That is what I thought when I saw Paul McKenna's book 'I can make you thin' on the shelf of my local book shop.
I was just browsing around, mum was in the library and I was filling time. This looks interesting I thought and picked it up.
On the back I read 'Are you ready for something really different?' or words to that effect. I can't quote perfectly because my sister in law has borrowed this book at the moment.
I opened the book and had a little read, after all that is what books are for isn't it?
Paul McKenna told me that the answer to weight loss is following his principals to the letter and listening to the cd that is in the back of the book.
The principals are: Eat when you are hungry Eat what you want Eat consciously Stop when you are full
There is a lot of blurb on the back of the book that makes it look like a really exciting thing to read.
So, a sucker for trying something different I bought the book, I paid the full price for this book which edges up towards the £10 mark, but the next week I saw it in Asda for £5.99 and was a bit miffed.
So, home once again, and sat with a cup of tea I opened the book that was going to change my life. Well, I hoped so anyway.
I read the book, from cover to cover, thought about what it told me, decided that it made a bit of sense. There are testimonials dotted throughout the book which I read sceptically because all diet books have these which tell you this is the best diet book ever and you only have to follow the principles and however huge you are at the beginning you will soon be wearing smaller clothes and have a wonderful body.
Nowadays everyone on this planet should know that if you eat sensibly, lots of fruit and veg, little in the way of fat and sugar, do loads of exercise, drink plenty of water,
then everyone should be the perfect size and in perfect health.
The reality is that a lot of people (and I mean a lot here) know this, but still load their supermarket trolleys with biscuits, cakes, sweets, fatty meats, butter, cheese (my favourite food is cheese) etc. etc. You only have to look around you on shopping day. My trolley pretty much always includes some sweets, some biscuits, loads of meat because my husband loves his meat, real butter, full fat, full flavour cheese, nuts, seeds, lots of fruit and veg and salad stuff, but all the same, not the perfect food that we are advised to eat all the time.
Watch television, read a magazine, even a newspaper and you will be advised to eat low fat, low sugar food. Now if we all read this advice and took any notice of it we would all be perfect.
We are human, and we are not perfect, some of us can manage to stay a reasonably healthy weight and some of us diet all our lives and still can't manage to be the size we want.
What category do I fall into?
Well I carry a stone more than I want to, I carry this around with me all day every day and it makes my legs ache sometimes. I carry most of it around my middle, it sort of grew and settled there over the last ten years. I still wear size 8 jeans but that is because of the fashion of wearing them low on the hips, this stone sort of wobbles over the top of them and I hate short tee shirts because then it shows.
Back to the book.
Can eating the way Paul tells me to make a difference? I read it again, dipped into it on and off over the next month and not much happened.
The CD.
I was very wary of listening to the cd. I am wary of mind altering things altogether which is why I don't drink alcohol and I don't pop pills.
One day I decided to listen though, wondering what it was all about and thinking that if I didn't like it I could pull the headphones off my ears and never listen again.
I loved it! It was calming, relaxing, gave me a sense of happiness, (my daughter mentioned some time later that it must be doing something because I was so much more positive) The cd lasts about half an hour so it gave me a bit of relaxation before bed at night.
Ah, I hear you say, but did it work?
The crucial question! In one way it worked. At some point Paul whispers in my ear that I will take more steps each day, that bit works a treat, a year on I am fitter than I have been for a long time, I exercise more and enjoy doing that. At some point Paul whispers that I will eat slowly and put my knife and fork down between bites, I will chew slowly and really enjoy my food. That bit works, for the first time ever I really enjoy my food. At some point Paul whispers that I will choose light healthy food, that bit also works, my supermarket trolley is more loaded with fruit, salads and vegetables than it ever has been before and I have to go to the local fruit and veg shop to top up during the week.
Part of the book explains that to weigh yourself every day is to disappoint yourself, weight can vary so much in a 24 hour period that daily weighing can be different and not show weight loss. I have always jumped on the scales every morning, for as long as I can remember, and he is right, have a long pee and you are down a bit, don't have one and you are up a bit. Paul whispers seductively to me that I will forget to weigh myself for weeks at a time, well that bit works too, I can't be bothered to get on the scales most mornings now.
Have I lost weight?
Yes, not a lot but some. I have lost 6lbs which is just less than 3 kilos (I think), nothing dramatic and nothing that quickly.
More importantly, am I thinner?
Yes, my waist has lost a whole 2 inches, my hips have lost half an inch, my bust is the same, which means I no longer have to hold my stomach in and hope no one notices the wobbly bit hanging over my too tight jeans.
I have a bright, optimistic outlook on life, which I don't think I had before, I have more energy, I so enjoy my food, and choosing my food, now if I don't want to eat something I just don't, like potatoes, there is nothing to say you have to eat potatoes, but there is a sort of feeling that they are part of any staple diet so I have always felt guilty that I don't like them and eat the minimal amount at any meal. Now I just flipping leave them in the pan, and have extra of something I do like.
There is another important point of Paul's book. He says, stop when you are full, or beginning to feel full. There are some mind exercises to tune into your body and begin to learn how you feel when you are feeling full. This way, you resign from the clean plate brigade, and leave food on the plate as soon as you feel you have had enough. I used to often finish up my meal and then feel bloated afterwards, this rarely ever happens now. So that is a really good point to read about and follow to the letter.
There is quite a bit in the book about binge eating (which I haven't done) and craving busting (which I didn't bother with because I don't often crave food enough) that could be very useful in breaking habits.
Today, 24th August 2006. I have eaten this morning, a huge soft ripe nectarine, a huge crispy English Discover apple, a small handful of mixed nuts. I have drunk 2 pints of water and three cups of tea. I found drinking water the hardest to get going on. I have never drunk much water, but during the hot days of summer I forced myself to drink water and suddenly, a pint of water by my side is the most important part of my day and I can almost drink a whole pint in one go.
Later at work I will have some biscuits with my tea, dinner is at work and I will eat what of it that I want, and if I don't much like any of it I will raid the kitchen for some cheese and crisps, so as you can see, I don't stick to any rigid low fat diet, I eat exactly what I want, and I have lost weight, have firmed my muscles and have enjoyed following Pauls programme.
I listen to the cd quite often but not daily, I think now after a year (about a year anyway) the principles of the eating plan are well ingrained in my mind, and I am really much healthier for it too.
I do eat sweets, chocolate, biscuits, not keen on cake, crisps I love, and cheese which is largely fat.
I eat these things in the way Paul told me to, slowly, enjoying each mouthful and rarely finishing anything, a few mouthfuls now satisfies my wanting of them, I put the rest away for later. I eat huge bowls of mixed salad which I chop up myself and cover in full fat mayonnaise, I rarely leave much salad, I love crispy bacon so often fry some up and put it on top with some chunks of cheese, so as you can see, I eat food I enjoy not food I think is healthy for me and I am a happier, more positive person who has loads of energy and firm muscles, so yes this book and cd does work.
I am not sure how this works, but it really does,
If you want to try it they have new and used copies on Amazon for £4.00 which won't break the bank.
This year, I bought Pauls 90 day journal which is a great way to keep track of things, and am enjoying doing the daily exercises, whether they are mind ones or dancing madly in my sitting room, or running over the downs with my dogs.
I also bought last winter, at a very low point in my life, (chest infection and job I hated) Paul's Instance Confidence book with cd. Now, that works, that is another story, but it got me a job that I hadn't a clue how to do and wasn't qualified for.
Someone at work has this book and told me about it. I guess it is all common sense but when that chocolate beckons common sense goes out of the window! Julia
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