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Es Fácil Perder Peso
Las claves para deshacerte de los kilos que sobran El método que propone Allen Carr para perder peso no obliga a seguir una dieta, ni contar calorías ni recurrir a la fuerza de voluntad. Se trata de un método sin reglas ni prohibiciones, basado en unos principios que permiten comer de forma más saludable, sentirse mejor y perder peso. Ofrece al lector un método diferente que le permite disfrutar de la comida sin grandes sacrificios. Este método está basado en los mismos criterios que el gran éxito de ventas Es fácil dejar de fumar, si sabes cómo, del que se han vendido más de 190.000 ejemplares.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
317 people are currently reading
1504 people want to read
About the author
Allen Carr
409 books282 followersAllen Carr was a British author and the founder of the global Allen Carr’s Easyway method, renowned for helping millions overcome smoking and other addictions. Born in Putney, London in 1934, Carr began smoking at 18 during National Service and struggled with the habit for over three decades. A qualified accountant, he finally quit in 1983 following a revelatory visit to a hypnotherapist. The experience didn’t directly cause him to quit, but it led to two key insights: that smoking was simply a form of nicotine addiction, and that withdrawal symptoms were minor and psychological in nature. These revelations inspired Carr to develop a revolutionary approach to quitting, one that did not rely on willpower, scare tactics, or substitution therapies.
Carr’s philosophy centered on removing the smoker’s fear of giving up. He argued that smoking merely relieves withdrawal symptoms from the previous cigarette, and that the supposed satisfaction gained is merely a return to the non-smoker’s normal state. Through live seminars, books, and multimedia resources, the Easyway method encourages smokers to continue smoking while they reframe their beliefs, ultimately extinguishing their final cigarette with clarity and confidence.
In 1985, Carr published The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which became a bestseller and was translated into more than 45 languages. The success of his London clinic led to the establishment of over 100 Easyway centers in 35 countries, offering seminars to treat smoking, alcohol dependency, sugar addiction, and even fear of flying. His method’s credibility was bolstered by independent clinical trials, including studies in Ireland and the UK which found it as effective—if not more so—than standard cessation methods. This led to its adoption by NHS-approved services in England.
A key element of the Easyway clinics is that all facilitators are former addicts who successfully quit using the method themselves. They must complete extensive training and become licensed members of the Association of Allen Carr Therapists International.
Throughout his career, Carr also co-authored a wide range of Easyway books addressing various addictions and behavioral issues, often collaborating with Robin Hayley and John C. Dicey, the current Chairman and Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway. Dicey, whom Carr mentored, continues to lead the organization’s development and public outreach.
Carr died of lung cancer in 2006 at age 72, though he had not smoked for 23 years. He attributed his illness to second-hand smoke exposure during seminars. Before his death, he remained committed to his mission, challenging governmental ties to nicotine replacement industries and advocating for wider access to his method.
Carr’s legacy continues through his clinics, books, and online programs, which have reached over 50 million people worldwide. His message remains consistent: quitting is not a sacrifice—it’s liberation.
Carr’s philosophy centered on removing the smoker’s fear of giving up. He argued that smoking merely relieves withdrawal symptoms from the previous cigarette, and that the supposed satisfaction gained is merely a return to the non-smoker’s normal state. Through live seminars, books, and multimedia resources, the Easyway method encourages smokers to continue smoking while they reframe their beliefs, ultimately extinguishing their final cigarette with clarity and confidence.
In 1985, Carr published The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, which became a bestseller and was translated into more than 45 languages. The success of his London clinic led to the establishment of over 100 Easyway centers in 35 countries, offering seminars to treat smoking, alcohol dependency, sugar addiction, and even fear of flying. His method’s credibility was bolstered by independent clinical trials, including studies in Ireland and the UK which found it as effective—if not more so—than standard cessation methods. This led to its adoption by NHS-approved services in England.
A key element of the Easyway clinics is that all facilitators are former addicts who successfully quit using the method themselves. They must complete extensive training and become licensed members of the Association of Allen Carr Therapists International.
Throughout his career, Carr also co-authored a wide range of Easyway books addressing various addictions and behavioral issues, often collaborating with Robin Hayley and John C. Dicey, the current Chairman and Global CEO of Allen Carr’s Easyway. Dicey, whom Carr mentored, continues to lead the organization’s development and public outreach.
Carr died of lung cancer in 2006 at age 72, though he had not smoked for 23 years. He attributed his illness to second-hand smoke exposure during seminars. Before his death, he remained committed to his mission, challenging governmental ties to nicotine replacement industries and advocating for wider access to his method.
Carr’s legacy continues through his clinics, books, and online programs, which have reached over 50 million people worldwide. His message remains consistent: quitting is not a sacrifice—it’s liberation.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
April 9, 2014
If I could rate that book as minus 5 stars, I would. Complete nonsense - just terrible pile of illogical thoughts. God, animals, mother nature, apes... And I simply hate such brain washing. No no no... Read it till the end simply because I am stubborn and wanted to see what's at the end. I very much hope that the suggestions in the book will do no harm to people and they will not end up slim, but very sick. And yes - I know - THEY ALL brainwashed me, that's why I cannot be trusted :))
August 15, 2018
1 star
O.M.G.!!
What in the world did I just read???
15 years ago I read Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking and I haven't lit a cigarette since July 28th 2003. I still celebrate that every year with a small dinner party.
So, after I gained weight after, well, shit happened in life, medication etc, weight which I can't seem to lose, I thought, maybe Carr can help me. But man, was I wrong.
While reading I kept a list of all the brainwashing bs in this book, thinking I would use that for my review, but I don't even know where that list is anymore and I really don't feel like going over those points again. They all come down to fallacies, unfounded arguments, ridiculous comparisons (of course your car is not going to get bigger or thinner depending on how much gas you put in it or how much you drive around/how much gas you use up, a car is not an organic, living being!!!) and downright brainwashing, something he complains society is doing to us....the pot calling the kettle black.
I've read some reviews, most are negative, but some are really positive because it helped those people lose weight and feel better/healthier. I'm sincerely glad for all of them and so I truly believe that if you think this book will help you, then you should definitely read it, because I believe in doing whatever it is that helps you reach your goal. Because of this I thought about giving it an additional half star, so 1.5 stars. ...... But I can't......I just can't....
O.M.G.!!
What in the world did I just read???
15 years ago I read Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking and I haven't lit a cigarette since July 28th 2003. I still celebrate that every year with a small dinner party.
So, after I gained weight after, well, shit happened in life, medication etc, weight which I can't seem to lose, I thought, maybe Carr can help me. But man, was I wrong.
While reading I kept a list of all the brainwashing bs in this book, thinking I would use that for my review, but I don't even know where that list is anymore and I really don't feel like going over those points again. They all come down to fallacies, unfounded arguments, ridiculous comparisons (of course your car is not going to get bigger or thinner depending on how much gas you put in it or how much you drive around/how much gas you use up, a car is not an organic, living being!!!) and downright brainwashing, something he complains society is doing to us....the pot calling the kettle black.
I've read some reviews, most are negative, but some are really positive because it helped those people lose weight and feel better/healthier. I'm sincerely glad for all of them and so I truly believe that if you think this book will help you, then you should definitely read it, because I believe in doing whatever it is that helps you reach your goal. Because of this I thought about giving it an additional half star, so 1.5 stars. ...... But I can't......I just can't....
December 30, 2014
Short assessment: This book started off with good intentions but failed to deliver because the conclusion was just one more diet. If you want to lose weight without dieting but instead through a lifestyle change, read
Intuitive Eating
.
Long assessment: Allen Carr's revolutionary book The Easy Way To Stop Smoking has helped millions of people break free of their addiction. He's done really great work, and I applaud him for the lasting change he's affected. However, he took the principles of that book and attempted to apply them to dieting. That was a great first step, but unfortunately, he both goes too far and not far enough.
Breaking through brainwashing is a key point in his stop smoking book, and in this one, he also sets the reader down the path to do just that. Among other things, he outlines how added sugar and salt keep those of us here in the Western world addicted to processed food.
I've had personal experience prior to reading this book with breaking free of pre-packaged and sugary foods because I had a food intolerance that didn't allow me to eat more than a few grams of sugar in one meal or I would suffer painful consequences (much like gluten or lactose intolerance). I'm now well-versed in "ingredient-list-ese" and just how awful those ingredients are. If you've never really--really--let what's in the ingredient list sink into your brain, it's a pretty mind-boggling experience to go through. It's even tougher to change your entire lifestyle to cut out foods that add no nutritional value to your diet. It's something you have to spend days or weeks wrapping your head around, and this book (like the stop smoking book) brings that information to your attention and allows you, if you want, to focus on the truth behind the crap the food industry is shoveling down our throats.
I would give this book four stars if that's where he ended it.
However, he goes off the rails in two ways:
1. I found a factually inaccurate statement in the book about the metabolism and chemical properties of sugar, which calls into question everything else he's presented as fact.
2. He takes his recommendations too far and tells the reader that if you're going to revise your eating habits, you're going to have to change your diet to .
The first error lowers the impact of his statements about everything, and the second ensures that the readers stays in the diet trap. (And I'm not so sure about the arguments he presents for his particular diet, either.)
1. Factually Inaccurate Statement
Here is the factually inaccurate statement, quoted from the book:
Monosaccharides, or the simplest unit of sugar, come in different chemical configurations, but each one has its own unique properties. Glucose is a monosaccharide and fructose is a monosaccharide. They (and other monosaccharides) combine to form di- and polysaccharides. Saying that fructose combines with stuff to create glucose is like saying that a neutron combines with stuff to create a proton, or flour combines with stuff to create eggs. That's just not how it works, period.
They do, however, exist in different amounts in different fruits, which is, I suppose, how he got confused. Apples have a large amount of fructose and a small amount of glucose, whereas blueberries have a large amount of glucose and a smaller amount of fructose. Glucose and fructose chemically bonded together create the disaccharide sucrose, which is the chemical name for white sugar. They also have different names: Dextrose and corn syrup are both names for glucose; whereas high fructose corn syrup is primarily fructose.
I could continue, but I won't, since this is supposed to be a book review. Suffice it to say that this factually inaccurate statement calls into question the rest of his assertions. He doesn't include footnotes or cite sources. So every time he says, "Your body works this way," I got more and more dubious. Sure, some of it I knew to be true, but a lot of it, I couldn't trust.
Still, I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As I said at the beginning, he is indeed correct about the ridiculous amount of nutrition-free ingredients in processed and packaged food, and it is best to completely avoid them.
2. Recommendation for a New Diet
The book perpetuates the negativity around eating that you truly need to break free of if you're going to lose weight and be happy without dieting. (Sorry to toot its horn some more, but one of the key principles of Intuitive Eating is to remove the morality around choice and frequency of eating. After all, eating is not a religion. Why is some food "bad" and some food "good"?)
The author does seem to have followed the principles of Intuitive Eating to find his own happy place, which is great for him. But rather than guiding you to your own conclusions and happy place, he presents his own diet as "this is the way it should be." He does say "it's ok" to eat some of the "bad" stuff because we have a "junk margin." But, I mean, if you want to eat stuff in "the junk margin..." Well, "junk" is a pretty clear indication of what the author thinks of your eating habits, and another assignation of morality.
Conclusion
If I hadn't discovered Intuitive Eating through discussing this book with someone, I probably would have been able to noodle my way through the principles in this book to a happier lifestyle. But when I finished this one, I was left with an empty, unsatisfied feeling, as though he'd left out a significant principle or two. I may have come up with them myself, but why do that when the heavy lifting has already been done for me elsewhere?
The bottom line is that you have to remove the guilt around eating and tune into your body's cues. You're the only one who knows what your diet is. We're all different, with different needs--sometimes quite different, even from day-to-day--and no one can tell you what you should eat. Only you can figure it out--albeit with a lot of work and possibly the help of a counselor and/or dietition, if you're really stuck and unsure where to turn.
Long assessment: Allen Carr's revolutionary book The Easy Way To Stop Smoking has helped millions of people break free of their addiction. He's done really great work, and I applaud him for the lasting change he's affected. However, he took the principles of that book and attempted to apply them to dieting. That was a great first step, but unfortunately, he both goes too far and not far enough.
Breaking through brainwashing is a key point in his stop smoking book, and in this one, he also sets the reader down the path to do just that. Among other things, he outlines how added sugar and salt keep those of us here in the Western world addicted to processed food.
I've had personal experience prior to reading this book with breaking free of pre-packaged and sugary foods because I had a food intolerance that didn't allow me to eat more than a few grams of sugar in one meal or I would suffer painful consequences (much like gluten or lactose intolerance). I'm now well-versed in "ingredient-list-ese" and just how awful those ingredients are. If you've never really--really--let what's in the ingredient list sink into your brain, it's a pretty mind-boggling experience to go through. It's even tougher to change your entire lifestyle to cut out foods that add no nutritional value to your diet. It's something you have to spend days or weeks wrapping your head around, and this book (like the stop smoking book) brings that information to your attention and allows you, if you want, to focus on the truth behind the crap the food industry is shoveling down our throats.
I would give this book four stars if that's where he ended it.
However, he goes off the rails in two ways:
1. I found a factually inaccurate statement in the book about the metabolism and chemical properties of sugar, which calls into question everything else he's presented as fact.
2. He takes his recommendations too far and tells the reader that if you're going to revise your eating habits, you're going to have to change your diet to .
The first error lowers the impact of his statements about everything, and the second ensures that the readers stays in the diet trap. (And I'm not so sure about the arguments he presents for his particular diet, either.)
1. Factually Inaccurate Statement
Here is the factually inaccurate statement, quoted from the book:
The natural sugar in unprocessed foods such as fruit is easily digest and like all other nutrients, travels through the body and feeds it. In its natural form, it's the primary fuel for your mind. When you eat fruit, the natural sugar, fructose, enters your body, combined with fibre and water. These act together to create the glucose necessary for your brain to function.
Monosaccharides, or the simplest unit of sugar, come in different chemical configurations, but each one has its own unique properties. Glucose is a monosaccharide and fructose is a monosaccharide. They (and other monosaccharides) combine to form di- and polysaccharides. Saying that fructose combines with stuff to create glucose is like saying that a neutron combines with stuff to create a proton, or flour combines with stuff to create eggs. That's just not how it works, period.
They do, however, exist in different amounts in different fruits, which is, I suppose, how he got confused. Apples have a large amount of fructose and a small amount of glucose, whereas blueberries have a large amount of glucose and a smaller amount of fructose. Glucose and fructose chemically bonded together create the disaccharide sucrose, which is the chemical name for white sugar. They also have different names: Dextrose and corn syrup are both names for glucose; whereas high fructose corn syrup is primarily fructose.
I could continue, but I won't, since this is supposed to be a book review. Suffice it to say that this factually inaccurate statement calls into question the rest of his assertions. He doesn't include footnotes or cite sources. So every time he says, "Your body works this way," I got more and more dubious. Sure, some of it I knew to be true, but a lot of it, I couldn't trust.
Still, I don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. As I said at the beginning, he is indeed correct about the ridiculous amount of nutrition-free ingredients in processed and packaged food, and it is best to completely avoid them.
2. Recommendation for a New Diet
The book perpetuates the negativity around eating that you truly need to break free of if you're going to lose weight and be happy without dieting. (Sorry to toot its horn some more, but one of the key principles of Intuitive Eating is to remove the morality around choice and frequency of eating. After all, eating is not a religion. Why is some food "bad" and some food "good"?)
The author does seem to have followed the principles of Intuitive Eating to find his own happy place, which is great for him. But rather than guiding you to your own conclusions and happy place, he presents his own diet as "this is the way it should be." He does say "it's ok" to eat some of the "bad" stuff because we have a "junk margin." But, I mean, if you want to eat stuff in "the junk margin..." Well, "junk" is a pretty clear indication of what the author thinks of your eating habits, and another assignation of morality.
Conclusion
If I hadn't discovered Intuitive Eating through discussing this book with someone, I probably would have been able to noodle my way through the principles in this book to a happier lifestyle. But when I finished this one, I was left with an empty, unsatisfied feeling, as though he'd left out a significant principle or two. I may have come up with them myself, but why do that when the heavy lifting has already been done for me elsewhere?
The bottom line is that you have to remove the guilt around eating and tune into your body's cues. You're the only one who knows what your diet is. We're all different, with different needs--sometimes quite different, even from day-to-day--and no one can tell you what you should eat. Only you can figure it out--albeit with a lot of work and possibly the help of a counselor and/or dietition, if you're really stuck and unsure where to turn.
June 20, 2020
This is intended as a detailed and balanced review. It's a long one because this is such a curious information-laden book that does have some useful reminders and guidelines, while mixing in some dubious claims, vague language, and a methodology that somewhat crumbles when you think about it for more than a minute. So let's go.
Allen Carr claims his method isn't a diet and that achieving your ideal weight is actually really easy. It all sounds too good to be true, and whenever that happens, closer inspection is needed. Here's a conversation I had with him in my mind while going through his book, Lose Weight Now.
Allen Carr: "Rejoice that you are now finally free to eat as much of your favourite foods as you want, whenever you want, as often as you want, and be the exact weight you want to be without dieting, special exercise, using will power, or feeling deprived." (quote from the book)
Me: Whoa. My favourite foods?!
Allen Carr: Your favourite foods are fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Me: But you said...
Allen Carr: I know what I said.
Me: Okay, but I can still eat those things whenever I want and as much of them as I want?!
Allen Carr: Only eat when you're hungry and stop when you're not.
Me: But that's not really what you said.
Allen Carr: Shh. Have a banana.
All kidding aside, this book is a mish-mash of dishonest promises, good information, and idealized guidelines all wrapped in the guise of NOT BEING A DIET, while at the same time trying to change what you eat completely - with mostly good intent! And even some body positivity! That is until the end when you listen to the hypnotherapy exercise and are made to look at other people as disgusting.
But I'll get to that later.
I listened to Carr's audio book twice and took notes the second time because I wanted to be fair to him and his arguments. I also held off on writing this review because I WANTED to try his method to see if it delivered results. I'll tell you how that went at the very end as well.
According to Carr, the problem with undesired weight gain isn't eating, but overeating and eating the wrong foods. He rails on the junk food industry for over-salting their foods and lacing them with addictive ingredients that make it impossible NOT to overeat. Combine that with a corporate ad industry whose concern isn't your health, but their profits, and you've got a recipe for disaster. This information isn't new, but it's always good to be reminded that processed food = bad.
This is where Carr puts his own verbiage on things and talks about us being brainwashed by Big Food. He claims his book and method will UNDO this brainwashing and get us back to eating the things and the way we were meant to eat: unprocessed and only when needed. Like animals in the wild (nevermind that humans live in vastly different conditions and have vastly different challenges than wild animals, but we'll ignore that for now.)
And remember, this is NOT a diet. And you're NOT giving up anything. Right?
"Quitting altogether requires no will power at all provided you don't feel you're making a sacrifice...all you have to do is reverse the brainwashing that has led you to believe that overeating is pleasurable. If you try to cut down, you perpetuate the illusion that you're being deprived, and you become miserable and irritable. Junk food becomes more and more precious, and you become convinced that the only way to feel better is to stuff your face. Eventually, you reach breaking point. You tell yourself that you deserve a reward, and go on a binge undoing all the hard work you put in. It's the same story with every diet. Diets don't work."
I'm mostly with him so far. Diets are awful. Processed food is awful. Both make you feel awful.
So now what? What's the difference between his "method" and a "diet"? Before we get that answered, Carr goes into evolutionary biology and makes the claim that humans' teeth are meant for herbivorous eating. We have flat teeth like herbivores, not sharp teeth like carnivores. So we should be eating fruits, vegetables, and grains, not tearing into meat.
This links to the vague notion of what Carr calls "Nature's Guide," which rolls into the idea that we KNOW which foods are good for us instinctively by the way they look, taste, and smell, and how our bodies react to them. This leads to meat and dairy being bad for us, though Carr does allow for us to have a "junk margin" that still permits these foods to an extent. He is quick to point out that he is NOT telling people to become vegetarians or vegans...just that we should fill up most of our meals with fruits, veggies, and grains.
It's decent advice, and he also says "learn which foods suit you," without ever really telling you how you're supposed to do that outside of saying you have a "natural sensor" to tell you which foods are your favourites. To repeat this point as much as Carr repeats himself in the book:
"The foods that are best for you taste and smell good. Poisons taste and smell awful."
Okay, but what about pastries? Or fresh bread? Or hamburgers? For many people, these all taste and smell great.
"Trust your senses and unlock the knowledge you have inside your body."
Sigh. This is the problem when you use vague terminology like "Nature's Guide" and then actually try to explain it. It becomes a jargon word like "soul," "spirit," or "border security" that has a feeling more than a meaning.
Near the end of the book, he flips the script a bit on the rhetoric of "eating what you want" by reminding us that there is no need to exercise "as long as you eat what you're supposed to," which means "the foods intended for you by nature." So...not eating what you want, but by what "your nature" wants. And my body wants fresh chocolate chip banana bread, damn it.
In the end, Carr wants you on a vegan diet that is high in water content, with your only drink being a glass of water. But remember, it's not a diet. And don't listen to ANYONE, no matter how much of an expert they claim to be, if they go AGAINST Nature's Guide.
This book lures you in with a false promise. Perhaps the word "simple" would have been better than "easy," because Carr really is advocating for a simpler approach to eating. Just not an easier one.
The problem is that he puts so much on humans needing to eat "like wild animals" while completely dismissing the differences between them. Wild animals don't have to worry about paying for housing. They don't have to worry about public transportation. They aren't surrounded by advertisers and grocery aisles stocked with every type of food imaginable. And no matter what Carr may say, there ARE overweight wild animals. Just Google "fat squirrel!"
Regarding the last point, Carr's entire journey with this book started with him noticing a squirrel in his backyard and watching is scurry away quickly. He then got to thinking how HE had never seen an overweight animal in the wild, which led him down the evolutionary path and linking animals to humans. Hey, anecdotal evidence is still evidence, right? This deifying, and I would argue not really understanding, the natural is what his entire book and method is based on. It's all about "using your sensor" and "Nature's Guide," while not giving any lip service to how hard it actually is to do any of this or acknowledging the problems with it (bread is delicious and smells great, and I won't hear any slander against it.)
Carr lives in a world of generalities, while still making some decent points along the way. It's just that there are enough specious claims made that put the rest of his claims into doubt.
That said, I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee's approach to knowledge acquisition when reading books like these: absorb what is useful, reject what is not.
So I tried to follow the method. My journey started on May 29th. It is now June 20th. So, not a full month, but enough time to give some feedback.
I loaded up on nothing but fruit for breakfast for about a week and a half. I stockpiled pre-washed baby spinach to eat with some cherry tomatoes and olive oil when I was feeling snacky. I tried to make sure most of my plate what full of colourful fruits and veggies and lowered my meat intake.
The first two weeks I dropped about 7 pounds. Nice!
And then, as with ALL DIETS, I found it hard to stay consistent. I started letting eggs back into my breakfast. I re-introduced bread into my life. And I allowed myself some late night sweet and salty treats even when I wasn't really hungry. I've gained back about 5 of the 7 lost pounds.
This shit is HARD. It's not easy. And it IS a diet. It's one that's supposed to be a permanent life change, but it's a diet nonetheless. I don't care how many times Carr calls it a "method" or how he talks about "undoing brainwashing," this is something you have to think about and be conscious of almost every second of every day. It basically amounts to this for common people:
-Eat when you're hungry
-Don't eat shit you know is bad for you
-bonus if you can do it: cut out eating animals and animal products
SO REVOLUTIONARY. Look, I'm sure this method has helped people. And if anything, it HAS helped me by having me think more carefully about which foods are easy to digest (water-rich non-processed foods,) which ones aren't (processed foods, meat, dairy,) and by reminding me to pay more attention to what my stomach is telling me. If I'm still hungry after polishing off a bag of potato chips, it's probably because my body hasn't received the nutrients it needs, and no amount of junk food is going to fill that hole (nevermind the emotional void caused by stress and anxiety, but that's another story.)
So, I'll keep going. I'll try to only eat when I'm hungry, to eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains, and to avoid the addictive junk that saps me of energy and makes my brain sluggish.
Finally, I wouldn't be able to write this review without mentioning the 30-minute hypnotherapy section. You can get this in CD form (haha) or just get the audio book from Audible or wherever else and have it included at the end. I've got some things to say about this...
1. The beginning totally relaxes you. I was in repose on my couch while listening to this through headphones, and it was like floating on a cloud. It was so good in fact, that I've since checked out other hypnotherapy tracks on YouTube to help with rest, relaxation, confidence, etc. Check them out.
2. There are two parts that had me cringing hard. One where you're imagining yourself looking into a mirror and the person talks about how "slim" you are, and how you keep admiring yourself because you are exactly the weight you want to be. It's thin idealization through and through, and it's gross. The other part that made me laugh was when the narrator is talking about you looking at other people eating things like chocolate and cookies, and you "feeling pity for them" because "you know they are just sugary junk."
But hypnotherapy isn't brainwashing, right? Noooo, this is a METHOD and it's EASY and you should just listen to NATURE.
Ugh. I think that's enough. I'd love to keep the conversation going on this book in the comments if you've read it or listened to it.
In the end, Lose Weight Now: The Easy Way is a mixed bag that offers some actionable advice and necessary reminders, while also being purposely vague in some of its claims, and dishonest in what it calls itself.
I'm going to try to glean the useful bits and further explore what I should and shouldn't be eating. I'm currently an omnivore, but I'm open to seeing if vegetarianism or veganism could be sustainable for me. If anything, this book has at least pushed me in that positive direction and has increased and/or recharged my awareness of myself, my relationship to food, and the food industry.
Check it out? *shrugs with arms out to the sides and a furrowed brow*
Allen Carr claims his method isn't a diet and that achieving your ideal weight is actually really easy. It all sounds too good to be true, and whenever that happens, closer inspection is needed. Here's a conversation I had with him in my mind while going through his book, Lose Weight Now.
Allen Carr: "Rejoice that you are now finally free to eat as much of your favourite foods as you want, whenever you want, as often as you want, and be the exact weight you want to be without dieting, special exercise, using will power, or feeling deprived." (quote from the book)
Me: Whoa. My favourite foods?!
Allen Carr: Your favourite foods are fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Me: But you said...
Allen Carr: I know what I said.
Me: Okay, but I can still eat those things whenever I want and as much of them as I want?!
Allen Carr: Only eat when you're hungry and stop when you're not.
Me: But that's not really what you said.
Allen Carr: Shh. Have a banana.
All kidding aside, this book is a mish-mash of dishonest promises, good information, and idealized guidelines all wrapped in the guise of NOT BEING A DIET, while at the same time trying to change what you eat completely - with mostly good intent! And even some body positivity! That is until the end when you listen to the hypnotherapy exercise and are made to look at other people as disgusting.
But I'll get to that later.
I listened to Carr's audio book twice and took notes the second time because I wanted to be fair to him and his arguments. I also held off on writing this review because I WANTED to try his method to see if it delivered results. I'll tell you how that went at the very end as well.
According to Carr, the problem with undesired weight gain isn't eating, but overeating and eating the wrong foods. He rails on the junk food industry for over-salting their foods and lacing them with addictive ingredients that make it impossible NOT to overeat. Combine that with a corporate ad industry whose concern isn't your health, but their profits, and you've got a recipe for disaster. This information isn't new, but it's always good to be reminded that processed food = bad.
This is where Carr puts his own verbiage on things and talks about us being brainwashed by Big Food. He claims his book and method will UNDO this brainwashing and get us back to eating the things and the way we were meant to eat: unprocessed and only when needed. Like animals in the wild (nevermind that humans live in vastly different conditions and have vastly different challenges than wild animals, but we'll ignore that for now.)
And remember, this is NOT a diet. And you're NOT giving up anything. Right?
"Quitting altogether requires no will power at all provided you don't feel you're making a sacrifice...all you have to do is reverse the brainwashing that has led you to believe that overeating is pleasurable. If you try to cut down, you perpetuate the illusion that you're being deprived, and you become miserable and irritable. Junk food becomes more and more precious, and you become convinced that the only way to feel better is to stuff your face. Eventually, you reach breaking point. You tell yourself that you deserve a reward, and go on a binge undoing all the hard work you put in. It's the same story with every diet. Diets don't work."
I'm mostly with him so far. Diets are awful. Processed food is awful. Both make you feel awful.
So now what? What's the difference between his "method" and a "diet"? Before we get that answered, Carr goes into evolutionary biology and makes the claim that humans' teeth are meant for herbivorous eating. We have flat teeth like herbivores, not sharp teeth like carnivores. So we should be eating fruits, vegetables, and grains, not tearing into meat.
This links to the vague notion of what Carr calls "Nature's Guide," which rolls into the idea that we KNOW which foods are good for us instinctively by the way they look, taste, and smell, and how our bodies react to them. This leads to meat and dairy being bad for us, though Carr does allow for us to have a "junk margin" that still permits these foods to an extent. He is quick to point out that he is NOT telling people to become vegetarians or vegans...just that we should fill up most of our meals with fruits, veggies, and grains.
It's decent advice, and he also says "learn which foods suit you," without ever really telling you how you're supposed to do that outside of saying you have a "natural sensor" to tell you which foods are your favourites. To repeat this point as much as Carr repeats himself in the book:
"The foods that are best for you taste and smell good. Poisons taste and smell awful."
Okay, but what about pastries? Or fresh bread? Or hamburgers? For many people, these all taste and smell great.
"Trust your senses and unlock the knowledge you have inside your body."
Sigh. This is the problem when you use vague terminology like "Nature's Guide" and then actually try to explain it. It becomes a jargon word like "soul," "spirit," or "border security" that has a feeling more than a meaning.
Near the end of the book, he flips the script a bit on the rhetoric of "eating what you want" by reminding us that there is no need to exercise "as long as you eat what you're supposed to," which means "the foods intended for you by nature." So...not eating what you want, but by what "your nature" wants. And my body wants fresh chocolate chip banana bread, damn it.
In the end, Carr wants you on a vegan diet that is high in water content, with your only drink being a glass of water. But remember, it's not a diet. And don't listen to ANYONE, no matter how much of an expert they claim to be, if they go AGAINST Nature's Guide.
This book lures you in with a false promise. Perhaps the word "simple" would have been better than "easy," because Carr really is advocating for a simpler approach to eating. Just not an easier one.
The problem is that he puts so much on humans needing to eat "like wild animals" while completely dismissing the differences between them. Wild animals don't have to worry about paying for housing. They don't have to worry about public transportation. They aren't surrounded by advertisers and grocery aisles stocked with every type of food imaginable. And no matter what Carr may say, there ARE overweight wild animals. Just Google "fat squirrel!"
Regarding the last point, Carr's entire journey with this book started with him noticing a squirrel in his backyard and watching is scurry away quickly. He then got to thinking how HE had never seen an overweight animal in the wild, which led him down the evolutionary path and linking animals to humans. Hey, anecdotal evidence is still evidence, right? This deifying, and I would argue not really understanding, the natural is what his entire book and method is based on. It's all about "using your sensor" and "Nature's Guide," while not giving any lip service to how hard it actually is to do any of this or acknowledging the problems with it (bread is delicious and smells great, and I won't hear any slander against it.)
Carr lives in a world of generalities, while still making some decent points along the way. It's just that there are enough specious claims made that put the rest of his claims into doubt.
That said, I'm a big fan of Bruce Lee's approach to knowledge acquisition when reading books like these: absorb what is useful, reject what is not.
So I tried to follow the method. My journey started on May 29th. It is now June 20th. So, not a full month, but enough time to give some feedback.
I loaded up on nothing but fruit for breakfast for about a week and a half. I stockpiled pre-washed baby spinach to eat with some cherry tomatoes and olive oil when I was feeling snacky. I tried to make sure most of my plate what full of colourful fruits and veggies and lowered my meat intake.
The first two weeks I dropped about 7 pounds. Nice!
And then, as with ALL DIETS, I found it hard to stay consistent. I started letting eggs back into my breakfast. I re-introduced bread into my life. And I allowed myself some late night sweet and salty treats even when I wasn't really hungry. I've gained back about 5 of the 7 lost pounds.
This shit is HARD. It's not easy. And it IS a diet. It's one that's supposed to be a permanent life change, but it's a diet nonetheless. I don't care how many times Carr calls it a "method" or how he talks about "undoing brainwashing," this is something you have to think about and be conscious of almost every second of every day. It basically amounts to this for common people:
-Eat when you're hungry
-Don't eat shit you know is bad for you
-bonus if you can do it: cut out eating animals and animal products
SO REVOLUTIONARY. Look, I'm sure this method has helped people. And if anything, it HAS helped me by having me think more carefully about which foods are easy to digest (water-rich non-processed foods,) which ones aren't (processed foods, meat, dairy,) and by reminding me to pay more attention to what my stomach is telling me. If I'm still hungry after polishing off a bag of potato chips, it's probably because my body hasn't received the nutrients it needs, and no amount of junk food is going to fill that hole (nevermind the emotional void caused by stress and anxiety, but that's another story.)
So, I'll keep going. I'll try to only eat when I'm hungry, to eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains, and to avoid the addictive junk that saps me of energy and makes my brain sluggish.
Finally, I wouldn't be able to write this review without mentioning the 30-minute hypnotherapy section. You can get this in CD form (haha) or just get the audio book from Audible or wherever else and have it included at the end. I've got some things to say about this...
1. The beginning totally relaxes you. I was in repose on my couch while listening to this through headphones, and it was like floating on a cloud. It was so good in fact, that I've since checked out other hypnotherapy tracks on YouTube to help with rest, relaxation, confidence, etc. Check them out.
2. There are two parts that had me cringing hard. One where you're imagining yourself looking into a mirror and the person talks about how "slim" you are, and how you keep admiring yourself because you are exactly the weight you want to be. It's thin idealization through and through, and it's gross. The other part that made me laugh was when the narrator is talking about you looking at other people eating things like chocolate and cookies, and you "feeling pity for them" because "you know they are just sugary junk."
But hypnotherapy isn't brainwashing, right? Noooo, this is a METHOD and it's EASY and you should just listen to NATURE.
Ugh. I think that's enough. I'd love to keep the conversation going on this book in the comments if you've read it or listened to it.
In the end, Lose Weight Now: The Easy Way is a mixed bag that offers some actionable advice and necessary reminders, while also being purposely vague in some of its claims, and dishonest in what it calls itself.
I'm going to try to glean the useful bits and further explore what I should and shouldn't be eating. I'm currently an omnivore, but I'm open to seeing if vegetarianism or veganism could be sustainable for me. If anything, this book has at least pushed me in that positive direction and has increased and/or recharged my awareness of myself, my relationship to food, and the food industry.
Check it out? *shrugs with arms out to the sides and a furrowed brow*
September 10, 2012
I read this book over a year ago and put it into practice straight away, I have never felt so good about myself, I am not only much thinner but I also no longer suffer from migraines or constant colds. I am a meat eater and have found the combining of different foods means i no longer suffer that horrible bloated feeling after eating. The book itself was difficult to read, I found it hard to get through but it works so I think it's worth it.
August 27, 2023
vakit kaybı diyeceğim kitaplardan.
April 22, 2014
è difficile recensire un libro così inutile! Ho lasciato più di 50 note a margine perchè ad ogni nuova frase assurda avevo voglia di andare dall'autore a dirgli "ma cosa diavolo stai dicendo!"
Iniziamo con il dire che per il primo terzo di libro riesce a non dire assolutamente nulla! A parte tante frasi fatte e concetti assolutamente banali per il resto non ha dato un'indicazione che fosse una utile o funzionale.
Poi però si sbilancia, e parte con un mega sproloquio partendo dalla creazione dell'uomo, affermando che l'uomo è una macchina assolutamente Perfetta e che il nostro Creatore quando l'ha creato l'ha anche fornito di ogni strumento per mantenere la sua struttura in piena salute, infatti nell'antichità si viveva meglio e ci si ammalava meno (certo, la vita media era di quattro volte più bassa, ma questo evidentemente non è un problema per l'autore!).
Da qui in poi è tutto un disquisire sugli animali che sono perfettamente in grado di autogestirsi per il cibo, che non ci sono animali grassi o malati in natura (questa seconda affermazione tra l'altro mi pare un po' azzardata).
Che solo l'uomo ha creato degli strumenti per distruggere la terra ed i propri simili! Ma che la salvezza sarebbe il ritorno alla natura.
Vanno assolutamente non ascoltati tutti quegli specialisti che apparentemente sono esperti nelle loro materie, ma che in realtà vi consigliano di mangiare cibi che il vostro corpo "naturale" non sceglierebbe mai da solo!
Ma ancora non si arriva al sodo, cosa si deve mangiare per mantenersi in forma? Partiamo con il dire che gli animali più grandi e forti sono elefanti, mucche, rinoceronti e tutti guarda caso sono vegetariani, quindi... perchè mangiare carne se loro invece solo con foglie ed arbusti possono vivere così a lungo? In più un chiaro sintomo del fatto che l'uomo non è un carnivoro è dato dal fatto che se andiamo in giro e incontriamo un agnellino non siamo assaliti dal desiderio di saltargli addosso e sbranarlo! (sic!)
Come se questo non bastasse a farvi vedere la carne come un tipico cibo spazzatura, ci informa che i leoni, che sono carnivori, dormono sempre perchè resi apatici dalla loro dieta e tendono a mangiare preferibilmente le interiora delle loro prede, proprio perchè, in realtà, hanno bisogno delle verdure (sic)!
Altra grande inconguenza che ci mostra rigurada gli elefanti: non bevono latte, non assumono calcio, eppure non soffrono di ossa deboli, ma anzi hanno delle zanne possenti! E quindi il veleno del nuovo capitolo è il latte e ovviamente ogni suo derivato!
Certo, si potrebbe obbiettare che l'uomo non ha molta somiglianza con i ruminanti, e quindi ecco il colpo si scena, se dobbiamo seguire le direttive della natura, mangiare solo ciò che effettivamente ci fa bene, dobbiamo innanzitutto basarci sui nostri sensi: se una cosa non ha un buon odore e sapore significa che il nostro corpo non la tollera!
Non va mangiato nulla che sia sia amaro, o acre o fastidioso. Lui prende come esempi l'alcool, il caffè, il the, il cioccolato (in bacche) e mille altri alimenti, a me sorge spontaneo pensare però al radicchio, alla rucola, alle mandorle... questi andranno bene??!
E per avere un nostro simile che ci indici la strada dobbiamo riferirci niente meno che ai gorilla! Loro sì che si nutrono in modo sano, come dovrebbe fare l'uomo, in definitiva.
E cosa mangiano i gorilla, prevalentemente? La frutta! Un alimento naturalmente dolce, che ci può dare i nutrimenti che ci servono, che ci può piacere e che non siamo costretti a cuocere, visto che nella cottura le verdure perdono ogni loro valore nutritivo!!!
Insomma, arrivando al succo del discorso la dieta consigliata da Carr è una dieta vegana, principalmente basata sulla frutta, assolutamente sprovvista di ogni sorta di cibo raffinato dalla farina al cioccolato al caffè allo zucchero.
Sì, perchè, voi non lo sapete, ma vi hanno fatto il "lavaggio del cervello", come si premura di farci sapere ripetendolo tipo 1000 volte, vi hanno convinto che la cioccolata abbia un buon sapore, che il caffè vi piaccia, che la pasta sia un cibo sano, che un bicchiere di vino sia un piacere durante un pasto, che lo zucchero o il sale o le spezie siano necessari quando si cucina, ma la verità è che sono tutti gusti e desideri indotti appositamente dalle multinazionali, voi non avete bisogno di nulla di tutto ciò!
Se fate scegliere ad un bambino una qualsiasi di queste cose oppure una fragola, lui sceglierà sempre e solo la fragola, perchè lui ancora non è stato plagiato dalle pubblicità!
Alla fine, siccome Carr in realtà non vuole indicare una dieta, ma più uno stile di vita, ci concede, nel caso non fossimo capaci di essere così rigorosi (anche se secondo lui basta iniziare e poi ci sentiremo talmente bene che non sarà un peso continuare su questa strada per sempre) un 30% di cibo "spazzatura" (che a seguire le sue direttive copre un range decisamente vasto di alimenti) al giorno.
Per il resto, limitandoci solo a frutta, verdura e cereali, possiamo mangiare tutta la quantità che vogliamo, non ingrasseremo! Sai che scoperta! :P
Mi rendo conto scrivendo che non mi risulta abbia citato uova e pesce, chissà in che categoria inserisce questi alimenti. Certo però che se ci dobbiamo basare sulla dieta dei gorilla, dubito loro ne fossero provvisti!
Iniziamo con il dire che per il primo terzo di libro riesce a non dire assolutamente nulla! A parte tante frasi fatte e concetti assolutamente banali per il resto non ha dato un'indicazione che fosse una utile o funzionale.
Poi però si sbilancia, e parte con un mega sproloquio partendo dalla creazione dell'uomo, affermando che l'uomo è una macchina assolutamente Perfetta e che il nostro Creatore quando l'ha creato l'ha anche fornito di ogni strumento per mantenere la sua struttura in piena salute, infatti nell'antichità si viveva meglio e ci si ammalava meno (certo, la vita media era di quattro volte più bassa, ma questo evidentemente non è un problema per l'autore!).
Da qui in poi è tutto un disquisire sugli animali che sono perfettamente in grado di autogestirsi per il cibo, che non ci sono animali grassi o malati in natura (questa seconda affermazione tra l'altro mi pare un po' azzardata).
Che solo l'uomo ha creato degli strumenti per distruggere la terra ed i propri simili! Ma che la salvezza sarebbe il ritorno alla natura.
Vanno assolutamente non ascoltati tutti quegli specialisti che apparentemente sono esperti nelle loro materie, ma che in realtà vi consigliano di mangiare cibi che il vostro corpo "naturale" non sceglierebbe mai da solo!
Ma ancora non si arriva al sodo, cosa si deve mangiare per mantenersi in forma? Partiamo con il dire che gli animali più grandi e forti sono elefanti, mucche, rinoceronti e tutti guarda caso sono vegetariani, quindi... perchè mangiare carne se loro invece solo con foglie ed arbusti possono vivere così a lungo? In più un chiaro sintomo del fatto che l'uomo non è un carnivoro è dato dal fatto che se andiamo in giro e incontriamo un agnellino non siamo assaliti dal desiderio di saltargli addosso e sbranarlo! (sic!)
Come se questo non bastasse a farvi vedere la carne come un tipico cibo spazzatura, ci informa che i leoni, che sono carnivori, dormono sempre perchè resi apatici dalla loro dieta e tendono a mangiare preferibilmente le interiora delle loro prede, proprio perchè, in realtà, hanno bisogno delle verdure (sic)!
Altra grande inconguenza che ci mostra rigurada gli elefanti: non bevono latte, non assumono calcio, eppure non soffrono di ossa deboli, ma anzi hanno delle zanne possenti! E quindi il veleno del nuovo capitolo è il latte e ovviamente ogni suo derivato!
Certo, si potrebbe obbiettare che l'uomo non ha molta somiglianza con i ruminanti, e quindi ecco il colpo si scena, se dobbiamo seguire le direttive della natura, mangiare solo ciò che effettivamente ci fa bene, dobbiamo innanzitutto basarci sui nostri sensi: se una cosa non ha un buon odore e sapore significa che il nostro corpo non la tollera!
Non va mangiato nulla che sia sia amaro, o acre o fastidioso. Lui prende come esempi l'alcool, il caffè, il the, il cioccolato (in bacche) e mille altri alimenti, a me sorge spontaneo pensare però al radicchio, alla rucola, alle mandorle... questi andranno bene??!
E per avere un nostro simile che ci indici la strada dobbiamo riferirci niente meno che ai gorilla! Loro sì che si nutrono in modo sano, come dovrebbe fare l'uomo, in definitiva.
E cosa mangiano i gorilla, prevalentemente? La frutta! Un alimento naturalmente dolce, che ci può dare i nutrimenti che ci servono, che ci può piacere e che non siamo costretti a cuocere, visto che nella cottura le verdure perdono ogni loro valore nutritivo!!!
Insomma, arrivando al succo del discorso la dieta consigliata da Carr è una dieta vegana, principalmente basata sulla frutta, assolutamente sprovvista di ogni sorta di cibo raffinato dalla farina al cioccolato al caffè allo zucchero.
Sì, perchè, voi non lo sapete, ma vi hanno fatto il "lavaggio del cervello", come si premura di farci sapere ripetendolo tipo 1000 volte, vi hanno convinto che la cioccolata abbia un buon sapore, che il caffè vi piaccia, che la pasta sia un cibo sano, che un bicchiere di vino sia un piacere durante un pasto, che lo zucchero o il sale o le spezie siano necessari quando si cucina, ma la verità è che sono tutti gusti e desideri indotti appositamente dalle multinazionali, voi non avete bisogno di nulla di tutto ciò!
Se fate scegliere ad un bambino una qualsiasi di queste cose oppure una fragola, lui sceglierà sempre e solo la fragola, perchè lui ancora non è stato plagiato dalle pubblicità!
Alla fine, siccome Carr in realtà non vuole indicare una dieta, ma più uno stile di vita, ci concede, nel caso non fossimo capaci di essere così rigorosi (anche se secondo lui basta iniziare e poi ci sentiremo talmente bene che non sarà un peso continuare su questa strada per sempre) un 30% di cibo "spazzatura" (che a seguire le sue direttive copre un range decisamente vasto di alimenti) al giorno.
Per il resto, limitandoci solo a frutta, verdura e cereali, possiamo mangiare tutta la quantità che vogliamo, non ingrasseremo! Sai che scoperta! :P
Mi rendo conto scrivendo che non mi risulta abbia citato uova e pesce, chissà in che categoria inserisce questi alimenti. Certo però che se ci dobbiamo basare sulla dieta dei gorilla, dubito loro ne fossero provvisti!
February 4, 2017
HOW does this man do it? His quit smoking method worked so effectively for me (over three years now and not even a tiny desire to go back) that I thought I'd try this book for weight loss. Despite being an active, (mostly) healthy and intelligent person, I wondered why I could never reach my desired weight and that my attempts always failed eventually. I'm smart enough to figure out what to eat and what not to eat...why do I keep failing? I was hoping that Mr. Carr's no-nonsense approach would help me figure it out. It did!!
I'm surprised at all of the bad reviews on here. Yes, it's a simplistic approach but I believe that's what's needed. I was so completely brainwashed by the junk food industry that I couldn't understand why it had such a hold on me. Allen Carr appeals to my intellect and it makes me feel duped and want to fight against it. Earlier I left a glowing review of the book "Food Addicts" because it really helped me understand the addictive power of processed food and sugar but it didn't address the psychological component. So ultimately the poor diet crept back in. Therein lies the magic of this book: the discussion about the brainwashing. Like the smoking addiction, Mr. Carr strips away the bullshit and lays it out for you and really makes you wonder - why in the hell am I putting this in my body? By taking away the sense of deprivation the veil has been lifted and I believe it will be hard to go back...I'd feel like a fool. Why in the world would I choose a processed, sugar-coated formed piece of styrofoam for breakfast instead of a piece of fruit? I can't see myself doing it anymore because I consider myself too smart to be fooled again. I'm nobody's fool, damn it!! Ok well I used to be but no more. :)
One other thing: I had already reached the same conclusions about meat and dairy on my own so not eating these things will not be an issue for me. Where I think it will help is in my craving for baked goods and fried foods such as french fries and chips.
So...it remains to be seen how effective this will be. I have high hopes. It's January 2017 and I'm currently 200 lbs. I'll try to remember to post back at the end of the year and update on my weight loss. Thank you to Mr. Carr (RIP) for helping me make sense of it all!! This book is, by far, the BEST $5 I have ever spent.
I'm surprised at all of the bad reviews on here. Yes, it's a simplistic approach but I believe that's what's needed. I was so completely brainwashed by the junk food industry that I couldn't understand why it had such a hold on me. Allen Carr appeals to my intellect and it makes me feel duped and want to fight against it. Earlier I left a glowing review of the book "Food Addicts" because it really helped me understand the addictive power of processed food and sugar but it didn't address the psychological component. So ultimately the poor diet crept back in. Therein lies the magic of this book: the discussion about the brainwashing. Like the smoking addiction, Mr. Carr strips away the bullshit and lays it out for you and really makes you wonder - why in the hell am I putting this in my body? By taking away the sense of deprivation the veil has been lifted and I believe it will be hard to go back...I'd feel like a fool. Why in the world would I choose a processed, sugar-coated formed piece of styrofoam for breakfast instead of a piece of fruit? I can't see myself doing it anymore because I consider myself too smart to be fooled again. I'm nobody's fool, damn it!! Ok well I used to be but no more. :)
One other thing: I had already reached the same conclusions about meat and dairy on my own so not eating these things will not be an issue for me. Where I think it will help is in my craving for baked goods and fried foods such as french fries and chips.
So...it remains to be seen how effective this will be. I have high hopes. It's January 2017 and I'm currently 200 lbs. I'll try to remember to post back at the end of the year and update on my weight loss. Thank you to Mr. Carr (RIP) for helping me make sense of it all!! This book is, by far, the BEST $5 I have ever spent.
June 25, 2012
Allen Carr's Easy way to quit smoking helped me pack in the cigarettes . I figured if he can fix my smoking addiction he can help me with over eating. So far so good, I am half way through. As I am a Vegan I can understand the subject of cows milk is for calves and raw food is best. I really like how he explains things and uses a car as a metaphor for our bodies.
In the section that I have just read he is explaining why it is best to eat when you are hungry. At first I wanted to shake my head and say no its not! I eat so much more when I am "Starving" then when I am kinda hungry. Then I realised I over eat either way. So far what he has to say is striking a cord with me. I really do hope by the end of this book I can put it down with a similar revelation that I had when finishing the easy way to quit smoking.
After reading this book:-
I found that Allen Carr was very preachy in this novel. It did not move me as much as his easy way to quit smoking book did.
I will take on his advice, I have started only having fruit in the morning and as I am a vegan it is really easy for me to separate foods.
I lent this book to my Mam, she read it on the weekend and did not like this at all. My Mam quit smoking about 23 years ago and found that Carr's constant mention of cigarettes was making her want to smoke again!
I do not think I would recommend this book to other readers unless they are vegetarian as some of Carr's suggestions are a tad hard to swallow if you are a big meat eater.
Just a little bit disappointed with this book.
In the section that I have just read he is explaining why it is best to eat when you are hungry. At first I wanted to shake my head and say no its not! I eat so much more when I am "Starving" then when I am kinda hungry. Then I realised I over eat either way. So far what he has to say is striking a cord with me. I really do hope by the end of this book I can put it down with a similar revelation that I had when finishing the easy way to quit smoking.
After reading this book:-
I found that Allen Carr was very preachy in this novel. It did not move me as much as his easy way to quit smoking book did.
I will take on his advice, I have started only having fruit in the morning and as I am a vegan it is really easy for me to separate foods.
I lent this book to my Mam, she read it on the weekend and did not like this at all. My Mam quit smoking about 23 years ago and found that Carr's constant mention of cigarettes was making her want to smoke again!
I do not think I would recommend this book to other readers unless they are vegetarian as some of Carr's suggestions are a tad hard to swallow if you are a big meat eater.
Just a little bit disappointed with this book.
August 2, 2017
I was curious about this method but... it's just plain stupid brainwashing. Calling fruit your favourite food doesn't automatically make it so, nor does it guarantee that it's good for your health and guts. I agree that meat and dairy consumption should be limited but there were no serious argument in this book. Furthermore, the religious undertone was very off-putting ("Nature created us so...", "Nature created us the best way possible", etc) and the constant preaching really annoying (every sentence is repeated at least five times).
July 3, 2017
ridiculousy vague, referring to our creator... his methods for getting rid of addictions such as smoking is brilliant. this, to me, is a means to make more money out of something that is not in his expertise.
July 20, 2015
I previously quit smoking with Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking book so I thought I would give this a go.
I was a little bit bigger than I wanted to be at the time, however I am tall and can get away with the extra kg's I had piled on.
By the time I finished the book (read it in one sitting) I had conformed my eating habits! It was so super easy and really hit the nail on the head for me.
I lost about 11kg all up and never looked more fantastic in my life! My partner was concerned about my eating changes, but later admitted it was the best thing I had ever done.
I never went hungry and I always ate what I felt like. Eating was never an issue and was no longer a priority in my life.
Well worth the read for anyone struggling with weight issues. It may just be the book that unlocks you from your prison.
I was a little bit bigger than I wanted to be at the time, however I am tall and can get away with the extra kg's I had piled on.
By the time I finished the book (read it in one sitting) I had conformed my eating habits! It was so super easy and really hit the nail on the head for me.
I lost about 11kg all up and never looked more fantastic in my life! My partner was concerned about my eating changes, but later admitted it was the best thing I had ever done.
I never went hungry and I always ate what I felt like. Eating was never an issue and was no longer a priority in my life.
Well worth the read for anyone struggling with weight issues. It may just be the book that unlocks you from your prison.
March 15, 2024
2.5 stars
As a newbie MD You can never make me a vegetarian:))) He made some valid points but most of it is something a beauty influencer would tell you in their blog or ig!
Oh and half of the book was just advertisements of his other books and what was to come in the final chapters...
As a newbie MD You can never make me a vegetarian:))) He made some valid points but most of it is something a beauty influencer would tell you in their blog or ig!
Oh and half of the book was just advertisements of his other books and what was to come in the final chapters...
March 24, 2022
Review to come
April 22, 2014
Non mi aspettavo certo un capolavoro e sono sempre diffidente nei confronti dei manuali pseudo self-help americani. In realtà l'autore è inglese ma il libro oltre a essere brutto e scritto male risulta particolarmente irritante. Vaga senza un filo tra religione, luoghi comuni e affermazioni dal tono fideistico; condisce il testo con paragoni opinabili e troppo spesso confronta gli uomini e gli animali con generalizzazioni a dir poco azzardate. Il tono è quello del predicatore dalla fede del tutto irrazionale che, continuando a dire che sei libero, vuole a tutti i costi mostrarti la luce appellandosi alla "natura". Questo sfruttamento doloso e perverso del potere "salvifico" di tutto cio' che è "naturale" e l'ostracismo verso tutto cio' che è "artificiale" rendono sempre meno credibile l'interlocutore che vorresti tanto riportare all'età della pietra per vedere se ci si troverebbe poi cosi' bene. Alcune affermazioni sono del tutto oltraggiose, le cose sane hanno un buon sapore e le cose tossiche e i veleni un cattivo odore e sapore. Tutto converge (anche se l'ho mollato a 50 pagine dalla fine non volendo sprecare altro tempo) verso una forma oltranzista di veganesimo. La "spiegazione" che la "forza" degli animali viene dalle dimensioni (e gli animali piu' grandi sono tutti vegetariani), che quelli carnivori in realtà mangiano solo viscere (e solo degli erbivori) perchè alla fine cercano le fibre ed i vegetali lascia quantomeno perplessi. Ci possono essere molti motivi per diventare vegani, sicuramente non leggere questo libro. Diseducativo.
February 28, 2014
I love this mans books. I was a smoker for 10 years until I read his quit smoking book so I decided to read his book on losing wright and I was not disappointed. He puts things into perspective in such a way that really resonates and stays with you long after you read the book. And everything he says is common sense but once again just the way he puts it is so eye opening, you can't help but listen and follow the instructions.
November 11, 2024
Started this book just for curiosity. I’ve heard for years about the author’s book on how to quit smoking that truly helped lots of people, but since I don’t smoke I read this one instead thinking it could be helpful and informative. It reminded me when you talk to a friend about an issue and he starts making with a general, vague speech about a topic giving you an advice. It’s not a medical essay for sure, not an informative book, just a general writing that I didn’t find useful.
February 5, 2013
This was very good motivation to embark on a healthier eating lifestyle without leaving me feeling deprived as diets do. Brainwashing? Maybe.... effective - so far so good!
September 25, 2016
I keep revisiting this book. Just like I stopped smoking the Easy Way, I am sure this is the right way for my health and well-being.
February 7, 2020
Consigliatomi da chi ha smesso di fumare con l’altro libro dello stesso autore, l’ho letto con la speranza (ben riposta) di tornare ad avere un buon rapporto con il cibo, soprattutto con quelli genuini o poco raffinati. Tre stelle perché alcune informazioni sono superate e perché i capitoli di soli due pagine mi hanno innervosito e non poco 😇
May 9, 2022
Pēcpandēmijas zefīru, kūciņu, bulciņu, iebiezinātā piena, cepumiņu un visādu citādu gardumu sekas pavasarī sāk pieprasīt kaut kādu nebūt rīcību. Autora aicinājums "labi paēd, izbaudi maltīti un saglabā slaidumu!" skan neiedomājami skaisti, tādēļ nolēmu izlasīt.
Jāsaka gan, ka tie īstenie padomi, ko un kā, nāks uz grāmatas beigām, tāpec jāapbruņojas ar pacietību, jo sevišķi tāpēc, ka šķiet trešdaļu grāmatas nemitīgi tiek piesaukta autora slavenā un sensacionālā grāmata par smēķēšanu. Apnicīgi.
Izlasīju līdz galam (kaut brīžiem autora domu izklāsti likās garlaicīgi un par garu) un Karra domu virziens man ir skaidrs. Dzīvē gan šī visdrīzāk nebūs mana ēšanas metode, bet par šo to aizdomāties lika. Piemēram, par gaļas un piena produktu samazināšanu savā ēdienkartē, par pārstrādātas pārtikas, kafijas un šokolādes īpatsvaru šodienas cilvēka ikdienā, tāpat patika autora ierosinājums brokastīs ēst tikai un vienīgi augļus...
Daži iedvesmas mirkļi uzplaiksnīja.
Jāsaka gan, ka tie īstenie padomi, ko un kā, nāks uz grāmatas beigām, tāpec jāapbruņojas ar pacietību, jo sevišķi tāpēc, ka šķiet trešdaļu grāmatas nemitīgi tiek piesaukta autora slavenā un sensacionālā grāmata par smēķēšanu. Apnicīgi.
Izlasīju līdz galam (kaut brīžiem autora domu izklāsti likās garlaicīgi un par garu) un Karra domu virziens man ir skaidrs. Dzīvē gan šī visdrīzāk nebūs mana ēšanas metode, bet par šo to aizdomāties lika. Piemēram, par gaļas un piena produktu samazināšanu savā ēdienkartē, par pārstrādātas pārtikas, kafijas un šokolādes īpatsvaru šodienas cilvēka ikdienā, tāpat patika autora ierosinājums brokastīs ēst tikai un vienīgi augļus...
Daži iedvesmas mirkļi uzplaiksnīja.
April 29, 2024
Don't waste your time, this was such a useless book. His bottom line is stop being a sheep and rewire your brain to hate meat, sugar, salt, alcohol, and all things processed (easy peasy, right?) and you'll lose weight without feeling deprived. Wow, how'd I never think of that?!??! He also talks about how milk is for baby calves and not humans (no shade to vegans if you think this way). Just a weird ass book.
February 3, 2020
**
Ok, first I need to say that I read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and I rated it five stars. Is was amazing, and IT WORKED. I read it in 2007, and it is now 2019. I haven't smoked since I read that book, and I KNOW I never will.
Now, that had given me great hopes for this book.
Anyone reading this book is going to have to keep an open mind and keep reading regardless of some of the jarring content.
I found the regular reference to 'our creator' distracting, and lots of dubious comparisons were made between humans and machines, or humans and wild animals, etc. Some comparisons were valid, but others were shortsighted and disappointing; however, there was some really good stuff aswell. I just think that a lot of it could have been edited out to make the book speak to me better.
Despite claiming that we can lose weight while eating whatever we want, that's not really the case. I feel a little hoodwinked in that respect. The principal ideas in this book are to eat only when we are hungry - good so far - but also to eat primarily plant-based foods that are in their natural form, avoiding meat, dairy and processed/cooked foods. Carr uses his 'JUNK MARGIN' (an allowance for our bodies to tolerate a certain amount of abuse) to retain his claim that we can eat anything we want, but all the while, we are told that certain foods are bad for us; therefore we are back to having to restrict our diet, thus creating feelings of deprivation and guilt. Lots of what Carr says about nutrition is correct, but there is also error in some of it. I don't think he covers the topic of nutrition with a rigorous physioligically accurate approach that I would expect in a book designed to aid weight control.
There was a lot of repetition, which I don't mind if it's doing good (The stopping smoking book has the same repitition, but it worked as a kind of hypnosis or positive brainwashing, reinforcing the ideas). In this book, I felt that I was always waiting for some great moment when I would feel sure about it working for me, but I got to the end and was uncertain whether it would change my behaviour. I didn't need to wait with the stop smoking book; I knew straight away that I wouldn't smoke, and I was instantly a non-smoker from the moment I closed the book.
It's been a couple of weeks since I read the EASYWEIGH book - I wanted to see how I behaved before writing a review - and I am still continuing bad habits that I wanted to escape from (despite already being vegetarian) so it hasn't had the same impact on me as the stopping smoking book did. How could it? Stopping smoking is not the same as controlling eating habits.
I am going to go through the book again and highlight only the parts that I find relevant. Maybe through doing this, I will be less distracted by the stuff I didn't connect with.
I feel like I need a list of bullet points of the most important ideas/steps, because they got lost in the padding out of the book. The conclusion at the end summarised the plan, but it seemed too simple to me, and some of the important steps were missed out, for example, eating fruit for breakfast. That was one of the things that stuck in my mind and made sense from this book, and it wasn't in the conclusion. I think the book needed a more thorough recap/summary at the end.
This book could potentially work, but I need to go through it and extract the best bits, condense it down to maybe just 5 pages of strategy and motivation. I will revisit this review once I've done that...
REVISITED
I read the book again, highlighting with a pen the parts that I felt were meaningful to me. I then read the book a third time, only reading my highlighted lines. It took me around five minutes to read my condensed version, and I have to say that I now feel much better about the book. I just wish I hadn't had to read it three times in order to get my head around it.
I do think that the method can work, but I will need to keep revisiting the book on a regular basis in order to keep at it. It's just not working instantly for me like the stopping smoking book did, and I think that's because there are so many elements to think about and be disciplined around.
Ok, first I need to say that I read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and I rated it five stars. Is was amazing, and IT WORKED. I read it in 2007, and it is now 2019. I haven't smoked since I read that book, and I KNOW I never will.
Now, that had given me great hopes for this book.
Anyone reading this book is going to have to keep an open mind and keep reading regardless of some of the jarring content.
I found the regular reference to 'our creator' distracting, and lots of dubious comparisons were made between humans and machines, or humans and wild animals, etc. Some comparisons were valid, but others were shortsighted and disappointing; however, there was some really good stuff aswell. I just think that a lot of it could have been edited out to make the book speak to me better.
Despite claiming that we can lose weight while eating whatever we want, that's not really the case. I feel a little hoodwinked in that respect. The principal ideas in this book are to eat only when we are hungry - good so far - but also to eat primarily plant-based foods that are in their natural form, avoiding meat, dairy and processed/cooked foods. Carr uses his 'JUNK MARGIN' (an allowance for our bodies to tolerate a certain amount of abuse) to retain his claim that we can eat anything we want, but all the while, we are told that certain foods are bad for us; therefore we are back to having to restrict our diet, thus creating feelings of deprivation and guilt. Lots of what Carr says about nutrition is correct, but there is also error in some of it. I don't think he covers the topic of nutrition with a rigorous physioligically accurate approach that I would expect in a book designed to aid weight control.
There was a lot of repetition, which I don't mind if it's doing good (The stopping smoking book has the same repitition, but it worked as a kind of hypnosis or positive brainwashing, reinforcing the ideas). In this book, I felt that I was always waiting for some great moment when I would feel sure about it working for me, but I got to the end and was uncertain whether it would change my behaviour. I didn't need to wait with the stop smoking book; I knew straight away that I wouldn't smoke, and I was instantly a non-smoker from the moment I closed the book.
It's been a couple of weeks since I read the EASYWEIGH book - I wanted to see how I behaved before writing a review - and I am still continuing bad habits that I wanted to escape from (despite already being vegetarian) so it hasn't had the same impact on me as the stopping smoking book did. How could it? Stopping smoking is not the same as controlling eating habits.
I am going to go through the book again and highlight only the parts that I find relevant. Maybe through doing this, I will be less distracted by the stuff I didn't connect with.
I feel like I need a list of bullet points of the most important ideas/steps, because they got lost in the padding out of the book. The conclusion at the end summarised the plan, but it seemed too simple to me, and some of the important steps were missed out, for example, eating fruit for breakfast. That was one of the things that stuck in my mind and made sense from this book, and it wasn't in the conclusion. I think the book needed a more thorough recap/summary at the end.
This book could potentially work, but I need to go through it and extract the best bits, condense it down to maybe just 5 pages of strategy and motivation. I will revisit this review once I've done that...
REVISITED
I read the book again, highlighting with a pen the parts that I felt were meaningful to me. I then read the book a third time, only reading my highlighted lines. It took me around five minutes to read my condensed version, and I have to say that I now feel much better about the book. I just wish I hadn't had to read it three times in order to get my head around it.
I do think that the method can work, but I will need to keep revisiting the book on a regular basis in order to keep at it. It's just not working instantly for me like the stopping smoking book did, and I think that's because there are so many elements to think about and be disciplined around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2017
I read Easy way to stop smoking few years ago out of desperation cause i couldn't stop on my own (maybe i have addictive personality - smoking, overeating))) and - wow! miracle - it did work! I still highly recommend that book to anyone who WANTS to stop smoking.
I knew that Allen's easy way to loose weight is based on vegetarianism and for a long time, being a meat eater, i didn't read it only because of this.
Lately i have been trying new things and stopping eating meat was under consideration for half a year maybe. And so i decided to read it cause 1. the other book worked as by some miracle, 2. I kind of wanted to stop eating meat and i already had it very rarely.
What can i say... It does not work if you have some real problems with overating and not just being stupid. Cause, well, it states so many well-known facts which are basic and not new to anyone. And except vegetarian approach, you can find these recommendations in any free and short internet article. This time his repeating the same thing 100 times does not work. What especially irritated me are his rules, such as, eat only when you are hungry, stop eating the same moment you stop feeling hunger. Come on, if i could do it, I wouldn't read your book! What do you think, i didn't know that if you eat more when you need, you would be overweight?
So in the end i am in the same place i was before i started reading, except i did stop eating meat. Which I think i would do anyway. I just decided, well, i paid money for this, i need to get at least something out of this book. )))
P.S.:
October 7, 2024
This year I decided to not waste any more time on books that don't resonate with me. I feel like Allen Carr should stick with his easy way to stop smoking, which actually worked back when I was in my 20s. That one I recommend 100%.
I read more than 50% of his book on weight loss, and grasped the main idea and strategy behind the concepts, however, he lost me at "we're not designed to eat meat, eggs, milk, we should eat only veggies and fruits". My goal was not to become a vegan by reading this book, so I'll just stop wasting my time reading it. DNF - gave it 2 stars because I'll put into practice some of the learnings I gained.
I read more than 50% of his book on weight loss, and grasped the main idea and strategy behind the concepts, however, he lost me at "we're not designed to eat meat, eggs, milk, we should eat only veggies and fruits". My goal was not to become a vegan by reading this book, so I'll just stop wasting my time reading it. DNF - gave it 2 stars because I'll put into practice some of the learnings I gained.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2015
There were some good points that I have put into practice and admittedly parts that I skimmed over (god and religion) He brought some interesting points no milk/dairy products (which I am slowly incorporating into my life) and obviously fresh and organic is better. Probably the best point would be "eating when your actually hungry" though difficult to abide by its quite interesting to learn how much of the time you are eating because you (me) are bored or in particular social situations. Definitely think there is something to be learned so worth the read to me.
December 31, 2016
I'll give it a go
I think I understand the reasons to eat this kind of food I particularly love vegetables
I've just googled some examples of grains,so overall it doesn't look too bad
What would have really pleased me is either some recipes or examples of what Allen ate whilst losing his weight,just to give some ideas
I love curries,presumably I can have,say a butternut squash and spinach curry or a vegetable chilli....minus kidney beans,although I suppose they could be in my junk margin
I'd better have another read of it before I start on Sunday
I think I understand the reasons to eat this kind of food I particularly love vegetables
I've just googled some examples of grains,so overall it doesn't look too bad
What would have really pleased me is either some recipes or examples of what Allen ate whilst losing his weight,just to give some ideas
I love curries,presumably I can have,say a butternut squash and spinach curry or a vegetable chilli....minus kidney beans,although I suppose they could be in my junk margin
I'd better have another read of it before I start on Sunday
March 18, 2017
Eat what you want, as much as you want, all your favorite foods. I love the straightforward way in which he strips away all the brain washing we've received about food and leave you feeling free to choose all your favorite foods, which by the end of the book are actually fruit veg nuts seeds legumes.. a genius! Helped me lose almost $20kg with the help of this book + the good sugar bad sugar book too it's the only time I don't feel restricted at all in my eating habits and I'm losing weight feeling great, looking great, have greater energy and mental clarity to boot.
February 16, 2014
Easy read, and I can see how it would work very effectively. The trick is going to be to read it more than once, and read it slowly.
Many of the actual diet information seems to come from "Fit for Life" but the secret is in how he describes food and why you want to make different choices. I could feel my mind changing as I read the book. Fascinating, really.
Quick easy read, good information.
Many of the actual diet information seems to come from "Fit for Life" but the secret is in how he describes food and why you want to make different choices. I could feel my mind changing as I read the book. Fascinating, really.
Quick easy read, good information.
May 10, 2015
Автор книги, как не удивительно, убеждает нас, что проблемы связанные с весом и здоровьем человека можно избежать не изнурительными диетами, а только постигнув саму суть проблемы и изменить подход к ней. Аллен Карр знакомит нас с новой, более совершенной и естественной для человека культурой питания.
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