Book review: Rachel Pires’ Diet Enlightenment

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I received a free copy of this book to review via Tomoson.com.  My views are my own and I do not recommend anything if I don’t believe in it. 

There are certain times of year when the diet season kicks into full gear.  You know, pre-beach season, pre-holiday party season, ‘New Year, new you’ promotions, and so on.  Many, me included, look for the magic button that makes weight loss easy and helps the healthy living mentality stick.  I don’t know about you, but the struggle is especially hard when my body rebels in some way (thanks Fibro and spinal arthritis). It’s not always about the popular method used for weight loss, but the right method that makes it work and stick.  Rachel L. Piers has been there and came out on the other side.  She found the magic button and it made all the difference.  In Diet Enlightenment: The Real Secret to Weight Loss, Pires shares her story and hopes to help the rest of us find it, too.

Rachel Pires is a wife and new mother, dancer, scuba diver, and second degree black belt in Taekwondo.   She writes for the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is a weight loss advisor and blogger on Livestrong.com.  What does an education writer know about dieting?  Quite a bit, actually.  She’s traveled down the weight loss road a few times and did not achieve the success she sought until she found the right one.

Like many experts say, almost any plan can help one lose weight at first, but plans that involve removing certain food groups don’t always work long-term.  Pires wrote Diet Enlightenment with the voice of one who’s been through it. She focuses on calorie counting as the basis for diet success and explains how to calculate what you need and how to stick to the plan.  While she isn’t a nutritionist or dietician, she does seem to have a handle on the diet industry (Chapter Two), calorie counting (Chapters Six and Seven), successfully sticking to a plan while eating out (Chapter 10), and listening to one’s body (Chapter 9).  She also explains how healthy eating isn’t always the road to Thintown (Chapter 3).  Pires’ writing style is friendly and encouraging.  She explains that it can be easy and simple to lose weight and keep it off with the right mindset.

I nodded my head or agreed aloud as I read this one, which amused my dogs.  Chapter Three is my truth – I either gained or maintained while focusing on healthy foods without thinking of calories. I also gained weight after my initial loss on Atkins.  Since my diagnoses, listening to my body is required and I can see how listening when it comes to hunger and satiety is equally important.  While I’m not a strict calorie-counter these days (thanks to the 21 Day Fix eating plan), I can appreciate the information in this one.  A book like this one might have saved me from a few missteps in my weight loss attempts. The chapter on listening to your body makes this one a great read.

Diet Enlightenment was released last April. Pick up a paperback ($12.99 suggested retail) or PDF copy ($10.99 suggested) directly from Tate Publishing or find it at your favorite bookseller. Connect with Pires on Facebook or Twitter to ask questions or let her know what you think of the  book.   Have you read it?  Let me know your thoughts.