The Gabriel Method: The Revolutionary Diet-Free Way to Totally Transform Your Body

NOTE: Final update now posted. THIS IS AN ONGOING REVIEW of "The Gabriel Method" and "I Can Make You Thin". I will update this review every month until I stablize (not just reach) my target weight, or until I give up on this method. Entries are in reverse chronological order, blog style. * January 20, 2010: 225 lbs - 110kg - BMI 33.2 I should've updated this earlier when I was obvious I no longer following the method. I really wanted this to work, and was very enthusiastic. I delayed writing this entry largely because I was always half-hoping to "get back on the wagon" and have fantastic success with it. That didn't happen... this is what did: Around the end of July, I stopped listening to the CDs as frequently. Earlier, I described the CDs as a minor time commitment, but by this time, it was feeling like a major time commitment. Neither McKenna nor Gabriel seem to envision anyone listening to their CDs everyday for the rest of their lives, so I didn't expect much would change, but it did. For me, the mindfulness required for this conscious eating was very difficult without the daily reinforcement from the disks. Bad habits returned, especially when faced with some unexpected and long-lasting stresses in late summer and throughout the fall. I fell off the program. I can't fault the conscious eating program in these books, I dropped it, it didn't fail me, but I can say this is something that takes enormous self-discipline for the long haul. My only gripe with either book is McKenna's "eat whatever you want" rule, (which was by far the easiest for me). However, it pretty much guarantees failure if self-discipline slips. In retrospect, I need a certain amount of restriction, to compensate for the fact that my self-discipline pretty much sucks. I believe the principles are sound; they're followed by countless millions of thin people. And I do still try to eat only when hungry and stop as I become full. In the end it required too much self-discipline for to stick with this style of eating in the long term. I wish success for everyone who uses this approach, be but aware, it's not quite as easy as it sounds. (For those who are interested, I will begin a similar review of "The Alternate-Day Diet" very soon.) * July 5th, 2009: 213.5 lbs - 96.8 kg - BMI 31.5 A slow, healthy rate of weight loss! However, the numbers don't do justice to the difference I feel. I already feel thin. I've lost an inch or, so, and I know I'm still fat, but something subtle changed on the inside about a week ago. I really feel much more energy, I feel MUCH happier with my body even as I'm helping it lose weight, and I'm enjoying food more. As they said, I never feel deprived, I just (try) to stop eating as I begin to feel full. (I've had numerous slip-ups in that department, but I'm getting better about it.) And indeed, the pounds are coming off. I'm not doing any strenous exercise, but I'm biking and walking a bit. I recently took up geocaching and it gives me a fu

I've done my share in the past 30+ years of losing weight by dieting and gaining it back. The current advice to cut calories and exercise just hasn't worked well for us. At some point you have to realize that what you're doing isn't working. I finally gave up on dieting, and in the past two years I've lost over 30 pounds. This isn't just a book about "thinking yourself thin." It's a fantastic compilation of advice that covers the mental, spiritual and physical aspects of body identity and nutrition. And it's all very simply presented and easy to execute. Gabriel offers so many wonderful suggestions that include eating grass-fed meat and living fruits and vegetables; drinking water; consuming omega 3s; exercising like our ancestors; eating earlier in the day rather than later; chewing food; conscious eating; the role of enzymes and bacteria; and spending time in nature and in the sun. He discusses how the body uses fat cells to safely store toxins and how drugs and other items ingested affect our bodies. Equally important to diet is understanding how our thoughts affect our body image and possible psychological reasons as to why we are fat, such as using fat as a barrier to intimacy or control by others, or consuming foods as replacements for love or security. No weight loss can be sustained without addressing these emotional factors. Gabriel also discusses the role of physiology and the reptilian brain inherited from our ancestors that controls the level of fat we retain based on inherent survival needs--the classic fight, flight or freeze. And the icing on the cake is the New Thought use of the mind to change physical reality, popularly known as manifesting. Visualization of the desired body and faith in its eventual manifestation not only affects reality but prompts different choices. If you're sitting in front of the TV getting depressed thinking you'll always be a fat slug, you'll be much more inclined to eat a bag of potato chips in resignation than if you're looking at a picture imagining you're thin and active. Using our mind to imagine our future is a powerful tool for change. Forget low-calorie diets, shakes, pills and procedures, and get to the root of your weight problem by following the advice in this book. Highly recommended.

Mr Gabriel was interviewed on Coast to Coast radio towards the end of February 2009. I bought his book on February 25 and read it. There were some thoughts in the book that really stayed with me and I incorporated them into my daily routine. I decided to give my body the nutrients it needed before eating anything questionable and to do some visualization. I did not use Mr Gabriel's CD but just did it on my own. I did not think I was doing much different than I had been doing before reading the book, however when I weighed myself on March 23 I was very surprised to find I had lost 10 pounds. Thats better than I did when I spent over $300 on a well known food program that provided some really nasty tasting packaged meals and left me constantly hungry. I am rereading the book and plan to download Mr Gabriel's visualization too.

The eighty pounds I've lost are only a small part of The Gabriel Method's impact on me. Jon's insight that many of us are "starving" and compensate with food has led me and several of my friends to look inside ourselves and become better people. At first I thought it was too good to be true, but it's all based on sound logic and biochemistry, and the real proof has been in the results. I have re-discovered my passion, which has led me to stop fighting the logic of my body and I've never been happier. This book is an absolute life changer.