How to Lose Weight for the Last Time: Brain-Based Solutions for Permanent Weight Loss Hardcover – September 20, 2022

Katrina’s book, How to Lose Weight for the Last Time: Brain-Based Solutions for Permanent Weight Loss, covers a lot of ground. With the experience she has accrued explaining medical terminology and concepts to her patients and their parents, she reviews some of the basic body chemistry of eating and hunger. This is important to understand because as part of her advice to readers is to give up flour and added sugar in their diets. The reason is to reduce the effects of frequent insulin release and allow the body to access its own fat stores. Katrina uses the words, “fat-adapted” and the goal of getting there is to mitigate the effects of feeling hungry. I can concur, when you are in that state on a low carbohydrate intake plan, you will not experience hunger as intensely.Katrina goes on to explain why people over-desire food and have become totally dissociated from their natural sense of when to eat and when not to. She also discusses the way many people use food to distract, divert and entertain themselves from some uncomfortable emotions or traumatic events. The goal is to become aware of some of the bad habits we have acquired and start to change our thoughts and think with more intention about how to eat and drink.All along, the author includes examples to illustrate her points and make them more accessible to her readers. I had heard and read many of the ideas in Katrina’s podcast, but I still found some new nuggets to explore. The chapters are long and many will require a re-read, particularly if the material is new to you. Reading her text could easily be supplemented by listening to the corresponding episode of her podcast, Weight Loss for Busy Physicians. (She has recorded over three hundred episodes and access is totally free.)The point of this book, which has been lost on some of the folks who have given her low ratings, is not the actual protocol for the foods that you eat. Katrina does make some recommendations on dietary modifications that are similar to some other well-known diet plans. The difference here is the imperative to understand why one is overeating or over-desiring various foods. The recommendation is to parse out some on the unhelpful thoughts in our brains and the uncomfortable emotions that accompany them. Katrina makes several recommendations regarding how people might experience or process their negative emotions. Since everyone processes pain, anxiety, frustration, and fear differently, we may require different techniques to help us feel the feels.With more self-awareness of the thoughts that start the cascade towards over-eating, we can start to change the thoughts and NOT over-eat. This process takes practice and Katrina makes several suggestions regarding journaling, meditation, and other techniques. Her recommendations are to plan your food intake, plan your exception items or treats, and then write down all your intake in a journal. Committing to your own plan becomes part of the program of learning to trust yourself and showing yourself the utmost love and respect.For those of you looking for some magical solution or dietary alchemy, this is not the book or solution for you. If you can accept the premise that by listening to your body’s elemental hunger signals and reducing your over-desire for food, you will actually lose weight. The emotions that come up when you don’t succumb to the urges will be strong. The work to process and feel emotions will let them pass without the need to dive into a bag of chips or a sleeve of cookies.I recommend Dr. Ubell’s book for those of you struggling with weight loss on the typical diet plans that fail to address the emotional aspects of eating. Typical diets rely on willpower and most of us know that willpower will eventually fail us. When we have a car accident or our friend dies or our kid fails a chemistry test, we don’t have to eat. As Katrina writes on p. 187, “Whatever the problem is, the solution is not in the fridge.”The book is a great start for those who are looking for a thoughtful and compassionate approach to weight loss. Once you understand the concept of thinking with more intention, you can apply the principles to other areas of your life. Understand that you can think whatever you want right now, and those thoughts will help you attain better results. If you believe that you are a person who can lose weight, you will. What thought would you have to feel to become confident and committed? Katrina Ubell has quite a few suggestions to get you started.Written by Joan Naidorf DO, author of Changing How We Think About Difficult Patients

I was teasing my gynecologist that his scale is 5# heavier than mine at home, and then expressed my frustration with trying to lose my last 10 lb (maybe 15 lb if that goes well). I've been trying for 8 years to do that and have just about given up. My Dr told me about this book and the general thought behind the approach. He said it would take some work to read it, listen to podcasts, etc but overall he thought it would be something positive for me. I already have a ton of great habits and have kept off 30 lb I lost about 15 years ago from Weight Watchers and from a Calorie King app - where I watched macros, calorie intake, and spoke to a dietician. Some days I counted points AND tracked on the app - just to compare.I was obsessive about trying to be perfect and over the years created an unhealthy habit and mind set. My adult kids are annoyed how strict I have been. Yet, with all that, I still didn't lose the last 10 lb. and have been frustrated. After reading the book I realize some things I've been doing that have not served me well - including grazing and snacks, having some white flour and sugar, avoiding too much (even healthy) fats, etc. I think it's time to try something new. This will be a relief actually. I am looking forward to not having huge salads and large volumes of free vegetables just to be sure I'm full. I am looking forward to trying this new approach. And I view the appt with my Dr as perhaps the luckiest dr. appt I've ever had - as he took 5 min of his time to talk to me about this book.

At 68 I learned so much about emotional eating. Real game changer, for me. I highly recommend it to anyone with weights issues.

I recently purchased this book when it was on special for Kindle. I immediately read it and then reread parts of it several times. Like the author (Katrina), I have been through the WW program multiple times but have been unsuccessful at keeping all of my weight off for very long.I’ve read probably a hundred diet and health books over the years, and I was skeptical that this one would tell me anything new. However, I was also hopeful (as I always am), and I wasn’t disappointed. This book is FULL of good information. It truly might be the last diet book I ever read. Combined with Katrina’s podcast, this is a full-on game changer.Katrina investigates every nook and cranny of our brains, pointing out all those loopholes we look for as dieters – those truths we might like to ignore. She tells her readers exactly how to manage them. She has been there, just like we have. I was astonished more than once that she knew exactly how I think!For me, the biggest takeaway from the book (and there are many takeaways) is to stop snacking. With that huge change, I’ve lost 5 pounds in 6 weeks. Some may think that’s slow, but for me it’s a good pace. I’m happy.Losing weight is not easy, and this book doesn’t make it so, but it does make it attainable. Trust me - get the book. Also listen to the podcast (on her website, you can find Katrina’s very helpful roadmap to her podcasts). The best thing I’ve heard on her podcast is about “micro cheats”… those little nibbles and tastes that you think don’t count. They do count. She will convince you.This book is marketed primarily to doctors, but you certainly don’t need to be a doctor to benefit.

I ordered your book on my Kindle. Although it was great for reading, I lack the ability to go back and review sections without repeating the entire book. If I had purchased the hardcover or paperback, I would have been able to refer to the section I want to review. Is it possible for you to email me the section that provides specific foods that CAN be eaten and foods that CANNOT be eaten? My concern is related to consuming honey, specific cereals, sauces.I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.