The Diet Dropout's Guide to Natural Weight Loss by Stan Spencer, PhD

If you just want to lose weight, almost any diet will do. The problem is that the rigid, one-size-fits-all approaches of most diets make them difficult to stick with for very long. You quit your diet and the lost weight returns. This book takes a different approach: permanently reshaping the habits and thought patterns that cause your excess weight. The aim is not to lose weight quickly, but to lose it permanently and become a naturally thin person. Drawing from over one hundred scientific studies, Dr. Spencer explains:

• The truth about common weight loss myths
• Why “fat genes” can’t keep you from being thin
• How to naturally boost your metabolism
• How to calm cravings and quit emotional eating
• How to keep a slip from becoming a binge
• How to get more exercise and enjoy it
• How to eat less without going hungry
• And much more

With this knowledge and the simple steps in chapter 10, you will create your own weight loss plan — your easiest path to naturally thin. Creating this optimized plan will take about five minutes, and in another minute or two you will be taking your first steps on the path away from endless dieting to a naturally thin body.

To start, in compliance with FTC guidelines, I must disclose that I received a copy of the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.  

I started this book with a bit of a negative attitude.  I thought, not another weight loss book, it's all been done before.  So, I was quite surprised that I am actually giving it a fairly positive review.

It has all been done before and I couldn't help but compare it to a book I have recently read (Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting by Bethenny Frankel) particularly as they both use the term "Naturally Thin.  The difference though is that this book puts it all down in a no nonsense, short and easily read way without any of the "celebrity" hype that is in the Frankel book.  

I am not the target audience of this book as I know all the rules and guidelines and practice enough of them to be "naturally thin" already but I think it will be a very useful read for those of you who don't already have the right lifestyle to be "naturally thin".  It is short enough that it is not a chore to read and just lists the facts without any floweryness about it.  I think it will be a very useful tool for anyone who truly wants to lose weight and keep it off and who is willing to make the lifestyle changes to achieve this.

I did get some interesting information from this book that I want to investigate further.  I have heard a lot of talk (mainly from one of my friends) about the benefit of sprouted grains but usually just nod and smile without really taking in what their benefit is.  Page 50 of this book was interesting to me and has made me add this topic to my list of "things to investigate further" as I worked under the impression that if, say bread, was made from wheat flour or stone-ground or a variety of similar terms then it was the best one for you, not so, according to this author, so I will need to investigate further for myself.

A glowing review you say, so why have I deducted a star.  I have a personal hatred for books that refer and cross reference too heavily to lists of books or studies in an appendix.  It seemed to me that every second sentence had a small number in it, referring the reader to the book or study that the information came from.  Now, I know the author is just trying to give credit where it is due, but it did start to annoy and distract me very early on.  

So, quite a good, straight forward guide to start you on your path to being Naturally thin.