The Archetype Diet: Reclaim Your Self-Worth and Change the Shape of Your Body

by Dana James

Discover your unique female archetype to combat emotional eating, lose weight, and become your happiest, healthiest you.

In working with thousands of women who wanted to lose weight and change the shape of their bodies, leading nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner Dana James observed a striking trend: no matter how diligent they were in sticking to their diet and exercise plans, old behavioral patterns and self-doubt sabotaged their efforts. In The Archetype Diet, James helps readers escape the seemingly endless psychological tug-of-war that is hampering their ability to care for themselves and explains which hormones cause you to store body fat on your belly, thighs and hips, and what to eat to change it. A revolutionary, holistic approach to weight loss, this book guides in readers in discovering which of four archetypes they embody:

- The Nurturer is always there to care for others. She is kind and compassionate, but this can come at the expense of her own self-care.
- The Wonder Woman bases her self-worth on her accomplishments. She is ambitious and driven, but her work often takes precendent over her diet.
- The Femme Fatale is sensual, strong, and alluring but can become obsessed with her looks to the point that she develops an unhealthy relationship with food.
- The Ethereal is spiritual and intuitive, but highly sensitive to her environment so she tends to eat to numb her reactions to the world.

By becoming attuned to your archetype, James shows how you can alter your diet to help feed your unique body chemistry while simultaneously examining how your sense of self-worth shapes your behaviors--including what you eat--in ways that may be working against your goals. Offering recipes, a ten-day meal plan, and a step-by-step psychological intervention, The Archetype Diet will put you on the path to becoming leaner, stronger, and more attuned to your feminine fire and energy.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Health, Food

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2018

About the author

Dana James is an American nutritionist, functional medicine practitioner, and a cogitative behavioral therapist.

Reviews

[Učitaj se! | Martina Štivičić · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knjige o dijetama nešto su što obično izbjegavam. Ne zato što mislim da imam savršenu težinu niti sam onom kojom imam uvijek savršeno zadovoljna, ali jednostavno nisam tip koji se time opterećuje.

No, ova me knjiga zainteresirala prvenstveno zato jer se bavi modelom prehrane koji je osmišljen na znanstvenim temeljima (ok, u par navrata zadire u područje čakri, ali ako ste osoba čije se oči automatski krenu preokretati na spomen čakri, taj dio je toliko malen i nedominantan da ga možete jednostavno zanemariti). Također, Dana James pridobila me svojom tvrdnjom o tome kako, budući da je svatko od nas različit, različito građen i s različitim biokemijskim procesima u tijelu, zapravo ne postoji jedinstveni način prehrane koji će savršeno odgovarati baš svakoj osobi na planetu.

S tim u skladu, James je osmislila model 4 ženska arhetipa, s pomno osmišljenim planom prehrane za svaki od arhetipova. Navedeni arhetipovi su Njegovateljica, Superžena, Zavodnica i Eterični tip. U početnim poglavljima James se bavi svakim od arhetipova, te nam postavlja niz pitanja pomoću kojih možemo odrediti kojem tipu mi pripadamo. Posve je, dakako, moguće i da se ne pronađete u samo jednom arhetipu, već trebate odrediti koji vam je najsličniji. A za postizanje ravnoteže, i fizičke i psihičke, James nas uči kako da iskoristimo najbolje osobine svakog od arhetipova.

Ono što ova knjiga pokušava prenijeti svojim čitateljima je to da razlozi neuravnotežene prehrane ne leže samo u nedostatku samokontrole pojedinca, već su nam na neki način ukorijenjeni u psihi: našem ponašanju i navikama. James istražuje ne samo kako i koliko jedemo, već i zašto to činimo. Ključ je u tome da prepoznamo štetne obrasce ponašanja koji nas tjeraju prema poremećajima u prehrani, shvatimo zašto ih ponavljamo, i, u konačnici, eliminiramo ih.

Radeći sa tisućama žena na svakodnevnoj bazi, te kao psihoterapeutkinja i nutricionistica, Dana James svojevrsna je stručnjakinja u području prehrane. Ova je knjiga njen pokušaj da svoja znanja prenese drugim ženama kojima je možda potrebna pomoć po pitanju prehrane, a koje se previše srame ili se boje tu pomoć zatražiti.

Knjiga sadrži i desetodnevni plan prehrane za svaki arhetip, kao i pregršt recepata, savjeta za vježbe i dodatke prehrani koji će pomoći svakom arhetipu žene da dođe do željene težine, počne se pravilno hraniti i općenito bude zadovoljna samom sobom. Čitajući o dodacima prehrani u uvodnim poglavljima, pomislila sam da će sastojke za obroke prema receptima iz ove knjige biti teško pronaći osim ako mi se u susjedstvu nekim čudom ne pojavi trgovina čudesnih ayurvedskih prašaka, ali recepti su zapravo prilično jednostavni i koriste relativno jednostavne namirnice. Dodaci prehrani i dalje su malo veći zalogaj, ali zaključila sam da većinu njih, za koje ne znam ni kako bih ih prepoznala ni izgovorila, mogu jednostavno zanemariti.

Dodatna stvar koja me zainteresirala i privukla ovoj knjizi je to što James u njoj razbija neke uvriježene mitove o hrani i prehrani, potkrjepljujući svoje tvrdnje znanstvenim činjenicama i pozivajući se na različita znanstvena istraživanja. Kako kaže James, ne postoji dobra i loša hrana, niti su pojedini sastojci uvijek štetni: štetni su samo u određenim količinama i kod određenih ljudi koji možda pate od nekih bolesti, alergija ili sl.

Danina knjiga nije u biti knjiga o dijeti, to je knjiga o pravilnoj prehrani, pronalaženju odgovarajuće prehrane za svoj arhetip, rješavanju psiholoških prepreka koje nas koče u održavanju te prehrane i savjetima za slobodan i uravnotežen život u kojem hrana nije nagrada, utjeha ili uteg, već je izvor hranjivih tvari koje nam pomažu da funkcioniramo najbolje što možemo.

[anisha · Rating 1 out of 5]

**This is the first diet book I've ever read, and probably the last I'll ever read**

This was recommended to me by a coworker, and I'm a sucker for personality quizzes. ~4 of us in the office took this quiz to avoid working at the same time (2 Nurturers, 1 Ethereal, and I'm a Wonder Woman)

Likes:
The descriptions of how different hormones influence weight retention/loss
Nutrient breakdowns of different foods and categories
Pie charts for each diet
actual client interactions (Side note, I also liked this in another self-help book I read)
FUN SILLY PERSONALITY QUIZ!
Cited studies sources
CBT-based techniques (note, I skipped this section, and most of this back section)
Modifications for vegetarians


Dislikes:
Some of the science seems to be off: "Adrenal fatigue" isn't real. However, a lot of her science about hormone interactions seems accurate
Pseudoscience: Chakras, EFT (fine, this might have a scientific basis, but I don't have to like it)
These recipes are not practical for the normal person; they require piles of money spent only on Organic produce (There are studies on how there's no difference between conventional and organic, I'm not going to take the time to find some for a GR review); Many of her ingredients are also rather unconventional, and need to be purchased from specialty shops.


This seems to have some sound science, and following a few of the principles has helped me. I wouldn't recommend that anyone read it, but it's been a fun ride.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot. I've been trying to shift my relationship with food (as an Ethereal type, I find it hard to enjoy eating as I am highly sensitive to food) and not only have I gotten more knowledgeable about nutrition through a more holistic perspective than I've ever encountered, I've also started to see that I can get excited about eating because food can be fun (to me, fun means novel...I've started taking aloe vera juice shots in the morning which I get so excited about because it feels so exotic and new).

I would recommend this book to other females interested in self-love and well-being! Whether or not you already have a positive relationship with food, I think there is a lot to be learned here.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually really liked this one. Mainly because the author attempts to go deeper than usual and get at the heart of WHY people over eat. Hopefully helping people recognize how their personalities, past experiences, and core beliefs have created learned behaviors that are not serving them, thus getting at the root of the problem rather than just putting bandaids over the situation. It was a little creepy to see myself outlined so clearly.

[Lisa Bensley]

Didn’t actually love for the diet advice (But in fairness I wasn’t looking for a diet book)...but I did love for the deep dive into women’s psychology, which is what I was actually looking for. A friend recommended to me because it is an interesting look at how childhood experiences help form the habits you maintain as an adult. Good advice on adaptogens and teas to help with hormones.

[Leah Schaeffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who needs another diet book right? This book caught my attention as I had listened to a lecture given by the author. Her education combination of psychology and nutrition piqued my interest too. She disperses so many common modern myths about the most popular diet beliefs. She simplifies and tamed the overfluffed food addiction theory for me. There is a lot in this book that is worthwhile on ones journey to becoming a better human.
I have perused many cookbooks in this genre and I highly recommend the recipes in this book over many hyped books.

I do not necessarily agree with the base theory of this book being the four archetypes which claim that each type is clearly a different personality. I do believe that it is a physical thing not so much the personality she describes for each one. But it holds lots of truths which I interpret for myself in my own combination.

[Jessica Tefenkgi Ruelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting approach to women's psychology and to understanding the roots of our relationship with food. Lots of insights, aha moments, although sometimes a bit simplistic. I didn't read it for the diet advice but found it inspiring. Like someone else mentioned, it's really impractical to find the foods one "should" eat and drink (especially when you live in other parts of the world) and therefore a bit too easy to fall into the excuse traps of "I don't know where" "It's too expensive" "I'll just grab a sandwich as usual".

Other than that, a great introduction to the holistic approach of human beings, and women here in particular.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of this book was really helpful to me, especially part 3, where I could spend some time linking my relationship to food to childhood patterns. For me, the nurturer diet is great, except since I don't eat fish, I'm struggling to find protein sources. But I'm feeling better just a week in. Definitely recommended for women who are weary of counting calories but feel "off" in their bodies.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and engaging, but too difficult and time consuming (not to mention expensive) to fit into my life completely. One of those books where I’ll cherry pick a few things and leave the rest behind. The third section on the psychological resetting was the most interesting. The diets are really just low carb with a near unholy amount of fish.

[Christin Slyngman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this diet, because its based on many sound principles but what I found it lacking was the science behind the diet, and also it asks you to make lots of different very expensive and time intensive tonics. Pretty unrealistic in the end unfortunately.

[Laura Montoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good info and ideas. Will read it again

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new here. More of what every other diet book says: eat fewer carbs, eat more protein, eat healthy fats, eat more vegetables, eat a balanced diet, drink more tea, exercise more.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. I don't think there was much wrong with the dietary advice, but I'm not a huge believer in chakras. That made it go from decent advice to what the fuck.

[Kathleen Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of non fiction but some of these tips have boosted my weight loss adventure.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book from a podcast where the author was interviewed and truly nerded out to the idea of someone who combines psychology with nutrition in their practice. The book truly has some insightful advice on creating a health routine that combines diet, fitness, and mental health practices that complement one another based on your "personality" type.

I recommend to everyone and anyone looking to take a holistic approach to their full body health.