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If I Am So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight?
Since applying the tools I learned in Brooke's program to my everyday life, I have already released 35 pounds of fat from my body. I no longer struggle with food and exercising has become a joy that I look forward to doing every day. Shopping in the stores I once used to walk by fills me with great delight, because I can finally wear the kinds of cute clothes that better fit my personality. Once I was able to create a new mind set that I am worth taking great care of myself, I experienced more happiness than I have ever known. For me, freedom from the weight struggle has been worth taking the risk to try again just one more time.' Suyin N. Client San Mateo, CA
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
86 people are currently reading
887 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 23, 2013
This book had some great ideas. Two things that really stood out for me were to pay attention to your "full" gauge when eating and to never go below your daily minimum exercise goal. However, the editor of this book needs to be fired; I probably would have given this book five stars if it weren't for all the typos and glaring grammatical errors.
April 24, 2019
I love you Brooke, en al je tegendraadse maar boeiende wijsheden.
April 7, 2012
I'm the sort of person who generally scoffs at self-help books. I'm not sure why. Something about the belief that if there's something wrong with you, you need HELP, not some generalized, random book that someone you don't know (with questionable credentials, etc.) wrote.
THAT SAID, I really liked a lot of what this book had to say. Ignoring all of the CREATOR stuff (I'm an atheist; I do not believe there is any higher power, "universe" or otherwise who gives a whit to whether I lose weight or not) there was a lot in here that made me nod and say "Hmmm!"
The difference between "I don't feel like it" and "I don't want to", for example. Like almost everyone else, I struggle with overeating and being lazy at times. Most of the time when I skip a workout or choose something unhealthy it's a "Feel" excuse. I didn't feel like exercising or I didn't feel like eating the fish instead of the steak. But, looking at it in the long-term, I WANT to be fit/healthy. So what if I don't currently "feel" like it... I do WANT to. It's weird how defining such a small difference can feel like an epiphany.
This will probably be a book I go back through a few more times. I did skip a lot of the exercises; I thought about what they suggested, but a lot of the time I didn't make any lists or write anything down. I might try to do so on a second run-through. Whether it will REALLY help me or not remains to be seen... but as far as an intellectual experiment, it certainly can't hurt.
THAT SAID, I really liked a lot of what this book had to say. Ignoring all of the CREATOR stuff (I'm an atheist; I do not believe there is any higher power, "universe" or otherwise who gives a whit to whether I lose weight or not) there was a lot in here that made me nod and say "Hmmm!"
The difference between "I don't feel like it" and "I don't want to", for example. Like almost everyone else, I struggle with overeating and being lazy at times. Most of the time when I skip a workout or choose something unhealthy it's a "Feel" excuse. I didn't feel like exercising or I didn't feel like eating the fish instead of the steak. But, looking at it in the long-term, I WANT to be fit/healthy. So what if I don't currently "feel" like it... I do WANT to. It's weird how defining such a small difference can feel like an epiphany.
This will probably be a book I go back through a few more times. I did skip a lot of the exercises; I thought about what they suggested, but a lot of the time I didn't make any lists or write anything down. I might try to do so on a second run-through. Whether it will REALLY help me or not remains to be seen... but as far as an intellectual experiment, it certainly can't hurt.
March 9, 2021
Terrible, misleading title for a loving, compassionate book about connecting to what you're feeling, what your body needs, and how to think through the negative belief systems we all carry.
Spoiler: I've lost 10 pounds in 2 months with this intentionality and I'm going to lose at least 20 more. I don't mindlessly snack and I'm so much more in touch with my feelings. My self-compassion has grown twice as fast as it ever did meditating and though this isn't the point, I feel joy in my life more often than before reading it.
I want to write Brooke Castillo off as a cult, because people are so obsessed with it. But the reason they love these ideas so much is because they are psychologically sound ways to "deal" with our emotion rollercoasters and obstacle courses.
Spoiler: I've lost 10 pounds in 2 months with this intentionality and I'm going to lose at least 20 more. I don't mindlessly snack and I'm so much more in touch with my feelings. My self-compassion has grown twice as fast as it ever did meditating and though this isn't the point, I feel joy in my life more often than before reading it.
I want to write Brooke Castillo off as a cult, because people are so obsessed with it. But the reason they love these ideas so much is because they are psychologically sound ways to "deal" with our emotion rollercoasters and obstacle courses.
May 28, 2009
This book was AMAZING. I feel like I have learned so much - I want to read it all over again. It has tons of cognitive behavioural exercises and I'm going back through doing them all now....
would recommend this book to anyone who has food issues. :)
would recommend this book to anyone who has food issues. :)
May 13, 2018
I used the audiobook. The only reason it’s not 5 stars is the quality of the audiobook for the cost. Otherwise, her book gets to the heart of our belief systems and debunks some outdated theories. It’s already working for me. I can’t wait to see my results 6 months from now!
March 7, 2013
Ugh, the title. It does this book such a disservice. Doesn't it sound like some kind of fad-diet, custom-made for the talk show circuit?
It's anything but and believe me, I know about trends in food and health and fitness. I've read so many magazine articles and blog posts and books that seem to have all the answers about becoming healthy and fit and staying that way.
I'm an emotional eater. I'm also a creative, and there's little I love more than a juicy, self-help book. Anything I can dive into, another plan to follow, exercises to adopt, I'm all about it. It doesn't stick, of course, this all-new course of activity, the "This time will be different!" promises I make to myself.
This one, though, struck me differently - the concepts resonated with me in a way nothing else has. I can apply them to creating, to eating, to living well. Two thumbs way up.
It's anything but and believe me, I know about trends in food and health and fitness. I've read so many magazine articles and blog posts and books that seem to have all the answers about becoming healthy and fit and staying that way.
I'm an emotional eater. I'm also a creative, and there's little I love more than a juicy, self-help book. Anything I can dive into, another plan to follow, exercises to adopt, I'm all about it. It doesn't stick, of course, this all-new course of activity, the "This time will be different!" promises I make to myself.
This one, though, struck me differently - the concepts resonated with me in a way nothing else has. I can apply them to creating, to eating, to living well. Two thumbs way up.
April 12, 2012
I bought this book because I thought it was more about Intuitive Eating than self help. Overall the book had a very big air of self help preachyness that I find off putting. But it did have a LOT of great ideas and a lot of great things to think about especially in relation to your attitude towards exercise. I wouldn't call this an Intuitive Eating book at all, but an interesting read nonetheless.
October 10, 2021
Brooke's book is so easy to follow, engaging and encouraging for setting your life anew, and your relationship with weight. I'm giving it 4 stars only because I don't think it's that easy to ditch sugar and flour so instantly.
August 26, 2016
Vreselijke titel, oké boek. In 2x wachten bij dezelfde dokter uitgelezen. Paar interessante ideeën en denkoefeningen, maar geen grote aha-erlebnissen. Zou het niet aanraden.
June 6, 2025
If I’m So Smart, Why Can’t I Lose Weight? is not explicitly written just for women; it is clearly written with women in mind, especially those who:
•Are high-functioning, high-achieving, and emotionally overloaded
•Struggle with diet culture conditioning, emotional eating, and body shame
•Have internalized beliefs about needing to look or act a certain way to be “enough”
That said, the tools and insights apply to anyone who’s:
•Using food to numb emotions
•Struggling to lose weight despite knowing all the “right” things
•Tired of tracking, restricting, or going through the motions of “being good”
The book gets you to see the difference between:
•Eating salad because you “should” vs. because it makes you feel good
•Working out to earn food or lose weight vs. to connect with your body
•Tracking every bite to stay “on plan” vs. tuning into hunger and fullness cues
•Saying you’re fine when you’re exhausted because if you take a break, it feels like failure
It talks about health as a relationship, not a performance.
Brooke Castillo doesn’t offer a rigid food plan or gym schedule. Instead, she hands you back the pen and says, “You get to rewrite this.” She names emotional eating without shame, redefines success without obsession, and gently calls you back to your body, explaining your body is not something to fix, but something to listen to.
•Are high-functioning, high-achieving, and emotionally overloaded
•Struggle with diet culture conditioning, emotional eating, and body shame
•Have internalized beliefs about needing to look or act a certain way to be “enough”
That said, the tools and insights apply to anyone who’s:
•Using food to numb emotions
•Struggling to lose weight despite knowing all the “right” things
•Tired of tracking, restricting, or going through the motions of “being good”
The book gets you to see the difference between:
•Eating salad because you “should” vs. because it makes you feel good
•Working out to earn food or lose weight vs. to connect with your body
•Tracking every bite to stay “on plan” vs. tuning into hunger and fullness cues
•Saying you’re fine when you’re exhausted because if you take a break, it feels like failure
It talks about health as a relationship, not a performance.
Brooke Castillo doesn’t offer a rigid food plan or gym schedule. Instead, she hands you back the pen and says, “You get to rewrite this.” She names emotional eating without shame, redefines success without obsession, and gently calls you back to your body, explaining your body is not something to fix, but something to listen to.
July 10, 2025
She has really good ideas and thought patterns. I believe it could work. I skimmed thru without the intention of actually DOING the exercises or writing anything down, I wanted to see what she said. I was impressed. She really has it together and is also balanced. I liked the way she explained things, she made it understandable and got her point across. She was powerful. IF I decided to really do it, I still think that I need a LIVE, IN-PERSON coach to challenge me. I needed to be accountable to her, to answer her questions, to do the writing, to do the soul searching, and to REALLY commit. Even if I took the book seriously, I'd be the only one who knew what I was doing (No, I would NOT confide all this to my husband!) and it would be all in my head and too easy to cheat or ignore things. Sooo...I've put it on the shelf next to my cookbooks, and who knows, I may refer to it now and then...I want to tell my sister about it, and quote some of the paragraphs that I thought were interesting, which will reinforce it for me. Some of the ideas were a little mind-boggling to me, they were so new. I DO recommend this to others!
May 1, 2018
a very apt read if you want to change your equation with your weight. It gives the right tools and methods to get in touch wih the negative beliefs that help us stay in a viscious circle of eating weight gain and guilt.
September 13, 2018
Absolutely one of the best books I've read to help figure out deeper issues to weight problems. Highly recommend this to anyone struggling with weight loss.
November 1, 2018
I think this method makes some sense although I am not crazy about intermittent fasting.
April 4, 2019
Love her work, when applied, her coaching works every time. Such a great book
February 24, 2020
Best book I read so far about getting it together.
December 7, 2011
A friend recommended this one to me and it was eye-opening. There were some tools (as she calls them) that I found incredibly helpful and have started using already. There were some that I had only recently figured out in the last year or so before reading this and it was nice to see validation of what I believed from another source. There are others that I think it will take more time to internalize and I need to do her exercises on them to fully incorporate but they will be helpful in the long-run. I read through it quickly the first time to get a feel for the information she was presenting and I want to noodle it a bit before diving into it again. The 100 Days of Weight-Loss that I am doing seems to be very on track with many of the same concepts but I think the next time I feel my program slipping I will be picking this back up and going over it more slowly, taking time to do all the exercises and letting each one sink in more fully before moving on.
September 21, 2013
If you manage to do what this author suggest YOU WILL lose weight, but the amount of knowledge you need to have about your body is staggering.It's not for someone who starts some sort of diet, that's for sure.
February 7, 2014
Not for a one time read if you are interested in losing weight. Based on CBT principles (and much credit given to Martha Beck) this book includes excellent tools to apply to a weight loss journey. However, for them to work they
Must be used. Very easy to skip over them.
Must be used. Very easy to skip over them.
December 19, 2015
Fantastic book! I listen to Brooke's podcast and find her very motivating. Whether you need to lose weight or not this book is great for embracing your feelings (instead of avoiding them) and realizing how your thoughts shape your reality.
August 8, 2009
This book is GREAT! Anybody who struggles with their weight should read it.
June 14, 2011
Loved this book. I did not learn anything new, but it brought me back in sight of what I knew, but had lost sight of.
July 13, 2012
Highly inspirational and very on-point. One of the best getfit books I've read!
May 15, 2013
Pretty standard therapy ideas, but still good to hear again. I found the early information about the reasons underlying the "clean plate club" to be most beneficial.
January 8, 2016
Really good for a mind change about how to eat. First chapters are great but the later ones are too girly. Yes, the book was created FOR girls, but the last chapters are too much!
September 5, 2015
Nothing ground-breaking. Lacks the language required for emotional healing. Failed to hook me. Very preachy. The author keeps on demanding without giving solutions or measurable steps for success.
April 12, 2017
There was some great life advice in this book.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews