I’ve been a member of WeightWatchers (now known as WW) off and on for longer than I want to realize, so I was looking forward to reading The Shift by Gary Foster, PhD. With any book about weight loss, I always want to know about the author — who they are and whether they have any significant credentials. Dr. Foster is not only the Chief Scientific Officer for WW, he is also Adjunct Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry (whatever that means) at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley, I received a copy of his book The Shift in exchange for this honest review. 

Subtitled “7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss,” this clearly written and practical book may surprise anyone who remembers the OLD Weight Watchers, in which there was a huge emphasis on the number on the scale. Thankfully, there has been a lot of progress in focusing on attitude, mindset, and thought processes. There are (unsurprisingly) seven mindset shifts outlined, including resting oneself with compassion, relaxing into gratitude, focusing on thinking instead of the scale, appreciating small steps (and non-scale victories, such as awareness of behavior patterns, rewards, and support from others. 

There is a lot of scientific information and CBT (cognitive behavior therapy), plus anecdotes from actual WW members. As I said, it is practical and definitely not boring, as too many weight loss books tend to be. Four stars.