because the science is so compelling — and our culture and my own body & lived experience are evidence of the addictive power of sugar and flour. So, one day at a time... I am hoping to regain the thin body I had up into my 30s and other indicators of better health, once I get a grip on my addiction. I bought this book—a rare move for me these days; usually I read library books—to be able to easily reference it as I learn and solidify new habits of eating and daily life, guided by its wisdom and science. I’ve also signed on for Bright Line Boot Camp and bought the food scale and journaling tools she recommends. Okay, let the pounds drop off as healthier eating becomes a daily practice, as routine as brushing my teeth. Will you please pray for me, that my commitment will last? Oh and yeah, I commend to you this book, whole heartedly. If you are ready to lose some weight you might want to visit BrightLineEating.com and read this book.

[Heidi Stallman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The three things I liked most about this book were 1) the scientific explanations about the will power gap that leads so many of us to break promises to ourselves about what we will or will not eat and the explanations about food addiction and the addictive nature of our current food supply 2) the practical tools about how to overcome the will power gap and food addiction and 3) the friendly, no holding back, tone of the author who you know really gets it. This isn't an expert telling you about your problem. This is an expert who knows your problem inside and out because she has lived it. She knows the science and the tools that will help and she gives your the sobering facts about weight loss and food addiction while at the same time giving you hope. Loved it and highly recommend it to anyone who has trouble eating just one chip or one slice.

[Maggie Huffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's always seemed to be a missing puzzle piece to my weight loss. Why can't I keep the plans I make to manage what I eat and lose weight? Susan Peirce Thompson answers my questions and goes into one of my favorite disciplines to do so- Neuroscience! Well written and very well structured, this book lays out the guidelines for a way of eating that gets you to happy, thin and free. And she does NOT make you feel inadequate, weak or flawed to get you there, as so many others in the diet and fitness "industry" do. She speaks from the heart and mind! BTW, it works!