Milestone birthdays can be stressful times. I find it’s always around any birthday ending in 0 that I start reaching for self-help books. This year was no different. Soon after my birthday, I started reading the following…
Change your habits, change your life (A Proven Plan for Healthy Living) by Danna Demetre. In this book, Demetere, a lifestyle coach, provides a 40 day guide to how you can make dynamic and lasting changes to your life by taking an ‘inside-out’ approach. Along the way, you will learn how to turn unhealthy thoughts healthy, stay active and maximize your energy by eating …read more

What I’ve been reading this week…
Healing through writing is the theme of Writing Away The Demons: Stories of Creative Coping through Transformative Writing edited by Dr. Sherry Reiter. The book is a collection of stories written by those who took up a pen and paper during their crisis -  be it alcoholism, domestic violence, cancer, and addiction.  Informative, enlightening, and inspiring, each story offers encouragement and insight to readers who might be in similar circumstances.
Deborah King suggests that what you hide can hurt you in Truth Heals, a book that focuses on the relationship between the suppression of truth and …read more

Raising kids is never easy, especially in this age of junk food, technology, and information overload. We are constantly bombarded by the media with news of rising childhood obesity rates, inactivity, and poor eating habits.
What’s a parent to do? Well, one thing that might help is reading Dr Rob’s Guide to Raising Fit Kids. While he doesn’t have all the answers, his expertise as a physician, coach, and parent allows him to provide a general blueprint on how to raise a healthy child
Dr Rob is actually Dr Robert S Gotlin, Director of Orthopaedic and Sports Rehabilitation in the Department of …read more

Did you know that around 40 million squirrels a year get run over on US roads simply because they are so busy running back and forth, with no plan or strategy, with the sole aim of finding nuts?
Which is why Andrew J Sherman, in his self-improvement book Road Rules, suggests that we need to ‘Be the Truck. Not the Squirrel.’
Unlike squirrels, trucks are big, powerful, and have a plan, road map, and destination in mind. They, unlike the squirrel, don’t get squashed.
Yes, it sounds a bit extreme, even violent and aggressive. But once you get into the book, you’ll find …read more

Fans of ‘The Biggest Loser’ reality series looking to lose weight will be pleased to hear that the doctor behind the program, Dr Robert Huizenga, has written a book “Where Did All The Fat Go” to guide them on their weight loss.
But if you plan on following his action plan, be ready to sweat.
Huizenga’s weight loss program focuses on large quantities of jogging daily and a strict balanced eating plan. According to him, the body has to work at 120%  7 days a week in order to lose the fat. To do this, anyone looking to lose weight needs to …read more

Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way and Vein of Gold, books about the process of writing through morning pages and journaling, has tackled dieting in her new book The Writing Diet.
A big fan of her previous two book on writing, I was interested on seeing how she incorporates writing into weight loss. Turns out she does it quite easily. Julia suggests that by using writing as a primary tool, you can figure out what’s causing your weight problem and then fix it.
Full of assignments and creative exercises, the book really makes you stop and think about the choices you …read more

Losing weight is not just about reducing and watching what you eat. There’s a myriad of other issues that also need to be addressed, ranging from lack of sleep, your environment,relationships with others and your personal history.
And that’s just what ‘You Can Think Yourself Thin’ focuses on.
Written by trained hypnotherapist Ursula James, You Can Think Yourself Thin offers clear and simple techniques that get you examining your  subconscious and changing  negative thought patterns into positive ones. 
The ultimate goal might be to lose weight, but according to James there’s a few things that you need to do first. You need to …read more

Recently I had laser surgery done on my varicose veins. My specialist had given me the choice of having the veins stripped or lasered.  What he didn’t realize was that to me there was no choice. I had no desire to be put under general anasthetic to have the veins stripped.
But for millions of people around the world, there is no choice. The surgery treatment they need requires them to have a general anesthetic (GA). And anyone who has to have a GA really should get all the facts before that happens. Unfortunately, that’s not always something they get from …read more

What causes hair loss?
 Can you prevent it?
Can lost hair be restored?
These are just some of the questions answered by the user-friendly Hair Loss & Replacement for Dummies. Co-authored by well known hair restoration surgeons Robert M. Bernstein, M.D., F.A.A.D., and Dr. William Rassman, this book gives both men and women a clear understanding about hair loss, hair loss prevention, hair replacement, natural remedies, over the counter treatments, and medical and hair transplant options.
Featured chapters include …

Getting To Know Your Hair ( What Causes Hair Loss; The Devastation Of Hair Loss In Women; Undergoing Hair Restoration Surgery)
Anatomy and Physiology of Hair …read more

David “Yeah Dave” Romanelli seems like a most unlikely guru. He seems too  goofy and outrageous for someone guiding others on a path to enlightenment. But in this day and age, gurus no longer need to be serious and focused. They just need to be able to show us a way to find pleasure, happiness, and enjoyment.
His book, Yeah Dave’s Guide to LiVIN’ the MOMENT is all about Dave and his Zen approach to happiness and living in the moment.  Informally written, it’s a rollercoaster ride through Dave’s life, complete with anecdotes and encounters that illustrate why we all need to slow …read more