About the Book

The key to a better body—in shape, energized, and youthful—is a healthy brain. Based on the latest medical research, as well as on Dr. Amen’s two decades of clinical practice at the re¬nowned Amen Clinics, where Dr. Amen and his as¬sociates pioneered the use of the most advanced brain imaging technology, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body shows you how to take the very best care of your brain.

With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when neces¬sary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to:

* Reach and maintain your ideal weight
* Soothe and smooth your skin at any age
* Reduce the stress that can impair your immune system
* Sharpen your memory
* Increase willpower and eliminate the crav¬ings that keep you from achieving your exercise and diet goals
* Enhance sexual desire and performance
* Lower your blood pressure without medication
* Avoid depression and elevate the enjoyment you take in life’s pleasures.

Whether you’re just coming to realize that it’s time to get your body into shape, or are already fit and want to take it to the next level, Change Your Brain, Change Your Body is all you need to start putting the power of the brain-body connection to work for you today.

The Long Story

I must admit, when I first held this book in my hands, I didn’t think it would tell me much more than I already knew. I’ve been reading about and researching all things weight-related for years. But, it wasn’t yet another diet book, so I was willing to give it a go.

And here’s the part you’re probably expecting: I’m glad I did.

Yes, this book covered territory I have already been through, but it does so in a new way. A brain-oriented way. Dr. Amen’s foundation of changing your life all starts in the brain, and I find that fascinating.

Amen had me from the moment he posited that early life brain trauma (well, any brain trauma, regardless of when it happens) can help create the bad habits that we have today. Poor concentration, poor follow-through, anger issues… All of it can have to do with how you are or have treated your brain.

That sports injury you got when you were a kid because you weren’t wearing a helmet? That could be the reason you exhibit ADD symptoms. Or why you might have trouble sleeping. The implications of what he covers in this book are far reaching, and I quite like that.

Like I said, this is not another diet book, and that’s a relief. Yes, there is advice to cut sugar and the ‘white’ things, but that’s about it. Everything else engages you to think about your brain and the life of your brain on multiple levels. It’s not just about weight but about overall health.

The Short Story

This book is a great way to start thinking about your overall health in a new light.

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Change Your Brain Change your Body
Dr. Daniel G. Amen
http://www.amenclinics.com/
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN-10: 0307463583
ISBN-13: 978-0307463586

About the Book

Leading dietician Arlene Normand shares her no-nonsense, tough-love approach to dieting. Her 10 Commandments will give you the tools and the motivation to achieve your weight-loss goals.

This is not a fad diet. In fact it’s not a diet – it’s a practical lifestyle plan. With Arlene’s guidance and sensible advice, you can lose weight – and keep it off forever.

The Long Story

While I didn’t see this so much as a ‘tough love’ approach to weight loss, The 10 Commandments starts from a more practical standpoint when it comes to becoming healthy. Rather than setting you up with a plan you have to follow to the letter, she helps guide you to creating a healthier lifestyle.

Using her ten commandments – ‘eat slowly’ and ‘get organized’ among them – you get a solid base and start to sorting out your health life. While she mentioned a lot of things I already knew, it provided a good refresher for getting me refocused on my health.

One annoyance for me is Normand’s approach to sugar. First, it appears that she is fine with sugar and more concerned about fat. Then she later says that ‘lite’ products often have the fat content replaced with sugar, which isn’t good. This sort of back and forth irked me – especially in a book people who are looking for solid guidance might read.

That being said, this book also provided me with a beautiful light bulb moment when I read: “Your worst time for eating is your best time for exercise.” That small section gave me a completely different way at structuring my exercise time to cut off the urge to munch. (For me, this is late afternoon before my husband is home from work.)

Above all, though, I loved how Normand took Australia’s food culture into account and listed tips on what are healthy choices for Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, etc. I found that quick guide very useful.

The Short Story

I highly recommend this book if you are just getting started on getting your healthy life going. And even if you’re not, this book can be a great refresher to get you motivated again.

About the Book

We all know that diets don’t work, yet most of us continue to be swayed by their promise. After all, who doesn’t want to be a little bit thinner? Who doesn’t want to zip her skinny jeans without (literally) holding her breath? You can’t blame a girl for trying even the most desperate of measures.

As a fashion and beauty journalist, Mimi Spencer spends much of her time surrounded by the catwalk elite, engulfed in the culture of thin. Fed up with years of deprivation and dieting, she created the anti-diet. In 101 Things to Do Before You Diet, Spencer shares her strategies for trimming and flattering every inch of your body and shows you how she finally lost those pesky last few pounds – and how you can, too.

The Long Story

This is one of the very few books I have bought after reading someone else’s glowing review.

Mimi Spencer has taken on the world of trying to get ‘trim, taut and terrific’ like many others, but she has done it in an anti-diet way through common sense. Flitting through everything from how to cut those extra calories to bum and tum flattering apparel, Spencer takes an all-around approach to getting you looking and feeling great.

I have to say, as someone who is used to reading books about either what I should be doing with my body or how horrible I’ve been to my body without realizing it, it was a relief to read a book that treated me like a person. And a woman.

The best part about this book is that Mimi Spencer knows that no matter how good or bad you look on the outside, you will never be the woman you want to be without feeling sexy on the inside. This is a point that so many books just plain ignore, and is something that really made me feel comfortable ‘listening’ to Spencer’s tips.

The ‘101 Steps’ layout of this book makes it a great ‘pick up, put down’ kind of book. While that doesn’t work for fiction, it does for this because it gives you plenty of time to really think about what Spencer is saying.

I couldn’t agree with all her suggestions – Tip 27: Buy a Corset should have ‘if you have $200 to spare’ attached to it – and found some of the fashion parts to be a bit boring. I don’t care if pointy-toed heels are fashionable; I think they look horrible. I also don’t have the money to get the clothes she suggests.

However, despite my brief boredom with a few fashion tips, I quite liked this book. Her tips are common sense and don’t leave you with any excuses while still being sympathetic because it’s all coming from a woman who knows. I look at Spencer’s picture and wonder what in the world she has to complain about, but the words say more than just looking at her ever could.

As a credit to how many studies she quotes and the kind of studies, I am not handing this book off until I get time to investigate some of them. A lot of the things quoted are recent and fascinating, and I’m looking forward to doing more reading.

The Short Story

I highly recommend this book from the standpoint that it focuses on self-love and common sense tips in all areas of beauty – both inside and out.

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101 Things to Do Before You Diet: Because Looking Great Isn’t Just About Losing Weight
Mimi Spencer
http://www.mimispencer.com/
ISBN: 9781605298481
Length: 234 pages