Monday, May 31, 2010

Review: Women Food and God

Geneen Roth
(2010)
Self-Help

My Synopsis

How do you lose weight without dieting? Eat only when you're hungry. Duh. But Roth tells why we eat when we're not hungry and how to be more mindful and present when we do eat.

My Thoughts

It really hit home when after dinner one night I asked my son if he wanted a cookie. A fancy cinnamon kind I had just bought. He said, "No thanks, I'm not hungry." Whaaaaat? What does that have to do with anything?

A lot, it turns out.

That's when I realized how often I eat when I'm not hungry. And how I've gained 10 pounds since I got married almost three years ago.

Roth has written several books based on overeating, one of which was Feeding the Hungry Heart, which I read years ago and enjoyed. She herself had anorexia and bingeing issues in the past, so she knows the topic well.

The basic concept of the book is that if you have a weight problem it means you overeat, and if you overeat it's because you eat when you're not hungry. Pretty simple.

I've never been on a diet for more than 8 hours because I don't like being told what to do, or eat (yes I'm a rebel). So I liked how Roth talked about trusting yourself to know when you're hungry and when you've had enough. And about eating a cookie if that's what you want - if you're hungry. And figuring out what's really going on when you eat just to eat. Boredom, stress, fatigue, anger? She talks about feeling those emotions, not feeding them. They're not hungry.

The one thing I didn't get was why God is in the title, because God is hardly mentioned. And Roth's God (which she admits in the book) is not the same God that many people have a relationship with. Which is fine, but why didn't she just title it Women and Food. Or People and Food for that matter. Women aren't the only ones who overeat. And bringing God into the book seemed forced, like she just threw it in there. Like it would sell more books.

But again, I really enjoyed the book. The simple concept of eating only when I'm hungry - and learning why I don't - was exactly what I needed.

Now, like every other self-help book I've ever read - if I could just remember everything it said.

Do I Recommend?

Yes, but not if you're interested in a faith-based book about losing weight. The "God" in the title is misleading.

Source

Library

My Rating

4/5

Other reviews

Back to Books - this blogger didn't finish the book because she was expecting it to be more faith-based

Excerpt from "O" Magazine

If you're interested in a Christian website for healthy eating and weight loss -
Take Back Your Temple - Healthy Eating God's Way

Have you heard about this book? Have you read it? Plan to? Haven't heard about it but sounds interesting?

4 comments:

Staci said...

Well, I just put this book back into my library bag to return because I wondered if I'd really be interested in it. I have to say that after reading your review I'm going to give it a chance. Right now as I'm typing this I've been fighting the urge to have a bowl of cereal...am I hungry?? I'm not sure!

Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) said...

I'm glad Sheila helped us find each other! This book sounds quite interesting. I dieted for awhile at the end of college, pretty successfully, and one of the biggest things I changed was learning what being hungry is versus eating when bored, etc. I was really surprised at how much my roomates and I would just eat because we could, and how many calories that could be. So the premise of the book definitely makes sense to me.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I like borrowing different weight loss/healthy eating books from the library, but I'm not sure this would be for me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Lynne.

Hope u had a great w/end.

Jenners said...

Lord knows I need this! My son is the same way ... he only eats when he is hungry and stops when he is full. What a novel concept!!!!! I know this is a major problem for me ... I've been trying to stop eating before I feel too full. And it is so true not to feed your emotions. I'll have to check this out. Odd about the God part though!

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