Women, Food, and Desire

October 6, 2014
Holistic nutrition coach Jamieson (Vegan Cooking for Dummies) shares a healthy and healing approach to eating well and listening to the body and heart’s true desires. For women in particular, this involves replacing feelings of “shame, guilt, and discomfort” surrounding food and learning to “dismantle the negative monologue” about body image. Refreshingly, Jamieson denounces typical dieting and abnegation, calling them “too restrictive” and “unsustainable,” and going so far as to state that “sometimes it’s OK to just eat the chocolate.” Instead, she advises making eating an intuitive process and using a hunger-monitoring scale to decide when and how much to consume. The feminist perspective and focus on self-care, as well as Jamieson’s honesty about her own struggles, create a compelling authenticity. This is balanced with information on the neuroscience of cravings, how to break eating habits ingrained since childhood, and smart tactics for food shopping. She offers a version of the familiar elimination diet that involves cutting out six “toxic” ingredients, one at a time, to better judge how each may be affecting you. Other topics include cultivating a fulfilling sex life rather than using food to satisfy desires, getting adequate rest, and taking a pleasure-seeking rather than punitive approach to fitness. Far from another faddish diet guru, Jamieson guides readers into revolutionizing their entire relationship with food and their bodies. Agent: Wendy Sherman, Wendy Sherman and Associates.

October 15, 2014

The latest diet strategy has been to eat "mindfully"--that is, to think about each bite you take, to stop reaching into the box of popcorn automatically. Jamieson, costar of the well-respected documentary Super Size Me (2004), takes this concept to every area of life. She recommends examining cravings, whether for food or for sex, for shopping or texting. Her theory is that we can identify the underlying causes: we use these crutches to minimize our pain. By identifying our motivations, we can negate the cravings. This approach may well be effective, however, Jamieson is somewhat vague on how to go about uncovering our true problems. She believes in detoxing the body, not with purgatives but by giving up--serially--sugar, caffeine, dairy, gluten, corn, and soy. These tend to be found in highly processed foods and are believed to cause inflammation, which leads us to crave more. She argues that once these elements are removed from our diet, our thinking becomes clearer, and we're better equipped to conquer the urges. Mindfulness in all things is the author's mantra: if you truly listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs. VERDICT Jamieson's provocative thesis will probably be popular with the self-help crowd.--Susan B. Hagloch, formerly with Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH

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