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

by Brian King

Overview

Psychologist, stand-up comedian, and best-selling author Dr. Brian King reveals the techniques he used to lose one hundred pounds, and provides guidance and humor to make your weight loss journey a healthy, sustainable, and even enjoyable one.

Dr. Brian King studied neuroscience and psychology before touring the world as a stand-up comedian and public speaker. Yet despite giving life guidance to others, he was carrying an extra one hundred pounds, taking up too much space in airplane seats and keeping the opposite sex at bay.

When Dr. Brian committed to change, he embraced his understanding of human behavior and mindsets to reframe his approach to a healthy lifestyle. Now having lost most of the weight, he uses his signature combination of humor and neuroscience to delve deep into mindfulness, stress, habits, willpower, diet, exercise, and much more to guide readers in losing weight and keeping it off.

This highly anticipated follow-up to Dr. Brian’s renowned stress management guide, The Art of Taking It Easy, is equally destined to help readers worldwide live better, longer, more active lives—and make your skinny jeans your everyday ones. Dr. Brian's unique, encouraging guidance brims with colorful anecdotes, personal stories, and scientific evidence, and is complemented by wisdom from a wealth of other experts—in various health fields as well as comedy—who have also triumphed in their weight loss journeys.

Whether you are looking to shed those final five, the COVID fifteen, or the weight of another adult, Of Bears and Weight Loss offers life-changing tips and instructions that will have you embracing change with humor and the power to finally see your goals through to completion.

Inside you’ll find:
- A comprehensive guide to developing the right mindset.
- An understanding of how factors such as poor sleep or impulse control could be sabotaging your goals.
- Guidance on how to know what diet and exercise program is right for you.
- The motivation to change and instructions on how to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
- Revelations on why diets fail and how to embrace sustainable change without going hungry or spending all night in the gym.
- Support for balancing weight loss goals with busy lifestyles, work, parenting, and social commitments.
- A wealth of humor, deep belly laughs, and scientifically-sound, evidence-based know-how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781954641228
Publisher:	Apollo Publishers
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr. Brian King trained as a neuroscientist and psychologist and for more than a decade has traveled the world as a comedian and public speaker. By day he conducts seminars, presented nationwide and attended by thousands of people each year, on positive psychology, the health benefits of humor, stress management, and healthy living. By night he entertains audiences in comedy clubs. Dr. Brian began performing stand-up comedy in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009, and since then he has performed hundreds of shows around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, a master’s degree from the University of New Orleans, and a PhD from Bowling Green State University. He is the author of The Art of Taking It Easy (Apollo Publishers) and The Laughing Cure. Dr. Brian hails from New York City, but is regularly on the road with his wife and young daughter or at their homes in Montreal, Canada, or Dallas, Texas.

Read an Excerpt

I don’t remember meeting the woman who I now refer to as my wife. For most guys, that might not be something they would want to openly admit, but my situation is a little different. I was just a few years into my career as a nationally touring public speaker and was giving a seminar in Gainesville, Florida, where she was living. At that time, I presented to thousands of people each year and talked to throngs of them every day. Looking back at my past tour schedule I figured out that I had left Tallahassee the day before we met, presented in Gainesville, and traveled on to Tampa shortly after my seminar. My life moved fast then, and this tour was a whirlwind. The month started in Texas, circled all around the state of Florida, included a cruise to the Caribbean, and ended back in my home in Los Angeles.

When the dust settled and I had a chance to sit back and take it easy, I went through my social media and reviewed the friend requests I received along the tour. Among them was one from an incredibly beautiful occupational therapist who lived in Gainesville. Her name was Sarah and I could never have guessed the impact she would ultimately have on my life.

At the time, Sarah’s profile photo was a side-by-side comparison of herself after losing a substantial amount of weight. I thought she looked incredible in both shots. She had long red hair, which I have always been drawn to, bright eyes, a beautiful smile, and a perfect hourglass figure. I left a comment, “beautiful before, beautiful after,” to which she replied “Thank you, Brian! I feel so much better though now! Much happier too!” As I write this, that was eight years ago to the month and it hardly reads like flirting, let alone the basis of a long-term relationship.

The thing I didn’t know about Sarah was that at the time of my seminar, she was thinking she could help me. I think she remembers it best, so I’ll let her share her version of that day:

“Not remembering how we met, Brian often makes up different jokes (depending on the company) about the day we met. There are probably about seven different versions of our story milling around. One such joke is about a cute woman in the back of the conference center getting up repeatedly, walking around, stretching, and trying to draw attention to herself. Apparently I wasn’t quite doing it right, as he didn’t remember me later, but ironically enough that’s exactly what I was doing that day. Sitting still has never been my style, and after working in busy hospitals and clinics for years, sitting still in a classroom-like setting for over six hours for a boring seminar is not my forte (nor in my philosophy of what is best for my health).

“Between stretching I would, of course, return to my seat, and luckily, the seminar was far from boring. As a matter of fact, it was the best seminar I have attended to date. I listened intently, laughed, reflected about my own life, and took notes. Notes not only about the course material, but also about general observations about seminar attendees and about Dr. Brian King himself, including “poison berries, photography, and Luna.” I’ll get back to why that’s important later, but one point of contention that stuck out in my mind and in my notes was this nonchalant statement he made, “Losing weight is easy! Eat less, move more.” I kind of audibly and sarcastically chuffed, “huh,” and thought to myself. It’s not that easy. I wrote down, and underlined “not!” Having just been through my own weight loss journey (and more than once I might add), and having worked as an occupational therapist and a health coach in lifestyle redesign and weight loss, I knew that it wasn’t that easy. Change isn’t that easy, health is multifaceted, and human bodies are complicated and amazing. And then I thought to myself, I’m going to help this guy. He seems like a tough nut to crack, but tenaciously I’m going to do it somehow. Toward the end of the seminar, I walked up in a polka-dotted dress, smiled, gave him my business card (which also included the before and after pic), asked a question about the course material, thanked him for the presentation, and the rest they say is history. Well . . . sort of. There would be a lot of interaction points and “passing ships” in the night moments. What is it they say? It takes something like five interactions before a person remembers you.”

Looking back, I wonder how many members of my audience had similar thoughts about helping me. That year, as I traveled the country, I was carrying around about 140 extra pounds of baggage all strapped to the outside of my skeleton. It was like I was smuggling an extra person under my clothes to accompany me through life. And for what? So he could make my airplane seats seem smaller and prevent me from getting laid? When I was in college I once got arrested in New York City when a buddy and I attempted to squeeze through a subway turnstile two at a time, but at least then we were trying to save a subway token by pretending to be a single person. I had nothing to gain by lugging this stowaway on my body everywhere I went, and yet there we were flaunting our combined girth in front of audiences day after day stuffed into an ever tightening suit. I didn’t look terrible, but my appearance was made ironic by the fact that my seminars then were all about how to change behavior and live a healthier life. I was a walking example of poor lifestyle choices and I was telling people like Sarah how they could be healthier.

I may have inspired similar thoughts in others, but only Sarah was able to follow through and actually help improve my life. She had her work cut out for her too. She had to first convince me to pursue her halfway across the country, fall crazily in love with her, and have a child together. I don’t work in healthcare, but that seems way beyond the usual call of duty for an occupational therapist.

Table of Contents

Preface: Bonjour de Montréal

Chapter 1

Three Books

The Ship that Almost Passed Me In the Night

Fat Tales: Bringing Sexy Back

A Promise I Intend to Keep

The Best Things About Losing One Hundred Pounds

Chapter 2

Two Simple Methods

Consulting the Expert: Bodybuilder Andrew Ginsburg

Fat Tales: That Doctor Comedian

Consulting the Expert: Chef Suzi Gerber

Chapter 3

Studies of Eating and Screwing

Consulting the Expert: Occupational Therapist Sarah Bollinger

Two Pounds of Fat

Fat Tales: Time to Bring the Doughnuts

Sorry, But the Bear is Back

Of Berries and Worms

Stress Eating Over a Caterpillar

Shark Mode

Eating or Screwing?

Chapter 4

The Eye-Opening Event

The “Not-So-Secret” Secret

Fat Tales: Popcorn for Breakfast

Old Habits Die Hard

Fat Tales: Time to Wear the Big Boy Pants

The Worst Things About Losing One Hundred Pounds

Chapter 5

Not That Kind of Bear

Fat Tales: Eating Like Olympians

Chapter 6

The Right Place at the Right Time

Getting Those Last Few Steps In

Speaking of Europe: German Comedian Thomas Nicolai

Fat Tales: The Adventures of Daddy Pig

Chapter 7

Check Out This Bunch of Losers

Comedian Mark Schiff Lost Fifty Pounds After Some Inspiration from Jerry Seinfeld

Comedian Steve Mittleman Lost Fifty Pounds and Has Kept Most of Them Off for Thirty-Seven Years

Comedian AC Valiante Has Lost Fifty Pounds Since the Start of the Pandemic

Writer and Comedian Jonelle Larouche Lost Thirty Pounds by Giving Up Alcohol

Comedian Trevin Verduzco Has Lost Eighty-Five Pounds with the Help of a Weight Loss Clinic

Comedian Mark Evans Lost One Hundred Pounds Thanks to Intermittent Fasting

Comedian Kieran Atkins Lost Forty-Five Pounds by Overcoming Impulsive Behavior

Comedian Jennifer Anderson Lost Eighty Pounds by Kickboxing!

Comedian Erik Escobar Lost Over One Hundred Pounds Because He Had a Toothache

Comedian Dave DeLuca Lost 110 Pounds by Walking Throughout New York City

Comedian ANT Lost Almost Seventy Pounds After Trying Nearly Everything

A Few Words About Medication

Nashville Hot Chicken Restaurateur Austin Smith Lost Over One Hundred Pounds and Still Eats His Own Food

Sometimes It’s Really Good To Talk To Others

Fat Tales: Just Call Me Papa Button

Chapter 8

My Boots Were Made For Walking

Fat Tales: A Father and Son Thing

Chapter 9

Sarah’s Struggle

Fat Tales: The Day After Thanksgiving

Chapter 10

Au Revoir de Montréal

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Art of Taking It Easy:

“King's particular approach is original and refreshing. He combines a winning balance of accessible science, engaging stories, and comic relief to drive home a compelling message.” —Shelf Awareness

“Psychologist and comedian King (The Laughing Cure) explores the science behind stress in this witty, informed guide. The author uses a bevy of running jokes and punch lines to enliven technical explanations for how and why people experience stress. His metaphors of coming across a bear in the wild as well as being stuck in traffic are also used to great effect to explain a variety of stress responses, such as perceiving a threat and feelings of powerlessness. Reframing thoughts plays a large role in King’s advice: ‘Stress is simply a reaction to a perception of threat...being able to consciously redirect choices made by other areas of the brain is the key to living a less stressful existence.’  He also provides breathing exercises, plans for maintaining physical health, and useful advice for setting attainable goals. An interview with a former paratrooper and a harrowing story centered on his brother’s van breaking down while traveling provide particularly helpful examples of how one’s mindset can make all the difference in a highly stressful situation. King’s enjoyable guide to living with less stress will be of help to any anxious reader.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher