Description
Book SynopsisPsychologist, stand-up comedian, and best-selling author Dr. Brian King reveals the techniques he used to lose one hundred pounds, and provides guidance and humor to make your weight loss journey a healthy, sustainable, and even enjoyable one. Dr. Brian King studied neuroscience and psychology before touring the world as a stand-up comedian and public speaker. Yet despite giving life guidance to others, he was carrying an extra one hundred pounds, taking up too much space in airplane seats and keeping the opposite sex at bay. When Dr. Brian committed to change, he embraced his understanding of human behavior and mindsets to reframe his approach to a healthy lifestyle. Now having lost most of the weight, he uses his signature combination of humor and neuroscience to delve deep into mindfulness, stress, habits, willpower, diet, exercise, and much more to guide readers in losing weight and keeping it off. This highly anticipated follow-up to Dr. Brian’s renowned stress management guide, The Art of Taking It Easy, is equally destined to help readers worldwide live better, longer, more active lives—and make your skinny jeans your everyday ones. Dr. Brian's unique, encouraging guidance brims with colorful anecdotes, personal stories, and scientific evidence, and is complemented by wisdom from a wealth of other experts—in various health fields as well as comedy—who have also triumphed in their weight loss journeys. Whether you are looking to shed those final five, the COVID fifteen, or the weight of another adult, Of Bears and Weight Loss offers life-changing tips and instructions that will have you embracing change with humor and the power to finally see your goals through to completion. Inside you’ll find: - A comprehensive guide to developing the right mindset. - An understanding of how factors such as poor sleep or impulse control could be sabotaging your goals. - Guidance on how to know what diet and exercise program is right for you. - The motivation to change and instructions on how to sustain a healthy lifestyle. - Revelations on why diets fail and how to embrace sustainable change without going hungry or spending all night in the gym. - Support for balancing weight loss goals with busy lifestyles, work, parenting, and social commitments. - A wealth of humor, deep belly laughs, and scientifically-sound, evidence-based know-how.
Trade ReviewPraise for The Art of Taking It Easy:
“King's particular approach is original and refreshing. He combines a winning balance of accessible science, engaging stories, and comic relief to drive home a compelling message.” —Shelf Awareness
“Psychologist and comedian King (The Laughing Cure) explores the science behind stress in this witty, informed guide. The author uses a bevy of running jokes and punch lines to enliven technical explanations for how and why people experience stress. His metaphors of coming across a bear in the wild as well as being stuck in traffic are also used to great effect to explain a variety of stress responses, such as perceiving a threat and feelings of powerlessness. Reframing thoughts plays a large role in King’s advice: ‘Stress is simply a reaction to a perception of threat...being able to consciously redirect choices made by other areas of the brain is the key to living a less stressful existence.’ He also provides breathing exercises, plans for maintaining physical health, and useful advice for setting attainable goals. An interview with a former paratrooper and a harrowing story centered on his brother’s van breaking down while traveling provide particularly helpful examples of how one’s mindset can make all the difference in a highly stressful situation. King’s enjoyable guide to living with less stress will be of help to any anxious reader.” —Publishers Weekly
Table of ContentsPreface: Bonjour de Montréal Chapter 1 Three Books The Ship that Almost Passed Me In the Night Fat Tales: Bringing Sexy Back A Promise I Intend to Keep The Best Things About Losing One Hundred Pounds Chapter 2 Two Simple Methods Consulting the Expert: Bodybuilder Andrew Ginsburg Fat Tales: That Doctor Comedian Consulting the Expert: Chef Suzi Gerber Chapter 3 Studies of Eating and Screwing Consulting the Expert: Occupational Therapist Sarah Bollinger Two Pounds of Fat Fat Tales: Time to Bring the Doughnuts Sorry, But the Bear is Back Of Berries and Worms Stress Eating Over a Caterpillar Shark Mode Eating or Screwing? Chapter 4 The Eye-Opening Event The “Not-So-Secret” Secret Fat Tales: Popcorn for Breakfast Old Habits Die Hard Fat Tales: Time to Wear the Big Boy Pants The Worst Things About Losing One Hundred Pounds Chapter 5 Not That Kind of Bear Fat Tales: Eating Like Olympians Chapter 6 The Right Place at the Right Time Getting Those Last Few Steps In Speaking of Europe: German Comedian Thomas Nicolai Fat Tales: The Adventures of Daddy Pig Chapter 7 Check Out This Bunch of Losers Comedian Mark Schiff Lost Fifty Pounds After Some Inspiration from Jerry Seinfeld Comedian Steve Mittleman Lost Fifty Pounds and Has Kept Most of Them Off for Thirty-Seven Years Comedian AC Valiante Has Lost Fifty Pounds Since the Start of the Pandemic Writer and Comedian Jonelle Larouche Lost Thirty Pounds by Giving Up Alcohol Comedian Trevin Verduzco Has Lost Eighty-Five Pounds with the Help of a Weight Loss Clinic Comedian Mark Evans Lost One Hundred Pounds Thanks to Intermittent Fasting Comedian Kieran Atkins Lost Forty-Five Pounds by Overcoming Impulsive Behavior Comedian Jennifer Anderson Lost Eighty Pounds by Kickboxing! Comedian Erik Escobar Lost Over One Hundred Pounds Because He Had a Toothache Comedian Dave DeLuca Lost 110 Pounds by Walking Throughout New York City Comedian ANT Lost Almost Seventy Pounds After Trying Nearly Everything A Few Words About Medication Nashville Hot Chicken Restaurateur Austin Smith Lost Over One Hundred Pounds and Still Eats His Own Food Sometimes It’s Really Good To Talk To Others Fat Tales: Just Call Me Papa Button Chapter 8 My Boots Were Made For Walking Fat Tales: A Father and Son Thing Chapter 9 Sarah’s Struggle Fat Tales: The Day After Thanksgiving Chapter 10 Au Revoir de Montréal Epilogue Acknowledgments
