Think Yourself Thin

If you tell yourself that you "burn all food as energy," you can go straight to the chocolate cake and enjoy, because you're subconscious mind (which controls things like metabolic rate) will simply spontaneously combust those calories that would ordinarily turn to fat and buy a one-way ticket directly to your butt. That's Debbie Johnson's message, and although the science, psychology, logic, and theology (the soul plays a part in this) doesn't begin to pass muster, people do, of course, still pay to attend upbeat seminars such as Johnson's, filmed here with interwoven commentary by Johnson ("get my book"). While I (and about a million doctors) am a firm believer in the mind-body connection, some things just don't make a lot of sense. Visualizing a quarter-pound loss every day while dining on cherry cheesecake is one of them. Motivational courses are wonderful--but there has to be a solid base at the bottom of the hype. This won't thin your thighs, it'll trim your budget. Not recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)