Transformational Weight Loss by Charles Eisenstein

Transformational Weight Loss Reviews

• 
  David

  This is the third book I have read by Eisenstein, and although it was my least favorite, it is still very good. "Transformational Weight Loss" is very similar to "Yoga of Eating," although the ideas seem better developed. It was written specifically with obese or overweight people in mind, but I found that it contains good advice for everyone. Eisenstein does a great job of showing how all desires and needs in life connects with food. He shows that people often substitute food for desires that they need to fulfill, so they chronically overeat because they are using food in place of unmet needs like connection, love, freedom, identity, and the sense of adventure. The other big thing I took away from this book was that people tend to overeat because they are eating "fake" food, and so their bodies feel the need to keep attempting to grab nutrition from food that has very little. These people are chronically malnourished, and often perpetually dehydrated as well. Similar to the Michael Pollan book I just read, "Food Rules: An Eater's Manual," "TWL" encourages common sense practices like eating real food instead of processed junk, engaging in daily movement, and only eating when we are truly hungry.
  
  What is interesting about Eisenstein is that he often gives advice that people want to hear, but phrases it in a way that won't enable them to take it in a negative direction. For example, he says that people should eat what they want, when they want. But he wants us to really pay attention to the entire experience of eating food - how it tastes, how it makes us feel, etc. Eisenstein advises against conventional Western approaches to exercise, explaining that most people hate exercise because it becomes routine, or that it feels too much like work. When advice is phrased like this, it seems incredibly easy to gain control of not only our relationships with food, but also all of the connected aspects of life.
  
  I definitely liked "TWL," and would recommend it to everyone! It's not mind blowing, but it makes a lot of sense and may help us evolve into a species that make more sensible decisions. I look forward to reading more from Eisenstein - he is a superb writer who puts forth fresh ideas that agree with me.
• 
  Catherine

  This book is about way more than just losing weight. It's an excellent book on feeling your feelings so they can move on.
• 
  Teresa Keever

  Good, but Yoga of Eating is better
• 
  Arran Hall

  Amazing. Phenomenal. Erm, incredible.
  Really, really, very good book. Powerful. Truth. 100% recommend.
• 
  Lois Kailhofer

  This book applies the ideas of mindfulness in the area of weight loss.
  
  Don't drink unpasteurized milk. Say no to diphtheria.
• 
  Justine Camacho-Tajonera

  This book makes a lot of sense. It's not a diet book. It's not an exercise book. It's a book that reminds me that if I want to change one aspect of myself...I need to change my whole life. Correction: transform my whole life. I read this book in one day. It's not a very long book. It's also free to read. The author makes it optional for the reader to pay. If the reader wants to donate to a charity instead... it's okay. I thought that was really fantastic. It's all part of the author's "gift economics" view. Everything is a gift. If we just set aside our need to acquire and "make mine" and consume and consume...we would actually have a very healthy life (as individuals, as a community and as a world). It was the perfect book to finish by New Year's eve. The author also wrote Sacred Economics and the Ascent of Humanity (both on my reading list).
• 
  Michael Burns

  A great book on the emotional side of dieting and how to eat effectively, lose weight, and feel good about yourself at the same time.