You Can’t Screw This Up: Why Eating Takeout, Enjoying Dessert, and Taking the Stress out of Dieting Leads to Weight Loss That Lasts

by Adam Bornstein, Arnold Schwarzenegger (Foreword)

FOREWORD BY ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. What if the healthiest diet included the foods that were enjoyable and respectful of our stressful, overbooked lives? You couldn’t screw it up! Here’s a can’t-miss plan that will build unbreakable habits by incorporating mindset changes, easy restaurant options, and more from “the perfect person to blaze a better path” (Arnold Schwarzenegger). The diet industry is great at making you follow more diets, not making you leave dieting behind. You don't need another restrictive, unrealistic plan; you need tools that help you enjoy what you eat (including takeout!) and be healthier at the same time. Adam Bornstein is a bestselling author, and has consulted health icons including Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, and Lindsey Vonn. He’s one of the most trusted voices in health because of his ability to get results without gimmicks, supplements, or suffering.  In this easy-to-follow book, Bornstein shows how upgrading your health and losing weight for good requires you to turn your back on the typical dieting culture by following successful habits and frameworks not typically seen in nutrition and fitness. It includes Once you learn a better way to build healthy habits, you can leave behind the shame and guilt of most plans and make the healthy lifestyle changes you’ve been chasing.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help, Nutrition, Audiobook, Fitness, Personal Development

352 pages, Hardcover

Published May 23, 2023

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cognitive approach to weight loss that focuses on changing the way you think about food and diet. The first 60% is very repetitive, saying the same thing in different ways, but most likely intentional so it will reach each person in a meaningful way to them. Some might benefit from listening while drifting off to sleep and using this as a quasi subconscious guided meditation. The remaining 40% reinforces with tips that allow you to enjoy the foods you like and desire while still keeping weight in mind. A solid approach to a sustainable balance of healthy and less healthy foods with positive health outcomes mentally and physically.

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows you that being healthy doesn’t require meticulous calculation or tracking, just a solid system and solid habits.

The foreword by Arnold Schwarzenegger is also great, because it addresses the negativity of the fitness industry, which relies on shame and scare tactics, when in truth, lasting change comes from a place of positivity of motivation.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re someone who has never, ever thought about your health or moved in life, this book is for you. Yet again, another dude with a book deal for doing the bare minimum.

[Leanna Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 1/3 of this book is him explaining why his book matters and should be cut out of the book, the second 1/3 you are rewarded with some of the best information given, the last 1/3 is more precious than gold. Push through and finish this book. It’s worth it.

[Diamond Lightfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a well written book that has a lot of common sense advice.

[Laurie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how I stumbled on this book, but the title intrigued me enough to download the ebook from my library to investigate. And then it continued to intrigue me, so I continued to read it. While I found a lot of the content repetitive, I did like the philosophy presented here and most of the advice falls in line with my own approach of "everything in moderation." Since I was reading this on my phone, I didn't dig deeper into any of the sources cited, but there seemed to be a fair amount of notes and citations to back up the claims presented.

I'd like to think the approach presented here would help me lose weight and feel healthier, but it seemed at once both too loose and too rigid. For most of the book, Bornstein emphasizes that strict rules regarding eating only make things worse, but this means much of the advice is somewhat fuzzy and directionless for someone who currently eats a ton of processed foods and could use a bigger kick in the pants to get on track. Then, near the end of the book, he provides an eating plan that he says he really doesn't want to give because of his philosophy. And then the plan actually seems more restrictive than everything he has written up to that point. Like, a lot of the meals didn't look like full meals to me. Furthermore, his "basic" workout plan sounds far too difficult for someone not already accustomed to any strength training. And it doesn't take physical limitations/accommodations into account. For example, every week involves lunges and squats, which my knees prevent me from doing.

So while I agree with much of the philosophy and can see how it worked for the 500 people he tested it with, I'm not sure how much the book on its own can help someone who needs more guidance but who also doesn't want a ton of restrictions. I guess I won't know with any certainty unless I try to follow it myself.

[Wes Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a true pros/cons book.

Pros: Bornstein is someone I can get behind in the nutritional space. His approach to nutrition, food, and healthy living is sound.

In general he recommends that you make good choices most of the time, don’t get down when you make poor choices, avoiding shame and guilt as much as possible, eat lots of protein and fiber, lose weight slowly, and pay attention to environmental influences over your diet. That’s all good, common sensical, psychologically sound, and tuned in to how we relate to food culturally.

Cons: But, honesty that’s kind of the entirety of what I took from this book. The “practical strategies” put in at the end of the book were not super helpful and in some instances seemingly ran counter to his philosophical principles. For instance, his meal plan generally recommends that you eat 3-4 meals a day, don’t snack, set time boundaries on when you eat, and then design each plate to have one palm of protein, one palm of fiber-rich food, and one palm of a carb or fat source (i.e. pasta or cheese). And then maybe eat out 1-2 times a week.

For someone who positions himself as a bit anti-diet/no food guilt kind of guy that’s pretty darn restrictive. Honestly one of the more restrictive meal plans I’ve seen. In fact, if I followed his advice I would guess I’d likely land around 1400-1600 kcal/day which would be super low for me and not very healthy.

[Sarah Geis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Adam for many years and couldn’t wait to read his most recent book which did not disappoint. I thought the only way to lose weight and get healthy was to not eat carbs, exercise A LOT, and hardly ever drink alcohol or eat dessert. How is that possible as a sandwich/hamburger lover with family who bakes and eats dessert with every meal while trying to keep up with two kids under 3 years old? Every day I’m falling off the wagon. Reading this book opened my eyes to a better way guilt-free for enjoying real food choices to meet my goals. I appreciate all the reassurance from Adam that eating dessert, eating takeout, and even the occasional alcoholic beverage can be enjoyed all while following the path to health and wellness. (I had no idea you could even ask restaurants to make something with less oil but Chinese takeout this week was great). Adam does a fantastic job simplifying both the science and psychology for why diets fail. Included in this book are sections covering mindset, nutrition ‘I will teach you to eat’ along with five tools to follow, takeout menus and how to eat at restaurants, recipes, progressive strength training and walking plan, etc. It’s a book worth reading over and over – highly recommend!

“I am healthy and am still figuring out what works for me.” The first step is to actually believe you’re healthy and to believe in yourself – you can’t screw this up.

[Marla Parkhurst · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book spends a third of the time talking about how it’s not a diet book, then launches into the diet rules. I hate a long preamble, especially ones that try to talk you into thinking you’re getting something special. I do like the more balanced approach to dieting and the idea that it’s a mindset shift more than anything that really moves the needle long term. But his nonchalant disregard of snacking is a little annoying. Takeaways: pizza is a treat. Snacks are bad. Try to avoid fat and carbs together; ok separately though.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. I would recommend this to everyone who struggles with food noise, choices and attitude around food. Some really simple applications and overall great advice.

[Aubrey Zaruba]

I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHERE TO START WITH THIS.
AFTER A LIFETIME FULL OF DIETS AND BODY ISSUES I'M TRYING TO SORT THROUGH IT ALL. THIS AUTHOR DOES GIVE A RECOMMENDATION OF A PLAN, BUT HIS WHOLE POINT IS YOU REALLY CAN'T MESS IT UP. I LIKE THAT A LOT. HE LEAVES ME WITH SOME PRACTICAL THINGS TO DO THAT ARE IN LINE WITH ALL MY GOALS FOR MY BODY AND MY MIND WITH REGARDS TO MY BODY. IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A DIET AT ALL-SOMETHING I'M TRYING TO STEER CLEAR OF. IT DOES HELP ME WRAP MY MIND AROUND THE LIFESTYLE I FEEL LIKE I'M CONSTANTLY CHASING.

[Joachim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The message of the first part of the book is that losing weight does not have to be hard. This message is repeated multiple times.
There are some nuggets of actual advice, e.g. that one should eat food that makes you feel full instead of ultra-processed food which makes you hungry, but otherwise it is quite repetitive.

The second part of the book are mainly actual recipes and food recommendations for eating takeout or in restaurants as well as suggestions for exercise routines.

The certainly useful core message is could be condensed in fraction of the words used. So, I would rate this book more of a “feel good read” given the repeated pat on the readers shoulder that anyone can lose weight and it does not have to be difficult.

[Jason Meuschke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic look at being real about our eating habits and NOT stressing over it! Wonderful, practical advice that's easy to understand and follow. I'd recommend it to anyone.

[Cyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. Great insight to the psychology eating and of why most diets fail. Easy to follow eating guidelines and workouts.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about this book in a podcast and decided to give it a try. It takes aim at the diet industry and focuses more on the importance of our psychological state when we are interacting with food a weight loss/gain.

Overall, I found his advice pretty useful and practical and his main message about stress and food to be spot on.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This way of eating may work for others but it won't work for me.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips and a smart approach to healthy eating and lifestyle. The book spent too much time on “why most diets don’t work” before discussing the author’s recommendations. Generally positive and encouraging in tone. Audiobook read by the author, Adam Bornstein, who worked at Men’s Health, and has partnered with and advised many celebs and athletes.

[Shaun Dyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

You Can't Screw This Up: Why Eating Takeout, Enjoying Dessert, and Taking the Stress out of Dieting Leads to Weight Loss That Lasts has some simple ideas which you can implement to be healthier. There is some interesting science I wasn't aware of and some neat ways of looking at things that have helped me personally.

Unfortunately, this suffers from the same issue many of these books do. There isn't enough content to fill out a full-length book, and instead of being concise and just laying out those good ideas, the author felt the need to bulk up the book with needless repetition. A whole section, for example, has menus from American takeouts with the best things to choose. It's great if you live in the US, but it's not much use to me. Also, that should have been a link to a website, not a book chapter.

If you're entirely new to diet and exercise and live in the US, this is a great place to start. If you've been around it for a while, this has some pointers, but there are likely better books on the subject.

[Vacancysigns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messages I'm taking from this book: Avoid zero percent weeks (that is, avoid weeks where you're not making any progress at all). Expect to fall off the wagon - what matters is getting back on it. Those messages are valuable, thus the three stars.

The big but: Bornstein spends a whole book talking about how diets don't work (nothing new there) and how the diet mentality causes more damage than good, because it stresses you out and is very all-or-nothing. Makes sense, doesn't it? But then he proposes meal plans that give me anxiety just glossing over them. Three measly meals a day, no snacks. I get it – he probably doesn't expect the reader to follow those guidelines strictly (his message is just to avoid zero percent weeks, after all). Still, they immediately make you feel bad for eating more, and that doesn't really fit the message Bornstein sets out to deliver.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Dietitian, I enjoyed a majority of this book and agree with the principles in it (especially regarding behavior change). However, the perspective comes from a place which assumes a majority of overweight/obese people or those who want to work on their weight are over consuming calories. In my professional experience, there is a large portion of people (especially in America) who are taught “eat less and weigh less” and are barely eating 1200 calories a day. They then get the shift in metabolism and hit the plateau or even experience further weight gain. This is something that wasn’t addressed in the book, and I think it would’ve been incredibly important to focus on. Otherwise a wonderful read and very refreshing

[Fila Trece (Liantener) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Típico libro de autoayuda que te da en 350 páginas lo que te pudo haber dado en 100.
Las ideas y conceptos no son 100% novedosos, pero hacen mucho sentido y dan en el clavo de porqué las dietas no funcionan. El lenguaje es claro y fácil de leer y de entender.
El principal problema es que, como muchos libros de su tipo, toda la primera mitad se dedica a platicar y platicar sobre los problemas de la gente con sus dietas, prometiéndote que ya mero, en un momento más, ya casi casi, te voy a decir como resolver dichos problemas.
El libro es muy bueno, pero está lleno de paja que hay que saber quitar para hacerlo práctico.

[Olivia B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So helpful! So interesting! ~ You can’t hate yourself into positive improvement ~ This book is mostly about mindset, and less about prescribing a specific diet. Leans into that everyone’s body is different and to use trial and error, don’t fall for extreme diets or unhealthy food habit traps, and love and be gentle with your body. I highly highly recommend to anyone interested in a non-triggering nutrition/positive/ non-rigid/ self-love mindset book.

[John S Raupp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information. A lot of what you already know. Skipped a few chapters that I wasn't interested in. An example would be what to eat at take outs like Wendys or Arby's. You can eat anything you want as long as it's chicken or salad. I felt like the author had a lot of filler in this book.
Overall, the Can't screw this up means don't give up. It's called life and you should enjoy. Lose 2 lbs a week and eat your Pizza. I liked that part!

[Silvia S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly a breath of fresh air after the last book I read.

[Mike Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend to take the mystery away from getting your eating life in order.

His focus (as it should be) is on winning the mental game with sustainable habits that you can implement for a lifetime, not a brief season.

This is a new life program, not a one time event.

[Derek Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall really solid book on maintaining a healthy and balanced life. Filled with rock solid actionable information that is based in science. I appreciate how Adam avoids extremes and instead focuses on building sustainable habits for the long term.

[Sarah Ressler Wright]

Good basic advice about starting with protein and fiber, taking longer to eat, not eating by TV, not eating within 2 hours of waking or sleeping and no food is good or bad, it’s about moderation -only try to do fat or carbs try not to do too much of either at a meal.

[Pascale · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the sanest “diet” book I’ve ever read or listened to. The PDF is also very useful. Kudos!

[Tiffany Kummer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have been a pamphlet. It somehow manages to get just enough correct to make some excellent points while still being super fat-phobic.

[Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of more unique tips in the world of dieting. Can't speak to the success, but new things to try.