Habits Not Diets

Over 100,000 copies sold

James M. Ferguson, M.D.,
Cassandra Ferguson

As fad diets come and go and frustration over regaining lost weight continues, people will increasingly turn to behavior modification-based programs like this.

When the first edition of Habits Not Diets appeared in 1976, Dr. James Ferguson's step-by-step program for lifetime weight control was way ahead of its time. Americans spend over $30 billion a year trying to lose weight, and ironically the trend America is facing is higher rates of obesity in every age group, including children. Dr. Ferguson's easy-to-follow weight-loss workbook shows people how to focus on behavior change, emphasizing how to eat rather than what to eat. The Fourth edition also deals with the vast array of new drugs on the market and what's good and bad about them.

Step by step the authors show how to:

• Keep a Food Diary
• Take a more active approach to daily life
• Differentiate between psychological and physiological hunger
• Identify the thoughts and feelings that trigger the desire for food
• Reduce reflex response to external food stimuli
• Maintain weight loss through self-observation

Rave Reviews

"As good a book as you're likely to discover on the subject…Inspiring." —Cosmopolitan

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Habit Awareness
Chapter 2 - Home Decalorization
Chapter 3 - Cue Elimination
Chapter 4 - Being Active
Chapter 5 - Fitness Versus Fatness
Chapter 6 - Maintenance: Keys for Survival
Chapter 7 - Behavior Chains
Chapter 8 - Eating—Changing Your Style
Chapter 9 - Planning: Heading Off the Urges
Chapter 10 - Cue Elimination (Part Two): Switching More Signals
Chapter 11 - Time to Eat Out: How to Do It
Chapter 12 - Maintenance Week
Chapter 13 - How We Think Is How We Eat
Chapter 14 - Dealing with Feelings
Chapter 15 - Stress: Excess Pressure
Chapter 16 - Couples
Chapter 17 - Problem Solving
Chapter 18 - Maintenance Week
Chapter 19 - Living and Personal Goals
Chapter 20 - Snacks, Cues, and Holidays
Chapter 21 - The End and Beginning

Authors

James M. Ferguson, M.D., is a nationally prominent clinical psychiatrist specializing in weight control and the treatment of eating disorders.

Cassandra Ferguson, his daughter, is currently in research at the University of California, San Diego.