As a dietitian, I was very interested in reading this book. It is written by a reporter who was told by his physician to lose weight. He explored several different weight loss programs, trying them out to see if any worked for him. It was well-written with a lot of good information. Both scientific and cultural ways of eating are covered. Unfortunately, I disagree with his conclusion. Still, it’s a good book for people who are interested in learning about various ways of eating. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

3.5 stars

This book is mostly just common sense about healthy eating. But it is nicely researched and gives a lot of factual information on the main types of diet, which would be low carb, low fat, and reduced calorie. And the valuable part is the author's personal experience of the different weight loss systems. He lists pitfalls, problems, and effectiveness. Many of us have gone through this, but he synthesizes and summarizes it all and ends up listing the common sense eating philosophy that guides him and led to a significant weight loss.

Thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

JUST EAT provides a world tour and history lesson in the art and science of dieting. Although clearly some of the diets are the result of happenstance and wishful thinking, author Barry Eastabrook takes his reporter’s curiosity and his desire for a smaller waistline into the nooks and crannies of diet land. The tour is fascinating, although well-covered in part in other books, for other reasons. The author finds some success at the end of his journey. Will it work for others? Ah, there’s the rub. As the author notes, the journey is always a personal one. But this book provides enormous information for the traveler. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

*thank you to Netgalley, Barry Estabrook and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Is this yet another typical 'diet' book where the author swears that 'this' diet in particular is the cure all? No. Instead this book goes over a whole heap of different diets that are out there and it has the authors personally experience with them. The pros and cons. He goes from one to the next to the next. The end result? Well, I won't say but I can say that I'm not at all surprised. I am extremely familiar with food and the mind/body connection has.

I felt that it was also written in a way that made it rather interesting to read. It wasn't boring like so many books like that can be, so I can say I was pleasantly surprised by that.

I think people can learn alot from this book and if they really read it, it could hopefully, change their lives. Chronic dieters who are stuck in the cycle of losing weight and then gaining it all back, then losing it again, only to, yet again, gain it back. Once you understand the very basics as to why this happens, then you can make the right changes and be done with the neverending and very damaging cycle. Highly recommended this.

I did not expect a book on diets and weight loss to be this interesting and this well researched, and was very pleasantly surprised while reading this. There's a lot of information, a good historical view of diets and the various weight loss methods that have been used over the centuries, all tied together with the author's experience that makes it a more compelling read. This is very relatable, interesting, and I learned a lot by reading the author's analysis of different diets and their effects.

Packed with more information than you ever knew you needed about a number of today’s most popular diets. Do they work? You’ll have to read this book to find out. It will certainly answer all of your questions and make you think about how the diet industry works.