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Rating: 
Summary: Superb motivator and tracker
Review: Despite the strong "women" nomenclature, this book serves equally well for men OR women who want to better their health and improve their wellness. As Miriam Nelson explains in the preface, the best predictor of people becoming more fit (exercise, diet) is whether they keep a journal or not. This structured journal means that in just a few minutes a day you can record the key facts about your program and progress (or lack of it) to keep you on track. HIGHLY recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Despite the strong "women" nomenclature, this book serves equally well for men OR women who want to better their health and improve their wellness. As Miriam Nelson explains in the preface, the best predictor of people becoming more fit (exercise, diet) is whether they keep a journal or not. This structured journal means that in just a few minutes a day you can record the key facts about your program and progress (or lack of it) to keep you on track. HIGHLY recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Tool
Review: Great layout for tracking your healthy (or not) behaviors. Weekly format lets you review at a glance how you are doing. This is particularly nice since consistent behavior is so important. Two pages per week for personal notes with check off boxes for sleep, vigor and mood. One page per week for food records with plenty of room to be specific or just mark number of food group servings in provided boxes. One page per week for physical activity records with a separate place for strengh training and number of steps taken (for pedometer fans).This journal is a great motivator. I think because it's for 52 weeks (you can start anytime) it lets you really see that your overall daily choices and behaviors are what impact your health the most. That super duper hot fudge sundae isn't going to cancel out all the good choices you are making. Highly recommend! I bought one for my Mom and we are doing it together!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Tool
Review: Great layout for tracking your healthy (or not) behaviors. Weekly format lets you review at a glance how you are doing. This is particularly nice since consistent behavior is so important. Two pages per week for personal notes with check off boxes for sleep, vigor and mood. One page per week for food records with plenty of room to be specific or just mark number of food group servings in provided boxes. One page per week for physical activity records with a separate place for strengh training and number of steps taken (for pedometer fans). This journal is a great motivator. I think because it's for 52 weeks (you can start anytime) it lets you really see that your overall daily choices and behaviors are what impact your health the most. That super duper hot fudge sundae isn't going to cancel out all the good choices you are making. Highly recommend! I bought one for my Mom and we are doing it together!
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I am a fan of Miriam Nelson and the Strong Women books but I returned this book because I thought it was poorly designed. It is organized by week, not by day, and within each week there are different sections for exercise, food, etc. so that you have to switch back and forth between the sections (and pages) to record your different behaviors on a single day. Plus, there are some daily behaviors, e.g., drinking lots of water, which are only noted with one (i.e., a weekly) checkbox--it appears that she wanted to remind you to drink lots of water but didn't have room to include a daily checkbox for it or for other behaviors which should occur daily (e.g., a multivitamin). It would have been more logical -- and easier to use -- if one could note one's actions and behaviors for a single day on the same page or page spread. (I have since found out that you can do this with Bob Greene's journal, Get With the Program.) On top of that, I saw at least two typos: in the intro section there's a phrase about "difficult people's" routines that was most obviously meant to read "different people's" routines. Why would anyone want to follow a difficult person's health and fitness routine? :) And on at least one of the page footers, it reads "umber" instead of "number." I did not think that it featured the "essentials" or "highlights" of the Strong Women books (as the promo blurb claims it does). It has a few things here and there, but it's mostly anecdotes from readers whose diverse experiences may not be all that relevant to you. And some of Nelson's tips aren't helpful, e.g., when doing errands, resolve to walk to every destination less than a mile away. How could any busy person do that? Funny, I came across a Web site that reviewed one of Nelson's later books. I can't remember the title of the book or the Web site, but she thought Nelson was getting sloppy after the first two books, perhaps because she is being asked to churn out at least one book a year. I couldn't help but think of that review when I finally got a close look at this book. To each her own of course. The design may work for you, but look carefully at the book before you buy. On the other hand the Strong Women "Stay Slim" and "Stay Young" books are quite good. So is her Web site, www.strongwomen.com.
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