I've read a lot of books on weight loss, and this is probably one of the better ones. It reminded me a lot of Caroline Dooner's "The F*ck It Diet". Same principles and similar science. I liked that the author used layman's terms. It was an educational read for sure.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and BooksGoSocial for letting me see an advance reader’s copy of Grand Theft Weight Loss.

Here is another book I loved before I even started to read it. I’ve said it before, but any book that sets out to debunk the multi-mega-bucks dieting industry gets my vote.

This is a book that does exactly what it says on the cover: “How stealing scientific discoveries outside the diet industry helps you lose weight.” Everything the author writes makes complete and total sense, and it’s all written in a positive, upbeat way that makes the reader want to try things out NOW.

There are a couple of very personal tales about how the author beat his own two addictions: prescription painkillers… and Oreos.

It is true that there are no footnotes to support the author’s findings, but this is a commercial work and not an academic journal. The absence of such notes made it so much more enjoyable for me, as they would have simply bogged it down and made reading the book more of an ordeal.

Weight loss should not be a chore to be endured, and nor should reading a book on how best to lose that weight.

The only thing wrong with this book is that the link to a worksheet didn’t work for me. I kept getting an error message saying the page doesn’t exist. But that in no way detracted from the enjoyment, the entertainment and the information packed into this book.

If you’re sick of the diet industry and want to wean yourself off the diet mentality, buy this book. It’s one I’ll be keeping, and I’ll refer to it over and over again.

Five stars.

Losing weight is tough. Honestly. But it can be easier with tips found in this book. I like the compassionate approach and the reminder to be gentle with ourselves. Eating is supposed to be pleasurable, and we eat less when we focus on the pleasure. The also shares practical tips like how to condition ourselves to eat less and still enjoy food. I highly recommend this book, especially for groups to work through and support each other.

This book contained several helpful hints for losing and maintaining weight loss. It is easy to find chapters that interest you.
CAN SCIENTISTS OUTSIDE THE DIET INDUSTRY HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
Yes. Neuroscientists can cut your hunger in half with a technique called “The Meal-Recall Effect.”
Physiologists can help you stop overeating with a method called "Sensory Specific Satiety."
And Addiction Medicine researchers can help you quit sugar with an approach called "Systematic Desensitization."
The science archives are full of hidden weight loss discoveries like these, but the diet industry routinely ignores them because they don’t involve dieting and they weren’t discovered by weight loss gurus.
Instead, they were developed by brain researchers, physiologists, biologists, and other scientists studying hunger and satiety.
I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I liked that this book focused on how to build a better relationship with food, rather than demonizing certain food groups like most other weight loss books.

Grand Theft Weight Loss: How Stealing Scientific Discoveries Outside The Diet Industry Helps You Lose Weight by Michael Alvear is a brilliantly written book. The author writes guilelessly about this topic, examining the psychology behind how science works in other disciplines. If these techniques work in other scientific disciplines, why can't they work for weight loss? Written candidly and clearly, this author has written a book that I think many will find helpful. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Great book full of all kinds of tips to help you develop a healthy relationship with food.
Weather they help you to loose weight or not I don't know but I will try and see

Holy crow - I wish I had read this book before I did serial diets throughout many years. This is the resource and tool I had needed before being being lost in a maze of diet industry information. I love how this book does not tell you WHAT to eat but rather HOW to adjust your relationship with food. Finally a source that doesn't ask you to count anything, deprive yourself, or fight with yourself if you fail.

I found myself nodding along as she had pointed out all the barriers that had prevented a successful diet (also, diets have a 80-95% fail rate) and how to mitigate that through simple exercises to practice. It was refreshing for me to understand the science behind why so many of us fail (spoiler alert: it is not because we are weak!). I took many notes as this held many mental exercises to incorporate to truly change our relationship with food and as an outcome, become a healthier you. I am the kind of person that needs to know WHY and step-by-step HOW to win, and this didn't disappoint.

I can see myself telling all my friends about this book! I'd definitely recommend.

An enjoyable book to read on weight loss. It isn’t focused on the what to eat thankfully, as so many book are, but on the how to eat, mindfully.

Infused with humour and kindness this was an enjoyable read.
Thank you Booksgosocial and NetGalley for this ARC.

Book: “Grand Theft Weight Loss – How Stealing Scientific Discoveries Outside The Diet Industry Helps You Lose Weight,” Michael Alvear, BooksGoSocial, 2021

Book Review by Mary Mikawoz

Henry Ford revolutionized the auto but he did so by borrowing from other industries. He looked at sewing machines and watch industries where they used interchangeable parts. He looked at continuous flow processes in flour and in canning industries. “He mimicked assembly line techniques from meat-packing plants and breweries.”

In a similar fashion, Michael Alvear has borrowed ideas, information and developments from other industries that have been around, in some cases for decades, and applied them to the diet industry.

First and foremost, Mr. Alvear says the very most important thing to determine is the right question to any problem. Once you have the question, you can look at the information and process it appropriately. For example, in the billion dollar industry of dieting, the only message seems to be a variety of diets but they all say, “eat less and move more.” If that worked, there would be one diet and it would work for all of us. We would all be skinny or fit but in actuality, it does not work.

Dieting is an illusion that says some foods are good and others are bad. Depending upon the particular diet, it gets confusing because they contradict each other from pro-protein to anti-carbohydrate and anti-fat diets.

Research shows that the harder you try to lose weight, the harder the body tries to fight back. Further research shows that your metabolism can slow by 15% which explains the constant lose weight quickly and then gain it back even though you are sticking to a diet.

Michael Alvear uses a number of techniques from other industries to help a person lose weight. I know a lot of people with eating disorders around the issue of food intake so although a lot of the techniques are interesting, I wonder if they will work.

We can control what we put in our mouth but what our body does in the process of metabolizing it is another issue. We have genetics and we have the environment. How much does each serve to affect us?

There are bigger issues involved. Why can't we just accept ourselves as we are and believe in HAES which stands for “Health at Every Size.” When will society just accept that people come in different heights, weights, shapes, colours and features. We would never expect a Chihuahua or Poodle to act and look like a Great Dane or a Husky and yet when it comes to people, we need to somehow fit some magical mould of what it means to be “perfect” including people going to extremes with getting surgeries and starving themselves to death.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 for stepping out of the diet industry box in an effort to bring in some other angles to look at.

For more book reviews, check out my wordpress website under Mary Mikawoz. https://mikawoz.wordpress.com/category/book-review/


Tags: Mary Mikawoz, Book Review, New, Book, Michael Alvear, BooksGoSocial, Weight, weight loss, Diet, dieting, industry, billions, calorie, deficit, exercise, food, intake, metabolism, genetics, nature, nurture, environment, HAES, Health at Every Size, Eating Disorders, Society, Perceptions, Concepts, Body Positivity

#MaryMikawoz #BookReview #New #Book #MichaelAlvear #BooksGoSocial #Weight #weightloss #Diet #dieting #industry #billions #calorie #deficit #exercise #food #intake #metabolism #genetics #nature #nurture #environment #HAES #HealthatEverySize #EatingDisorders #Society #Perceptions #Concepts #BodyPositivity

This book made so much sense.It gives tips and hints on how to be healthy and well, not just the national obsession with losing weight. The ideas are sensible and rational and I can't understand why more health professionals are not saying the same things. I was recommended a very popular weight loss program by my G.P. and couldn't understand why there was so many unhealthy chemicals on the diet (a can of coke in a sweet and sour sauce ?!). Get a grip folks and read this book.

A fascinating read and great to pick up and put down - a reference book for sure. I found that there were some fab tips in here to help me have a better relationship with food. No need to 'ban' a certain food - on a scale of 1-10 how desparate are you for it - less than a 7? save the treat for another day.

I found this book fascinating! filled with really useful nuggets of information and lots of concepts to consider. the premise is fascinating, it takes research from scientific research fields then applies those findings to health and weight loss - so interesting! There are a million and one diet books available. This is not a diet, this is genuinely a game-changing read. I'll be buying the physical book

Not your typical weight loss book.
This book takes business and science and applies it to weight loss. But for the long haul. You won't lose ten pounds by Friday.
Science shows that going from your usual ( got you chunky ) diet directly to a low cal, low fat diet actually causes your body to SAVE YOUR FAT because it thinks you are starving so if you use a more gradual approach you can convince your body you are not starving and don't have to save your fat.
Although I have not tried every method here, I did read them all and there are some gems such as " If there is food in your mouth, there shouldn't be any on your fork" a subtle way to remember to eat mindfully.
Also, The Oreo method to reducing your junk food intake...believe me this has some truth to it.
Then there is the " how to make food that is good for you...actually appeal to you."
The only thing I would have liked added to this book is maybe an actual idea of what a person needs for a healthy diet for the purpose of life in general, vitamins and minerals, not necessarily weight loss so the average person knows what a well rounded diet looks like.
I very much recommend

This book is very exciting! The author takes research from all types of different fields, and applies the findings to weight loss. Since the scientists weren't researching weight loss, they just discarded the findings. The author took all these results, and combined them into a weight loss plan that you can taylor to you specifically. It's a very scientific approach, and one we haven't seen ever! This book is a must have for anyone struggling to lose weight!

Another way to look at weight loss. I thought it was thought-provoking and different. The concepts the author presents are certainly worthy to try.

I thought it refreshing this book is not about strict rules to lose weight but looks at the human mind and discusses things like cutting sugar and reducing portions (the Oreo-example).

Thanks to the author and publisher for giving me a chance to read this book and try it out!

A great non diet book that looks at the foods we crave and how we can curb our cravings and hunger. Not like any other weight loss book I've ever read.

This was a really interesting read and definitely not diet-y at all , this book gives practical help to change gradually and shows your brain or trains it to non diet ways. Fab guidance in steps and practices, Alvear also adapts help from other therapies and shows how they can be adapted. I loved this book so much, in a world with so conflicting information about diet and people wanting to just make money and keep you addicted to dieting and feeling bad, this is a book that makes sense and will work if you commit to change, just like therapy it will take time but you get the reward back

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is a very different type of weight loss book. It's innovative in the way that it compares drug addiction to strong food cravings. The book also suggests some creative ways to approach weight loss that will benefit readers.

Grand Theft Weight Loss, by Michael Alvear, is an interesting look at how the old science and methods of weight loss have failed us. While it is rather dry reading, the book has some simple yet helpful ideas about, among other things, mindful eating and focusing more on nutrition than weight loss. I think what makes this book unique is all the easy to implement changes are all together in one volume.