Reviews

Book review: Mindless eating

This is one of the most amazing books I have read in a  long while, and should be essential reading for all personal trainers and dieters alike! The book is all about food psychology and what makes us eat in the amounts and the types of food that we do. It looks at the psychological side of eating and also the tricks the food companies use to get us to eat more (therefore purchase more) of their products.  Being armed with this knowledge can help you to increase the odds of achieving weight control and/or helping others to do so.

When it comes to food psychology Brian Wansink is the king. For any of you who are unsure of who he is, here is a quick run down. he is a Professor of Applied Economics and Management and he is resident at Cornell University’s Food and Brand Laboratory in New York. His specialist subject is nutrition and marketing, and particularly applies that to how we make our nutrition choices.

His book it is written in a very easy to read manner where he is telling the story of some of his experiments and then commenting on how the results affect everyday nutritional decisions.  The book has the right balance between theory to aid understanding and practice, to make his pints more actionable for yourself or your clients.

The book details several of his experiments that have been carried out in his food laboratory and also in the wider world, he then skilfully applies the data gained to reality and how if can change your life and that of your clients. I think that the main factor that sets this book apart from the millions of diet types books is that, most diet books tell you all the do’s and don not’s but they do not really address the why’s. Why do we eat too much? Why do we not stop when we are full? Why are we under the power of the big brands? Why do we eat stuff when we know it is bad?

Well Mindless Eating answers all these, and best of all it is an easy read! Not jargonistic or theoretical, but in simple, entertaining English. If you have tried diet books before and not had the results you wanted, then this is the book for you! It is a diet book that is not about diet but behaviour!

Ten out of Ten!

Check this book out at Amazon.

Tom has been involved in the fitness industry for nearly 20 years. He is a specialist in rehabilitation, exercise referral and helping other fitness professionals to improve their business. He is also involved with course development, teaching, assessing and IQA of a range of training courses. He is always willing to meet other professionals so please do contact him via social media with any questions or just to say hello.

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