Eating Less: Say Goodbye to Overeating

"This is the best book on food/weight issues I have read (and I have read loads). It talks through the main problems of other approaches I have tried (intuitive eating and dieting), and explains a different approach i.e. instead of focusing on weight, focus on the addictive desire to overeat. Instead of focussing on lowering calories/fat to lose weight, she encourages you to focus on eating nutrtious foods in smaller portions for the sake of your health. The book is backed up by an excellent website, where you can regiter to receive a monthly newsletter (free). I cannot recommend this book enough."
~ Written on 2010-08-23

"This is by far and away the best book that I have read on the subject of overeating. I have battled with eating disorders my whole life, gaining and losing my body weight a few times over. Gillian's key message is that our genuine self esteem is not based on what others think of our bodies or in fact our weight is but that it comes from our relationship with food! Seems so simple. I love her advice that unless eating less (and the right things) is going to be more pleasurable in the long run , we wont do it. My life is testiment to that! I am taking the greatest pleasure now in making healthy choices as I have shifted basing my self esteeem on my weight and what other people think and onto what I feel and what I am eating; ie. health and self esteem. Sounds subtle, but it's life changing. She recognises that we can identify when we have an addictive desire to eat and we can own our choices about whether we fulfil it or not. This book is so helpful in debunking all the myths around about emotional eating, 'natural' eating and has an answer for all the justifications and excuses. Ultimately, it can help you to tap into the real motivation to eating less that is within you and you can use, for the rest of your life. Note to reader - this book has all the answers so it may take you a while and several revisits to the material to absorb it all. If so, it is because this is the learning you need to do to set yourself free!"
~ Written on 2010-05-17

"Gillian Riley's book and optional accompanying seminar have literally changed my life. Like a previous reviewer said, I wish I'd read it 20 years ago. Amongst the countless benefits I have gained from following Gillian's teachings I have also suddenly realised I have a creative brain! This might sound odd for me to say, but for most of my adult life I have been overweight and clogging up my system with so much food that I had no energy left to allow me to use my mind to its full potential. Not only am I now enjoying being healthy and slim for the first time in my life, but I'm discovering a whole new side of me I thought didn't exist. I believe Gillian's success is centred around the fact that she dares to (and quite correctly so) treat overeating as an addiction to food. Many 'diet' authors would not have the courage to either label it an addiction or treat it as such. Much researched and crystal clear in her balanced approach, Gillian makes sense. It feels liberating to be out of the fog of nonsense I've bought into all these years - I feel free! I think everybody with overeating issues should read this book, otherwise they will be the only people not talking about it. Don't get left behind....."
~ Written on 2010-05-14

"This book has an entirely new approach. Instead of the usual "eat when your body says you're hungry and visualise your slimmer self" it poses a different question "if you had the perfect body now - would there still be a reason for you to change your eating habits?". This challenged me to critically examine what I was doing from a health, and indeed mental health perspective. So when you rebel against your self-imposed restrictions by saying "Oh stuff it - no one is looking at my figure" it takes away the opportunity for justifiable self-sabotage. If you keep returning to considering yourself and your health then other peoples opinions and society's judgements cease to be important. All-you-can-eat buffets and three course business lunches had become a socially acceptable opportunity for me to overeat - now, thanks to the tools in this book, they have become an opportunity to exercise my new-found control over my food consumption. Having struggled with my weight for 30 years and only having started this in mid February I am still naturally cautious but my weight is coming down slowly but surely - and I see no reason to abandon the self-prioritising and health enhancing behaviour this book has encouraged me to adopt."
~ Written on 2010-04-28

"I have spent more than 20 years battling with food demons and food addiction and for the first time ever in my life I feel like I have hope, like there is a way forward. After reading Gillian's book, which is quite simply profound and life changing, I decided to complete her weekend seminar. Gillian is an incredibly intelligent, compassionate and humble woman. You feel as though she genuinely wants to help you work through your addictive desire for food, and she also understands it. That Gillian has 'been there and done it' is what makes her able to resonate with the readers of her book and attendees of her seminar. It has not been long since I both read the book and attended her seminar, and I have noticed a shift in my thinking and my behaviour. This is not an overnight magic 'cure', it requires you to actually read the book (mine I must confess sat on my bookshelf for a full year before it was read) and then to apply what you have learnt. But if you are prepared to put in the work that is required then you will reap the rewards. If you have any kind of dysfunctional relationship with food, then I would highly recommend Gillian's seminar, but at the very, very least I would recommend this book. I carry the 'Beating Overeating' shortened version of this book in my handbag to dip into when I need moments of inspiration or for a reminder of the tools and techniques. `Eating Less' is truly life changing book (and seminar) and Gillian is a truly wonderful woman. If I could give this review 10 stars I would!"
~ Written on 2010-04-13