Full: A Life Without Dieting

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

full – A Life Without Dieting – Weight Control Towards a Full Life, April 4, 2011

BOOK REVIEW
Title: full – A Life Without Dieting
Author: Michael A. Snyder, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Publisher: Hay House, Inc. New York, NY
Contributing Author(s): none
ISBN: 978-1-4019-2905-3
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-2907-7

Physical Attributes:
Price: $19.95 USD
Reading Time: 10-11 hours
Construction: Hardcover
No. of Pages: 209
Dimensions: 160mm x 255mm x 22mm (“) thick
Weight: 465g ( oz).
Cover Design: Dust Jacket by Jami Goddess
Illustrations: line drawings and tables by Black Top Design
Maps/Inserts: None
Appendices:
Index: no
Bibliography: no
Biography: yes
Glossary: no
Other: Body Mass Index Table

Other books by author:
Why Diets Don’t Work (2005)

Rating 4/5

Abstract: The subtitle of this book, “A Life Without Dieting,” makes better sense after the book has been read. The book does strongly advocate weight control involving control of the kinds and quantities of food eaten. However the book is not a diet book, but rather a presentation of the author’s system for weight control that focuses on what is termed “mindful eating” and may include bariatric surgery in exceptional cases. Mindful eating is both a thoughtful approach to eating that requires deliberate effort in what foods are eaten and how they are eaten, and a way of life that includes planning meals, exercise and an understanding of how to measure progress and set realistic goals. The central goal of the book is living a full life.

Review. I must admit that I have not read many diet or weight loss books. In fact weight loss has not been much of an issue for me. However, I am affected (as the author points out) but the weight related issues of those around me. The few diet books I did start to read did not impress me as worthwhile for the very reasons the author enumerates – chiefly that dieting alone does little to address morbid obesity and has a poor record of sustained weight loss and control.

Overall, I was impressed by Dr. Snyder’s direct and common sense approach to weight loss and his familiar and readable writing style. It is obvious that he’s familiar with the subject and has much practical, hand-on experience in the subject. While he does refer to current scientific research, he does not attempt to write a treatise or a manual about it. (This is a bit disappointing to an engineer like me, but appropriate for the typical person seeking a practical approach to weight control.) What he writes makes much good sense and can be summarized into a single sentence: You are responsible for your weight.

The book elaborates on that them by explaining Dr. Snyder’s system for weight control. Rather than surgery, which is just one of several “tools,” the central theme of the book is mindful eating. Part of this is thinking about what you eat and how you eat. Beyond that, it is an integrated way of life with good mental, spiritual and physical health as the means to the ultimate goal – a full life.

As may be expected, the system includes eating healthy foods that are generally minimally processed and contain balanced nutrition, an abundance of protein and only the calories required for physical needs. As far as that goes, he does propose “dieting.” What he does reject is the idea of dieting where certain foods are either forbidden or emphasized to the exclusion of all else. Calorie counting is dropped in favor of portion sizing. Even cheating is allowed, though in a limited way as a psychological device to avoid undue stress, discouragement and social ostracism.

Exercise is also included in the system both to increase general fitness and muscle mass, and as a device to improve a person’s mental state. Increased muscle mass, as is well known, also leads to increased demand by the body to burn calories and a reduction in the physical demands on the heart as fat is reduced. Exercise is not a primary method in the system for losing weight though, rather a means to change body composition and burn additional calories when the patient reaches what is called a “plateau.” Measuring progress here is not a matter of gross weight, but keyed to the Body Mass Index (BMI) which measures overall body composition.

Mental health and conditioning is also important in this system. Dr. Snyder points out that many people eat, not because they are hungry, but as a response to stress, depression and social circumstances. While not saying so explicitly, he clearly implies this is an abuse of food. The root of such behavior lies in both personal discipline and recognizing the difference between physical hunger and emotion based craving for food. The author offers several ways to address the latter.

One oft misunderstood part of the process of weight management is…

Read more

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Not “Get-Thin-Quick” Plan, but easily adaptable and readable, July 18, 2011

Dr. Michael Snyder has conducted thousands of bariatric surgical procedures and coached many more patients in their struggle against obesity. In “Full: A Life Without Dieting,” he shares hard won strategies applicable to all in addressing unwanted weight and leading healthier lives. In accessible laymen’s terms, he provides the science undergirding his recommendations as to why these strategies work.

If you are looking for a silver bullet or quick pill for easily shedding weight, you won’t find a “get-thin-quick” scheme – easily adopted and easily ignored — here. Dr. Snyder generally derides the popular `diets’ out there. Relying on various studies, he points out that most people will follow one, only to re-gain the weight. Instead, citing the science behind what makes us feel `full’ and limit our eating, he outlines effective strategies which he hopes will become sustainable lifelong tools for living. Once these sensible and easily adopted tools become ingrained, they are less likely to be set aside along like whatever diet has fallen out of fashion. Those who follow Weight Watchers will find some things that are familiar to them – planning ahead, drinking water, “filling” foods, portion control, starting with moderate activity and even the ability to “cheat” occasionally. However, Snyder’s strategies don’t require the constant adding up of points which bedevil many.

Card-carrying members of the Clean Plate Club may have learned since childhood to ignore the body’s signals of fullness, relying instead on the gleam of porcelain to indicate the end of a meal. I found Dr. Synder’s chapters on the physiology of fullness to be especially helpful and plan to re-read those again in the future. No matter our present weight, most of us have a difficult relationship with food and weight. Dr. Snyder’s prose is sympathetic, informative and never patronizing. I can imagine that some people might even find it transformative.