Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Confessions of a Reformed Dieter by A.J. Rochester * * * * *

I recommend this book for everyone who would like to lose weight. It's very inspiring. I have read this book several times as an inspiration in my weight-loss journey. I didn't have as much to lose as she did, but having Hashimoto's, my task was harder.

A.J. talks about her life very honestly, and very humorously. However, there are places where I felt a tear sliding down my cheek. This book made me understand more deeply that a lot of times people aren't obese just because they like food. There are often deep psychological issues as well. Her story can be used as a manual. Going to a psychiatrist was key for her, and I think that would probably be a good idea for other people on similar journeys as well.

Looking back at this book from 2014, when I became skinny, I can see that going into therapy was important for my weight loss journey as well. I understood that my bad eating habits - that still occasionally include not being able to eat anything, but not anymore eating then unhealthy quick fixes - was due to my ambivalent relationship with food. Working on it takes a while, and I'm not all right, but I don't use food as a comfort anymore. Partly, because associating bad memories with food just made things worse, but that was not an issue A.J. had.

Here are my before and after: