| Books > The Philosopher's Diet: How to Lose Weight & Change the World (Nonpareil Book, 81)
> David R. Godine Publisher |
The Philosopher's Diet: How to Lose Weight & Change the World (Nonpareil Book, 81) Books David R. Godine Publisher
| by: Richard A. Watson |
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| Customer Reviews |
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Something different to change your viewpoint
If you've been falling on and off the diet and exercise wagon for awhile now, you may be beginning to realize that the problem isn't your plan, but your ability to stick to it - and that your ability to stick to it is low because you HATE doing it. How do you change the way you view diet and exercise? Can you ever come to see it in a way that you'll like it, rather than view it as something you MUST do but hate doing? If you're looking for a new viewpoint, I highly recommend this book. It isn't about "how-to" stuff so much as it's about WHY to, and a new way of looking at things. It's an easy read, and well worth your time and money. You will particularly enjoy it if you like philosophy, but that's by no means a prerequisite.
Rating:  - weight loss, common sense, and taking charge of your life
There is so much to love about this little gem. The author speaks to you like a curmudgeonly uncle who takes you seriously enough not to coddle you or offer you comforting excuses. You want to lose weight? Fine. It's going to be the hardest thing you've ever done, but here's how you go about it. While everyone else is counting calories and grams of this and that, he cuts straight to the point: cut calories (900 may be too few for some people, but he gets your attention with the dramatically low figure) and exercise (again, 4 miles in 30 minutes may be a bit much to ask for some of us penguins, but he doesn't set the bar too low to be a challenge). His voice, while caring, is uncompromising. He is not sympathetic in the cloying manner of many self-help gurus, but in the manner of a teacher who is confident that you can do what you set out to do - as he has - and if you don't succeed, it's because you don't really want to. Some people have medical conditions that may contribute to weight gain, and his simple approach does not address those complexities. I think the author would suggest that you know enough to take care of yourself, which is what this is all about anyway. He removes the weight loss/diet genre from the gnostic realm of medical professionals, and returns it to the accessible realm of common sense, where it belongs. The book is a metaphor for how you can take charge of your own life, give meaning to your own life, without waiting for someone with credentials to tell you you're doing it all wrong if you don't do it his/her way. If you're looking for more complexity, you may be looking for a program that's so difficult to follow that it comes with its own built-in excuses. You won't find excuses here, but encouragement and prodding. Americans are not fat and slovenly because we've failed to eat nothing but protein or failed to find The Zone, but because we eat too much and don't get enough exercise. Do something about that, and then, with the discipline you develop in the process, go change the world, why don'tcha. Lose the weight, and get over it.
Rating:  - Not recommended for long-term weight loss
I have to admit I didn't make it past the first chapter of this book, for two reasons. First, his insinuation that people who are drastically overweight (which by his definition appears to be more than 30 pounds) don't really care and aren't serious about losing weight. Now THAT's motivation! Second, his recommendation of a draconian 900-calorie-a-day diet, when it's been proven time and again that deprivation diets (just like the fad "grapefruit and steak" diets to which he refers) don't work in the long run. Mr. Watson may be a professional philosopher, but he is obviously not a weight-loss expert (and if he consulted with any while writing this book, I didn't see that referenced anywhere). So while the book may provide some entertaining and perhaps even valuable advice on behavior and life in general, its diet advice should be taken with a grain of salt. Most important, check with your doctor before beginning ANY weight-loss program!!
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