The Setpoint Diet: The 21-Day Program to Permanently Change What Your Body "Wants" to Weigh

by Jonathan Bailor

Join the 27,000 people who have achieved dramatic and long-term weight loss with The Setpoint Diet , from the New York Times bestselling author of The Calorie Myth .

Your body fights to keep you within a range of about 15 pounds -- also known as your "setpoint weight." New research reveals that you can lower your setpoint and end that battle for good by focusing on the quality of calories you eat, not the quantity. With The Setpoint Diet , you will reprogram your body with a 21-day plan to rev up your metabolism, eliminate inflammation, heal your hormones, repair your gut, and get your body working like that of a naturally thin person -- permanently.

The Setpoint Diet is a lower-carb menu that focuses on specific anti-inflammatory whole foods, including tons of produce, nutritious proteins, and therapeutic fats. Its creator, Jonathan Bailor, founded SANESolution, a weight loss company that has reached millions of people. Proven to help you lose weight naturally and maintain it, The Setpoint Diet is your new blueprint for healthy living.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2020

Reviews

[Bookish Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Setpoint Diet by Jonathan Bailor is a well-researched, comprehensive book that will assist you with making healthy choices.

The Setpoint Diet doesn’t contain fancy gimmicks or miracle solutions but instead offers practical, comprehensive solutions on “how-to” eat right and get moving effectively. The Setpoint Diet is the playbook to reimaging yourself healthy and then reaching those goals. Bailor explains the science of the setpoint diet and its parameters in a manner that is both easy to read and understand. This book has something for everyone whether you’d like to transform your relationship with your eating habits, want to get in shape or stay in a healthy place.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis from the Publisher/NetGalley.com
Join the 27,000 people who have achieved dramatic and long-term weight loss with The Setpoint Diet, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Calorie Myth.

Your body fights to keep you within a range of about 15 pounds--also known as your "setpoint weight." New research reveals that you can lower your setpoint and end that battle for good by focusing on the quality of calories you eat, not the quantity. With The Setpoint Diet, you will reprogram your body with a 21-day plan to rev up your metabolism, eliminate inflammation, heal your hormones, repair your gut, and get your body working like that of a naturally thin person--permanently.

The Setpoint Diet is a lower-carb menu that focuses on specific anti-inflammatory whole foods, including tons of produce, nutritious proteins, and therapeutic fats. Its creator, Jonathan Bailor, founded SANESolution, a weight loss company that has reached millions of people. Proven to help you lose weight naturally and maintain it, The Setpoint Diet is your new blueprint for healthy living.

[Jess Macallan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solidly written diet book based on the author's SANE method of eating (satisfying, unaggressive, nutritious, and inefficient). This book has good advice for a healthy approach to eating whole foods instead of starving yourself. Readers will appreciate the no-shame approach to eating and the emphasis on mental and emotional well-being, and physical activity. However, if you've read a lot of diet books, you likely won't learn anything new from this approach.

A couple of points that bothered me--the author recommends egg whites because they're the most nutrient dense part of the egg from a protein standpoint. If he were looking at nutrient density beyond one macronutrient, he'd recommend consuming the egg yolk, which has numerous nutrients including choline. The author recommends supplementing with choline later in the book, but why not get it from a whole food source? He also recommends avoiding mercury-heavy fish, then in the next paragraph dismisses the risk of mercury toxicity as a myth because it's not often diagnosed. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, or that general practitioners are well-versed in the symptoms or testing for it. Heavy metal toxicity isn't something to be taken lightly, so please be careful with the kinds of fish you choose to consume on a regular basis.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Setpoint Diet by Jonathan Bailor really has an outstanding amount of information on setting the new point where your body will work to maintain that weight. Not only is the information on the setpoint really important, but The Setpoint Diet also lays out a diet to reset your own setpoint. The diet does seem restrictive with carbohydrate, no grain, eating plan that emphasizes specific proteins to help with inflammation. There are optimal choices that are recommended during the 21 day reset period... The recommended optimal sources of protein are certain fish or sea food which I do not eat or organ meats...so the remaining protein choices are limited as well. ( They do include white meat chicken, lean beef, turkey, grass fed beef, etc.

Bailor also really digs deep into the psychology behind habits and addictions and how important addiction can be when trying to lose weight and live in healthy ways. This section of the book is very important and eye opening on what addiction really is.

Overall, I think that The Setpoint Diet offers very solid, well researched information on why it is hard for many people to lose weight and how to work on overcoming setpoints. Bailor balances scientific studies, so he is not presenting a "fad diet" but rather a rounded approach to living differently through eating Saner for our bodies, exercising smarter not harder, and making conscious choices to change the way we live. I want to keep writing and writing about this book, but I also do not want to release all the spoilers! It is definitely worth checking out for yourself.

Thank you to Jonathan Bailor, NetGalley, and Hachette Book Group for the Advanced Review Copy of The Setpoint Diet. I appreciate the hard work that went into researching, writing, and publishing this book and enjoyed the read. As always, my opinions are my own.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found THE SETPOINT DIET to be a fascinating read as it lays out research that shows our bodies have a “setpoint weight” range of about 15 pounds. Jonathan Bailor, New York Times bestselling author of The Calorie Myth, offers a breakthrough eating plan demonstrated to naturally produce for-life weight loss. The plan focuses on calorie quality, not quantity, and through a three-week plan works to boost metabolism, reduce inflammation, heal your gut and hormones, and reset your body to the internal workings of a naturally thin person. You will eat a lower-carb menu with anti-inflammatory whole foods, healthy produce, delicious proteins, and therapeutic fats. Based on data from more than 27,000 participants who have already achieved dramatic weight-loss results. Highly recommended!

Pub Date 01 Jan 2019

Thanks to Hachette Books and NetGalley for the review copies, Opinions are fully mine.

#TheSetpointDiet

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book and implemented the steps. It's a lot to read honestly but I am a person who loves to read so I pushed through and read it in one day. I have used the Luminae and Aamnia products and they really help when used in conjunction with the SANE diet. The biggest takeaway for me with this was to up my veggie portions. There's much more to this program than that but for me that was the biggest help. I would recommend this to someone who is stuck on a weight loss plateau or who has tried everything and still not losing. If you follow these steps I do think you will lose weight.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Jonathan Bailor for years and really appreciated the opportunity to review his new book: The Setpoint Diet. I am a science geek and found the science behind this book to be extremely enlightening and sincerely appreciated that Jonathan backed up the science with detailed proof from clinical studies.
But don’t worry, even if you aren’t a science geek, you will find loads easy-to-read information on how eating more of the right foods will be beneficial to your health.
I also appreciated the section on Mind-Set, where he provided exceptional strategies for individuals to learn how to “love yourself slim” by “breaking the cycle of shame”. The overall focus of the program helped me to think of what I wanted more of…not what I wanted to eliminate. All-in-all, Jonathan’s approach to achieving daily progress instead of “perfection” was incredibly useful to me.
One last note: While I haven’t completed the entire 21-day program (which will become my “life program”), I can tell you that within the last two weeks the look and feel of my skin is better than it has been for years. My headaches have disappeared, my moods have improved, and I have lost my “brain fog”. I highly recommend this book and Jonathan’s program to anyone who is looking for overall improvement in their health.

[Michael Whitcomb · Rating 1 out of 5]

This diet book appears at first to be extremely complicated with many rules. Page after page I painfully read on and continued to push through this book waiting for the "a-ha" moment when I would think that this would be a great diet book. When I got to the part where the author compared giving a soda to a child is similar to an adult on cocaine I lost all interest in continuing to read any further.

[Lacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was just curious what the philosophy was of this book. A free with a lot of it. Though, I am a believer in the wonder of grains and this book is against them. I'm also into daily exercise and this book says 2 days a week is enough. I did like the idea that you shouldn't go on fad diets or work out at the gym for hours.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Solid science, plan is laid out well, would have been 5 stars if there were more recipes and I could find all the free resources he talks about in the book on the website.

[Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally an eating plan (or rather a living plan) that takes into account that humans need to eat and don't all have time to exercise 5 hours a day...or need to look like Photoshopped supermodels. The approach in the book really is SANE because it provides an abundance of scientific data to prove the author's points and suggests a diet that is realistic, doesn't leave you hungry and is ultimately extremely healthy and well-balanced. Plus, he provides suggestions for developing a healthier mindset and attitude towards eating and exercise.

[Andrew Ruback · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Setpoint Diet by Jonathan Bailor really has a lot of great information on setting the new point where your body will work to maintain that weight. The Setpoint Diet also lays out a diet to reset your own setpoint. You will not be hungry with the large amount of food you eat in a day which includes lots of veggies, high quality protein and whole fats. There are optimal choices that are recommended during the 21 day reset period.

Jonathan also digs deep into the psychology behind habits and addictions and how important addiction can be when trying to lose weight and live in healthy ways. This section of the book is very important and eye opening on what addiction really is.

Overall, I think that The Setpoint Diet offers very solid, well researched information on why it is hard for many people prone to be obese and diabetic and have a hard time losing weight and how to work on overcoming setpoints. Jonathan balances scientific studies, so he is not presenting a "fad diet" but rather a well rounded approach of living differently through eating Saner for our bodies, exercising smarter not harder, and making conscious choices to change the way we live.

Thank you to Jonathan Bailor, NetGalley, and Hachette Book Group for the Advanced Review Copy of The Setpoint Diet.

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well researched and generally helpful information. Not a practical way to live though, way too prescriptive and too many things to keep track of it gave me a headache after a while. Preparing green smoothies, which a large part of the book is dedicated to, will become a full time job. It was promising at first, but just not practical and sustainable for the average person the more he got into the details.

[Kimball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dang I wish I had the PDF so I could see all the bonus content. And reading this at 1.0 speeds is sooooooo slow. Glad I don't have the CD. I liked the summaries he gave at the end of each chapter. Now, I've read a ton of health books and many opinion and "facts" will overlap with each other. I normally pick and choose much like a buffet, which make it quite fun, actually. If you don't know this by now, there is no one diet for every single person. Humans are the most complex organisms so different diets work for different people. So all you meat haters out there, *news flash*, meat isn't bad for all humans. Same with you dairy and wheat haters. Oh, and candy is the best.

This guy recommends eating seafood, especially canned tuna. Doesn't seem like he thinks grains are too good. He was saying lots of good stuff that I mostly agreed with, but then he started to dis fruit (not all fruit but still) like it's on the same level as sugar. Nope, you're wrong there Jonathan. He said there's no biological reason to consume fruit as long as you're eating enough starchy vegetables. If he had not said stupid stuff (more below) I'd have given 5 stars. "No doubt, no doubt in my mind."

I was thinking the other day it can be a good thing that people put on weight easily when they eat bad foods because someone who stays skinny no matter what they eat, are still harming their body without realizing it. It is like not being able to have a sense of touch and then you put your hand on a burning stove, you don't feel the pain but you're still causing your body damage. So it is a good thing when your body gains weight; it's warning you stop eating these bad foods and start eating healthy foods or you will cause irreversible damage in the future. All you fat people out there, you can finally rejoice and indulge happily and greedily into your baked goodies!


But let's get to the Notes:



If you eat more calories your body burns more calories, if you eat less calories your body burns less calories.

The quality of calories vary widely and is determined on four factors: SANE = Satiety (how quickly calories fill you up), Aggression (how likely calories are to be stored as body fat), Nutrition (how many vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, fatty acids and so forth that calories provide), Efficiency (how easily calories are converted into body fat).

Most adult women have a testosterone level of a 10 year-old boy, that's why it's harder for them to burn fat and build muscle than men. Both men and women need a certain amount of testosterone to keep the set point level low.

Increased cortisone produces more insulin. Stress produces that to give you energy to accomplish the task, but today people are in a chronic state of stress and the glucose doesn't get burned off and instead it's stored. Psychological stress doesn't burn off glucose.

The three primary factors that determine your setpoint are: brain inflammation, gut bacteria, and hormone levels.

The hypothalamus tells you when you are full. It depends on three factors: 1) how much do the calories stretch your digestive organs. 2) how much do the calories you're eating affect short term satiety hormones. 3) how much do the calories you're eating stimulate long term satiety hormones. So how much a food stretches your organs is determined by the amount of water and fiber in it. That's why 200 calories of celery is more filling the 200 calories of gummy bears.

High satiety eating makes high will power living unnecessary.

A food's nutrition depends on water, fiber, and protein. Foods left in the pantry are low on water. Strike 1. Grains don't have much protein. Strike 2. Eating whole grain bread to get more fiber is like eating more carrot cake to get more vegetables.

After you eat protein, no energy is available in your body.

Calorie for calorie, spinach contains more protein than many cuts of beef. But seafood (mollusk especially) is the best source of nutrient dense protein.

Calculate serving size by using your hand.

10 servings of conventional veggies is better than 5 servings of organic.

If you never ate carbs, your body would make the glucose from other sources, like protein. I think that where the keto diet comes from.

If a veggie can't be eaten raw, it's not SANE.

If a food has more grams of carbs than grams of protein then it is not nutrient dense protein. If you divide protein by 2 and it's less than the grams of fat then it's not nutrient dense protein.

I like how he says to not worry about the minor mercury issue in seafood compared to all the other bad foods we eat. But then again he used that same logic with no eating lesser poor foods compared to worse foods.

Eating protein causes cancer the way watering your garden causes weeds. You wouldn't stop watering your garden to prevent weeds.

One egg contains everything needed to create a life. No other food can say that.

He says to drink 10 cups of green tea a day? No.

He says to drink cold water. The Chinese would disagree with that.

Today's children have a lower life expectancy than their parents. Ehhhhhh.

Jogging injures half the people that do it. That's because they're idiots. And this idiot author is going to dis traditional exercise?

Every mile you run is 900 times.

I'm glad that he didn't quote dumb Brene Brown when he talked about shame.

Non-addicts use their habits to feel good, addicts use their habits not to feel bad.

Eating things in moderation pours gasoline on the flames of addiction.

Eating less requires more willpower over time but eating more healthier foods requires less willpower overtime.

Usually we use our willpower to say no thus giving us less will power but we should be using our willpower to say yes and thus using less will power.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy for my honest review.
This is a good well researched book on changing your lifestyle for weight loss. Nothing I read was really new and exciting and it is not a miracle diet. It does emphasize the importance of eating healthy and staying active for weight loss. I haven't read any of the other books by the author but I think it is very important to remember he is not a physician. He does research his theory very well and presents a lot of information to back his ideas.
Overall it has some sound information and probably will lead to some degree of weight loss but it may not be ideal for everyone.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

#NetGalley

Jonathan proposes a revolutionary and educational method to lose weight by following a diet of healthy and fresh food. He teaches how to select food according to the nutritional profile and health restrictions. An excellent gift.

[Jamie Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of The Setpoint Diet free in exchange for my review and I regret that I cannot give it a better rating than three stars.

To his credit, the author’s science and the diet that he prescribes based on it are both generally sound. I took some exception with how he explained and perceived the role of fats in the diet based on the extensive reading I have done on the subject by author notable authors such as Mark Sisson and Chris Kressor, but the discrepancies were small enough as to not be a real issue.

The author’s primary point is that people can (and should) reset their bodies’ expectations and weight by switching to a diet of mostly non-starchy vegetables, with plenty of protein and a little bit of “whole food fat” (things like nuts, eggs, or meats that contain both fat and protein in a raw or close-to-raw form). At face value, there’s nothing wrong with this. As he points out, anyone who switches from a Standard American Diet (SAD) to that kind of eating is pretty much guaranteed to lose weight.

For me, however, the devil was in the details.

- I found the author’s descriptions of the various “SANE” foods (whole food fats, different levels of protein-based foods, different categories of fruits, etc.) non-intuitive and not terribly easy to follow. I routinely wished for the elegant simplicity of the many Paleo and Keto charts I’ve seen in good cookbooks that were grossly easier to follow.

- The recommended diet was, by and large, a version of low-carb Paleo, which made the whole “Setpoint” aspect feel like a gimmick rather than an integral part of the book or plan.

- More than once, I seriously side-eyed the writing because the author was extremely and unrealistically chipper about how “easy” his plan was. Case in point: he suggests that you can absolutely go to any “Asian” restaurant and just follow his plan by “ask[ing] your server which of their sauces are msg-free, gluten-free and low in sugar.” As someone with long-standing food intolerances who has plenty of experience eating out (or trying to), the chances that that is going to work out well for someone are severely limited.

- Similarly, the author uses extremely casual measurements for serving sizes, such as “the size of your palm/fist” and “handfuls.” While I’ve been cooking long enough now to adapt to that kind of thing, it would have been hell when I was a newlywed and learning to cook from scratch and for many of my younger friends right now. The author also seemed surprisingly sure that despite these variations, readers would always get the minimum suggested quantity of protein per meal using this method, regardless of their personal size.

Ultimately, I feel this book is most likely to be relevant to people who are currently eating a SAD, want to lose weight in a casual and low-key way, and who are not actively dealing with or concerned about any other health problems. Even with that said, I would still strongly encourage people to simply adopt a Paleo or low-carb Paleo diet as I think it would be easier and more straightforward than this.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes a lot of sense regarding getting metabolism back in balance with good nutrition. It's hard to argue with eating lots of non-starchy vegetables and good protein as well as fats that are in whole foods rather than squeezed down into oils. There is also some fruit included, but not as much as I've seen promoted for normal diet. I like his encouragement to make gradual changes rather than shooting for perfection. At first it seemed like a lot of change that I didn't want to make, but as I've considered it in stages, it seems very reasonable and I'm even looking forward to the changes.

I was not as sold on what he says about exercise, so I'm planning to work with the nutrition and stick with the weight training and aerobic work I'm currently doing. I will keep in mind what I learned about the focus on the eccentric part of movement where the muscle is lengthening rather than what we usually focus on in the lifting of a weight. I also plan to look more into the exercise plan he gives for later consideration.

Looking quickly over the 21-day plan after reading the previous chapters, I decided it was too much and too fast for me. I was grateful for the earlier suggestion of a slower, consistent implementation.

I plan to read the book again if I find some satisfaction with what I learned on the first read. It does seem like a very sound program and different than other books I've read. The lack of a counting calories or points is appealing to me. I like the fact that I will work to do positive things rather than to not do negative things. He does emphasize that our brains do much better in that way and I agree.

[Seemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the authors prior book groundbreaking and original called “The Calorie Myth” — so I thought I’d check this out - and this book was good I thought it had a lot of the same information as the one I liked

Still served as a useful reminder but didn’t feel it was worthy and repetitive of his previous work

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[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this 5 stars for the info and methodology, which I'm sure are effective if one follows throughout their life. I plan to..it won't be hard. The author wrote to yo-yo dieters and those needing to lose 30 or more pounds...not me...and assuming they don't have an exercise program..which i have. Therefore, the writing could be seen as condescending at times but easily skimmed over.

My favorite lesson: As you wouldn't advise moderation to an alcoholic or smoker, moderation is not the answer to food addiction either.

[Dixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was well-written and well organized. It's not really drastically different from a lot of other recent and current programs. It provides lots of body chemistry and physiology of weight management information as a reason why this particular program should work. It includes daily menus with recipes for those who want a regimented plan.
I voluntarily read an advanced review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley and I offer my honest opinion in response.

[Erik Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Low carb in "easier to digest" framing

Take with a heaping "helping of salt" - the author has a whole e-commerce time going on

But the basic premise is sound: feel full by pounding leafy greens

(Also I donated 500 bucks to Vitamix by purchasing a blender recommended by the book that a 60 dollar blender from Target could have sufficed)

[Cee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Borrowed from my library through my libby app.

Either it was unavailable or just wasn’t clear how to read it, but the narrator kept referring to a pdf that would have the foods good to eat, and the pdf that had all this other information. I couldn’t read it so it was useless to me. Also, the information is not new, and it says it isn’t. I guess that some people might find it helpful but for me this was a big miss. Also, the narrator was terrible.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Literally the exact same content as the Calorie Myth.

[Elizabeth Breier]

Some real solid health information but the actual plan is a little confusing and even though JB says he's not pushing his stuff, he kind of is.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info in here and I generally believe the author’s philosophy. However, I can’t get on board with his smoothie plan. Some “food for thought” but I don’t believe I’ll follow the plan.

[Hotske · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprise, it’s just low-carb – rebranded to make the author money. Had to put it down after 100 pages.

[Cindy McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes a lot of sense. It has a lot of scientific research and studies backing up the ideas in this book. The is explained in everyday language but easier and simply explains the science involved.

The second part of the book is practical ways to apply the information contained in the first part of the book. Everything is presented in a positive and encouraging way.

It is NOT a DIET. It is a new way of eating and moving and thinking that is positive. No guilting. Costs very little. The cost of the book and food from your choice of providers, even your regular grocery store. Very practical, reproducible and sustainable.

[Connor Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, time for the weekend and time to review a diet book. I love diet books. I can usually predict what the author will suggest and how the author will present the ‘new and exciting diet where the reader can learn how she can eat all she wants and still lose weight!’. Isn’t that what they all say? All the reader will have to do is tuck in the tummy, put away the diet soda and learn the secret of how to lose weight easily according to this new and improved diet book. Alas, I have only ever found one ‘diet’ book that had unique and useful ideas for losing weight, and that was The Beck Diet Program by Dr. Judith Beck, which uses cognitive training to help with the ordeal of learning how to lose weight and keep it off.

Today’s book is named The Setpoint Diet by Jonathan Bailor, who also wrote The Calorie Myth and calls himself the founder of the SANE Solution. Check box number one. The author has developed his own acronym and theory for losing weight that sounds catchy. We all want to be SANE. Although I think there was a woman years ago with a shaved head who used to run around a stage exercising and call her self sane…Susan Powter and her Stop The Insanity weight loss system from the 1990’s, I think.

What are Mr. Bailor’s credentials for offering us tubbies a weight loss system? He is not an MD. What I could find is that he calls himself the pioneer of Wellness Engineering and the founder and CEO of ‘the world’s fastest growing weight loss and diabesity (his word) treatment company, “SANESolution”. He was a senior program manager for Microsoft and helped to design Nike+Kinect Training and Xbox Fitness. So, he knows how to write programs for exercise and he knows marketing. But I don’t see a link to a medical degree.

So much for that. What is the basic theory of the Setpoint Diet? The author claims everyone has a thin person lurking within the (fat) self waiting to come out. His diet will show the inner thin person how to ‘effortlessly burn calories’ and be a naturally thin person. He states the only thing that prevents all of us coach potatoes from being thin like a french fry is the setpoint. He spells it all in one word. He defines the setpoint as the level of fat the body maintains by regulating appetite and metabolism through hormones, genes and the brain, no matter how much you eat.

His plan uses his SANE approach to eating to lower your setpoint so you never gain weight ever. He gives as an example of how he was a skinny kid and wanted to gain weight but he never could. He devoted his adult life to researching why some people can’t gain weight and why others can’t lose it. He claims it all comes down to his SANE approach; Satiety, Aggression, Nutrition and Efficiency.

He has a positive approach for losing weight with good ideas and examples of what is better to eat and what is not. It was nothing I haven’t read before but is presented in an easy to read and easy to follow manner. It is a hopeful book. It won’t break the bank to follow and it is simple enough. I didn’t find any medical red flags. He does love green smoothies! And exercise is mentioned along with a mind-set, the two other pillars of health.

Although at times I felt the author was really pushing his SANE program (and green smoothies) this book is worth reading for anyone wanting to lose some weight.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

[Stephanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, this is another diet book but it's a refreshing kind. The big idea, is that your body wants to to maintain its weight (its setpoint) and when you do stuff that causes you to be less than that setpoint, it freaks out and does everything in its power to get back to that point. We've all experienced that situation. So this book focuses on the things we do and eat and how they effect this setpoint. For example: eating lots of non-starchy veg, lowers your setpoint, and drinking a soda raises it. He does go into the science of his reasons (hormones, stress, water, etc, etc, etc).
There is a 21 day plan that you can follow that he swears lowers your setpoint 10 pounds. Or not. (And let's be honest, do we really believe in a setpoint? But the stuff he wants you to do, none of it is BAD for you, so why not try?)

And he advocates that maybe you just work a little bit every day on making better, setpoint lowering choices. I love that. You can go hard core if you need to, but baby steps in you want. And everything he recommends, I've been hearing other places too.
For example some baby steps:
-increase your non-starchy leafy green vegetable intake. (His goal is 10+ servings a day, using smoothies to pound down a bunch of that veg. And it's hard to argue with this one. "No! I won't benefit from more vegetables!")
-eat 30 grams of protein every meal. (Been hearing a lot of news about this lately too.)
-drink more water (aim for a gallon a day, which is a lot, but if you're hitting the protein levels, you need the water or you'll feel dehydrated)
- sleep more (8 hours)
- do weights as your main workout (lots of research about this too)
- do relaxing, non-stressful workouts: walking, yoga, meditation, etc.

I really like that these are steps you can do a little or a lot. And it's hard to argue with any of them. But he doesn't forbid anything, he just emphasizes that the better you eat= the better you feel= less cravings of stuff that doesn't make you feel good. So I'm adding more veg and protein to my day; trying to chose water even when I'm craving a soda; trying more weight routines and most importantly, to love me where I'm at. It's hard to hate yourself healthy. Oh, and he advocates NOT weighing yourself every day, or really ever. So none of this is earth shattering, but it's nice to hear it.

[Justin McAleece · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely well researched and deliberate book about how to work with your body to lose weight and feel great. I learned a lot. Highly recommend.