Testimonials
“I was a chronic dieter, eating disordered to the max, working out too much, eating too little, fluctuating weight, trying the same thing in every different variation possible and wondering what was wrong with me. Today I’m nearly 65 years old, my BMI is 22, my biggest “problem” is my clothes last forever because my size doesn’t change! One day someone called me “string bean” and I realized I was naturally thin!”
—Noel
“Without getting my hands on her books I would still be dieting, still be bingeing, still be on that viscous cycle we all know as feast-or-famine. Still be in food jail, and boy, does that eat up a lot of valuable time, when I could be living freely!”
—Swan
“I honestly already feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I know this is the only real solution. I am so happy to be free of counting calories and punishing myself for eating and being hungry.”
—Airie
“No, I wasn’t just “lucky,” but I was persistent. When I have a problem, I look for solutions and I don’t give up. NT hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew it was right because I’d worked in a diet center, and a gym, been in OA, read everything by Geneen Roth, and like that. It was such a relief to learn that my crazy eating had a biological basis, not an emotional one.”
—April
“…for me part of recovery has also meant learning to not be afraid of any food. Whether that food is whole grain bread or a fun sized candy bar. I didn’t eat ANY pleasure (dessert-type) foods and rarely any borderline (fried, presweetened) foods when I was gaining, plateauing or losing weight on Naturally Thin®. Now that I have lost the extra weight and maintained my weight I have started to eat some pleasure food. Most of the time when I have tried [these foods] I think, “This is what’s so great? Give me a banana and a granola bar!”
We live in an instant society. People want results now. They are too simplistic to realize that twenty years from now they will still be struggling with their eating and their weight will still be unstable. You will be naturally thin and enjoying life where the only time and effort you have to put into thinking about eating is to keep good food available at all times and to eat a wide variety of foods. You will be investing your energy into other more important things because you made the commitment to deal with you your eating/weight issue long before [in a sane and lasting way].”
— Bren
“I’ve been bulimic for over eight years. I’ve been to treatment twice, and in therapy full-time for a total of about six of the eight years. I figured that, in all, the treatment for my eating disorder has cost me $13,000, not counting what my insurance company paid. I have had no relief from this curse even with all this counseling.
I found out about the Naturally Thin® Program eight weeks ago today. I began to try to give my body more food more often at that time. I stopped going hungry completely by the second week or so. My last binge happened during that second week, and I purged then. I haven’t binged or purged since. Not once. Not once. Here’s my question: How do I get my money back?”
— Melanie N.
“I never lost control of my eating because I was so determined to lose weight, and when I’m determined, nothing can deter me. It’s my personality. I’ve never binged because I wouldn’t let myself, no matter how hungry I felt. No matter how little I did eat, I always figured I was eating enough. You get in this little world of your own and you can’t see anymore. Everybody’s a threat to your way of handling this—and you’re convinced in your soul that it’s not only the right way, it’s the only way.
Before Naturally Thin®, I used to perform (exercise, athletics) so I could eat. Now I eat to perform. I’ve learned that if I don’t do my part, my body can’t do well. So, I eat very often now—about every two hours. I figure I eat about 3,000 calories a day because I’m an athlete. It’s amazing the amount of food you can burn when you’re naturally thin.”
— Kelly T.
“Whereas I do cave in to a handful of chips or a cookie, it takes longer to get there, and then I’m done! It’s a limit: one cookie, or one small handful of Cheez Its. Those indulgences are a lot less than previously! How good will a handful of Cheez Its make me feel? Not good, so I think better of it! Does that make sense?
That’s what I had today, besides normal, healthy food from the Real Foods list. It’s an improvement, it’s a journey. I can see the progress. A year ago I would have finished the whole bag and had 2-3 cookies.”
— Louise
“My first glimmer of hope came about seven weeks into my new Naturally Thin® routine. I was out to dinner and half way through my meal, I suddenly couldn’t eat anymore of the delicious meal before me. I was so surprised that at first I thought I was getting sick. But then, when I realized I really didn’t want any more, I burst into tears, right there in the restaurant. I think the waiter thought someone had died. I just couldn’t contain the relief I felt—that my body could control my eating and actually stop me from eating more. The whole key for me was eating enough throughout the day, every day—something I never would have figured out in a million years! I still weigh less that I did most of the time [I was dieting], and now I can live and eat like a normal human being—I’m free!”
— Connie I.
“When I was on the Feast or Famine Cycle, my thoughts centered on food and my body almost all the time—nearly all my energy went into that. My main concern now is making sure I get enough good food, period. My weight is just right and stable. I feel a tremendous freedom that I never felt all those years of dieting and bingeing.”
— Patty M.
“Jean, you have helped me find the permission I needed to forgive myself for my disturbed eating habits, to love myself despite my former expectations and to have immense hope for a better life ahead of me. I wish you could see my heart right now. I feel it shines so much brighter because of the message you’ve brought. Thank you so much.”
— Meredith G.
“I had been dieting for 4 years and it caused me to gain 23 pounds. Then I got pregnant and found your book when I was 6 months along. I was amazed! It has been working for me ever since—down from 130 to 110 without dieting, over almost two years. I am not eating perfectly and I still weigh myself sometimes, but I always eat when I am hungry.
Thank you—this has meant a lot to me—to be happy—no more depressions—no more emotional eating.”
— Kamila L.
“I was an emotional overeater for years, gaining weight in spite of strenuous dieting. When I learned about Naturally Thin®, it made sense to me instantly. My whole life was geared to staying away from food, and when pain or stress came along, my willpower broke down under the load. I finally saw why I binged when I got upset. I needed to binge. I was starving.
Learning to eat wasn’t that easy for me. I was obsessed with dieting. But it was worth the effort. After two months, nothing made me want to binge anymore, and I had plenty of stress with three little boys. Even when my husband said he was leaving me for another woman, I tried to binge. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t overeat, so I just sat and cried and then I called my friend.
When problems came up after that, I just felt anxious, or sad, or mad, or worried. But I couldn’t binge. Gradually, I lost the extra weight I’d gained by starving myself—a bonus I wasn’t even counting on.
The thing that people need to understand about this program is this: When you get your eating straightened out, and stop starving yourself, much more than your diet is going to change. Your whole life changes in a way. I mean it. My entire life has changed because I finally learned to eat. I’m quite a different person. Ask anybody who knew me then and knows me now. I’ve changed.”
— Sally P.
“When I started Naturally Thin® I was a chocolate addict, self-diagnosed. I could not get through a day without it. When Jean said I would lose my cravings for chocolate when I learned to eat enough good food, I did not believe her. Maybe this could happen to other people, but not me.
Three weeks into following the Naturally Thin® principles, I noticed that I had not had chocolate for three days in a row. I actually forgot about it. I knew then that my body could change too, if I learned to take care of my hunger. I was hooked on Naturally Thin®.”
— Mary E.
“I wish I could have all those (dieting) years back. Isn’t it great that we understand and embrace Naturally Thin® though! No more starving and binging and obsessing and guilt and self-loathing…etc. For us that’s finally over.
I’m coming up on 5 years of doing Naturally Thin®. I’ve lost most of my weight over the past 3 years. Just a few more to go. I’ve found that even the weight loss (40 lbs. so far) isn’t enough to convince people about the Naturally Thin® approach.”
— TBR
“There have been times in the recent past when I was sure I was going to eat and eat and eat—;and then I didn’t. I’d had enough. And that was that. Simple. Wow.
I have been eating well for about a year and a half now. I spoke in a previous post about my diet boredom—I have a hard time deciding what to eat now because nothing sounds compelling. I realize that diet boredom means I don’t have cravings anymore. I continue to be amazed at the effects of eating well and regularly. I never thought this would happen to me.
Additionally, since the diet boredom has set in, I’ve begun to notice the difference in the quality of my hunger. I haven’t been able to quite articulate it adequately to myself yet, but it seems the fear and anxiety, which have always skulked around my eating, are dissipating. Like eating—is just eating. I never, ever, imagined I would feel this way. I can’t remember a time when I ever have.”
— Elizabeth
“I want to let you know the impact your work has had on my life. I read your first book several years ago, and…it was a keystone in my total recovery from many years of compulsive eating, bulimia, and chronic self-blame. I now celebrate 15 years of freedom, and, after graduating from Columbia University’s integrative nutrition program, I look forward to the opportunity to help others break free as well! I will most assuredly be giving you and your work lots of credit along the way. So…thank you, thank you, thank you!”
— Melissa M. C.
“I really want to thank you. I found your book my senior year of college and it truly saved my life. I have been following your [recommendations] for the past 10 years. I am 32 years old, I have 2 boys, ages 3 and 5. I come from a family where everyone is overweight. My family and friends all think I got “lucky” with the skinny gene.
I brought your book home 10 years ago and read it cover to cover and immediately started practicing. It did take some time, but eventually I figured it out. Not only did I lose the weight, but I gained my life back. Thank you.”
— Andrea O.
“My diet history began with TOPS and included diet pills (amphetamines), Weight Watchers, Overeaters Anonymous, and Overeaters Victorious, to name a few. I began Naturally Thin® living in 1993, when I was 50 years old. My last binge happened a week after I started Naturally Thin®. I was surprised that my appetite and relationship with food became normal within just a few months. I actually felt ‘naturally thin’ once my appetite normalized, even before I’d lost much weight. I dropped sizes slowly and erratically, leveling off during several crises in my life. I finally weighed myself at a size 10 and had lost 40 pounds, down from a snug size 16 to a 10. I was once miserably and hopelessly diet addicted, and now I really am naturally thin. You have to get right with food first, and the weight trouble gradually takes care of itself. You just can’t believe it until it happens to you and then it’s like getting your whole life back.”
— Liz B.
“I can personally attest that Naturally Thin® has given me my life back. Life still gives me lemons from time to time, but my eating problems are resolved. What a difference it has made on my outlook on life!”
—Swan
I can’t believe I haven’t posted on here since 2012! Where has the time gone?! I was thinking it’s about time I gave an update on my daughter “L”, who had been in a battle with anorexia, that is until we found Jean Antonello.
If you have read any of my previous posts, you will know how bad things were for “L” and how we were able to turn things right around, thanks to Jean Antonello and her amazing books. I am happy to tell you that “L” is doing extremely well. She eats freely, preferring organic healthy wholesome food, including desserts. I wrote in one of my previous posts, about how we bagged up all the size double zero – size 6 clothes associated with unhappy memories, but we held on to the size 8’s (UK size), just incase “L”‘s weight levelled off and she would be able to wear them again. “L” is maintaining a healthy size 8-10 and she has been able to wear these clothes again. “L” has learned to read her hunger signals and this is when she eats until she is comfortably full. On her journey to where she is now, she did have anxiety issues as she learned to trust the program. The early days were the most difficult, as her body learned to cope with food again. There were a few anxious weeks when she did gain quickly and significantly, however, as she was nourishing her body again, her thinking patterns also changed and she could think much more logically and clearly. She knew the rapid weight gain was temporary and it was important to keep reminding her of this. It was really just her body grabbing all the nourishment she was giving it, and holding onto it, just incase she decided to withhold food from it again. Her body also had to learn to trust her again, and once it did, then “L”‘s weight levelled off and has remained steady ever since.
During “L”s illness, she was passionate about the food industry and chose a career in a coffee chain, becoming an assistant manager and before that, a Team Leader. She left University to do this. Recently, she decided to leave her job to reconsider her career. She has also got a lovely boyfriend and the two of them are made for each other. She still lives at home which makes her Chocolate Labrador very happy.
Thank you again Jean for all the support and encouragement you gave us.
Hello Nurse Jean,
I just wanted to say thank you so much for writing the books, “Naturally Thin® by Eating More” and ” Breaking out of Food Jail”. These are like my Bibles 🙂
Here’s my story……..
I became an Anorexic many many years ago which began at age 14 and continued off and on until I completely stopped starving myself at age 27. I went through some serious binging and starving, losing control of my eating, and not understanding why and what was happening with my body. I stopped having periods for 2 years straight and thats what really scared me to do something about my problem.
I read an article on how to reset your metabolism in a magazine. It was written by Dr C. Wayne Callaway. This doctor saved my life. I went to his 3 day seminar that he was having in October of 1990 in Washington. I live in New York and wasted no time to get on a plane to visit with this doctor.
This wonderful doctor answered every question that I had for him and I had tons of questions. He explained why and what was happening with my body and gave me the tools that I needed to help me to get my body healthy again.
Now that being said..I was scared as I was going through the weight gain, the tight fitting clothes and eventually had to throw away the scale because I didn’t want to see what my weight was anymore. Even going through the fear of the weight gain and tight clothes, I was happy because my period returned and I was healthy again.
It wasn’t until I came across your wonderful books, that I was COMPLETELY convinced how a body works and why it goes through what it goes through when your body feels as though it’s starving.
Your book totally hit the nail on the head. Now mind you, I’m not taking anything away from Dr C. Wayne Callaway, he did help me tremendously, but your book explained in detail the why’s, the what’s, and the how’s which is exactly what I needed most. I needed to know why this was happening, how do I prevent it from happening again, what caused it to happen in the first place. I can’t tell you how many “aha moments” I had when I read your books.
Your book just makes so much sense. It really does. I must’ve read these books over a dozen times. I guess I just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything or forgot to highlight something.
When you’re an Anorexic, you’re not 100% cured. I say this because every time I would feel as though I’m having a fat day, I’m tempted to step on the scale but I don’t because that’s what started me on the path to becoming an anorexic in the first place.
You’re probably saying “Why on earth do you own a scale for?” It’s not mine, It’s my husband FITBIT Scale. Trust me, if I could fling it out the window I would.
Anyway, that being said, thank you so very much for writing these wonderful books. I’m so happy that you did. If there was one person that you helped more than you know, it was definitely me.
Thank you Debbie A-C