{Review}: The Prime by Kulreet Chaudhary

What was it that possessed me to request this book for review? I don't normally pick diet books, preferring to read actual literature and knowing that most of what it inside diet books is freely available on the Internet. Maybe it was the phrase "spontaneous weight loss." Maybe it's because I caught up in the "new year" frenzy to do something, anything differently than how I was doing it before. Who knows?
It's not a secret that I struggle with my weight, and I know I'm not alone. More specifically, I struggle with cravings. Overall, my day to day diet is not terrible. It's a mostly vegetarian diet with actual vegetables in it. I don't eat a lot of processed food. Give me sugar and carbs, though and it feels like I've gone out of my mind. Even when I'm mindful of what is happening, I have to slap my own hand to come to my senses. If you remember, awhile back, I reviewed Gretchen Rubin's Better than Before. In that book, I learned that I am an Abstainer. As long as I don't have even one piece, I'm not tempted. But give me a taste, and all is lost.
The sticking point is those cravings. If I could master control over those, I think I'd be golden. The Prime , written by a neurologist, is based on the premise that you need to first "prime" or cleanse your body of the things that cause cravings. The word "cleanse" always gives me pause-- was this going to be another bit of quackery that required me to spend a shitload of money on mystery powders that make nasty shakes full of who knows what from who knows where?
That misperception died pretty quickly once Chaudhary explained that rather than changing or overhauling or eliminating things for your daily diet, you tap into Ayurvedic principles of eating, using ingredients commonly found in Indian households. She recommends using a combination of spices and herbs to clear out your gut and improve your gut health, drinking bone broth, and ingesting only warm foods and drinks. She also tethers physical well-being to mental well-being.
The first part of the book, when Chaudhary tells the story of how she came back to Ayurvedic principles after being derailed when she became a teenager, ditching her family's traditional diet for a more American one, a habit that followed her to college and beyond, is compelling and engaging. After that, Chaudhary delves into the tradition behind Ayurvedic principles and how it applies in a weight loss context, which I found fascinating and useful. After that, it became hard to maintain focus and I found myself fast-forwarding to the sections where she describes implementation because it becomes repetitive at some points. Overall, the book was a good read, and because of Chaudhary's credentials, it seems more creditable than other diet books out there. I suppose the true measure of the book's worth comes from trying out The Prime, and seeing what happens. Here goes nothing.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books, for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links.