‘Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight’ book review: A handy book to help you reevaluate your relationship with food

The title of the book is horrible. The cover design is equally crap. The paper quality feels weird. The font size irritated me when I riffled through the book. So why did I still pick it up? Of late, I have developed a thing for nutrition and diets. I want to understand food better and figure out what works best for my body. I don’t want to necessarily lose weight but I would like to feel agile and nourished. So, I have been reading random books and articles on the subject.

I had bought ‘Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight’ years ago—perhaps a couple of years after it was published. Diwekar came into limelight for helping Kareena Kapoor lose weight and prepare for her role in the Hindi movie ‘Tashan’. This was when she became a ‘size zero’ and everybody was talking about it. The book is endorsed by Kapoor who says Diwekar not just changed her body but also her mind and soul and that she is the best thing to have happened in her life.

If you want to find out how Kapoor, always a proud voluptuous Punjabi, lost so much weight then this book lets you in on those secrets as well. But there are also many other nuggets of wisdom in the book that will help you make positive choices while eating. The content of the book is not limited to what the title suggests. There is actually a lot of information that helps you make good lifestyle decisions. It also breaks many myths about diets, while opening your eyes to why starving yourself is never a good idea.

Diwekar shows you that you need to have a healthy relationship with food. A diet has to be a lifestyle choice rather than a fad and she gives great tips and tricks on how you can make small changes over time to incorporate healthy eating behaviors. What I liked about this book is that it also shows you how you can eat what you want to without becoming too indulgent or, worse, addicted to something. Unlike most diet books I’ve read, Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight isn’t preachy or too strict with the rules. Diwakar wants you to view food as your friend and not your enemy and that includes your favorite ‘mithai’ as well.

Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight

Rujuta Diwekar

Published: 2009

Publisher: Random House India

Pages: 279, Paperback