The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The 5-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss

I have read, and followed, a lot of diet books. Honestly, they all worked for me, though they varied in ease, speed of weight loss, and entertainment factor. Do you see the problem in this? While I am able to lose weight following a specific diet, it doesn't stay off, and I wind up having to go back onto "a diet" once more to lose what I've regained. When I ordered this book, I was not aware of its particular premise, that of lifetime weight loss. (Yeah, the title should've been a clue, I know!) But I had noticed the scale and thought, "Uh oh, time for another diet." I picked this simply because it was a diet book, but I think this is the answer to my on-and-off weight problem! So what's it about? Well, Dr. Beck -- a psychologist, expert in Cognitive Therapy -- methodically teaches you the tools to rethink how you approach food, how you think about yourself and your weight, and what it means to "diet." I was initially concerned that this was merely a follow-up book to her previous release. While it builds on those concepts, it is completely stand-alone. The book is clear, gentle, deliberate, and yet firm. Start by simply reading the book. Next, begin Stage One, which has you set up motivational cards to read every day, track your weight, learn to plan your meals, realize that getting hungry is not a disaster, eat slowly, exercise daily, and work with a diet buddy. Sounds like a lot, hm? We're not even actually dieting yet! I lost five pounds doing this stage. Further stages add eating a certain amount of calories per day -- a surprisingly generous amount! -- and learning how to fit the initially rigid meal plan into real life, with restaurant outings, parties, and stressful times. I adore this book, and I'm immensely grateful that I discovered it. That said, it is probably not the ideal book for all dieters. PROS: * Virtually guaranteed lifetime weight loss and maintenance, if you follow the system. * Simple, painless system -- once you take the time to learn it. * Extremely flexible in the later stages. * Very uplifting concepts. You will feel good about yourself and what you can accomplish. * The Cognitive Therapy tools learned here can be adapted to many problem areas of life. CONS: * Not for quick weight loss. If you have an upcoming event you are trying to get slender for, this is not what you want. * Takes considerable time and commitment initially. Dr. Beck herself says that if you're overly busy or stressed right now, get your life under control first, then you can start to learn these skills. NEUTRAL: * Takes a lot of paraphernalia and setup: note cards of various sizes, a notebook, graph paper, daily worksheets to fill out, advanced meal planning, food-measuring tools. For me this is fun and a benefit, but others may find this a hassle. In conclusion: If you are serious about losing your excess weight and keeping it off -- and are willing to commit a bit of time and effort -- get this book.

[...] Author & Book Views On A Healthy Life! From: www.BasilAndSpice.com Book Review: The Complete Beck Diet for Life: The 5-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss (Oxmoor House, 2008) by Judith S. Beck, Ph.D. A FirstLook Feature Judith S. Beck is the daughter of the founder of Cognitive Therapy, Aaron T. Beck, M.D. A Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Judith Beck is also the Director of the Beck Institute of Cognitive Therapy. Following on the success of The Beck Diet Solution and The Beck Diet Solution Weight Loss Workbook the inviting cover of The Complete Beck Diet for Life calls to the reader to open the book and have a look. Dr. Beck's previous books focused on preparing for and achieving weight loss using the power of Cognitive Therapy to think thin. The Complete Beck Diet for Life takes the dieter the next step further--eat thin and keep pounds off for life. Using Cognitive Therapy, the think thin eating plan is the only program that teaches dieters how to overcome bad habits and negative thinking--deprivation, disappointment, apathy, etc.. by changing their thinking. More than 20 years ago, the principles of Cognitive Therapy were first adapted by Dr. Beck to help people achieve permanent weight loss. Dr. Beck herself lost 15lbs and has kept the weight off. The book utilizes a 5-Stage Plan: 1. Success skills to remove the weight--incorporates 9 important skills taught to help overcome bad habits on a daily basis. This section is key and well worth reading and rereading for thorough digestion of the material. For example, Dr. Beck recognizes that dieters make mistakes and will fall off the wagon. Expecting this problem, her book teaches dieters what to do immediately following the mistakes, and shows the reader how to solve and prevent these difficulties. 2. Think thin initial eating plan--determines your calorie level. Many diets are unsuccessful because they limit food intake too much; whereas the Beck Diet for Life allows for protein, some fat, and even a planned sweet. Stage two sets up eating guidelines and gives important tips. 3. Challenging situations help--stage three preplans for tempting situations--weekends, restaurant dining, stress, how to deal with a "food pusher," social events, etc.. "If your goal is permanent weight loss, weekends can't be considered a vacation from dieting. The most successful dieters and maintainers follow their diets consistently, no matter what day of the week it is." 4. Think thin lifetime eating--learn how to add snack foods to your meals; create your own recipes and branch out away from the book's specified foods; decide when to move from weight loss into a maintenance position. 5. Motivation for life--stage five utilizes daily motivators which can be incorporated for lifelong use. Chapter 10 includes Think Thin Formulas for diets between 1600 and 2400 calories a day. Food Lists here offer choices of proteins for breakfas

I picked up this book with an "oh boy -- here goes another diet book...." This is NOT another diet book. I was struck by the reviews where readers complained about "too much work" with this book, but I must say that it DOES take work to achieve lasting change. My previous attempts at weight loss (lost 155 pounds) resulted in my gaining some back when I stopped paying attention to working at it. Yes, Dr. Beck encourages much soul searching, learning new skills, affirmations (gathered from your own past successes kept in a "memory box"), and daily planning, but, for many of us, we must break through years of doing it all wrong to achieve permanent weight loss. I was hit with hard reality by concepts in the 1st few chapters that I've never read in other books. For example, Dr. Beck says: "Every time you don't feel like practicing a skill [that she teaches you] but you do it anyway, you strengthen your resistance muscle...every time you eat something you hadn't planned to eat, you weaken your resistance muscle, and strengthen your "giving-in" muscle." ALso, this is the 1st book I've ever read that termed that feeling we have when told "you need to only eat 1 piece of that pizza" as simply "rebelliouness." This was eye-opening for me, as I thought of giving in to a craving as "weakness" -- a totally different beast. She stresses that rebelliousness and the resulting "I don't want to do that" can't co-exist with permanent weight loss. This, then, puts doing the daily skills needed to lose weight in the "NO CHOICE" category. I wanted to read this book through once and then go back to read it a second time to begin learning the skills that she teaches, which I will do shortly. Even though I have read similar books that discussed skills like eating slowly, getting rid of trigger foods, etc. which Dr Beck does in her book, she recommmends these techniques as only part of a complete plan that seems to fully cover all areas of one's life where changes need to occur to finally be successful at weight loss. I am currently on Weight Watchers, but I believe this book will be an excellent companion to that program.

This is not a flash in the pan "lose 30 lbs. in 6 weeks" (and gain it all back and then some) type of diet. It takes dedication, patience, and persistence, but it is long term and most important, it works. It centers on changing your relationship with food, with many tools to help you achieve this goal. The book is packed with great advice, "Think Thin Skills," menus, and my favorite, the "Response Cards." "Response cards" are index cards to be read daily and whenever you get an urge to eat. This book is worth the cover price just for these cards and what is written on them if nothing else. Even if you are on another diet plan, incorporating these cards will make a world of difference. There's also an "Advantages Deck" that is a wonderful motivator. Dr. Beck's book will help you "strengthen your Resistance Muscle" in so many ways. "It's not just the calories; it's THE HABIT." That habit that for many of us has been ingrained for years and years. Years of being self-conscious of the bulges underneath clothes that no longer fit well, of having our picture taken, etc. In "The Beck Diet for Life" you learn to "change your mindset," and those thunder thighs we walk around in actually start between the ears. One of the reasons Dr. Beck says other diets don't work is "Calorie counts are too low." This has been a huge stumbling block for me over the years. In following a low calorie diet I feel great as the first few pounds drop off, but the low calorie count doesn't allow for enough nutrients, and after a few weeks I start feeling indescribably tired. And when I'm feeling like a wet dishrag, my impulse is to eat, setting me off on the "gaining all the weight back" path. Dr. Beck writes that a plan with fewer than 1,600 calories a day is not sustainable and I truly believe she is right. This plan may be slower because of a slightly higher calorie intake, but the permanence of the results more than makes up for it. This book could change not only how you eat, but how you think about food, and think about yourself.

I am a veteran of the Beck Diet Solution book and Workbook. I used it successfully last year while I was dieting. I ended up losing 120 pounds (yes, really!! I went from a size 28 down to a size 8 and I have successfully maintained for the past 6 months). Beck's techniques and tools work with ANY nutritious, well balanced diet. The key is getting you to start thinking like a normal person instead of a fat person. You learn the skills you need to solve your own problems and learn to avoid the mind traps that make you gain weight and sabotage yourself. It is true that I have a different mindset as a thin person than I ever had a fat person. I am a new person and I owe a lot of that to the Diet Solution. So the question I had in my mind was.... I already have the Diet Solution book and workbook, do I really need this new book?? Is this book different in any way from the Diet Solution? The answer is yes -- Even though this book uses many of the exact same techniques and therapy, it is presented in a whole different way and uses a different time frame. I actually think that the way the stages are presented in this book is more logical to me and seemed easier to follow than the Diet Solution book. They are both great books in different ways, but if I had to choose one over the other, I like this one better. I made myself new set of cards when I went through this book and it has amazed me how much my thinking has changed over the past year from my last cards and how many more things still need to change. I have only had the book for a week so far, but I have read through it twice and I plan on re-doing the entire program from scratch, using the stages. This book also addressed some of the issues I was having with maintaining my current weight because it addressed my motivation issues directly in a way that made sense to me. Beck's approach to weight loss is different than anything you have ever done in the past. She never talks down to the reader or makes the reader feel inadequate. She is a very realistic, positive voice that is no nonsense about what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. She sets forth very clearly defined, straight-forward tasks for dieting that if they are followed correctly, step by step, you WILL lose weight and you WILL follow your plan and you WILL stay on track. You can change your thinking.