Jean-Michel Lecerf is Chief of Nutrition at the Institut Pasteur, in Lille, and a consultant in internal medicine at Lille’s Regional University Hospital Centre (CHRU). He is the author of numerous scientific articles and books on nutrition, diabetes, cholesterol and obesity.

The frenzy to consume has been transformed into a slimming craze whose alleged aim to check the onslaught of obesity. But should the fear of developing weight-related health problems justify following so-called ‘miracle diets’, which often result in failure? Should the goal of becoming thin make you blind to the health toll? Should you bow to the dictates of fashionable slimness, even if the secondary effects or the risk of gaining back more weight than you lost in the first place pose greater health risks than the original extra kilos?
Abstaining from polemics, the author explains why dead-end solutions should be avoided and why lists of do’s and don’ts are insufficient to guarantee weight loss.
What really matters, he urges, is feeling self-confident, listening to your body and respecting its needs. And the first step toward self-confidence, before any change can occur, is to stop feeling guilty about your weight and to abandon all preconceived ideas and diets. This book aims to help you achieve these goals.