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Editor’s note: This is Article 7 in the new Meridian series, “The Half-Diet” wherein Richard Eyre lays out the basics of the most simple and logical method of losing weight and keeping it off. New installments in the series run every Wednesday. Most of the concepts are taken from Richard’s latest book THE HALF DIET DIET. Meridian readers who comment on all articles in this series will be put into a drawing for free copies of the book when the series concludes. Readers may still comment on articles 1 through 7.

Let’s take a brief pause this week from continuing to list the elements and aspects of the Half Diet and look back at some of the comments that came in when the diet was first explained in Meridian Magazine several years ago under the pen name of “Dr. Bridell.” As I read through them the other day, it occurred to me that several of them shed light on how the diet works (and on how you can make the diet work). So here is a sampling: (We have substituted initials for full names.)

“Dear Dr. Bridell, I know you get lots of letters of gratitude for helping people lose weight. I want to thank you for something else. Thanks for teaching me how to enjoy food. Eating is now a delight, even though (or perhaps because) I eat only half as much as I used to. And guess what? You are right about food being a metaphor, because in learning how to enjoy eating, I have learned how to enjoy life!” — RM

“A life-changing approach to weight loss.” —MS

I love the insights about the spiritual aspects of our relationship to food. LJ

All of your concepts just ring TRUE. KS

After looking at and trying nearly every diet out there, your whole
program has made total sense to both my husband and I. I have lost 20
lbs. with more to go and he has lost 50, not gained any back and has
more to go. Thank you very much for your timely and inspirational
series. We’re really looking forward to the book. I am looking forward
to sharing it with our children! EE

Your weekly articles have been such a great help to me. I have lost 33 lbs. by putting into action all of your suggestions. CM

I know this “diet” works! It’s totally in harmony with the spiritual truth. So how can it not work! JH

I’ve truly enjoyed your columns and especially appreciate how the three parts dovetail. (the physical, mental, and spiritual). I didn’t need to lose weight but the slowing down and
appreciating all aspects of my life have helped me be”more at peace” with myself. LH

I have already enjoyed sharing the concepts and incorporating them. It has been a spiritual journey. VH

I found hope on both the physical and spiritual level. I am so grateful for this book. It has given me the only hope I have felt in years of dieting. FB

I loved it all, but especially the second half of the book…on the spiritual appetites. FG

It is definitely more than a food issue for me. I like the spiritual approach to focus on life management. LM

I have used the ideas and suggestions to help my friend lose 68 pounds. RH

Deeply insightful and thought provoking. HD

When I first started, “eat half” was a challenge. After all, if I was eatinga dozen chocolate chip cookies a day then would I lose weight if I only ate6? But when I stopped snacking, and truly cut down my portion sizes, the light bulb went on. I’ve lost 30 pounds. TK

I’ve been working and working for years to get this weight off that came on during years of infertility treatments, and with the Bridell, it’s finally working. SA

I absolutely swear by the eat-half diet and I loved the spiritual advice too. KS

From the beginning, I have felt that this is the answer for me because I had come to the realization that my weight issue and my spiritual progress are tied together. MM

The connection between the physical and the spiritual is the best part of Dr. Bridell’s plan!! PH

The words and concepts, and most of all the “spirit” of the whole diet resonates with me…with my soul. DM

Your ideas are so different from the usual run-of-the-mill diet as you use Spiritual Principles. I think this is the only way we can really achieve anything of value. JG

Your diet has given me thoughtful reflection on a lot of habits or attitudes I did not even know I had…has made me more aware of choices in a lot of different areas. KP

As I read, your diet feels like revelation. PW

It has been so refreshing to see a common sense and reasonable way to handle weight problems. I am grateful as one of those who are fed up with the usual “diet” fads and have appreciated your wonderful ideas. They have worked miracles in my life. CW

This has been a great journey for me. I have been amazed at the way that I have been taught the Gospel through this diet, which has addressed the Spirit as well as the body. LS

I began reading it because I was interested in losing weight, but my motivation became much deeper as the weeks went by. DC

Enlightening, thought provoking and enjoyable. SB

This stuff is amazing! ER

The half plate idea (especially when eating out) has help me control my portions. I try using a smaller plate at home and listening to what my body is saying. JF

What worked for me: eating half portions, slowly, with a glass of water beforehand. Being thankful, savoring the food, and relating it what I can to the spiritual self as well. The idea is great. BE

I have seen a change in my physical body but really the best change is in my spiritual body. Thank you, thank you. I have learned so much and been so motivated by this wonderful adventure KB

Fun, down to earth and easy to understand and implement. CB

Dr. Bridell, My husband lost 36 pounds in 6 weeks using your diet. When he went to see his doctor he told him he needed to reweigh him because the nurse must not have gotten the weight right. He couldn’t believe the scale was accurate and wanted to know how he was able to lose the weight. We gave the doctor your web address and I know of at least 5 people he has given it to. He says he will give it to all of his overweight patients. As for ourselves, everyone wants to know how my husband has lost all this weight. We have given this out to many people. JG

Thank you Dr. Bridell for your really different way of looking at weight maintenance. It’s ahead of its time in melding the physical and spiritual. DW

It’s the first diet that has been articulated to what I have always believeda diet should be. Yes it works because it encompasses the total person and not just the physical side of dieting. BN

Whenever I realize that I am in “gulp & guzzle” mode, I stop, and downshift into sip and savor mode. Tying your principles into the mental and spiritual elements of life make this diet easier to stick with. SS

It’s common sense, and I like that it involves spiritual principles that will help me with the problems behind my over-eating. RB

As a physician, I say thanks for your work and insight. I agree with you concepts and fundamental ideas. LS

My friends and I are starting a support group based on the principles of Bridell. KS

I gave the Bridell diet to my friend and it was the beginning of a whole new person in her. LW

I am enthused with your ideas! And it only makes sense that our eating experiences would be multi-faceted, since we are made up body and spirit. NS

As a compulsive eater I’ve found that using a 12 step program in concert with your plan has blessed me very much, I have used your “diet” as my food plan and to define my abstinence and it has greatly blessed my life. AP

I have read a lot of diet and self-help books through the years, and yours is by far the very
best. The advice is so simple yet so profound, and I love your writing style. It is very straight forward and to-the-point, not “wordy” as somany advice books are. JR

Simple comment: I love the way your diet works. MM

I was not really overweight, but as I blended principles from the ‘eat half’ diet into my personal eating habits I gradually lost over 10 pounds and have maintained my weight at a lower level. MZ

I love the new way I have of thinking about food and life. It is amazing how bridling even the passion of food helps me to be more aware and contemplative of the things around me. HC

I have noticed that you are right about mybody (when intake is limited to half) craving good food to get the nutrition it needs. I have studied nutrition for years and I know all about what not to eat, but learning what TO eat has been a challenge. This eat half concept has really motivated me to dig into my huge healthy recipe collection and start learning how to feed myself and my fmaily well. JM