Leman, Kevin. Have a New You by Friday: How to Accept Yourself, Boost Your Confidence and Change Your Life in 5 Days. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2010.
By “new you”, Leman doesn’t mean a completely different person. Part if his plan is for you to accept yourself. He does mean a happier more successful you, which is probably more in line with what you really want.
The book is organized into a chapter for every day of the weekday. Leman’s style is light, so you probably can read a chapter a day with no problem. If you thoughtfully complete the exercises in each chapter, it will may a little more time. Some are simple, but as the week progresses, deeper thinking is called for.
In broad terms, Leman calls for you to know and accept yourself, recognize the lies you tell yourself and live with a new perspective. Much of the book addresses self-knowledge.
Leman addresses several areas of self-knowledge. First is temperament. He uses the classical humors (choric, melancholy, phlegmatic, and sanguine), though he humorously compares them to dog breeds. Next, he addresses way birth order effects personality. Birth order is one of Leman’s specialties. Midweek, he explores early childhood memories and the rulebooks we’ve written unawares based on these memories. I found this to be one of the most difficult chapters, but in some ways, I think it is one of the meatiest. The final aspect of self-knowledge is your love language. By understanding the things that make you feel loved, you can ask for what you need. You can also discover they ways the people close to you feel loved and begin to improve your relationship with them.
By the time we’re adults, our personality is set. Leman isn’t trying to give you an entirely new personality. Accept that you have certain strengths and weaknesses and begin using that knowledge to build a happier life. The truth can set you free to make new decisions that lead to new outcomes instead of taking the same paths that have always lead to frustration.
One of the things you can change is you’re rulebook. These are concepts of how the world works we formed as children. Being children, i.e. ignorant and immature, we formed some wrong ideas that can be driving our behavior even in adulthood. As adults, we can take a look at those rules a see if they are true and if they are helping us live the life we want. With the knowledge and maturity we have as adults, we can begin to counter wrong and unproductive rules (lies we tell ourselves) and develop new rules. Your rulebook won’t change in an instant, but you can train yourself to approach things from a new perspective instead of reacting unthinkingly.
In the Friday chapter, Leman lays out the program for implementing the new you. A couple of the best points are to take baby steps and give yourself room to fail. By the time you’ve been through the first four days, you’ll see that you come to be where you are by many steps over a long time. Getting to a new you will be similarly incremental, and old ways are bound to reassert themselves periodically. Leman encourages you to give yourself some grace, forgive yourself for stumbling, and take the next little step to get moving in a good direction again.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Little Shifts by Suzanna Beth Stinnet
One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer
This review of Have a New You by Friday by Kevin Leman
appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a book review blog that includes reviews of many self-help books.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Book Review: The Gospels
The Bible has four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. “Gospel” comes from an Old English word meaning “good news.” The gospels are the good news of the incarnation of Christ, the coming of God to save us from sin and death, to redeem us to Himself, and give us a new, eternal life. They are also biographies of Jesus, summarizing his deeds and sayings.
It may seem redundant to have four biographies of Jesus. Each Gospel emphasizes different aspects of Jesus, and together they give the reader a fuller picture of Him.
-Matthew, traditionally recognized as being written by that apostle, gives particular attention to demonstrations that Jesus is the Messiah, frequently referring to the Old Testament. Jesus had a masterful understanding of the Old Testament, as shown in Matthew’s record of the Sermon on the Mount.
-Mark focuses on Jesus’ miraculous deeds, proofs of His deity. It is the shortest of the four books.
-Luke pays particular attention to Jesus’ character and teaching ministry. It is thought to have been written with a Greek audience in mind, and that may make it more accessible to modern readers than the other gospels.
-John expresses a high Christology, showing Jesus’ claims to deity in His teaching and actions. John devotes more attention to the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion than the other gospels.
The gospels corroborate each other. In theological terms, this is referred to as the harmony of the gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke, collectively called the Synoptic Gospels, track together particularly well.
Some have supposed that Matthew and Luke draw from Mark as a source, or that all have a common source in some unfound book. The more straightforward explanation is that found within the Bible that witnesses of Jesus’ life or their close associates authored the gospels. Matthew and John were followers of Jesus during his earthly ministry. Mark was a member of the early church and new the apostles and others who personally new Jesus. Luke claims to have been closely associated with the apostles and to draw on eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus. Luke indicates that there were many written accounts of the life of Christ. History (supervised by God) preserved four books that were as authoritative very early by the church.
Calling the gospels biographies of Jesus may set up some false expectations for readers of modern biographies. Ancient biographies were often collections of a famous person’s sayings or a summary of their deeds (Mark is a good example of this); they were not necessarily chronological accounts of a person’s life. The gospels are somewhat chronological, but their middle parts may also be organized along other lines: teachings, miracles, deeds of high character, and other concepts.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Genesis
The Holy Bible
John
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Proverbs
This review of The Gospels appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a blog where you can find review of books on spirituality.
It may seem redundant to have four biographies of Jesus. Each Gospel emphasizes different aspects of Jesus, and together they give the reader a fuller picture of Him.
-Matthew, traditionally recognized as being written by that apostle, gives particular attention to demonstrations that Jesus is the Messiah, frequently referring to the Old Testament. Jesus had a masterful understanding of the Old Testament, as shown in Matthew’s record of the Sermon on the Mount.
-Mark focuses on Jesus’ miraculous deeds, proofs of His deity. It is the shortest of the four books.
-Luke pays particular attention to Jesus’ character and teaching ministry. It is thought to have been written with a Greek audience in mind, and that may make it more accessible to modern readers than the other gospels.
-John expresses a high Christology, showing Jesus’ claims to deity in His teaching and actions. John devotes more attention to the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion than the other gospels.
The gospels corroborate each other. In theological terms, this is referred to as the harmony of the gospels. Matthew, Mark and Luke, collectively called the Synoptic Gospels, track together particularly well.
Some have supposed that Matthew and Luke draw from Mark as a source, or that all have a common source in some unfound book. The more straightforward explanation is that found within the Bible that witnesses of Jesus’ life or their close associates authored the gospels. Matthew and John were followers of Jesus during his earthly ministry. Mark was a member of the early church and new the apostles and others who personally new Jesus. Luke claims to have been closely associated with the apostles and to draw on eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus. Luke indicates that there were many written accounts of the life of Christ. History (supervised by God) preserved four books that were as authoritative very early by the church.
Calling the gospels biographies of Jesus may set up some false expectations for readers of modern biographies. Ancient biographies were often collections of a famous person’s sayings or a summary of their deeds (Mark is a good example of this); they were not necessarily chronological accounts of a person’s life. The gospels are somewhat chronological, but their middle parts may also be organized along other lines: teachings, miracles, deeds of high character, and other concepts.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Genesis
The Holy Bible
John
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Proverbs
This review of The Gospels appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a blog where you can find review of books on spirituality.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Book Review: The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
More than the other gospel writers, John emphasized the deity of Jesus--that Jesus is God. The other gospels contain this part of Jesus’ nature, but John stated it explicitly in his opening statement, which mirrors the opening of Genesis, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NKJV).
After this introduction, John starts his biography of Jesus shortly before He started His opening, with the witness of John the Baptist to who Jesus is. Mark’s gospel begins at this point, too. This would have been an important testimony to John the Apostle because he was probably a follower of John the Baptist before he became a disciple of Jesus.
As Matthew lays out prophetic demonstrations that Jesus is the messiah predicted in the Old Testament, John presents a number of Jesus’ claims of deity. Other witness, most importantly God the Father and John the Baptist, a prophet, corroborate these claims. Other supporting testimony comes from Jesus’ disciples, His family and, surprisingly, evil spirits. His miracles and, ultimately, His resurrection provide additional support for His claims. In John and the other gospels, He is called the “Son of God” and this is clearly understood as a claim of equality to God; it was one of the charges against Him when He was sentenced to death.
Like the other gospels, John gives a lot of attention to the days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. The crucifixion is the central act of Jesus’ ministry, in which He suffers all the punishment and death we deserve so we no longer have to pay it and can become recipients of God’s mercy; it is the central act of God’s mercy.
John gives more attention to Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry than the other gospels. His death and resurrection becomes the basis of our reconciliation with God, and this is symbolized especially well in Jesus’ restoration of Peter, which ends the book. Outside the courtroom where Jesus’ was tried, Peter denied being one of His disciples. After His resurrection, Jesus sought out Peter and said, “Follow me,” just as He did when He first called he disciples.
The other gospels are referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels” because they offer synopses of Jesus’ life and because of the similarities in the material they cover. John covers some of the same material, chooses many episodes that aren’t covered elsewhere.
What may be most striking is that John expresses focuses on Jesus’ highest attribute, His deity, while at the same time presenting the most private and affectionate view of Him. Jesus showed his power over death by raising Lazarus, but He wept because his friend had to suffer death. John showed us Jesus writing on the ground with His finger before showing mercy to an accused adulteress. The apostle who explicitly called Jesus the creator of all things referred to himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” as if they were best friends. It is a radical thing about John’s gospel, and about the teachings for Christianity, that the all-powerful, perfect, sovereign God, creator and judge of the universe, could love us with such tender affection that he could take on humanity and suffer a horrible death to save us and reconcile us to Himself.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Matthew
Mark
Luke
Other books of the Bible
This review of The Gospel of John appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a book review blog that features several Christian books.
More than the other gospel writers, John emphasized the deity of Jesus--that Jesus is God. The other gospels contain this part of Jesus’ nature, but John stated it explicitly in his opening statement, which mirrors the opening of Genesis, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NKJV).
After this introduction, John starts his biography of Jesus shortly before He started His opening, with the witness of John the Baptist to who Jesus is. Mark’s gospel begins at this point, too. This would have been an important testimony to John the Apostle because he was probably a follower of John the Baptist before he became a disciple of Jesus.
As Matthew lays out prophetic demonstrations that Jesus is the messiah predicted in the Old Testament, John presents a number of Jesus’ claims of deity. Other witness, most importantly God the Father and John the Baptist, a prophet, corroborate these claims. Other supporting testimony comes from Jesus’ disciples, His family and, surprisingly, evil spirits. His miracles and, ultimately, His resurrection provide additional support for His claims. In John and the other gospels, He is called the “Son of God” and this is clearly understood as a claim of equality to God; it was one of the charges against Him when He was sentenced to death.
Like the other gospels, John gives a lot of attention to the days leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. The crucifixion is the central act of Jesus’ ministry, in which He suffers all the punishment and death we deserve so we no longer have to pay it and can become recipients of God’s mercy; it is the central act of God’s mercy.
John gives more attention to Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry than the other gospels. His death and resurrection becomes the basis of our reconciliation with God, and this is symbolized especially well in Jesus’ restoration of Peter, which ends the book. Outside the courtroom where Jesus’ was tried, Peter denied being one of His disciples. After His resurrection, Jesus sought out Peter and said, “Follow me,” just as He did when He first called he disciples.
The other gospels are referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels” because they offer synopses of Jesus’ life and because of the similarities in the material they cover. John covers some of the same material, chooses many episodes that aren’t covered elsewhere.
What may be most striking is that John expresses focuses on Jesus’ highest attribute, His deity, while at the same time presenting the most private and affectionate view of Him. Jesus showed his power over death by raising Lazarus, but He wept because his friend had to suffer death. John showed us Jesus writing on the ground with His finger before showing mercy to an accused adulteress. The apostle who explicitly called Jesus the creator of all things referred to himself as the disciple “whom Jesus loved,” as if they were best friends. It is a radical thing about John’s gospel, and about the teachings for Christianity, that the all-powerful, perfect, sovereign God, creator and judge of the universe, could love us with such tender affection that he could take on humanity and suffer a horrible death to save us and reconcile us to Himself.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Matthew
Mark
Luke
Other books of the Bible
This review of The Gospel of John appears courtesy of Keenan’s Book Reviews, a book review blog that features several Christian books.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Book Review: Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Daniel G. Amen
Amen, Daniel G. Change Your Brain Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Have Always Wanted. New York: Harmony Books, 2010.
Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen explores the brain-body connection in his medical practice and in this book. In particular, Change Your Brain Change Your Body focuses on how taking care of the health of your brain can result in better health for your entire body.
In the early chapters of the book, Amen makes the case for brain health and how it can affect the health of the rest of the body. This is enhances by images from SPECT scans, which Amen uses in his practice to measure activity in different parts of the brain.
The subtitle of the book touts the brain as a means to get “the body you’ve always wanted.” For me, that includes getting my weight under control, and several chapters are devoted to the subject. There is no escaping a good diet and exercise, both of which get a chapter. What Amen adds is that an understanding of how one’s brain works can help on curb cravings and address brain deficiencies that may be roadblocks to sticking to a weight loss program. By addressing problems in the brain, one becomes more able to address problems with weight.
Good health is more than proper weight. It includes the skin, heart and glands. Good health is also a full life, which includes relationships, the ability worthy pursue worthy goals and the capacity to remember and savor our experiences. Each of these issues is addressed.
Amen doesn’t prescribe a single solution for everyone. Depending on your brain issues, the solution may be as simple as diet and exercise, it may include supplementation or even particular medications or therapies. Obviously, medical interventions should only be undertaken with the supervision of a physician and you should supplementation and physical fitness programs with yours.
The book doesn’t stick too close to traditional medicine. Amen thinks nutritional supplements can be useful and can reduce reliance on medications, but supplements can have issues of drug interaction and side effects that should be covered with a physician. He suggests meditation for stress management and has used hypnosis in his practice to address several issues including weight loss. (For those interested in meditation, Amen recommends The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson. Hypnosis is recommended in other weight loss books including I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna, which includes a self-hypnosis CD.)
In some ways, the book could say change your body change your brain. Many of Amen’s recommendations, especially related to diet and exercise are good recommendations for physical health. Throughout the book, he says that what is good for the heart is good for the brain. He even mentions a study that shows that physically active children perform better academically.
Order this book here.
Based on the recommendations in this book, I started taking a fish oil supplement. You can find out about my experience with it here.
If your interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Emotional Energy Factor by Mira Kirshenbaum
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna
Instant Self-Hypnosis by Forbes Robbins Blair
The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson with Miriam Z. Klipper
Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen explores the brain-body connection in his medical practice and in this book. In particular, Change Your Brain Change Your Body focuses on how taking care of the health of your brain can result in better health for your entire body.
In the early chapters of the book, Amen makes the case for brain health and how it can affect the health of the rest of the body. This is enhances by images from SPECT scans, which Amen uses in his practice to measure activity in different parts of the brain.
The subtitle of the book touts the brain as a means to get “the body you’ve always wanted.” For me, that includes getting my weight under control, and several chapters are devoted to the subject. There is no escaping a good diet and exercise, both of which get a chapter. What Amen adds is that an understanding of how one’s brain works can help on curb cravings and address brain deficiencies that may be roadblocks to sticking to a weight loss program. By addressing problems in the brain, one becomes more able to address problems with weight.
Good health is more than proper weight. It includes the skin, heart and glands. Good health is also a full life, which includes relationships, the ability worthy pursue worthy goals and the capacity to remember and savor our experiences. Each of these issues is addressed.
Amen doesn’t prescribe a single solution for everyone. Depending on your brain issues, the solution may be as simple as diet and exercise, it may include supplementation or even particular medications or therapies. Obviously, medical interventions should only be undertaken with the supervision of a physician and you should supplementation and physical fitness programs with yours.
The book doesn’t stick too close to traditional medicine. Amen thinks nutritional supplements can be useful and can reduce reliance on medications, but supplements can have issues of drug interaction and side effects that should be covered with a physician. He suggests meditation for stress management and has used hypnosis in his practice to address several issues including weight loss. (For those interested in meditation, Amen recommends The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson. Hypnosis is recommended in other weight loss books including I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna, which includes a self-hypnosis CD.)
In some ways, the book could say change your body change your brain. Many of Amen’s recommendations, especially related to diet and exercise are good recommendations for physical health. Throughout the book, he says that what is good for the heart is good for the brain. He even mentions a study that shows that physically active children perform better academically.
Order this book here.
Based on the recommendations in this book, I started taking a fish oil supplement. You can find out about my experience with it here.
If your interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The Emotional Energy Factor by Mira Kirshenbaum
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna
Instant Self-Hypnosis by Forbes Robbins Blair
The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson with Miriam Z. Klipper
Book Review: I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna
Small Steps Big Changes is all about doing simple things that can have great results in your life. You’d be hard pressed to find a simpler weight-loss system than the one laid out by Paul McKenna. He even trademarked the phrase “The Simplest Weight-Loss System in the World.” Even so, one doesn’t develop new habits overnight, so patience and perseverance can be required even for the simplest changes.
McKenna, Paul. I Can Make You Thin. New York: Sterling, 2009.
This is not a diet. Paul McKenna believes they don’t work, so he won’t be recommending one for you. He won’t even be taking much of your time. He says you can read I Can Make You Thin in two hours, and that’s about right.
McKenna dislikes diets because they tell you what to eat and not eat and are prescriptive in other ways, in addition to them just not working. People have trouble with their weight because they’ve become disconnected from their bodies and their natural senses of hunger and satiety. Diets perpetuate this disconnection, so they don’t have lasting results.
What McKenna offers instead of a diet is four simple rules. In fact, he suggest that you may be able to get by with just one rule, and it has nothing to do with what you eat. In fact, the entire system is more about the way you eat that what you eat.
You don’t even have to memorize the rules. One of the back pages has a punch-out card with the rules on it so you can review them every time you eat or want to eat.
The book isn’t quite as short as just four rules. It includes some information to help you stay on track by dealing with cravings, emotional eating, self image and getting back on the system when you fall off.
Included with the book is a self-hypnosis CD. McKenna recommends using the CD to help change your self image and solidify the new habits you’ll be developing as you follow the four rules.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
Instant Self-Hypnosis by Forbes Robbins Blair
McKenna, Paul. I Can Make You Thin. New York: Sterling, 2009.
This is not a diet. Paul McKenna believes they don’t work, so he won’t be recommending one for you. He won’t even be taking much of your time. He says you can read I Can Make You Thin in two hours, and that’s about right.
McKenna dislikes diets because they tell you what to eat and not eat and are prescriptive in other ways, in addition to them just not working. People have trouble with their weight because they’ve become disconnected from their bodies and their natural senses of hunger and satiety. Diets perpetuate this disconnection, so they don’t have lasting results.
What McKenna offers instead of a diet is four simple rules. In fact, he suggest that you may be able to get by with just one rule, and it has nothing to do with what you eat. In fact, the entire system is more about the way you eat that what you eat.
You don’t even have to memorize the rules. One of the back pages has a punch-out card with the rules on it so you can review them every time you eat or want to eat.
The book isn’t quite as short as just four rules. It includes some information to help you stay on track by dealing with cravings, emotional eating, self image and getting back on the system when you fall off.
Included with the book is a self-hypnosis CD. McKenna recommends using the CD to help change your self image and solidify the new habits you’ll be developing as you follow the four rules.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
Instant Self-Hypnosis by Forbes Robbins Blair
Progress Report
I’m building my exercise up one little step at a time. Here is my new schedule.
1 minute of knee lifts, touching knees with opposite hands
1 minute of walking in place
1 lower body exercise
1 upper body exercise
1 core exercise
1 stretch/flexibility exercise
Aim for 12 reps
Use a 10 lb when weights are needed
Walk dog 3-4 times a day for a total of 30-45 minutes
1 minute of knee lifts, touching knees with opposite hands
1 minute of walking in place
1 lower body exercise
1 upper body exercise
1 core exercise
1 stretch/flexibility exercise
Aim for 12 reps
Use a 10 lb when weights are needed
Walk dog 3-4 times a day for a total of 30-45 minutes
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Progress Report
I fell off the exercise wagon. I caught something nasty on a flight from Nashville and out of it for a while. Here is my program for getting back on it.
1 minute of walking in place
1 lower body exercise
1 upper body exercise
1 core exercise
1 stretch/flexibility exercise
Aim for 12 reps
Use a 5 lb when weights are needed
If you’ve fallen off the horse, pick yourself up and get back on it. Don’t be discouraged. If you keep going and keep learning, you will improve.
1 minute of walking in place
1 lower body exercise
1 upper body exercise
1 core exercise
1 stretch/flexibility exercise
Aim for 12 reps
Use a 5 lb when weights are needed
If you’ve fallen off the horse, pick yourself up and get back on it. Don’t be discouraged. If you keep going and keep learning, you will improve.
Book Review: Little Shifts by Suzanna Beth Stinnet
Stinnett, Suzanna Beth. Little Shifts: Tiny Shifts that Make a Big Difference. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2004.
Stinnett has a utopian vision. If the people of the world, particularly women, will unleash there imaginations, we can they can transform their lives and the entire world in the process.
Before reading this book, I asked someone else who had read it if it was New Age-y. They said not much. As I was starting to read it, they skimmed it again and said it was more New Age-y than they remembered. It is, but in a philosophical way. Stinnett doesn’t express her views in religious terms, but like many self-help authors, indicates that some powerful, abstract force is shaping our lives and the world we experience according to our own consistent thought. For Stinnett, this is imagination directly.
It’s not all about thinking. As the title indicates, Stinnett recommends many little things people can do to make themselves happier and healthier. She calls many of them radical steps. They are radical in the sense that few people take the time to do them and they could result in a change of perspective; they are still little things that ordinary people can do.
The main audience for the book is women. Stinnett feels that women’s views and perspectives have been underrepresented in our culture and as they begin to express themselves, they’ll bring a new dimension to society that can make it fuller, happier and more sustainable.
The book has an unexpected environmental message. A concern for the environment carries through the book and one chapter is largely devoted to things people can do to improve the environment. As with the rest of the book, the vision is grand and the steps are small, so the focus is on making little changes to the way we live, buy and use (and reuse) products that can reduce our negative effects on the environment.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
One Small Thing Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer
Stinnett has a utopian vision. If the people of the world, particularly women, will unleash there imaginations, we can they can transform their lives and the entire world in the process.
Before reading this book, I asked someone else who had read it if it was New Age-y. They said not much. As I was starting to read it, they skimmed it again and said it was more New Age-y than they remembered. It is, but in a philosophical way. Stinnett doesn’t express her views in religious terms, but like many self-help authors, indicates that some powerful, abstract force is shaping our lives and the world we experience according to our own consistent thought. For Stinnett, this is imagination directly.
It’s not all about thinking. As the title indicates, Stinnett recommends many little things people can do to make themselves happier and healthier. She calls many of them radical steps. They are radical in the sense that few people take the time to do them and they could result in a change of perspective; they are still little things that ordinary people can do.
The main audience for the book is women. Stinnett feels that women’s views and perspectives have been underrepresented in our culture and as they begin to express themselves, they’ll bring a new dimension to society that can make it fuller, happier and more sustainable.
The book has an unexpected environmental message. A concern for the environment carries through the book and one chapter is largely devoted to things people can do to improve the environment. As with the rest of the book, the vision is grand and the steps are small, so the focus is on making little changes to the way we live, buy and use (and reuse) products that can reduce our negative effects on the environment.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
One Small Thing Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The (Mostly) Walking Diet: A Book Review
Sansone, Leslie. Walk Away the Pounds. New York: Warner, 2005.
Leslie Sansone says people can improve their health and lose weight without changing their eating habits. They have to exercise, but it’s mostly putting one foot in front of the other.
The opening chapters deal with the benefits of exercise. There is a particularly focus on the benefits of walking.
This leads to a description of the exercises that are used in the program that makes up much of the book. It walking and several moves that can be done while walking to mix things up. It also includes resistance exercises that can be done with light dumbbells, weighted balls or bands. There is also a chapter devoted to shoes and other equipment to help you get off on the right foot.
The middle of the book lays out a 6-week program of walking. It starts out with a mile of walking (about 2,000 steps) and builds of up to 4 to 5 miles (8,000 to 10,000 steps). Along the way, it adds periodic resistance exercises. Following the program, you’ll walk 64 miles in the six weeks. The pages make a diary for keeping track of your progress through the program.
From there, walkers can keep going. Sansone devotes a chapter to continuing the program, ramping it up, and overcoming plateaus.
What about eating? Though Sansone says it’s not a necessary part of the program, she suggests that you’ll probably want to improve your eating habits as your health improves and your body demand nutrition to support its new level of activity. She discusses this in a chapter that includes a nutrition primer and several tips on better eating habits.
Sansone also devotes chapters to dealing with stress and having a balanced life. Exercise can alleviate stress and its negative effects, but there are other things busy people can do to reduce stress, make life less hectic, and find more balance.
The book wraps up dealing with motivation. Proper motivation is needed to stick to a healthy lifestyle and Sansone discusses perspective, habits, and environmental changes to help walkers stay on track.
The book is written to a female audience, though program is probably just as suitable to men. Several short success stories appear throughout, briefly discussing the success of women who have tried the program.
A DVD is included with the book. It is a walk-in-place program that leads the viewer through a 1-mile walk in about 18 minutes.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The 6 Day Body Makeover by Michael Thurmond
8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss by Jorge Cruise
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
Leslie Sansone says people can improve their health and lose weight without changing their eating habits. They have to exercise, but it’s mostly putting one foot in front of the other.
The opening chapters deal with the benefits of exercise. There is a particularly focus on the benefits of walking.
This leads to a description of the exercises that are used in the program that makes up much of the book. It walking and several moves that can be done while walking to mix things up. It also includes resistance exercises that can be done with light dumbbells, weighted balls or bands. There is also a chapter devoted to shoes and other equipment to help you get off on the right foot.
The middle of the book lays out a 6-week program of walking. It starts out with a mile of walking (about 2,000 steps) and builds of up to 4 to 5 miles (8,000 to 10,000 steps). Along the way, it adds periodic resistance exercises. Following the program, you’ll walk 64 miles in the six weeks. The pages make a diary for keeping track of your progress through the program.
From there, walkers can keep going. Sansone devotes a chapter to continuing the program, ramping it up, and overcoming plateaus.
What about eating? Though Sansone says it’s not a necessary part of the program, she suggests that you’ll probably want to improve your eating habits as your health improves and your body demand nutrition to support its new level of activity. She discusses this in a chapter that includes a nutrition primer and several tips on better eating habits.
Sansone also devotes chapters to dealing with stress and having a balanced life. Exercise can alleviate stress and its negative effects, but there are other things busy people can do to reduce stress, make life less hectic, and find more balance.
The book wraps up dealing with motivation. Proper motivation is needed to stick to a healthy lifestyle and Sansone discusses perspective, habits, and environmental changes to help walkers stay on track.
The book is written to a female audience, though program is probably just as suitable to men. Several short success stories appear throughout, briefly discussing the success of women who have tried the program.
A DVD is included with the book. It is a walk-in-place program that leads the viewer through a 1-mile walk in about 18 minutes.
Order this book here.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
The 6 Day Body Makeover by Michael Thurmond
8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss by Jorge Cruise
How Much Does Your Soul Weigh? by Dorie McCubbrey
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Book Review: 8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss by Jorge Cruise
I recently posted this review at Keenan’s Book Reviews. As a small step, you might add just one of the recommendations from this book to your life.
Cruise, Jorge. 8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss. New York: HarperResource, 2004.
Jorge Cruise lays out an eating and exercise program intended to help people lose about 2 pounds a week. It also includes steps to take to build up the emotional and social support needed to reach and maintain your ideal weight. Some of the major points of the program appear below.
Exercise in the morning
This is where the book gets its title. Cruise asserts that your morning sets your metabolism for the day. If you kick start your metabolism with exercise in the morning, it will stay relatively high during the whole day. This will help you burn fat all day.
Exercise is essential
Exercise builds muscle. Muscles use energy. The more muscle you have, the more energy you use, even when you are not exercising. The more energy you use, the more fat you burn (or do not put on).
The “Cruise Down Plate”
This is a simple way to measure the right amount of food in the right proportions. Divide a 9-inch plate into three sections. One-half of the plate should be vegetables (or fruit is an option for breakfast). One-quarter should be carbohydrates (whole grains are best). The remaining one-quarter is for protein. The meal can include a teaspoon of fat.
Flaxseed oil
Cruise loves flaxseed oil. It has the right kind of fats (omega-3) and it helps you feel full. It is not suitable for cooking, but the preferred oil for any other use.PeopleYou will need social and emotional support to be successful in weight loss. Cruise has several tips you can use to build up a support network for yourself and to become a supporter of someone else.
Order this book here.
Cruise, Jorge. 8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss. New York: HarperResource, 2004.
Jorge Cruise lays out an eating and exercise program intended to help people lose about 2 pounds a week. It also includes steps to take to build up the emotional and social support needed to reach and maintain your ideal weight. Some of the major points of the program appear below.
Exercise in the morning
This is where the book gets its title. Cruise asserts that your morning sets your metabolism for the day. If you kick start your metabolism with exercise in the morning, it will stay relatively high during the whole day. This will help you burn fat all day.
Exercise is essential
Exercise builds muscle. Muscles use energy. The more muscle you have, the more energy you use, even when you are not exercising. The more energy you use, the more fat you burn (or do not put on).
The “Cruise Down Plate”
This is a simple way to measure the right amount of food in the right proportions. Divide a 9-inch plate into three sections. One-half of the plate should be vegetables (or fruit is an option for breakfast). One-quarter should be carbohydrates (whole grains are best). The remaining one-quarter is for protein. The meal can include a teaspoon of fat.
Flaxseed oil
Cruise loves flaxseed oil. It has the right kind of fats (omega-3) and it helps you feel full. It is not suitable for cooking, but the preferred oil for any other use.PeopleYou will need social and emotional support to be successful in weight loss. Cruise has several tips you can use to build up a support network for yourself and to become a supporter of someone else.
Order this book here.
Book Review: Genesis
I recently posted this review at Keenan’s Book Reviews. I think regular reading and meditation on God’s Word is an important part of a Christian’s spiritual growth.
Genesis. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
It’s hard to even begin to discuss Genesis in just a page or two. It covers a great patch of history from the creation of the world to the death of Joseph, who brought Israel and his descendants to Egypt, where he was a high official, to save them from a famine. A lot happens in between.
A lot happens in Genesis, but three major thematic events occur: the creation, the fall of man and the God’s initiation of a plan to redeem people. The creation is described in a chapter. Man’s wonderful life with God before the fall takes up another chapter. These are important issues, but since they occurred before the problem of sin became the central problem of human life, they are presented as establishing scenes.
The fall takes up a chapter, too. Eve is deceived and believes ill of God. Adam stands by passively letting it happening and following her into sin. They broke there relationship with God and since then humanity has been a slave to sin and a victim of sin’s consequences, ultimately death.
God immediately steps in to begin to repair the relationship with man. Yes, in His justice He judges man, as in the flood of Noah’s time and other times in Genesis and since. However, Genesis also establishes God as the hero of the story who rescues people from sin and reconciles them to himself. He provides a sacrifice for Adam and Eve and covers them. This pattern repeats throughout Genesis and the Bible until it finds its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ.
In its major themes, Genesis is the establishing chapter in our enslavement to sin and God’s heroic action to free us, love us and make us part of His family. In its details, Genesis is full of interesting stories. We are introduced to several of the major people of Biblical times: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel) and Joseph. One can get the impression that the Bible is all about these people.
The things God did in their lives reverberate through the Bible. God revealed his plan of salvation step-by-step, each time making a connection to the past as He opened up something about the future. In this way, Genesis isn’t tossed aside with the coming of Christ, but becomes part of the background and evidence for our faith in the One who completed the divine work of salvation that began as soon as we needed saving.
You can order this book here.
Genesis. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
It’s hard to even begin to discuss Genesis in just a page or two. It covers a great patch of history from the creation of the world to the death of Joseph, who brought Israel and his descendants to Egypt, where he was a high official, to save them from a famine. A lot happens in between.
A lot happens in Genesis, but three major thematic events occur: the creation, the fall of man and the God’s initiation of a plan to redeem people. The creation is described in a chapter. Man’s wonderful life with God before the fall takes up another chapter. These are important issues, but since they occurred before the problem of sin became the central problem of human life, they are presented as establishing scenes.
The fall takes up a chapter, too. Eve is deceived and believes ill of God. Adam stands by passively letting it happening and following her into sin. They broke there relationship with God and since then humanity has been a slave to sin and a victim of sin’s consequences, ultimately death.
God immediately steps in to begin to repair the relationship with man. Yes, in His justice He judges man, as in the flood of Noah’s time and other times in Genesis and since. However, Genesis also establishes God as the hero of the story who rescues people from sin and reconciles them to himself. He provides a sacrifice for Adam and Eve and covers them. This pattern repeats throughout Genesis and the Bible until it finds its ultimate expression in Jesus Christ.
In its major themes, Genesis is the establishing chapter in our enslavement to sin and God’s heroic action to free us, love us and make us part of His family. In its details, Genesis is full of interesting stories. We are introduced to several of the major people of Biblical times: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel) and Joseph. One can get the impression that the Bible is all about these people.
The things God did in their lives reverberate through the Bible. God revealed his plan of salvation step-by-step, each time making a connection to the past as He opened up something about the future. In this way, Genesis isn’t tossed aside with the coming of Christ, but becomes part of the background and evidence for our faith in the One who completed the divine work of salvation that began as soon as we needed saving.
You can order this book here.
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