Why Your Last Diet Failed You

October 28, 2008

And how this Book Won’t Help you on Your Next One.

What a title, huh? It made me laugh aloud when I read it. So did the back cover with quotes like…

"It’s like a blog, but on REAL paper"
-Some Guy on the Internet

"Three thumbs up"
-Combined praise from eight of the authors relatives.

Being someone who doesn’t mind a little self analyzing and laughing at themselves, I appreciated the author’s humor and this book was right up my alley. Charlie Hills seemed like someone I can relate to.

Then I started reading.

"Relate to" is a complete understatement!

I have never met a MAN who shared almost my EXACT diet history. I mean from his experiences on the holidays, to taco nights, his take on diets and the low carb craze I never nodded and chuckled more while reading a book in my life. I mean he even tried bodyFlex! I thought I was the only one that fell prey that craziness! It was as if we lived parallel lives (even though I am a bit younger then him-sorry, had to get THAT dig in ;~P)

And I only emphasize MAN, because I met quite a few women I can really relate to (or that can relate to me), having similar body image issues, and yo yo dieting cycles, but a MAN? I don’t mean to be sexist here, but I never think of men as having similar food issues (go ahead male readers, all three of you, comment away). I guess it’s because I married Mr. HighMetabolism and had a father was so obsessed with the weight of his daughter he’d never let himself put on a few pounds. No, it was the women in my family that seemed to struggle, and let’s be honest here, we are the ones that have more to live up to on the images media tends to put out.

But Charlie had me reconsidering my stance on men and diets. I guess men ARE people too. ;~P They can fall prey to all the food cycles women do.

Leafing through the book as I write this, I must have dog eared about 100 pages that I wanted to remember and share with you. Right now I’m mad at myself for not just taking a highlighter to the darn thing! Here’s a few quotes and insights that just struck me…

Two hundred and nineteen point five! I suddenly found myself pining for the days when I thought 205 was a big number. How much worse could this get? I’m a reasonable intelligent person. I understand the mechanics of caloric theory. But why did I seemingly no control over it.

…

Needless to say, this triggered yet another Day One.

…

On the occasions I am lucky enough to keep [jeans] for longer then a week, I then have to wrestle with the prospect of washing them. I try to put this off for as long as humanly possible, ignoring mustard and grease stains for far longer then is socially acceptable. Laura will sneak into the closet while I’m, asleep, throw them in the washer, and replace them before I’m ever aware of what happened. The next day, in an attempt to put them on, I find I can only get them half way up my tree trunks. "Arrrrgh!" Never mess with a fat guy’s jeans…

I could go on and on. Honestly, this is a great read. It’s funny, it’s insightful and if you have struggled with your weight at all you will relate to Charlie. Plus in the 80’s, he was a big Incredible Hulk fan. That just sealed the deal for me, we are definitely long lost siblings. ;~P

If you are interested in purchasing Why Your Last Diet Failed You and How This Book Won’t Help You on Your Next One click here. Also check out Charlie’s Blog, Back to the Fridge. AND Charlie is a member of BlogToLose so you can catch up with him there too. Geesh, he may be busier then I am!

Posted in Book Reviews