Stop It! [Hardcover] Review

Carole Lewis chose too narrow a title for her book when she christened it Stop It! Yes, it does offer a lot of good advice on how to control one's appetite, but not just for food; she also talks about other unhealthy appetites, such as pornography, excessive spending, overly emotional behavior, and alcoholism.

Based on a Bob Newhart comedy routine in which he, as a psychiatrist, has only one piece of advice for people who come to him for counseling ("Stop it! Stop doing bad behavior!"), this book is actually that blunt, that simple...and that logical. Lewis says that wishing for changes is silly. One must face the fact that change requires commitment, discipline, goal setting, and confidence. She advises her readers to recite the mantra of "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it some more!" every time they are prone to revert to negative behaviors. They must fight and resist bad habits by forming new behavior patterns. It won't come overnight, but it will come for those who work at it consistently.

Her chapters titles sound like motivational poster sayings, such as "Stop Surviving, Start Thriving" and "Stop Relapsing, Start Resisting." Nevertheless, each chapter offers two important elements for people trying to curb destructive actions: first, there usually is a story or anecdote about someone who was facing a problem, was brought low by it, but then learned how to break free of the bondage of that poor behavior; and second, there are specific actions steps and pieces of advice the reader can follow as a way of learning to control his or her own poor behavior. The chapters share stories of people in the Bible who made poor life decisions, such as King David, and what the negative results were. There are also insights shared by addiction counselors dealing with people facing 21st century challenges.

Carole Lewis is national director of First Place, a weight-loss organization, and her book does not hesitate from time to time to relate stories tied to that business or to give a promotional plug to some of its teachers and directors. I suppose that comes with the territory. But if you don't mind an occasional imbedded commercial, this book really does provide pragmatic, functional advice to Christians and non-Christians who are trying to cope with health issues, emotional traumas, or spiritual matters. -- Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com

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Product Description:
Life is filled with examples in which bad habits must be stopped in order for good to prevail. Weight loss is no exception to this rule. Embracing bad habits prevents God from providing us with what we need to move ahead in victory. Stop It! will help readers desiring to lose weight identify and learn how to stop negative behaviors and start behaviors that lead to weight loss. Join the national director of First Place as she shares how to stop procrastinating and start a weight-loss program now, and how to stop running from God and start running to Him.

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