"A provocative expose of the dieting industry from one of the nation's leading researchers in self-control and the psychology of weight loss that offers proven strategies for sustainable weight loss. From her office in the University of Minnesota's Health and Eating Lab, professor Traci Mann researches self-control and dieting. And what she has discovered is groundbreaking. Not only do diets not work; they often result in weight gain. Americans are losing the battle of the bulge because our bodies and brains are not hardwired to resist food--the very idea of it works against our biological imperative to survive. In Secrets From the Eating Lab, Mann challenges assumptions--including those that make up the very foundation of the weight loss industry--about how diets work and why they fail. The result of more than two decades of research, it offers cutting-edge science and exciting new insights into the American obesity epidemic and our relationship with eating and food. Secrets From the Eating Lab also gives readers the practical tools they need to actually lose weight and get healthy. Mann argues that the idea of willpower is a myth--we shouldn't waste time and money trying to combat our natural tendencies. Instead, she offers 12 simple, effective strategies that take advantage of human nature instead of fighting it--from changing the size of your plates to socializing with people with healthy habits, removing "healthy" labels that send negative messages to redefining comfort food"-- Provided by publisher.

"The End of Overeating meets Willpower in this provocative takedown of the dieting industry from one of the nation's leading researchers in self-control and the psychology of weight loss"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

pt. 1. Why diets fail you. Diets don't work -- Why diets don't work: biology, stress, and forbidden fruit -- The myth of willpower -- pt. 2. Why you are better off without the battle. Diets are bad for you -- Obesity is not a death sentence -- pt. 3. How to reach your leanest livable weight (no willpower required). Lessons from a lean pig -- How to trick your friends into ignoring a cookie -- Don't call that apple healthy -- Know when to turn off your brain -- How to comfort an astronaut -- pt. 4. Your weight is really not the point. Why to stop obsessing and be ok with your body -- The real reasons to exercise and strategies for sticking with it -- Final words: diet schmiet.

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