This is a non-diet book that presents an interesting take on losing diet mentality and switching our thoughts around food to better suit our health. The ideas presented were straightforward and science based.

Grand Theft Weight Loss by Michael Alvear
How Stealing Scientific Discoveries Outside The Diet Industry Helps You Lose Weight

Becoming aware of “weight” issues in the late 60’s in the time of Twiggy-esque beauty, going on my first “diet” in the 80’s, and having been on and off diets since then I have read much, tried many eating plans, applied nursing school education to more recent science through the years, and always finding th topic interesting – I still managed to find some new and interesting ideas to consider moving forward in my quest for health and wellbeing. Over the past two years of the pandemic I have dropped fifty pounds using some of the ideas in this book and habituated my taste buds in ways that remind me of a suggestion in this book…before even reading it. This is a book that will definitely be of value to those interested in the subject whether they need to lose weight or want to assist others in doing and are newbies or old hands in the field.

What I liked:
* The writing style was easy to follow with enough science but not so much it would overwhelm the layman
* Information made sense, had scientific backing, and made sense
* Ideas to implement were doable, painless, and worth trying
* The charts, illustrations and photos were excellent…those plates of Oreos and the suggestion on how to reduce intake of them over time were…VERY interesting
* The idea that weight loss should NOT be the goal…why and what should replace it was intriguing
* Each chapter was succinct and well crafted
* There was a linear progression to the book
* There was a synopsis and chapter review at the end
* I was able to enjoy the information and understand it easily

What I didn’t like:
* Not sure it is a dislike but a personal question…can a person actually “stop dieting” and lose weight? Something for me to consider some more.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I recommend it to others? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

A very readable NON diet book that gives you practical, behavioral changes to gradually reach habituation - a state where your brain no longer responds to changes in eating habits or food desire by creating more hunger or slowing metabolism. There are several easy to remember, easy to implement practices, such as Pause-Rate-Decide - a rating scale for determining how much fulfillment you would get from eating certain foods at certain times. Alvear borrows from other disciplines (such as drug addiction therapy) to show how they can be adapted in the field of weight loss. With so much conflicting information about diet, supplements, medical interventions, and exercise for weight loss, this is a book that makes sense.

I'm very grateful to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this review copy.

This is an excellent, highly readable resource for anyone pursuing wellness, whether or not that actually includes weight loss. The scientific basis for the author's ideas seems solid and well-documented, but the overall tone is conversational and actually quite funny. I appreciated that there was no harsh judgment, demands for perfection, or black and white thinking. Instead this was a realistic guide about how to work with ourselves as humans, with all our inherent foibles, to support our overall wellness and happiness.

While the author rightfully identifies the overall goals as health and joyful living, there are some slips into fat-shaming and diet culture. Sometimes foods are labeled as "bad" or "problem" or "unhealthy" and there were a few times "fat" had a negative implication instead of being a neutral descriptor. I wish these weren't in there, but, for me at least, they didn't totally ruin the overall good message of this book.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This book was interesting to read because it is based more around changing your mindset of food instead of changing your diet. I don't know how useful some of the tips will be though. Changing your mindset is pretty hard, so I can see someone trying out these techniques and failing a few times before becoming successful. You can fail with diets too though. The most important fact for potential readers is that this book is not about changing your diet. It is about changing yourself.

I received this book for free from Netgalley for an honest opinion.

Grand Theft Weight Loss by Michael Alvear explores how to reframe your relationship with food and eating.

Thank you to Books Go Social and Net Galley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. This book had some interesting concepts about weight loss, and they make sense. It's a quick, easy read, and I'd recommend this book. All opinions are my own.

A practical application of psychology that can be applied to weight loss. Honestly, its annoying I didn't find this book sooner.

A look at a few ideas from the Alvear's background at how people process information, and how these processes can be used to lose weight, or cut back on sugar/alcohol, or living healthier in general.

Everything in the book can be used starting today.

Completely refreshing, my background is scientific and I was very sceptical that this book would teach me anything I didn’t already (realistically) know even if I’d been slightly in denial. I’ve never had a major problem with my weight but am aware of fluctuations, which don’t always seem fair or make any sense so I thought I’d give this a read.
The author is brilliantly honest, including giving very frank personal insights into his own relationships with food which all resonate strongly. He also has a no nonsense approach and has a sense of humour to match. His whole manner made me relax and trust him and be less harsh on myself, overall feeling less guilt and ready to embrace a new mindset and not worried about what I’d previously probably stress about as failings.
I love the way the science is applied and borrowed from other areas of life, as is the psychology. Weight loss should be science based and rigid fact based but it’s also, annoyingly, a bit mystic and unreliable for no apparent reason, which makes me cross and more likely to give up and fail. The way the author relates our body weight mechanism to evolutionary matters one hundred per cent resonates with me as this is how I rationalise most things too. Some of techniques he mentions and reasoning he applies are therefore total lightbulb moments for me. Love this and completely recommend it.

This book gave some different strategies on how to lose weight, including, mindfulness, rituals and looking at how much pleasure I get from eating each food.
I will try and use these tips to help me achieve a healthier lifestyle.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has many good tips on how to lose weight. It has good ideas about how to reduce hunger, stop over eating/cravings and eat less without being hungry. The information is very useful and offers many new approaches. My only recommendation is the chapters should have titles in the table of contents so it would be easier for me to go back to a certain part if needed.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I have mixed feeling about this book.
Pros:
- Fairly simple, easy to understand style of writing
- Good info on reframing your mental thought processes if you have an unhealthy, addictive relationship with food
Cons:
- Really applies to only a margin of the population: those who have food addiction and overeating as the main cause of weight and/or health issues
- The author said himself that he was skinny all his life, ate whatever he wanted and never gained weight until his late 20s; many do not fall into this category so his perspective wouldn’t correlate with theirs
- Despite fervently preaching in the beginning of the book that dieting is not the answer and foods should never be off limits, he goes on in later chapters to explain fairly stringent ‘rules’ about how to limit portions and cut out sugar and snacking, and also proposes intermittent fasting, while protesting that this is not a diet but is in fact a schedule; contradictory at times in my opinion

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a brilliant antidote to the problem of overeating and persistent diet culture. I wish I had had access to this information years ago. The author applies scientific discoveries from other areas of research to the problems most Americans have with losing weight. The only caveat being simple does not mean EASY. Extremely helpful to people on a quest to lead more healthful lives.

An interesting take on losing diet mentality and switching our thoughts around food to better suit our health. A deep dive is done on the ambiance of eating, plating, gratification, and eating mindfully. Definite, this book is full if gold nuggets of knowledge on how to switch your relationship with food.

A health book that gives alternatives to dieting, such as delayed gratification and the use of rituals before eating. A thought provoking book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.