Arroll Meg - The shrinkology solution: discover your eating type, lose weight and keep it off - for life

Publishing Director Sarah Lavelle

Commissioning Editor Susannah Otter

Designer Jim Smith

Cover Design David Eldridge

Production Director Vincent Smith

Production Controller Tom Moore

Published in 2018 by Quadrille,

an imprint of Hardie Grant Publishing

Quadrille

5254 Southwark Street

London SE1 1UN

quadrille.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders. The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record

for this book is available from the British Library.

Text Dr Meg Arroll and Louise Atkinson 2018

Design Quadrille 2018

eISBN 9781787132610

The information contained in this book is for educational purposes only. It is the result of the study and experience of the authors. Whilst the information and advice offered are believed to be true and accurate at the time of going to press, neither the authors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may have been made of for any adverse effects which may occur as a result of following the recommendations given herein. Always consult a qualified medical practitioner if you have any concerns regarding your health.

Meg

For my amazing Ma, who somehow kept all the plates spinning whilst being totally relaxed about food with us girls. You are now, and will always be, my inspiration.

Louise

For my beautiful mum Tricia, who was never as fat as she feared, but from whom I learned everything about mothering and cooking and quite a bit about dieting.

Contents

When we were introduced to each other at a pre-Christmas party at the end of 2016, we quickly established a mutual interest in the psychology of dieting. Louise had long harboured a fantasy to write the diet book to end all diet books: the definitive, easy and effective, no hunger or hardship route to effortless slenderness. But having read and written about diets for decades, and having seen her own weight yo-yo as she diligently tried them all, she had become convinced there was no such thing as the perfect diet plan.

Something became clear. The issue rarely lies with the diet it lies with the dieter.

Together, we talked about the extent to which the success of any weight-loss programme must inevitably depend on the complicated mix of factors which combine to create an individuals pattern of eating behaviour, personality and circumstance.

It was like a serendipitous meeting of minds Meg had a fascinatingly insightful, robust and research-based answer to every question Louise fired at her. It became clear that any attempts at weight loss might work in the short term (as so many diets will) but are destined to fail unless you have your head in the right place, you address any possible issues that might subconsciously be affecting your eating behaviour, you pick a diet plan that fits your personality, lifestyle and circumstances and, crucially, which works so seamlessly as part of your life that you are able to incorporate elements into your eating long term and maintain a happy, healthy weight forever.

And so Shrinkology was born as an insightful way to understand what we called the psychology of slim. If you want to shrink (lose weight, tighten up, get healthy) you need to start thinking like a shrink.

While any diet might restrict your calorie intake, it will rarely change your relationship with food or deal with the underlying psychological reasons that entice you to overeat, or break your resolve. We are convinced that Shrinkology is the key to ensuring you pick the right diet, stick at it more effectively, lose weight and actually keep it off. It is the missing extra layer in the dieting process, the expert and essential filter between I really want to lose weight and this is the diet for me.

Whether you have always struggled with your weight or you are concerned about the eating habits of a partner, child, parent or friend, Shrinkology will empower you with psychological insight.

We are convinced that the Shrinkology solution also adds an important new voice to the obesity debate, and we hope it will help medics understand the complex psychological processes that contribute to the escalating obesity problem, helping to support patients on their weight-loss journey.

Thirty million Brits attempt to lose weight every year. The vast majority fail less than five per cent of those who go on a diet will keep the weight off. The rest of us want to know why and what we can do about it.

We believe Shrinkology holds the key.

We have put blood, sweat and tears into every word on every page of this book, so, not surprisingly, we want you to read it all. You will certainly get the most from the Shrinkology message if you start at the beginning and read steadily through to the end.

Between us, we know a bit about psychology and the slimming mentality, and so we know that theres a pretty strong chance you will want to find your very own quick-fix Shrinkology solution. By all means take the quiz (see ) to find which of the 6 Shrinkology types applies to you, gaining insight into the deep-seated principles that subconsciously guide your behaviour when it comes to food, then turn straight to your type chapter. There youll find specifically tailored behavioural and dietary advice to suit the nuances of your eating personality, plus tailored exercise and activity recommendations to enhance your personalised plan.

This will mean that youll be able to hit the ground running straight away but you do risk missing out on the fundamentals which underpin everything youll learn. When you have a quiet moment we would urge you to got through the rest of the book.

Part 1 lays out the Shrinkology Scenario and the shocking plethora of factors conspiring to encourage us all to gain weight. There is reassurance in the research, which shows how resilient you can be given the right guidance in the face of this onslaught.

) to discover your type and spend a little time cherry picking from the Shrinkology Fundamentals chapter, which will provide a properly strong foundation to what we confidently hope will be your serious, long-term weight-loss journey.

Part 3 dedicates one chapter to each Shrinkology type. Although you are most likely to fall firmly into one of the six categories, there will be aspects of your lifestyle and personality that involve influences from the others. It is certainly worth reading through the chapters for Shrinkology types other than your own. You will find great hacks and tips that will work for you and fantastic snippets of advice you might want to pass on to others.

Part 4 explains how your Shrinkology type can evolve and change as you go through life.

If you enjoy this book and find it as useful as we hope you will, please spread the word. Tell everyone you can about your Shrinkology success and urge the important people in your life to follow their own Shrinkology journey. Check out our website www.shrinkology.co.uk for more insight and advice, constantly updated expert verdicts and type-specific recommendations on the latest popular diet plans as they appear. Please follow us on Twitter @shrinksolution and Instagram @shrinkologysolution and become part of the happy, healthy Shrinktastic community worldwide.

Weightloss is a totally personal journey. Whether you want to drop a few pounds so your summer swimsuit still flatters, or you are on doctors orders to drastically change your body shape; whether you are confounded by the slow creep of a steadily expanding waistline or the fact that your favourite fall-back diet plan is now suddenly failing you; whether youre terrified of feeling hungry or missing out on the delicious food you love everyone is different.