There are so many diet books on the market. There are so many ways to be constantly reminded of how you are not eating and exercising correctly. Fly Lady goes beyond the obvious. She delves into other areas we must all consider: socially, mentally, physically, etc... This book has gems of information that are really not addressed in most diet/nutrition/exercise books. It is worth reading slowly and taking notes. Each person is different, and this book addresses way more reasons that could sabotage weight loss goals. To me it was also inspiring. She mentioned dressing for the body you have in an ATTRACTIVE way. Your number does not dictate your beauty. You should only wear items and colors that make yourself happy. I rated this book five stars because if you keep the book, and your life situation changes, you can always go back to remind yourself how to handle the stresses of life that may be keeping you from your goals. ( )

Body Clutter falls into the genre of self-help books that focuses on the behaviors and habits - rather than specific foods - that lead to weight gain and what people can do to change those paradigms. The information in this book is valid. It is not new. I liked the fact that the authors presented the information through their own stories. I enjoyed the conversational tone of the book, and the fact that they "get" it.

It takes a lot of courage to put your own story out like that, and I commend the authors for doing so. ( )

http://purplemoonmyst.blogspot.com/2010/11/body-clutter.html ( )

One of the beautiful, terrible things of knowing someone for a long time is that they know all of your weaknesses and foibles. Take this January, for instance, when I was freaking out about my recent weight gain. M’s response was something along the lines of, “Hmm. I’ll bet it has something to do with the mystery of where all the veggie corn dogs went.” No, I’m kidding. M patiently listens when I get overemotional about gaining weight, but she is also not afraid to call me out on the fact that I tend to use eating as a coping mechanism. And so, after I recently hit the highest weight I have ever been, I freaked out and re-rejoined Weight Watchers. M bought me this book.

M loves the FLY Lady, aka Marla Cilley. She frequently cites the FLY lady as having turned her life around, having convinced her to love herself and having revolutionized the way M cleans. I read the website. I was… antagonistic. Cilley’s main mantra is that we have to let go of our inner perfectionist, because no one can be perfect. Thus, you will constantly be comparing yourself to an impossible standard, you will start to feel down and you will give up. Cilley applies this logic to cleaning, housework, family tactical planning, and (in this book) dieting.

If you have any sort of issue with food, I suggest you pick this book up. The ideas can get a little repetitive sometimes, but I think that over-eaters have spent so long negatively hard-wiring our brains that repetition is possibly the only way to get through. This is not a diet book. Instead, it’s more of an attitude makeover towards food. The biggest message I took away from the book was this: aren’t you worth taking care of? Then make the right choice for your health, even if it’s just a tiny choice.
I accept that information. It’s really just the aversion to perfectionism that I am adverse to. The idea that I might try to stifle my inner perfectionist shuts down my brain. Maybe I’m just thinking in too many extremes, but in my mind the projected time span between “ignoring my inner perfectionist” and “dropping out of law school and living on my couch in my pajamas forever” is about three days. But I can also already hear Future M defending her champion, telling me that deciding to not hold yourself to an unreasonable standard does not equate giving up on all achievements or self-improvement. All I need to do is accept that I am a human who gets tired, has a penchant for carbohydrates, and should probably exercise just a bit more (especially as I do really enjoy exercise when I do it). Knowing these things about myself and accepting them will allow me to make better choices about my health.

I should also note that there are these journal exercises at the back of each chapter that are designed to help you figure out why you overeat. What emotional need are you looking to satisfy? What food memories do you have? Stuff like that. I did not do the journal exercises this go round, but will once I go back through the book again in a few months. I’m also going to warn you that this book’s plan has you writing down everything you eat, so be forewarned if you get weird about that (remember— perfectionism is a BAD thing).

Rating: 4 stars- This will be on my non-fiction, re-read guide pile. However, I am still reluctant to let go of my inner perfectionist. Sorry FLY Lady. I’m working on it, but I’m not there yet. I do think that anyone on Weight Watchers should check this book out though— there’s a lot of overlap about the attitude towards food stuff. ( )

I read this book a year or so ago and honestly I don't remember it! ( )