The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight

by Susan M. Kleiner, Bob Condor

Dr. Kleiner, a leading nutrition authority on eating for strength, has put together a diet that has already been tested in Seattle with a Seattle Good Mood Diet weight loss group program. Bob Condor highlighted the progress of the group in the Seattle Post Intelligencer from Nov. 1, 2004 through April 2005. The author has since received thousands of requests for more information.

The idea behind this book is that you can choose healthy foods that both make you feel great and, when eaten according to the plan, help you lose weight. Most diets cause chemical changes in the brain that make the dieter feel depressed. The typical plan is often too low in calories. In this diet, the participants eat feel-good foods with both ideal timing and ideal combinations. People's energy levels soar and participants feel better in days.

The key is to combine the right foods-i.e. balance of protein and fats to go with carbs. The plan outlines a diet of about 40 percent carbs, 30 percent proteins, and 30 percent fats and fiber. Participants eat from a list of "feel good foods," and eliminate excessive added sugar in processed foods. Sweets are not taboo, but the authors believes in "eat it only if you love it" when it comes to sweets. For instance, if you love pumpkin pie, have a slice, but maybe skip the crust unless it's fabulous. A bit of chocolate and a glass of red wine a day is okay once you're two weeks into the

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Science, Food, Self Help

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 2, 2007

About the author

Dr. Kleiner is the owner of High Performance Nutrition, LLC, a consulting firm in Mercer Island, Washington, where she is currently the High Performance Nutrition Consultant to Seattle Storm (WNBA) and the Seattle Reign FC (WNSL). Dr. Kleiner works professionally with several of the team members, and she has consulted with many other professional teams and team members, including Seattle Seahawks, Mariners, Storm, Thunderbirds and Supersonics, the Cleveland Browns and Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, Olympians and elite athletes in countless sports. Dr. Kleiner has authored eight books, including the bestseller POWER EATING®, The Good Mood Diet®, and The POWERFOOD Nutrition Plan. In 2014-2016, Dr. Kleiner co-founded Vynna, LLC, a female-centric sports nutrition brand.

Dr. Kleiner is one of the foremost nutrition authorities on eating for strength, and her POWER EATING® program has reshaped the lives of thousands. The book is a leader in the field and is now in its fourth edition.
Susan’s Good Mood Diet® Program arose from her observations that her clients' moods and energy levels improved with their nutrition. The Good Mood Diet® program was featured in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and is the basis for her book, The Good Mood Diet: Feel great while you lose weight.

Dr. Kleiner's credentials include a PhD in Nutrition and RD, FACN, CNS, FISSN certifications and honors. She is a co-founder and fellow of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and a fellow of the American College of Nutrition. She is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and The National Strength and Conditioning Association.

While she's not passionately promoting healthy nutrition and fitness, Dr. Kleiner stays in a good mood by spending time in the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughters. She loves skiing, playing piano and drums, dancing, cooking, hiking, traveling, and cozying up with a good book and hot cocoa in the evening to let the intensity of the day slide away.

Reviews

[Jillessa]

For anyone who wants to live a happy life. You would never believe how much food affects your daily health and mood. Just a few tweaks with my diet and I started feeling phenomenal. It would be great if everyone read this book. It's definitely life-changing and eye-opening. You'll never diet again, instead you'll choose the foods that make you feel great.

[Elissa]

This book was really motivational in the beginning. The "diet" seemed really moderate and non-restrictive. But after reading through the 2 weeks of meal plans, it seemed really restrictive and not at all appetizing. I'm sure I should try this diet to see if it really does help with energy and mood, but I'm not sure I could stick with it for 2 weeks to see if it helps.

[Angela]

Susan Kleiner, an authority on sports nutrition and diet, used her expertise to create an eating plan to appeal to an inactive audience. She speaks to people who are busy and don’t necessarily have time for exercise. However, don’t expect to be let off the hook! Although she requires daily intake of healthy, feel-good foods, she also expects that participants buy a pedometer and reach 10,000 steps each day. The plan consists of a two-week initiation period in which participants follow the plan exactly and eat only “feel-good” foods, which include things like fish (omega-3), hot cocoa, flax seed, and fresh produce. After the two week period, more freedom is allowed, but participants should eat foods in certain groupings—protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
• Easy-to-follow
• This diet is about eating, not starving. Food is fuel for moods.
• Alternative methods are provided for vegetarians, allergies, and simply not liking a food.

I only gave it 3 stars because much of the time, I felt like Kleiner was trying to sell her plan--a mild badgering of the reader.

[Heather]

Quick read, and at the outset I was very interested, and was excited to eat healthier and for a "good mood".

But once I hit the "rules" and the 2 week eating plan, I really lost interest quickly - I have never had good luck on a plan where I have to worry about how many servings of what I eat at each meal. If you can follow it, I can only imagine eating well will make anyone feel better and happier, but as soon as I set rules for myself, all I want to do is break each and every one of them. Definitely not for me.

[Jen]

I call this book my "Care and Feeding of Jennifer", because it's exactly what I respond to the best. I'm living a stressful life and I need all the help I can get! It's refreshing to think of my diet as how to best fuel myself, as opposed to what I need to restrict. Going to recommend this to everyone I know.

[Debby]

I do believe that eating healthy foods can definitely influence your mood in a positive way however, this author goes to extremes. She does not use profanity or graphic sex scenes to make her point however.....hee, hee

[Sandra Pinney]

I like the philosophy in this book to eat food that makes you feel happy. It is a very balanced way of eating, too, and goes right along with the Word of Wisdom. It also has recipes, and I'm always looking for new ones.

[Carol]

I was interested in reading about the role carbohydrates play in mood...and it makes sense. But as a diet, I didn't get it.

[Ally]

I like that this book becomes the guide to following and organizing how to do this meal plan.

[Michelle Martini]

Practical ways to cut down on anxiety and depression through diet that really helped me.