Thin from Within

Fifteen years ago, I moved across the country with my then-boyfriend (now my husband) and began experiencing crippling anxiety attacks as a result of leaving everyone and everything with which I was familiar. That's when I first encountered Dr. Joseph Luciani's work in  Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression . At the very least, it saved my relationship but it is not an exaggeration to say that it saved my sanity. At the time, I pondered how I could apply the principles from this book to my ongoing issues with weight but the thought was set to the side as life moved forward. Fast forward to current day and I no longer have to wonder. Thin from Within uses the principles of Self-Coaching via Self-Talk to help conquer issues with weight. The content of the book focuses on three "enemies" of weight loss and how to deal with them within yourself. No outside counseling or therapy needed. There is no diet endorsed in the book (although Dr. Luciani does mention his own experience and diet). The content around Self-Coaching does focus on eating but the concepts are easily applied to struggles with getting oneself to engage in physical exercise.One thing I appreciate about the content of the book is how intelligently written these concepts are. I may struggle with my weight and overeating but I also hold multiple masters' degrees and have read other books that talk down to the reader as though weight struggles are a result of lack of intelligence. Still, the content is not out of reach of those without advanced education. The concepts are simple and presented in a very straight forward manner to the reader.Just last night, I put the "Stop it! Drop it!" technique to use and I was surprised to find that it worked. I truly did not expect that I would "listen" to myself. I am excited moving forward with the ideas learned from this book and to see what kind of progress and change lies before me!

The approach can be summed up thus: stop, it, drop it... or worse yet, "just do it." If it were that easy, we no one have any problems. He seems to think you can cure depression by just telling yourself not to think negative thoughts. There were a few useful tidbits, like learning to become aware of how our pessimism gets in the way real change, but again, no good ideas about how to turn that around -- other than stop it, drop it, replace it with something else. One other good point: if you really want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to make friends with a degree of discomfort. Fine. Then, like so many self-help books, it's quite repetitive. When trying to skim it for the actionable items, I keep having to weed through all the self-sabotaging thoughts we are likely to have. Sort of negative reinformcement, if you ask me.

Loved it

I had already read the previous book written by this author. Loved that book on self coaching and was not disappointed with this one either. Great job!

Great good! The author has terrific insights on the weight loss struggle and how to effectively (and permanently) get control over it. Really enjoyed it and will look into other books by the author.Thanks!

This book had some good concepts in it, but (as with all books like this) just hard to really apply to my life.

Excellent information, easy read, and very informative.

I feel I can succeed in my goal to loose weight now. I have the tools and all I have to do is use them. Letting go is hard but doable now. I realize that I am my own worst enemy. I am now my greatest asset and I can use self talk, to get through cravings because "This too will pass."

Discs 2,3 and 8 were blank making this pointless and there's no way to contact the seller!

This book is wonderful...and so needed by us incorrigible yo-yo dieters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and came away with some great tools, ideas and more importantly a better understanding of the underlying issues and self sabotaging behaviours that keep us on this dieting treadmill. I came to realize myself over the years that it has little to do with food directly but is more about our self worth and an over indulgent attitude at least in my case but still I struggled with it. I had just recently come to the conclusion that after all these years I am just not being responsible and mature about my indulgences and lo and behold a book pops up that is precisely what I need to deal with these issues once and for all. Thank you Dr Joe.

I liked that this book didn't take a blaming standpoint, but more the next steps of how to get where you want to be from the point of where you are now.

In the process of reading

This book is not only about how to attain weight loss and keep it off,it's also aboutOur addiction to food and the psychologyBehind it! Very informative!