The Economists' Diet

Two Formerly Obese Economists Find the Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off

By: Christopher Payne Ph.D. Ph.D., Rob Barnett

Narrated by: George Newbern

A bold and sensible new behavioral approach to dieting—driven by economic principles— that recommends micro-habits and meta-rules to help control impulses to overeat, approach food in a healthier way, and lose weight once and for all.

Christopher Payne and Rob Barnett are two formerly obese economists who met while working at Bloomberg. They faced the same problems that so many others face today: long hours, frequently eating out for lunch and dinner, and snacking out of boredom. When they finally lost weight by applying what they know best—economics—to their waistlines. By carefully considering economic theories, real-world data, and their own personal experiences, they developed behavioral best practices that helped them control their impulses to overeat and approach food in a healthier way.

Full of Barnett and Payne’s personal weight-loss stories, The Economists' Diet is a practical guide that explains how to control those ever-present impulses to overeat and, in the process, lose weight and keep it off. It is “[a] uniquely themed and user-friendly guide” (Publisher’s Weekly), and “full of advice [that] makes a lot of sense and is habit-forming (Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit).

Great tips for making dieting easier

What did you love best about The Economists' Diet?

The micro habits make the diet simple (and maybe eventually easy) to follow. I wish these tips and the recipes were made available in a pdf for the audio book.

Great Diet Book!

I just finished the book but started it over a week ago. Since I started the book I have begun to do the diet and have already lost 4.5 lbs. Their advice about feasting with fasting is awesome and really works well. As a businessman I really appreciate the comparison to money as it makes it so I understand it. Overall if you want a way to lose weight while not buying into those fad diets and without making you feel miserable and still getting to feast, then this is the book for you. Thank you guys!

Not substantive - Hard pass

The authors write of weight loss from an economist point of view. I found this approach to be uninspired and superficial. They uncover nothing new and rehash mainly things that have been said over and over. If you are going to do a book like this, there has to be something new and insightful -- that did not occur in this book. I give this book a hard pass.