Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

In the 21st century there has been a rise in illnesses and diseases from Alzheimer’s and diabetes to autism. Have you ever wondered why this is so? Galit Goldfarb gives us a clue in The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program: Wage War on Weight and Learn to Thrive in the Modern Jungle. Galit shows us that, due to our eating and lifestyle habits, diseases are affecting us. Yes, we are living longer, but our quality of life is being quickly being eroded. Now the question is this: is knowing that you can live longer but be unhealthy worth it? I say not.

The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program is power-packed with researched information to help you better understand and learn how the foods that you eat and how living a sedentary lifestyle affect your well being. Galit offers a 30-day Diet and Lifestyle Program that can benefit you in living a healthier and well-balanced life.

Reading The Guerrilla Diet & Lifestyle Program by Galit Goldfarb was great for me. I had begun to adopt a more vegan and Mediterranean diet. For me, this is not merely a diet in the sense of starting something and then stopping once I have reached my weight goal. Instead, it is a way of eating for the rest of my life. Food does affect us in many ways and we suffer without a balanced lifestyle. Health issues cause rising health care costs due to medications, hospitalization, and surgery. Don’t wait for a health scare to make a diet and lifestyle change. Do it now.

Reviewed by Ryan Jordan for Readers' Favorite

Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated by Dana Ayers is a great read. I'm not a runner, though I used to be before life caught up with me. This work is full of anecdotal stories about the author, such as the failure of a swing set and training for races, but it's also full of humorous tips and a lot of imaginative storytelling that really brings it to life in a creative way. There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter, and each of them is really interesting and pertains to the relevant work and chapter.

A good example of this is in the chapter about cross-training. I'm sure everyone has at least a modest idea of what cross-training is all about, but the author gives us a description of various activities and how they relate in her life. She describes a cut-throat game of moon-bouncing, which is just bouncing in a bouncy house for exercise, and she even adds in a game her friends came up with where they pull the plug on a bouncy house and everyone tries to escape. This has nothing at all to do with training to be a runner, but it does make the work more entertaining and gives the author a personal and friendly quality that makes the work more engaging.

Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated by Dana Ayers isn't necessarily a training manual about how to win a marathon, but it will give you inspiration and the encouragement to enjoy life and make yourself a better person. Great little anecdotes!

Reviewed by Vernita Naylor for Readers' Favorite

Experiencing a well balanced life is crucial for one’s quality of life. In Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes by Mark E. Song, M.D., the author takes exercising to another level. Dr. Mark E. Song is an emergency physician who has been practicing for over 30 years, but he is also a Triathlon competitor. As both a physician and an athlete, he has not only seen a lot in the emergency room, but he himself has experienced a lot as an athlete and has personally seen his competitors, that competed alongside him in several IRONMAN® competitions, suffer. “This book is intended to be a source of information for athletes and for the community at large with the desire to improve their quality of life in the long term,” says Dr. Song. He demonstrates how valuable one’s approach to exercise and wellness is, from everything that we consume to everything that we do; it all affects the body.

He touches on a wide array of subjects from the food you eat pre and post competition or training; the effects of being dehydrated; the effects of excessive loss of salt and potassium; how important it is to have the proper amount of electrolytes in your system; the truth about supplements; cardiovascular risk factors, including a chapter dedicated to Tips for an IRONMAN® Race for a Lifetime that has useful nuggets for everyone. Dr. Song’s Circle of Wellness: Goals, Fitness Plan, Nutrition, Mental Approach and Knowledge outlines some crucial factors to help one become more focused yet create a strategy of attack. Wait, there’s more. Dr. Song has an appendix with a wealth of information that can help you in making your competition, exercising regimen or training a success.

I do not run marathons and definitely do not participate in triathlons, but I am a power walker and occasional weight trainer, and on an average I walk about 4-7 miles three to four times a week and lift weights about three times a week, depending upon my schedule. As Dr. Song mentioned in Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes, your workout can be a great one or a disaster depending upon pre-meal, hydration, weather conditions and, for me, especially sleep. All of these factors truly affect my outcome and how I will recover afterwards. Dr. Song has provided me with some great nuggets that I can use to restore the electrolytes I lose due to excessive sweating. One thing that I never thought about was to perform pre and post weigh-ins to determine how much water I lost and need to replace. Race Stronger Live Longer! A Physician's Guide to Wellness for Athletes by Mark E. Song, M.D. will be a tool that I will definitely be using and referring to for my exercise regimen in the near future.

Reviewed by Gisela Dixon for Readers' Favorite

Master Stress: Tame Your Inner Monster (My Guide) by Rebecca Richmond is a comprehensive, all-in-one guide for a calmer, more peaceful, stress-free life. This book includes literally hundreds of tips and techniques to soothe your inner self and reduce stress in your life. Master Stress: Tame Your Inner Monster is neatly divided into chapters on all aspects of life, including work, study, relationships, finances, sleep, diet, and exercise. Each of these areas is carefully discussed and Rebecca Richmond provides several exercises throughout the book to reduce or eliminate stress, accompanied by simple, practical suggestions for better life management. The book also covers aspects of self-awareness and personal development, and helps readers to understand that working on the internal aspects such as one’s health and self-esteem is just as important as, or even more important than managing the external aspects such as work and finances.

I have read many books on the subject of stress and self-improvement, and I found that this is definitely one of the better books in this genre. I found it to be all-encompassing because every subject related to life and stress was discussed in a very pleasant, easy-to-understand way. I also loved the various techniques described in the book such as breathing exercises, meditation, the concept of mindfulness, etc. that I felt were so simple to do and practice. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. In the fast-paced world we usually live in, I believe everyone can benefit from a more peaceful way of life, and this book may provide some guidance in the right direction.

Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite

When you are finally finished feeling unhappy with your looks, energy level and attitude towards facing each and every day, this is the only book you need to make a profound change! 5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss: Evolve Your Mind to Transform Your Body by Dr. Tommy Voris is the ultimate guide for getting to the root of the issues that cause you to be overweight. Dr. Voris outlines 5 evolutions or changes that need to be made to achieve permanent control over your relationship with food. Not just a matter of diet and exercise, Dr. Voris clearly explains how psychology is the major factor behind the unsuccessful attempts of so many people to lose weight and keep it off. In addition, he provides step by step instructions for facing these ingrained issues and overcoming the obstacles to success. Convenient pdf downloads are available for writing the ‘assignments’ suggested in the text so you can mark your progress and keep track of the changes you make in your life.

5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss: Evolve Your Mind to Transform Your Body by Dr. Tommy Voris is the product of many years of personal growth, development, trial and error that finally led to success. It is extremely well written in a friendly, conversational tone and provides support, understanding and guidance so that virtually anyone can achieve the gift of permanent, sustainable weight loss. Not an easy ‘fix’ by any means, following the steps offered in this text requires a lot of hard work and deep soul-searching to overcome years of excuses and subconscious traps. With a solid anchor in psychology, 5 Evolutions For Sustainable Weight Loss is no gimmick or trick but sound advice for becoming the best person you can become – from not only a weight loss perspective but in your overall attitude towards life.

Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite

Our Journey with Prostate Cancer: Empowering Strategies for Patients and Families by Judith Anne Desjardins LCSW BCD MSWAC is a useful book that serves as a guided meditation to all those battling prostate cancer. The book provides spiritual and medical insights and also the entire process of recovery to spiritual development in patients. The author's experience of handling her husband's prostate cancer and their emotional and psychological journey together while going through the treatment is very inspirational. Her insights into the dynamics of cancer, treatment and healing are comforting to readers who are around those going through this or the patients themselves.

The journal entries of the author have a lot of informative facts and also guide readers. The book is definitely helpful to all those who are going through this difficult phase in their lives. The meditations and tips for checking on one's spiritual and physical health are also very useful. The recommendations for cancer patients and their families who are experiencing anxiety and panic attacks are encouraging and supportive. Dealing with cancer can be stressful and tiring, and the book encourages those who are going through this traumatic phase to tap into the power of prayer. I liked the holistic approach to handling the disease which reiterates the power of hope, love and healing. The insights into physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being are not only powerful but also comforting.

Reviewed by Viga Boland for Readers' Favorite

What a delightful read 101+ Secrets from Nutrition School by Lynne M. Dorner is! I came to this book with no knowledge of its contents, but I was curious what more I could possibly learn about nutrition than I already know at 69 years of age. Well, to my surprise, I did learn a few new things. And to my further surprise, I realized that, despite the title, 101+ Secrets from Nutrition School was about a lot more than just what I put in my mouth! As a certified holistic health coach, Lynne Dorner is interested in feeding the whole person ie. not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. She realizes, and puts across to her readers in a joyous, almost light-hearted way, that good health is possible when the mind, heart and body are working together well, and imbalance in one can throw the entire being off balance.

Using simple illustrations and lots of humor in neat, short chapters, Lynne drives home what we need to know about eating healthily, reminding us that fat is good for us too, despite the rap it's taken over the past 30 years; that we can fill our plates to the brim...as long as it's with the right foods...that we need exercise and oxygen; that we should buy our fruits and veggies from local farmers where possible; that we need to be wary of what's on and in the foods we buy in the supermarkets; and that when we're reading labels, what to look for. Nothing new there? You'll be surprised what Lynne Dorner shares that you perhaps didn't know e.g. our brains resemble walnuts, a cut carrot our eyes, tomatoes our hearts, kidney beans our kidneys and so on. Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she designed those organs to remind us of what's good for us.

And when Lynne Dorner is done turning a few food nutrition myths upside down, she moves in on that other nutrition, the one that feeds the soul and mind: meditation, breathing, relaxation, doing what you love and loving what you do. Towards the end of 101+ Secrets from Nutrition School, Lynne Dorner advises us to look in the mirror and see the most beautiful person in the world: ourselves. No, her advice here isn't new, but if you keep 101+ Secrets from Nutrition School in a handy spot, you can remind yourself daily, and quickly, of those things we need to remember as we begin each day. You'll love it.

Reviewed by Teodora Totorean for Readers' Favorite

3 Off the Tee: No Excuses, The Fit Mind-Fit Body Strategy Book by Lorii Myers is a motivational self-help book that guides readers through the mind and body connection path in order to achieve success in every aspect of their life. The focus is on physical activity and correct diet in conjunction with a mental strength – by exercising body and mind, people will become healthier and fitter, regardless of their age. The book carries readers through a few steps they need to take to reach their goal: from training the brain by learning something new all the time, to managing excuses, visualizing aspirations, and finding the strategy that works. The reference to the golf game throughout the book, starting with the title, is an analogy for the continuous improvement process that one needs to adopt so as to eliminate excuses and succeed.

The book is informative and enjoyable. The golf metaphor is subtle, contributing to the overall understanding of the concept, even for non-golfers. The action plans in the second part are designed to apply the concepts of the book while reading it, so at the end you will start your own journey towards the fit mind-fit body strategy. The final chapters on recommended caloric intake, healthy eating, and exercising routine suggestions are useful, thus making this a life changing manual you can revisit any time. I highly recommend the book for anyone who wants to start their fit mind-fit body regime, regardless of their age or fitness level. I surely started mine!

Reviewed by Kim Anisi for Readers' Favorite

Four Quadrant Living by Dina Colman is a book everyone should read. It may be in the category of health books, but it takes a far broader approach than books that simply focus on the body and its health. Dina Colman shows readers that health consists of much more than simply having a healthy and fit body. She divides health into four different factors: Relationships, Environment, Body, and Mind. Each of those factors, or quadrants, is described in four main chapters. These are divided into smaller sub-chapters that look at various aspects of the four quadrants. For each quadrant, there are questions at the end of the main chapter, so readers can see whether they need to work on this quadrant or not.

Even though the concept behind the Four Quadrant Living is not new to me, I found a lot of useful information within the different chapters and thought that this book was very valuable. I am also aware that many people out there don't know much about how different aspects of life have such an immense effect on their overall health. I think that a book like this should be read by everyone, especially by people who tend to be sick a lot and who often feel very low in energy. It might very well be that one of the many tips in this book could help people like that to make little changes in their lives than can have a very positive effect! In addition, the book never gets boring, so that's another plus.

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

“The Lotus Project: The Art of Being a Woman” by Lyn Hicks gives a new perspective on women's roles at home, in the workplace and in the society. It awakens and encourages women to become mindful of their intuition and wisdom that are just waiting to be discovered. In her words, “Seeking true nourishment and nurturing begins with ourselves and continues as a recurring theme through all areas of our lives.”

First of all, this is a beautiful book that is so pleasing to the eyes. The cover art is simply stunning and the interior design definitely shimmering with femininity. I really enjoyed this self-help, personal transformation book. It is an easy read and simply put together very well - absolutely inspiring. I get something from almost every page turned. I was enlightened as I kept reading. It conveys the powerful, uplifting message about embracing your femininity, about how to honor yourself to create a positive state of mind. The information inside is a wonderful celebration of how to live and celebrate the life of being a female. A lot of the guidance is innovative and intelligent and makes you smile and nod in agreement with the insight of the author. Dance, artistic environmentalism, healthy eating, yoga and many more tools are shared by the author which are sure to help readers live a happier and healthier life. A necessary material for all women today, this book is simply worth reading again and again. Simple, yet memorable and empowering. I highly recommend it to my fellow females.