Rating: 
Summary: Great Health Book
Review: Believe me, I've read a million health/diet/nutrition books, and this is one of my favorites. It kind of combines some elements of macrobiotics and a vegan diet. However, you don't have to go cold turkey. There are three levels to each of the ten steps, and she helps you gradually reach the point where you want to be. It's not all-or-nothing, and she peppers it with humor and personal stories. It is well-written and researched.
It really is a great book, and if you follow just a few of the 10 steps you will see a huge difference in your body and health. Definately worth the money, and then some!!
Rating:
Summary: Make a Life-time change!
Review: LIFESTYLE CHANGE
Apparently after years of fluctuating weight, diets, doctors, therapists, nutritionists, etc., etc., Marilu Henner of "Taxi" fame has compiled a book with an approach to bring health and vitality to a new level and to add years to your life. She intends to get you to rid your old lifestyle habits. CONVERSATIONAL TONE, HUMOROUS - This book is written in a very casual conversational tone. Included are pictures of herself during various stages of her life. It is like she is addressing you personally because the books lacks the hard core technical mumble jumble that most health books contain. Healthy recipes offering colorful pictures fill many pages. FOOD COMBINING - GREAT THAT'S ALL WE NEED, ANOTHER CHALLENGE
You can follow much of the requirements such as reexamining your relationship with food, your lifestyle and your health. However, when I read about "food combining" I was taken aback! It isn't easy making drastic changes, but when she tells you too watch what foods you combine, I find this just another difficult step that seems quite a challenge. Food combining is when protein and starches are eaten together, it takes too much energy to digest that meal. This is explained thoroughly. Probably one of the most challenging conquests to better living. THE COMPLETE SCOOP ON OUR POOP! Henner discusses the digestive process and its disorders, everything you ever wanted to know about poop - but were too embarrassed to ask! Everything is here, from consistency, color, how often, how much, etc.
TEN STEP PROGRAM - The book is laid out to cover Ten Steps to a complete makeover - One Step at A Time starting at a beginner level (easing gradually into changes) to makeover maniac.
1. Chemicals - all about reading ingredients.
2. Caffeine Cutting down on caffeine
3. Sugar - actually working toward eliminating everything sweet
4. Meat - that dreaded meat again!
5. Dairy - Giving up dairy products
6. Food Combining - Oh boy, this isn't going to be easy!
7. Fat - Can't ever leave fat discussions out of healthy lifestyle change
8. Exercise and Stress - Walk, jog, strengthen!
9. Sleep - Notice your sleep pattern
10. Gusto - Just plain gusto! If you can follow this plan, faithfully, you may just live to be 120 years old. ........MzRizz.
Rating:
Summary: Will change your life--if you are ready
Review: Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover changed my life! Marilu put into writing ideas that I had floating around in my mind and made sense of them. Like, why am I eating high fat and lots of red meat on the Atkins diet and trying to fool myself into thinking that it won't effect my health later? And is a pound of fat lost today worth a pound of diseased flesh later in life? Marilu showed me how to lose weight in an easy, fun, healthy manner. She introduced me to some new ideas about how my digestive system works, and why calves can digest cows milk but I cannot. If only I had known this as a child, it would have saved me years of discomfort. She talks about smart carbs, and how they're good for us - yeah, I love my carbs! And fruit - what a natural cleansing way to start the day, I got my fruit again! After I read her book I logged onto her Message Boards at Marilu.com and was amazed at the support I found there. And then I discovered her 30-day Total Health Makeover, packed full or recipes and menus for a whole 30 days to show us just how easy it is to eat this way. I LOVE the Total Health Makeover and it truly has changed my life! I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to lose weight - or just get healthy!
Rating:
Summary: Yeah for Dairy Free!!!
Review: ...and Americans are clearly too ignorant of what they're putting into their mouths. Skyrocketing obesity, heart disease and cancer rates all show that we are not acknowledging how our bodies deal with what we ingest. The digestive process simply does not know how to break down the majority of ingredients in a typical commercial product. (Remember, the food companies are in the biz to make money, not to see to our nutritional well-being.) I think Marilu's addressing the issue of chemical additives is so important. Next, I'm grateful for the information about sugar. Addressing these two factors alone would probably relieve thousands of families who deal with unhealthy, overweight, and/or hyperactive children. As for her guidelines on food combining, Marilu is not the first to advocate this principle (nor does she claim to be). Inconvenient or not, the simple fact is that the body isn't designed to digest starches and proteins together. Many people have no issues with this, but for those of us whose bodies feel bogged down, have depleted energy and slow metabolisms, food combining makes a huge difference. Several reviewers take issue with her unprofessional manner of writing. That does not undermine the value or correctness of what she is teaching. She's not a clinician or doctor, so don't expect tons of laboratory-style expression. But, like a friend, she is imparting her own experience and research. The reading is light and fun, but make no mistake...the subject matter is sound. I've never liked nor disliked Marilu Henner as a celebrity. In fact, I tend to be turned off by celebrity endorsements. I'm grateful I overcame my prejudice long enough to stick my nose in this book. Implementing the priciples of the Total Health Makeover helped my skin clear up, fueled my energy like I've never experienced, improved my mental clarity and outlook, and helped me drop 12 pounds with no portion control in place. This book is somewhat limited on recipe ideas. I have supplemented this with both the 30-Day Makeover book, and most recently I bought her Healthy Life Kitchen. That book is packed with THM-compliant recipes that are awesome! "You are what you eat" has long been an accepted standard; this program bears that out.
Rating: 
Summary: Success on a diet does not a diet expert make....
Review: I bought this book last year and after trying it for a month I could no longer follow Marilu's bizarre regimen of eating. Food combining (proteins and carbs separate) put me on a blood sugar sugar roller coaster and made me feel drained and miserable much of the time. It was a challenge to get any sort of protein at all since almost meat and dairy with the exceptions of egg whites and fish are forbidden. Most protein was derived from soy which has increasingly come under fire as a potential health hazard in and of itself when consumed in large amounts as Marilu encourages. I don't know about anyone else, but I am not willing to spend the rest of my life depending on fish and soy as my only sources of protein. The other problem that I have with this book is that Marilu goes off on this tirade against milk and additives. As for milk, I think her fears are ungrounded and can be circumvented if you are really worried about by drinking organic milk. As for additives, I agree with her the sugar is very, very bad and should be eliminated from the diet as much as possible. Other additives I choose not to fret over. They are in everything and seriously doubt that Yellow No.6 is going to kill anyone. I think a good deal of this book is devoted to hysterics without much evidence to back them up. I would strongly recommend against following this diet, especially to those with blood sugar disorders. I would recommend a good low-carb diet such as Atkins or Protein Power instead.
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