Let Go of Emotional Overeating and Love Your Food

By Arlene B. Englander

Rowman and Littlefield     2018

167 pages     Health and Wellness

The Shortlist

The subtopic for the book, Let Go of Emotional Overeating and Love Your Food, is “A five-point plan for success.” And indeed it is exactly that. This is not a diet plan; there is no connected cookbook; and there is no daily eating guideline. Englander is a psychotherapist so she approaches the problem of overeating from the standpoint of the emotions. She helps her readers learn how to savor meals as a way to relearn how to eat to promote health and wellness. She uses the mnemonic device SELF to help develop awareness and growth. It includes stress, exercise, love your food, fluids and healthy foods.

Here is what Englander says about why she wrote this book: “Let Go Of Emotional Overeating and Love Your Food: A Five Point Plan for Success is meant to help those who’d love to eat what they like yet be able to stop just at the point of satisfaction without overeating. By learning the difference between healthy eating (which is eating for pleasure and the satisfaction of hunger) and emotionally overeating (eating to distract ourselves from painful thoughts and feelings ), we can learn to eat in a healthier more satisfying way. What’s equally important is to learn to successfully cope with stress away from the table, so we can actually find more pleasure in and more control of, not only our eating experiences, but our lives, as well.”

I read this book before a two week “taking care of myself” challenge to my wellness. Through my entire adult life, I have dieted, lost and gained, been alternately disgusted and proud of myself, and been emotional about it. Reading Englander’s book was a great start to a new chapter in my healthfulness. Easy to read and understand. Lots of good ideas.

Publisher’s Weekly review.

The book’s trailer.

The Beauty of Dirty Skin

By Whitney Bowe, MD

Little Brown     2018

278 pages     Health and Wellness

The Shortlist

Dr. Whitney Bowe, a dermatologist, has created an incredible guide to radiant skin that, while not surprising, relies more on what a person puts in her body than what she puts on her face. In The Beauty of Dirty Skin, Dr. Bowe explains what she calls the gut-brain-skin connection and the value of probiotics for skin care. She discusses dietary recommendations, as well as recommendations for exercise, meditation and sleep.

In the third section of the book, Dr. Bowe puts it all together with a three week schedule and plan of action for “smooth, youthful, clear skin.” This section includes recipes for both your insides and your outsides.

This is an excellent book, full of good, practical advice. Dr. Bowe has appeared on a number of television shows over the last few weeks. You can check out a couple:  Good Morning America, The View, and Rachael Ray.

The Beauty of Dirty Skin is easy to read and understand, very practical, and helpful. I especially appreciated the list of recommended supplements and dosage amounts.

Dr. Bowe’s website.

Fitter Faster

by Robert J. Davis

with Brad Kolowich, Jr.

Amacom     2017

226 pages            Health and Wellness

Health journalist, Dr. Robert J. Davis, and personal trainer, Brad Kolowich, have developed a plan for overcoming barriers to fitness that have defined many people's life experiences. Their goal was to redefine exercise so that it's less time-consuming and intimidating and more convenient and enjoyable. Their plan includes an easy-to-follow workout plan that requires as little as 15 minutes a day, including aerobic, muscle-building, and fat-burning benefits. They have incorporated high-intensity interval training and circuits for strength training. Some of their exercise plan increases efficiency by providing aerobic and strength benefits at the same time. Everything can be done at home or outdoors.

The easy-to navigate book is divided into four sections: Get Ready; Get Smart; Get More Out of Exercise; Get Going. This is followed by a section of workouts from basic to intermediate. All the exercises outlined can be varied or customized. Everything looks doable--even for novices like me.

I found this book to be easy to navigate and understand. All the information and advice is laid out in easy to digest bits of knowledge that can be read and assimilated. For example, the author answers at the very beginning of the book what exercise can do for you. It can help you live longer, improve heart health, cut your cancer risk, boost your brain power, improve your mood, and fend off feebleness. Interspersed with all the pertinent information are stories of people who found help through improving their exercise.

The reviewer for Publisher's Weekly mentions that "what separates this guide from others is its commitment to facts and plans backed by science and research." This is what attracted me to Fitter Faster. I am working hard to regain strength and improve my mood following several months of working too hard and exercising too little. This is a valuable guide for both my husband and me.

Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom: A Complete Prescription to Optimize Your Health, Prevent Disease, and Live with Vitality and Joy

by Acharya Shunya

Sounds True    2017

376 Pages     Health/Wellness

I would like to share with you this morning a very insightful and useful book that came across my desk from a publicist. It is available today.

Ayurveda is a health system that believes that true health is everyone's birthright, and that each of us is a self-healing entity who can use nature's abundance to restore and renew ourselves. The practitioner and author, Acharya Shunya, was born in northern India, where her formative years were spent learning the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda from her guru, who was her grandfather (or Baba). He was a spiritual teacher and practitioner of this ancient wisdom. 

Shunya now is a practitioner herself, in California, and her book, Ayurveda Lifestyle Wisdom, is the result of her years of work teaching people how to understand, use, and practice the Ayurveda philosophy. Acharya Shunya presents a narrative-based guidebook that meticulously covers the how-to's of morning and evening self-care, daily contemplations, self-massage and skin care, cooking (including recipes), beauty rituals, and more. It also talks a great deal about yoga.

She writes "To rid ourselves of the suffering that afflicts the body, mind, and soul, what we need is an affirmative knowledge of life and how to live it in alignment with nature."

I loved the stories that begin each section. In them she relates the enormous influence her Baba had on her by giving examples of conversations she had with him as a child and the wisdom he imparted to her.

This is truly a unique book. It certainly can't be digested in one sitting, but it looks to me that someone seeking its wisdom needs to work on it, one step at a time.

Here  are some steps that every reader can do.

  Wake up early each morning at a set time. 

  Have an altar in your room and put fresh flowers on it every day. 

  Every morning meditate to your healing for fifteen minutes. 

  Stop eating (or minimize your consumption of) harmful foods - which foods are harmful, and which foods are best eaten at certain times of the day and the year are discussed throughout the book 

  Eat beneficial foods - there is a big section toward the end of the book that discusses food and includes recipes.

Here is a review in a blog about health and wellness.

Here is Acharya Shunya's website.