Everyday Systems

I've been lurking for quite a while so I thought I'd join the discussion if I could add something worthwhile. I've been following the No S since this fall and at this point it's as automatic as getting dressed in the morning. If you can make it through a month, I'm convinced you can make it part of your life.

Anyway, I read a book review in today's Wall St. Journal on "The Gospel of Food" and thought the group here would find it interesting. I don't have the online version of the review, so I copied a review from Amazon.

Ray

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In his latest debunking project (after The Culture of Fear), sociologist Glassner argues that "everything you think you know about food is wrong." And Glassner really does take on almost everything, from Atkins to vegans, with particularly hard jabs at those who, in the name of nutrition, take the fun out of food. This includes some well-known food writers, the manufacturers of "fat-free" foods, as well as "natural" and "organic" offerings—but surprisingly, he stands up for irradiated "Frankenfoods" and for some processed fast food. Later, he tackles the American obesity "epidemic." Here, too, he finds conventional wisdom more mythic than real, with so much conflicting evidence (the book is formidably researched and footnoted) that he finds himself wondering if obesity really matters and concludes that it probably doesn't, much. Only two conventional bits of wisdom survive Glassner's skeptical approach: the rich really are thinner than the poor, and four-star restaurant cooking really is delicious. Glassner's myth-busting information is useful, but at times he takes jabs in too many directions, losing narrative focus. (Jan. 2)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Welcome, Ray! And thanks for the review. Good "diet" books are a rare breed. I'm currently reading Mindless Eating, which is also actually pretty good (the author did lots of experiments which are very relevant for no-s, like how much more people who refill their plates eat compared to those who know they can fill up just once). I'll take a look at the Gospel of Food.

I'm very happy no-s has become so automatic for you. Thanks for de-lurking and letting us know.

Reinhard

Thanks for the welcome Reinhard. I read an overview of Mindless Eating at Clarence Bass's site. Interesting, but not too surprising just how much people eat while giving it no thought.

I really enjoy the site here and dialogue.

Ray

Hi there - I'm reading Mindless Eating as well. You can join a Cornell study on the website, if you're interested and you check off "meal stuffing" as your number one goal to curb (it could be for the other issues as well).

http://www.mindlesseating.org/challenge.htm

What's meal stuffing?

I take "meal stuffing" to be just mindlessly stuffing your face with whatever comes within reach. I do it regularly - Get home from work, tired, famished, and just stand at the cooking island and stuff my mouth with whatever happens to be available. If carby, crunchy, and salty, all the better. No-S is really helping me get this under control - especially now that I've launched a check-in page. Wouldn't want to have to actually list that stuff - very unattractive!