Lose weight without dieting? Ah, well, we’ve all heard those claims before. And while we may have brushed them off, didn’t some part of you deep down wish it were true? I’ll be the first to admit: I sure have!
So, yes, I was intrigued by the funny little ads lurking around cyberspace for The Gabriel Method. But frankly I thought it was a bunch of malarkey, just another diet hoax about juice fasting or something, so I totally ignored it.
But I figured, hey, why not? It couldn’t hurt to read a little more about this non-dieting weight loss approach. And who knows? I might even learn something useful.
Book Review: The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel
I was slow to fork up the cash to actually purchase the book. So first I listened to Jon Gabriel’s podcasts on iTunes to get a feel for what this was all about.
And I started hearing things that really resonated with me: about why diets fail, about the famine response, about forced eating plans, about hormones like leptin, cortisol and insulin in relation to diet, lifestyle and exercise…. Some of the information was familiar to me and made a lot of sense. Some stuff was new and I had to turn it around in my head a few times before it stuck. But I was definitely hooked.
And since I knew I’d be reviewing The Gabriel Method on my website, I went for the whole nine yards and bought every single item on the website so I could give you all the scoop on everything. So a couple weeks ago I received the book and several CDs in the mail, rolled my sleeves up, and dug right in.
Who is Jon Gabriel?
First, let me make one thing clear: Jon Gabriel is not some perpetually buff athlete who’s never struggled with more than an ounce of extra fat in his life. No, Gabriel has lived and breathed obesity: before using the methods described in his book he was over 400 lbs.
Not only that, but Gabriel had personally tried virtually every diet plan known to mankind with nothing more than temporary results. Eventually he always gained back what he lost and then some (I don’t know about you but I can relate to that!).
So, yeah, he’s a little familiar with what it’s like to deal with weight issues. It eventually occurred to him that his body wanted to be fat and it was pointless to try and fight it. Instead he went about to change what his body wanted, which led him to the many principles in the book and eventually to a stunning 220 lb weight loss (with no loose skin to boot!).
What The Gabriel Method book talks about…
- Weight loss is not about calories-in/calories-out. It’s about figuring out why your body wants to be fat.
- The FAT (Famine And Temperature) programs are the body’s natural mechanisms for dealing with stressors like cold or famine, a series of hormonal and biochemical responses that result in cravings, hunger, lethargy and fat storage.
- To quote from the book: “When you try to force yourself to lose weight while these programs are operating, you’re violating your body’s natural laws… When your body believes that it is safe to lose weight–or better, safer to be thin–your body will force you to lose weight. You will be working with your body’s natural laws instead of violating them. Weight loss will then become automatic, effortless and inevitable.”
- More quotes: “Let’s face it, if diets worked there’d be one diet (maybe two), everyone would go on it, everyone would lose weight, and that would be the end of it… If diets worked, the issue would be done. No one would be talking about it anymore. The reason everyone’s talking about it is because the very premise is flawed, and every approach founded on that same premise is, unfortunately, doomed to the same fate.”
- You can stop the FAT programs when you: stop dieting; nourish your body; and eliminate the mental and emotional causes of obesity.
- Gabriel puts a lot of emphasis on how stress turns on the FAT programs. The stress could be from the daily grind, lack of meaning in life or negative thought patterns, in addition to physical stressors like dieting, overtraining and toxins.
- Visualization (something like meditation) is a key in the book, meant to help you develop positive mental habits and to communicate with your body in the only language it knows: pictures.
- Don’t let your body starve. Feed it well, but don’t force a diet plan. Instead, work on adding the healthy stuff as you can, giving your body the nourishment it needs so it can finally stop craving the unhealthy stuff.
My Opinions on The Gabriel Method book…
I don’t go for everything in Gabriel’s book. Some of it sounds quirky and even downright kooky to my ears (like uncovering past lives, for instance, is just not my thing). So, yeah. There’s a few pages here and there you’d just want to skim over and take with a grain of salt.
But there’s some real gems in this book, so I still consider it well worth a read. One thing I like about the book is that Gabriel is keen on making suggestions–not rules. He says ultimately it’s about finding what works for you. This I can live with.
And there are plenty of suggestions in the book that I found to be genuinely helpful, so I think it would be pretty hard to walk away from this one without at least one or two really good ideas to apply in your life. If anything, you come away with a very different perspective about dieting and losing fat.
The Gabriel Method’s Diet Advice
Gabriel puts emphasis on three dietary gold mines that should be included in every meal: omega-3s, quality protein, and live foods. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this in my opinion, though I might alter it to: traditional fats and proteins, with fermented live foods on the side.
Put those in every meal and you’ll be getting somewhere.You could easily incorporate whatever eating plan that’s ideal for you with the principles of this book. The point is to include nutrient-dense foods with every meal, without trying to force yourself into a dogmatic diet plan. To me this is a huge key to eating well: don’t force someone else’s diet onto your life. Do what works for you.
I wouldn’t suggest anyone develop a nutrition plan based solely on this book, but then again that’s not what the point of the book is. The book is about turning off the FAT programs so your body wants to be thin. And in that case diet is only part of the picture.
The subject of enzymes, digestion and how well nutrients are assimilated is an important one in the book, and I have to say I agree whole heartedly. Traditional cultures always placed great importance on foods that aided digestion and assimilation of nutrients. It’s a must if you want to nourish your body. Otherwise you’re just starving yourself, even if you think you’re eating well.
Eliminating Toxins
Toxins are stored in fat. If our bodies are toxic, they will store more fat in order to store those toxins and keep them out of the bloodstream according to Gabriel. Gabriel talks about the toxins in our food–including additives and artificial sweeteners–as well as medications, vaccinations and radiation.
He doesn’t provide too much information about eliminating toxins besides eat organic and drink plenty of clean water, hence my investigation into how to detox this month. Reading The Gabriel Method is partly what got me interested enough in toxins to devote a whole month of blogging to it.
Positive Stresses?
According to Gabriel, negative stressors that make the body want to be fat, while positive stressors make the body want to be thin. A positive stress would be something like high intensity interval training (but again, not overtraining) or some activity that gives you a rush like rock climbing.
The theory here is that these short-term adrenaline rushes are a positive stress, but chronic stress is negative. I can agree with this on some level, but I think it’s easy for these so-called “positive” stresses to become chronic if you let them. Constantly seeking an adrenaline rush can put as much stress on the body as an aggravating work situation–it just feels a little better at the time.
What about the CDs?
Like I said above, I ordered the whole shabang so I got the book on audio, some recordings from Gabriel’s seminars, plus the visualization CDs and the SMART mode music (for visualization and meditation). Here’s the gist on those:
Audio seminars: I actually really enjoyed the seminars. The basic one was mostly information found in the book, but hearing it live made it a little more entertaining. The holistic seminar was totally interesting, too, but I think the seminar on kids and weight loss was the most telling (I wish I could give it to every parent I know!).
Visualization CDs: I liked the evening CD best (which you get to download for free with the book anyway). It’s really relaxing to listen to before bed, and yes, it puts me right to sleep. Whether or not it will magically help with weight loss, who knows? But since sleep is connected to weight anyway, it can’t hurt. The morning visualization and Living Goddess CDs are also decent, but I have to say I don’t use them much. It’s really overkill to try and get all the CDs. I would pick one or two and stick with those.
SMART mode music: I love this one. Yes, $19.98 is a ridiculous price for a CD but for this one it was worth it. Why? Not only does this put me to sleep, it puts my kids to sleep! I tend to find so-called “relaxation” music to be really annoying, so I’m quite surprised that I actually look forward to listening to this. And it’s rare that I make it through the whole 25-minute evening track without falling totally asleep. There’s also different tracks ranging from 5-20 minutes if you want to listen during the daytime for meditation or visualization, too. If you were going to get only one Gabriel Method CD, I would recommend this one.
In conclusion…
My conclusion is that if you’re reading diet books, researching eating plans and trying to lose some weight, you desperately need The Gabriel Method. I can’t tell you that this book will give you all the answers, but it will help you keep your health and your diet in perspective.
And there’s also some great lessons to be learned about enjoying your life and discovering what’s really holding you back. Although I myself don’t follow all of Gabriel’s suggestions, I have to admit that reading his book changed the way I look at my life, my health and my diet. And that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Briana says
I could totally see where this works. When I started eating the WAP way and stopped worrying about losing weight, it started magically falling off. I have already lost 25lbs in about 2 months. I have been eating butter, lard, tallow, and real cheese. I’m sure most of that is water weight, but it hasn’t come back. The number is continuing to fall, just not as fast now. I am going to make some more changes and start meditating to help cope with the day to day stressors. We’ll see what happens.
Elizabeth Walling says
I think there’s something to the meditating aspect. It doesn’t have to be all hokey-pokey either. The point is to slow down and take a break, to get focused and relaxed and stop the mind from bouncing around at a mile a minute. Throw some deep breathing in there and it really does melt away the stress!
Amy Love says
Fantastic! I bought the package today based on your review and my subsequent research. I think it will be fabulous to help me in assisting my clients. I have experienced this myself, losing 75 lbs without really trying, as a side effect of eating WAP style to rebuild health. It makes perfect sense, when you stop and think about it and get out of the modern mindset of “calories in, calories out” and “eat less, exercise more”.
Elizabeth Walling says
Yes, everyone gets so wrapped up in counting calories consumed and burned, but it’s a dead end for most people. There are so many other factors involved, and I think The Gabriel Method does a good job of addressing that, as well as the Schwarzbein books.
Crystal - Prenatal Coach says
Thanks for the detailed review Elizabeth. I’ve heard about this book from people in the NLP world but I haven’t yet had a chance to read it. I’m intrigued just a little bit more now 🙂
Lucia H says
How did he manage to lose so much weight without excess skin? Did he elaborate on this? I’m very interested in understanding this!
Donna says
He visualized not having excess skin. It took him 2 1/2 years to lose 220 lbs. He ate healthy and did not over exercise at all – just rode his bike he says. I believe him. He is a kind, honest person who wants to help people because he knows what it is really like to want to lose weight and not be able to. He has the keys to the kingdon as far as I am concerned
Norma says
I agree 100% with you Donna. Jon is a kind caring and honest man.
I feel fortunate because he moved from the US and lives in my country now and even though he lives on the west coast and I on the east coast of Australia, he visits my part of the country often and people I know that have been to his treats speak highly of him. He is a blessing to humanity.
I am currently do his programme and have been for 1 month. Know changes yet are visible but I feel great! I am not hungry throughout the day and my blood sugar has stablised. YIPPY for Jon Gabriel.
Marie G says
I actually got to meet Jon Gabriel and I can tell you that his weight loss came off slow enough that his body was able to adjust and not have excess skin. I went to a Gabriel Method retreat in New York and that was one of the questions someone had asked. Yes, we were all curious and he even lifted his shirt, it was pretty funny, but no scars from surgery or excess skin.
Florence says
Thanks for writing a review on this book. I am in the process of reading it and I appreciate your input.F