Change Your Brain, Change Your Body may be one of the most sane, natural weight loss books ever written. As Daniel Amen does in all his books, he reminds dieters that whether it’s weight loss or other life challenges, people's minds and bodies are intricately connected and to fix the one, they must look at the other.
Daniel Amen Advocates a Way to Lose Weight Naturally
Beginning on page 69, Dr. Amen describes the six different types of over-eaters, and the functions of the brain that cause this. Dieters will be readily able to identify their own eating patterns, weight loss challenges, and brain type based on these stories.
Dr. Amen shows people exactly how the type of brain they have can lead to specific problems with weight loss, and he recommends the foods and natural supplements that can improve the health of the brain, prevent cravings and improve impulse control.
How to Lose Weight Naturally
In Change Your Brain, Change Your Body, Dr. Amen shows how things people would never even imagine were related to weight loss actually are, like how much sleep people get, the types of thoughts they have, how much sex they have, and whom they hang around with.
He explains how to improve the health and appearance of one’s skin, and how to prevent disease. Those who spend time using skin care products should definitely invest the time in reading this book.
Good "Foodie" information in Change Your Brain, Change Your Body
Change Your Brain, Change Your Body includes useful, factual information about good fats bad fats, calories, carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners, natural supplements, certain medications, the best skin and brain-healthy foods, herbs spices and scents.
Amen provides formulas for determining Body Mass Index and helps dieters determine how many calories they need to maintain, gain or lose weight. He provides hypnosis CDs and downloads for people trying to lose weight at the Amen Clinics website.
How To Change Your Brain, Change Your Body
Dr. Amen asserts that people who have been struggling with diets their entire lives and have never been able to stick to a fitness routine or stop smoking, may finally find the answer in working to “enhance” their brain.
According to Amen, “For any weight solution to be effective, it must be centered on your particular brain, your particular problems, and your particular needs. Any program that gives you a one size fits everyone approach is destined to fail.”
Change Your Brain Change Your Body is Not a Fad Diet
Chronic dieters may react negatively if they start reading this book on page one. If changing one’s eating and exercise and other habits have been hard enough, the idea of fixing one’s brain before being able to lose weight may seem overwhelming. But the rest of the book reveals that efforts to improve the brain naturally lead to weight loss.
If readers do not have the patience for the lesson in brain science that Change Your Brain, Change Your Body opens with, they should simply flip to page 69, rather than putting the book down. This is where readers will begin to feel motivated and understand how they can lose weight.
A Workbook is Needed
Just like in his book Magnificent Mind at Any Age, Dr. Amen provides a hefty amount of information. In addition, the format of this book is a bit confusing and there is a lot of repetition. Readers would benefit from a workbook in which they could pull all of the steps together into a plan that they can easily follow. In the absence of that, readers should either take notes or mark up the book with a highlighter and stick-ums to organize their diet plan.
Overall this is an excellent book that looks at the individual as a whole person rather than just a body trying to lose weight. People will understand that what’s good for the brain is also good for the skin, the heart, the mind and the body. Dieters will come away with an individualized, holistic, weight loss plan that will help them lose weight naturally. Amen is a psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist who has looked at more than 54,000 brains.
The book is Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Always Wanted by Dr. Daniel G. Amen, released February 15, 2010. Published by Harmony. ISBN-10: 0307463575 ISBN-13: 978-0307463579
Lisa C. DeLuca - Lisa C. DeLuca is a psychotherapist/social worker who works with families and teens. She also treats panic and anxiety disorders.
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