Product Description

Slimming is a multi-million pound business founded on failure. 95 out of every 100 people who go on a diet will regain the weight they lost and more. Yet Pete Cohen has a remarkable 80% success rate with his revolutionary twelve-week weight-control programme. Pete's approach is not about counting calories or living by someone else's set of rules; it is, quite simply, about helping people to get to know themselves better and build their new shape around the person they really are. Unless your body fits you, it's going to wear out prematurely. If you get back to your own 'blueprint', weight-loss is likely to be permanent.

Many diet books are written by people who have a weight problem. All they teach us is how to become even more obsessed with food than we already are. We are made to de-commission our body's natural weight-regulation system, reinforcing a self-destructive pattern that is eating up our lives. Pete's programme is founded on the principle that everyone has the skills and ability needed to become the shape they really want to be. What he teaches us is how to listen to our own bodies and become our own person.

Pete's attitude to life is one of infectious enthusiasm. Pete loves to eat, exercise, and work with people. If you ask him how he regulates his pleasures he'll tell you, "If you enjoy lots of things, you haven't got time for any of them to get out of control".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #686167 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amanda Ursell, The Sunday Times Magazine, 1999
"By the end of this book, you will be in danger of having changed your eating habits, taken up regular exercise and discovered you are a pretty wonderful person!"

About the Author
Pete Cohen has worked in the Health and Fitness industry for twelve years as a sports psychologist, personal trainer and lecturer in sports science and nutrition, and is well known for his work with teams and individuals. He is currently working as sports psychologist and motivator to Kent County Cricket Club and the British Blind Cricket Team as well as with a member of well-known athletes. Judith Verity has twenty-eight years of varied experience as a probation officer, counsellor, trainer, businesswoman and writer. In the 1980's she ran her own training and office management company, before concentrationg on teaching and publishing her ideas. Judith has a particular interest in dieting problems and has worked with many people suffering from eating disorders.

Excerpted from Slimming with Pete by Pete Cohen, Judith Verity. Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
This book is about the people I work with and the methods I use to help them out of the dieting trap. I know that dieting is a huge and partly hidden problem. I've met people who have spent thirty years of their lives dieting, and more. And they still haven't lost weight. I've met bright, beautiful people like Lisa who were putting more effort into watching their weight than living their lives. Some of them were even risking their health in the process.

Then there are people like Mo, who get caught up in the image process almost accidentally, only to find it invades their privacy and grows like a parasite out of control. And so many others squeeze a hectic working schedule or a demanding family into a day with too few hours, leaving no time or energy for keeping fit and enjoying sensual pleasures to the full, eating being just one of those.

As a health and fitness professional and nutritionist, I know how to look after my body. As a person, I want to have fun. I've learned that the key to being the shape you want is putting those two together. And I know that the one sure way to gain weight and give yourself pain and grief at the same time is to focus on your personal larder. If, while you're doing this, you happen to be relying on a diet as well, then you're really in a mess. A diet, a set of rules, a routine, a regime, a calorie counter and a can of artificial milk shake isn't going to help you. It's going to make you feel more out of control. And that's the scary thing about being overweight. It's not until you take back the control and responsibility for yourself and get to know yourself better that you'll start to see changes.

If you've tried to lose weight in the past and haven't succeeded, would you say it was because you haven't been good enough at any of these:

Getting It Right, Trying Hard, Having Enough Willpower, Being Disciplined, Working At It, Concentrating, Being Determined, Being Motivated Enough...?

If you decide to read this book, remember, forget all of the above. This is just a bit of fun.

Customer Reviews

Informative and funny - a new approach and one that works !
I found this book very entertaining as it's written as a story. The characters really come to life and it is easy to spot yourself among them. It takes a new approach to weight maintenance, recognising that some people are underweight as well as over weight and the focus is to eat well rather than less. I found this book full of practical and interesting ideas in terms of how to think about your body and the food that you eat.

A book to remind you who is in charge
Pete Cohen has written a book that reminds the reader that they are in charge of thier outcomes. It is not a 'diet plan' that you can 'go on' or 'go off' of. Failure is simply not an option. In addition to Pete's knowledge of health and fitness, he is also an NLP practitioner, with this mixture of knowledge, he enables the reader to think about their own behaviour. I suspect many of the readers will walk away with some real practical advice that they can start to use immediately.This method of weight loss is not restrictive to weighing food or deprivation of food. It is a slimming programme that provides the tools to enable the reader to make choices that will be more congruent with their lives. If you have 'failed' at other diets, this book may help you become the person you wish to be. Enjoy.

Excellent book, very inspirational
I'm reading this book at the moment and I am thoroughly enjoying it. It is writen like a novel and follows the story of Pete Cohen's first "Lighten-Up" group. As you look at the open book, the left hand page has either a simple cartoon with a caption, or an inspirational comment or 'exercise' and the right hand page contains the text of the ongoing story. It is great because it looks into the problems that cause overeating and dispells many of the 'old-wives-tales'. Pete Cohen himself has all his advice based in solid fact and he has a degree in Sport Science and a masters degree in Sport Psychology.

His success rate for his "Lighten-up with Pete" program is 80% compared to 5% success for other slimming plans.

Give it a go!

Also: look out for his other books: "Lighten-up with Pete" and "Feeling Good for no Good Reason".