Description
A revolutionary approach to enhancing metabolism that enables lasting weight loss and facilitates spiritual well-being
• Presents an eight-week weight-loss program
• Explains how relaxed eating stimulates metabolic function and how stress hormones encourage weight gain
• Shows how fully enjoying each meal is the optimal way to a healthy body
Our modern culture revolves around fitting as much as possible into the least amount of time. As a result, most people propel themselves through life at a dizzying pace that is contrary to a healthy lifestyle. We eat fast, on the run, and often under stress, not only removing most of the pleasure we might derive from our food and creating digestive upset, but also wreaking havoc on our metabolism. Many of us come to the end of a day feeling undernourished, uninspired, and overweight.
In The Slow Down Diet Marc David presents a new way to understand our relationship to food, focusing on quality and the possibilities of pleasure in eating to transform and improve metabolism. Citing cutting-edge research on body biochemistry as well as success stories from his own nutritional counseling practice, he shows that we are creatures of body, mind, and spirit and that when we attend to these levels simultaneously we can shed excess pounds, increase energy, and enhance digestion to feel rejuvenated and inspired. Marc David presents an eight-week program that allows readers to explore their unique connection to food, assisting them in letting go of their fears, guilt, and old habits so they can learn to treat their bodies in a dignified and caring way. He reveals the shortcomings of all quick-fix digestive aids and fad diets and debunks common nutrition myths, such as "the right way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more." He shows instead how to decrease cortisol and other stress-hormones and boost metabolic power through proper breathing and nutritional strategies that nourish both the body and soul, proving that fully enjoying each meal is the optimal way to a healthy body. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in nutritional medicine, the psychology of eating, and the science of yoga, Marc David offers readers practical tools that will yield life-transforming, sustainable results.
Praise and Reviews
“Marc David is the leading voice establishing the intimate connection between stress, digestion, metabolism, weight, and health. He reminds us that our relationship with food is as important as the food itself. In a world of ‘high fad’ diets he stands alone, guiding us toward nourishment, pleasure, and healing.”
Mark Hyman, M.D., coauthor of Ultraprevention: The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life
“The Slow Down Diet provides us with the missing link about metabolism that sets us free to enjoy food more than ever while also losing weight and getting healthy. Thank you, thank you, Marc David.”
Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of Mother-Daughter Wisdom: Creating a Legacy of Physical and Emotional Health
“. . . David shows that we are creatures of body, mind and spirit, and that when we attend to these levels simultaneously, we can shed excess pounds, increase energy and enhance digestion to feel rejuvenated and inspired.”
Aznet News, June-July 2005
“The material is sensible, well-organized, and gives you permission to find out what sort of food and eating is best for you and your body rather than counting calories and eating what other people tell you to eat.”
New Spirit Journal, July 2005
“In short, this book presents a holistic view of reconnecting not only with the pleasures of eating, but with the pleasures of learning and loving more about ourselves.”
Alaska Wellness
". . . blends nutrition and psychology in a discourse on how to understand our relationship to food and how to eat in a different manner. . . . Some eye-opening facts are revealed."
The Midwest Book Review
". . . this engaging and accessible text will have you subtly altering your lifestyle, losing weight and enjoying every minute of it."
Spirit of Change, Fall 2005
"Don't expect The Slow Down Diet to match any other diet plan you've tried. It's in a class by itself . . . . If you seek a fresh approach to weight loss and eating, try the techniques in this book."
New Times, Oct. 2005
"After reading and applying the steps in The Slow Down Diet, I lost fourteen pounds and even more importantly, made mealtimes more relaxed and enjoyable. . . . The Slow-Down Diet is a life-changing program that doesn't deprive you of your favorite foods and in fact, offers you a chance to truly enjoy them!
Safiya Tremayne, In the Library Reviews, Jan 2006
"I consider this book essential reading for women, because of all the baggage that has been heaped upon us by society with regard to eating, weight, self-image, and dieting. This book can help us better and more joyously inhabit our feminine bodies, for it is about eating as one of the higher forms of love--for ourselves and for one another. Indeed, I have put my discovery of sacred eating right up there with my discovery of sacred sex. I also recommend this book to persons of any gender who wish to bring greater balance and harmony into their lives."
SageWoman, Dec 2005
"Losing weight by limiting pleasure is like trying to stop smoking by not breathing. We can never increase the body's metabolic capacity by limiting what is essential to life."
Utne, Nov-Dec 2005
"Thank you, Marc David, for giving me the book I've been waiting my whole adult life to read."
Janet Brennan
". . . will transform your relationship with food, which is also your relationship with life."
Dhara Lemos, Lotus Guide, Feb 2007
