I agree with much of what the author says and love this quote: "“I’ll tell you what’s extreme. Each year in the United States alone, over 70,000 people have to get a limb amputated because of Type 2 diabetes. …Their doctors have warned them it’s coming, but it doesn’t matter. They can’t stop. They eat until they lose a limb. That is extreme. That is how powerful this addiction is. Giving up processed drug-foods isn´t extreme, what’s extreme is the way our society eats -and the consequences we’ve decide we’re willing to tolerate as a result”." That said, I found her actual advice incredibly restrictive and unsustainable (and this is coming from someone who follows an all-natural, homemade ketogenic diet -- not exactly anything goes!). This isn't a plan I could follow or would choose to.

Interesting and will continue to look into the idea of Bright Line Eating. At first glance it seems very restrictive, ie having to carry scales and weigh every bit of food seems to be heading back to diets from the past. I do realise that some people benefit from and respond well to such controlled behaviour though, so I'm not saying this is a negative thing. There are also 'ritual' patterns for new daily habits, which goes well with the controlled portions. One thing I really liked and agree wholeheartedly with is how to create such good eating habits in children, when many parents these days seem to let the children dictate what they eat and even cook separate meals to order.

There is a scientific explanation of how the brain responds to sugar and flour, and how such addictive patterns can be changed. Not sure I liked or saw the need for the long backstory of the author's drug habits etc, and she talks about how she went from a size 4 to 24 in three months - is that even possible? I also noted that the weblinks given (in the copy I received at least) did not work as I guess the author has moved to a new website. I assume the book is now updated.

Review of an advance digital copy.

A great read! The author is so right keeping off the weight is the hardest part!

In short, this book is life changing! I was drawn in by the author's personal story of her addictive personality and how this related to the way she ate. I could see much of my own struggle with food reflected here and was impressed by the scientific research behind Bright Line Eating. I highly recommend this book.

I had never heard of the Bright Line Eating Boot Camps, but the premise of this book was intriguing. Susan Peirce Thompson more than met the promise of the premise. The conversational way it is written made it fun and easy, and the success stories highlight the points well. The logic is laid out clearly and the program looks doable. I'm implementing the concepts slowly and I'll update my review success or failure - but I'm hopeful.

Great collaboration as a solution to a priority health problem!
Several diseases have been appearing or increasing from the industrialization and the appearance of processed foods. This book contains much valuable information, well explained, expands knowledge of the subject and integrates them into a program that is worth putting into practice:
Susan Pierce tells us clearly, with scientific papers and real life cases, how our brains are reacting to processed foods, so some of them are causing us a kind of addiction. She includes the psychological part that comes into play in the face of this challenge, explaining that from the point of view of Saboteur and Self-perception Theory this incapacity we experience to lose weight can affect our sense of who we are, our self-esteem and hope, or when we decide that we do not appreciate ourselves enough because we have betrayed ourselves by eating what our body-brain demands of us with its inner voices.
It seems to me a valuable contribution when she invites us to change our cultural understanding of what it is to be overweight and to see it as a result of a brain hijacked by modern food, mainly for flour, sugar and noncaloric sweeteners. Because our brain is very sensitive to glucose fluctuations, and in the anterior cingulate cortex performs functions of willpower, when sugar levels are low we experience willpower gaps that derail us from our best weight loss efforts. But this does not happen with Bright Line Eating that provides you with the elements that fix this.
Based on her own overweight, career and neuropsychological research and sustainable weight loss psychology, the author delivers a practical program to learn how to overcome the biological obstacle that our brain represents when it blocks our efforts to lose weight, teaches us to regain control and turn it around to succeed. This program considers the need to heal the damage to our dopamine downregulation receptors, which is the cause of depression and addiction, and on the other hand our resistance to leptin which causes overwhelming cravings and insatiable hunger. What is causing the malfunction is the excessive stimulation of dopamine receptors and excess insulin that affects the signals of the hypothalamus and brain stem when we eat processed foods that raise their blood levels.
I will cite a very enlightening paragraph where the author gives us her opinion on this serious problem: “I’ll tell you what’s extreme. Each year in the United States alone, over 70,000 people have to get a limb amputated because of Type 2 diabetes. …Their doctors have warned them it’s coming, but it doesn’t matter. They can’t stop. They eat until they lose a limb. That is extreme. That is how powerful this addiction is. Giving up processed drug-foods isn´t extreme, what’s extreme is the way our society eats -and the consequences we’ve decide we’re willing to tolerate as a result”.
It is a book that I definitely recommend for all families, regardless of whether they are overweight or not, should consider withdrawing some food for the sake of their children, consuming processed foods cause malnutrition and diseases associated with conditions of chronic inflammation and immunodeficiency such as cancer . It is now a priority to educate ourselves and to inform us to be proactive and to sustain a healthy life, since it is very clear that the western medical services are based on the treatment of the disease and not on sustaining the health, therefore they are not preventing these conditions; In addition the food industry is enriched in spite of the affectations that generates in its consumers.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book

Thank you for this book. I will not post a review online. I did not like that there was no navigability in the e-book and I think it might be better in a paper format. I am not into the whole testimonial thing and the whole diet pretty much seems to be no sugar or flour. Then they have a website where they have "boot camps" which most likely cost money? Thank you for the book, but I don't think it is for me.

My husband and I are doing pretty good with our weight, however, I saw this and thought it looked interesting. Susan's story and how she deals with her own weight loss and gain were at the beginning of the book and the entire time I was reading, I just wanted to cry for her. Anecdotes are great but when they are really used well, and here her story hits home with me quite a bit, then they mean even more.

While Susan's story is quite a bit different from mine, they are not all that far apart. I easily could have fallen into drugs and I know I use sugar to feel like my day is more balanced. The entire idea behind this book is instead of maintaining that balance, finding a new balance that is healthier.

That said, I don't agree with everything Susan states. That doesn't mean she's wrong as she is the one with the degree! But in my own life I have been able to keep weight off and to maintain a healthy balance, I just know I want to be healthier. I would also prefer not to have cravings at weird times in the night or the month. While reading I sit and eat. Munch, munch, munch! It's all these bad habits that I want to break. Susan's way is to completely abolish all flour and sugar. It seems a little extreme. Maybe not wrong, but extreme.

While speaking with my hubby about this, and every time we talk about diets, he insists that we are doing a great job. We do eat well, that's for sure. We eat our veggies and we eat three balanced meals a day. We spend a ton of money on food! We rarely eat out of a box, although we do enjoy cereal every once in a while. And yet still he is overweight and I am working on it. Which is why I wanted to pick this book up.

To be honest, it reminds me of the 17 day diet. The beginning of both diets have the dieter abolishing all carbs, except fruit. In the 17 day diet you do not eat or drink any type of sugar after 2 pm. They both also have a lot of fruit involved. This part freaks my hubby out!

So, while I may not subscribe completely to her way of thinking, I do understand it. I know we need some kind of change but I am not as susceptible to sugar and flour as she is, which is one reason why I am holding back a bit. My hubby doesn't like sugar at all but does like the carbs!

In short: Interesting read. I'm not entirely sure if it is for us. Read with a grain of salt.

While I'm sure there is value for some in following the restricted eating rules laid out in this book, I feel it may be triggering for those with a history of eating disorders and would not recommend it for that reason.