Review: The Gabriel Method
This is a book that I became interested in because, unlike other weight-loss advertisements, there were indications in the blurb that the guy knew a thing or two about the chemistry of the human body.
As with every single other diet or exercise book I have read, the advertising had a very "But wait, there's more!" late night television shopping vibe to it, but the science was new. I wasn't ready to fork over cash on the slight hope that this was the one book that both knew what it was talking about *and* that I could take seriously.
So I got it out of the library.
(I already felt a bit gleeful about that, on the grounds that if it was a scam, I was already ahead on points.)
There were forty other people ahead of me on the waiting list, which took a couple of months to work through.
Mr Gabriel is not a scientist, but has read a lot of science. He has also read a lot of claptrap and has no way of distinguishing the one from the other.
He spreads the science throughout, but for some reason feels the need to hide it under sales blarney. When he has references, he uses them, annotating the source so that you know why you are looking at it.
The book is written for easy access to the under educated, and to this end spends the first third of the book persuading you that you did the right thing giving this guy access to your wallet. As is the fashion for the health/diet industry at the moment, it does so in the aforementioned TV shopping voice of Billy Mays.
The second third of the book is set up to pander to budding New Agers who have not yet read widely enough to recognize simple meditation techniques when they see them. Way more annotated sources in this section, although only for throw-away comments. I was bemused by the suggestion that past-life regression might be a useful tool in weight loss, though Mr Gabriel was careful to say this was something to use if you couldn't think of any other reason you might feel safer being fat.
The last bit is where he starts in on What You Need To Do, and there is science all over the place. The voice changes to a more brass-tacks approach, which I appreciate greatly. He has rafts of quotes and references to support the suggestions he makes and makes a very clear what the purpose of each suggestion is. I have a problem with the fact that he sees no problem with coming out very strongly against Vaccines (no source) in the same way he slams water quality (three sources.)
This is followed by a handful of two-page testimonials, broken up by more Billy Mays advertising schpiel.
Overall, I like the way this book is heading. I really wish the author had chosen one voice to do it in, (preferably not Billy Mays,) and had consistently provided sources for everything, even if the author thought it was obvious common knowledge.
The parts he did have sources for were well thought out, easily accessible and easily applicable. So I will. The parts that were a little floppier I might try out later, but I don't have any reason to believe they will add to the slimming effect.
All in all, the book is useful enough I will actually buy a copy, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. If you can take the good and leave the bad, this might be a good book for you, but otherwise, you might just find it too frustrating and condecending to take seriously.
As with every single other diet or exercise book I have read, the advertising had a very "But wait, there's more!" late night television shopping vibe to it, but the science was new. I wasn't ready to fork over cash on the slight hope that this was the one book that both knew what it was talking about *and* that I could take seriously.
So I got it out of the library.
(I already felt a bit gleeful about that, on the grounds that if it was a scam, I was already ahead on points.)
There were forty other people ahead of me on the waiting list, which took a couple of months to work through.
Mr Gabriel is not a scientist, but has read a lot of science. He has also read a lot of claptrap and has no way of distinguishing the one from the other.
He spreads the science throughout, but for some reason feels the need to hide it under sales blarney. When he has references, he uses them, annotating the source so that you know why you are looking at it.
The book is written for easy access to the under educated, and to this end spends the first third of the book persuading you that you did the right thing giving this guy access to your wallet. As is the fashion for the health/diet industry at the moment, it does so in the aforementioned TV shopping voice of Billy Mays.
The second third of the book is set up to pander to budding New Agers who have not yet read widely enough to recognize simple meditation techniques when they see them. Way more annotated sources in this section, although only for throw-away comments. I was bemused by the suggestion that past-life regression might be a useful tool in weight loss, though Mr Gabriel was careful to say this was something to use if you couldn't think of any other reason you might feel safer being fat.
The last bit is where he starts in on What You Need To Do, and there is science all over the place. The voice changes to a more brass-tacks approach, which I appreciate greatly. He has rafts of quotes and references to support the suggestions he makes and makes a very clear what the purpose of each suggestion is. I have a problem with the fact that he sees no problem with coming out very strongly against Vaccines (no source) in the same way he slams water quality (three sources.)
This is followed by a handful of two-page testimonials, broken up by more Billy Mays advertising schpiel.
Overall, I like the way this book is heading. I really wish the author had chosen one voice to do it in, (preferably not Billy Mays,) and had consistently provided sources for everything, even if the author thought it was obvious common knowledge.
The parts he did have sources for were well thought out, easily accessible and easily applicable. So I will. The parts that were a little floppier I might try out later, but I don't have any reason to believe they will add to the slimming effect.
All in all, the book is useful enough I will actually buy a copy, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. If you can take the good and leave the bad, this might be a good book for you, but otherwise, you might just find it too frustrating and condecending to take seriously.