Think Like a Skinny Person

Building Better Health Through Unconventional Knowledge

By: James Livingood

Narrated by: Rebecca Roberts

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

I asked my skinny friends how they viewed food and exercise. Their tips helped me lose 75 pounds. I now want to share those tips with everyone.

©2015 James Livingood (P)2015 James Livingood

Great!

Helpful and practical advice on living a healthier lifestyle! Very informative and great narration!



I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it

Was curious

This title sounded interesting. And, it was interesting to see from the authors perspective. I found some parts more engaging or relatable than others. But, that makes sense, as we are all different. Overall, an interesting listen.

A short but interesting book of weight loss tips

THINK LIKE A SKINNY PERSON: Building Better Health Through Unconventional Knowledge

Author: James Livingood

Type of Book: Audiobook - Unabridged

Narrator: Rebecca Roberts

Length: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Genre: Non-Fiction, Health, Self-Help

Release Date: March 12, 2015

Publisher: Long Tail Publishing

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

* I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn to this audiobook for a couple reasons. The first reason was it's length. At just over an hour I was willing to listen. It's only an hour. I decided that even if the book was terrible I would only have wasted an hour. (Fortunately I actually really enjoyed this book, so length did not end up being a factor after all.) The second reason I wanted to listen to this audiobook was that it was written by a normal person and not a so-called "expert". The author lets the reader know immediately that he has no formal education in nutrition or weight loss. This book is just his way of sharing what has worked for him.

James Livingood decided to ask his "skinny" friends for advice and this book is the culmination of the tips and tricks and ideas that he received from them.

Normally I am not a fan of self-help books, I find that they come across as preachy and most often the advice is just plain ridiculous. THINK LIKE A SKINNY PERSON is NOT like that. Nowhere in the book does the author come across as if he is preaching and he does not claim to be the Dali-Lama of weight loss.

"The first part of this book is not about giving you a bunch of advice. Instead we will take a moment to look into the mirror."

This approach actually makes sense. Yes! I said it. A weight loss book that makes sense! Wow!

Most of the advice and tips provided in this book are common sense. However, common sense is not very common anymore. Even people who are already aware of ideas in this book can use a reminder.

There is mention in the introduction of the inclusion of cartoons and pictures in the book. Obviously this is missing in the audiobook version, but that did not make this book any less enjoyable.

The narrator does a great job and provides a clear delivery of the concepts in this book.

I rate this book as 4 out of 5 stars.

Great tips to stay healthy!

I really enjoyed this book. It's not too long or complicated. It's just a bunch of very good pointers to help you stay healthy that make sense that people (including me) often forget about. For example, get more sleep. You hear that all the time, but I didn't realize that this would reset not only my brain, but my digestive system too.

The narration was excellent. I can't imagine that it could have been read any better, or with more enthusiasm and variation in voice. In short, she kept my interest and eager for the next chapter.

short but helpful

A few things I have heard before, as I've read tons of diet books, but there were some new things I hadn't learned before.

Waste of time

The only thing intriguing about this book is the title. There is no research, few facts, no revelations. Just a whole lot of assumptions, stereotypes and what appears to be the author’s opinions on why people eat, and too-simple, “duh” advice. Way too often he refers to “skinny people” as if they were all exactly the same, a monotonous, identical bunch. He spends a whole chapter on depression eating when he has no authority to discuss the matter, and a whole chapter on how important sleep is. The best part was the sample they let you listen to for free. Don’t bother with this book.

Same old don't waste your money

At the very end, for about 2 minutes, it talked about relationship with food. That was the most unique information. Everything else is stuff we've heard for decades. Waste of time/money.

Didn't love this one...

Think Like A Skinny Person – This book is so-so if you’re looking for a quick and dirty introduction to the combined topics of weight loss and fitness and you don’t have more than an hour and half to dedicate to the endeavor. However, for long term success and a deeper, more meaningful understanding, you should probably look elsewhere. While the author is a decent writer this is a slippery slope he’s opted to travel on – he is hitting on some really serious health topics with an extremely brief (and often poorly worded) bullet point approach. For example (I’m paraphrasing here): “skinny people know that going to bed earlier can help them skip dinner (and eliminate those extra calories)”…I’m assuming this statement is simply the result of poor wording, but, the author is treading on very thin ice by suggesting that skipping meals is a good approach to “becoming skinny”. Skipping meals lowers metabolism and tricks your body into thinking that it is starving…next time you eat a cracker your body will treat that small morsel as it would a full Thanksgiving dinner. In my opinion (as a medical doctor (w/ a bachelor’s of science in exercise physiology & kinesiology)) a diet/exercise/fitness guidebook should never come even remotely close to suggesting that a meal should be skipped. In summary, the book is fast paced and makes quick work of introducing the reader to this vast subject matter and in that regard the author shows his writing chops. The narrator is very professional and makes the book sound a bit more official/grounded in fact than it probably should. I would like to thank the author, the narrator, and audiobook boom for my complimentary copy of this book. I have written this fair and unbiased review of my own accord.

Aha! So that's why my belt is shrinking!

The Contents
I was fully expecting this audio book to be filled with fluff and personal claims of this or that and guaranteed miracle results and physical perfection. Instead, I found it to be packed with actual real-world examples of identifiable yet probably unrecognized habits and behaviors that lead to weight gain and unhealthy lifestyles. I would guess 98% of the population of the industrialized world would discover at least a few of the solutions discussed by the author to be transformative in their lives if they were to implement them. I'll venture a guess that you will as well.

The Narration
The importance of a great narrator in an audio books is huge for me. I have experienced other audio books that I could not get into and couldn't wait to finish because of the deficiencies of the narrator. I wasn't expecting much in this short volume in that regard either. Wow was I wrong! Immediately, the silky smooth voice of Rebecca Roberts put a relieved smile on my face! There were no annoying inflections that colored the authors words, no hisses or other technical problems in the recording, no changes in pitch, volume, or intonation from one take to the next. THANK YOU!

Finally, I will state that I was given this book for free in exchange for this unbiased and honest review. I don't often rate a book or narration so high, but this one deserved it.

Disappointing

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The organisation of this book was pretty good, but the information itself was pretty lacklustre and unhelpful. He doesn’t cite sources, which is rather irritating because this book becomes pretty preachy early on, but the author isn’t an expert on dieting, weight loss or even a medical professional.

It veered off from talking about the author’s personal story and experience, and instead mostly consisted of random facts and opinions regarding health, stress and gym equipment, which was a real disappointment.

It also doesn’t actually tell you what the skinny person’s tips actually are.