Of Bears and Weight Loss: How to Manage Triggers, Lose Weight, and Enjoy Getting Fit

Of Bears and Weight Loss by Dr. Brian King is a self-help book that is focused on coaching one on breaking through psychological barriers in weight loss. King is a psychologist turned comedian, so he offers comedic relief throughout the book as he also provides psychological insight as to how the brain functions and what one can do to aid their dieting journey. He includes many personal anecdotes, as well as interviews with other overweight comedians. He also includes excerpts from experts in weight loss and his wife, an occupational therapist and life coach.

Overall, the book was a quick easy read. I did get a few good chuckles from King’s humor but probably not as many as he intended. He was annoyingly tangential about doughnuts far too much for my taste. Additionally, as a therapist who works with trauma, I was extremely thrown-off by his dismissiveness of “freeze” being a trauma-response. I don’t understand how someone can go in-depth about the functions of the amygdala and not validate freeze-response. Unfortunately, this led me to questioning his credibility and not taking him seriously as a writer.