[.ca] The 9 Truths About Weight Loss: The No-Tricks, ... (ISBN 0805063943)

From Amazon.com:
"The 9 Truths uses the razor's edge of science to cut through the nonsense from pseudogurus," promises author Daniel S. Kirschenbaum, Ph.D. This refreshingly credible book may not tell you what you want to hear, but it does give you the straight facts about dropping excess pounds. For example, Truth #1 is "Your body will resist permanent weight loss": it won't be easy, and "only highly intensive and consistent efforts at weight control really work." That doesn't mean eating 400 calories a day--it doesn't mean going "on a diet" at all. It does mean a consistent, lifetime program of cutting as much fat (Truth #5) and sugar as possible, paying careful attention to the amount of food you take in, and exercising every day (Truth #7). Log your food and exercise 75 percent of the time (Truth #6)--people who do this lose more weight and maintain that weight loss better than people who do not. Forget the contradictory diet fads, whose authors "seriously distort nutritional science." Every "truth" here is research based--and he points out which bestselling diet books are not. (Don't miss his analysis of the Zone diet!) The book delivers on the promise of its subtitle, "The No-Tricks, No-Nonsense Plan for Lifelong Weight Control." The 9 Truths About Weight Loss is not a diet, but it tells you exactly what kinds of lifestyle changes you need to make to get lasting results. This is what works. --Joan Price

so easy to be fooled:
People are pretty sensitive about their weight, and ready at the drop of a hat to gush on about how one thing or another worked for them. And the title of this book sure sounds good-- who wouldn't want to use common sense? However, don't buy a diet plan based on the review of a small number of people. Instead, see what professionally run, independent medical tests show. And the recent tests are showing that Atkins is right. At a minimum, the goal is to avoid SUGAR, not FAT.

Watch how LOW (fat) you go...:
I'm an ACE-certified personal trainer and got this book from the library since ACE (American Council on Exercise) recommends it. There is a lot of good advice in this book regarding self-esteem, self-monitoring and exercise; however, his dietary guidelines are too severe. The idea of limiting fat to 20 grams per day is extreme. Also, the client profiled in chapter 3 is consuming a diet that is almost a fast-- waiting up to 8 HOURS between meals. This client is a 165-pound man who exercises 30 minutes a day and is barely eating enough to keep a small child alive (less than 1000 calories per day). Almost any dietician or nutritionist will tell you NEVER to go below 1200 calories per day (unless under a supervised fast) or your body will go into "survival" mode and actually hold on to fat. One last bone to pick-- the serving sizes he recommends for his diet are not in accordance with the USDA food pyramid. For instance, his servings of protein are 1 ounce, while the Food Pyramid recommends 2 oz. He says a serving of milk is 3/4 cup, the food pyramid recommends a full cup. I could go on, but you get the point... I don't know how on earth anyone who follows this diet can keep from eating everything in the house because they're always starving! How much popcorn can you eat every day? There are other, better ways to lose weight without the dismal prospect of spending the rest of your life longing for a slice of cheesecake. Stop spending money on diet books and consult a reputable dietician or nutritionist. Don't do this on your own-- get professional help.

Simply outstanding, a masterpiece:
Kirschenbaum does it again. Like "Weight Loss Through Persistence", 9 Truths tells it like it is without any half-measures that would assure long term failure. By taking the long view, 9 Truths identifies the intensity of the weight loss effort itself as the most crucial variable. Weight loss isn't easy. But with the right knowledge and determination it can be done. Kirschenbaum emphasizes the importance of an hour of exercise daily, limits on fat and sugar (btw, 20 grams isn't that extreme for a fat limit, we only need 4 to 5 grams of essential fatty acids)and self-monitoring of our intake. 9 Truths doesn't patronize the reader and presents reliable and authoritative information about what it takes to achieve your ideal weight. It's a buy.

Reveals the depressing truth about low fat dieting...:
Wow, is this book depressing. Kirshenbaum's clients cut back their dietary fat TO THE BONE and can still only eke out slow, minimal weight loss. The bottom line: discipline, discipline, discpline. We're talking no-birthday-cake-on-your-birthday-kind of discipline! Mix that in with some serious patience and a little psychological counseling, and after several years you may be able to move from "obese" to merely "overweight." I don't doubt that this is "the truth" about dieting his way; I just found it incredibly discouraging. Indeed, after reading this, I knew there was NO WAY I'd ever be successful as a low fat dieter. Better to continue on as obese. (Thanks goodness that soon after reading this book, I found the low carb approach. One year later, I'm 50 pounds lighter, and I never eat noxious fake foods like low fat cream cheese. ...

Finally an honest & effective way to deal with weight loss!:
I'll echo the comments of others here to say that this book gave me enormous relief and encouragement by dealing squarely with the truths about body, attitude and the effort required to lose weight and maintain that loss. Especially helpful is the information in Chapter 7 about Reattribution Technique (do you properly ascribe causes to things internal/external? do you help or hurt yourself deciding things are global/unchanging?) and Rational Emotive Technique. I would like to buy a copy for every friend and family member I've ever seen struggle to make sense out of all the gobbledee-gook out there in diet books and magazines.