Give Your Heart to Weight Loss: The Past is Present (Part 2)

Give Your Heart to Weight Loss: A Woman’s Guide to New Diet Books for Spring 2012
Part 2 of a 4-Part Series

    A slim waist, tasty meals, and a healthier heart are all results promised to women by well-known weight loss gurus in spring’s new diet books. Women of all ages are looking to find eating and exercise plans that fit their schedule and mindset. In honor of this month’s American Heart Month, 3 new books promise to change your beliefs on eating, wellness, and prevention of heart disease, which is the leading killer of women. Here is the second book in in this 4-entry blog series:

Book 2: The Prevention Approach

   Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., offers an internal approach to weight loss with The Blood Sugar Solution, (Hardcover, Little, Brown & Company) noted his practice as a family physician to detecting and treating chronic diseases. He focuses on a 7-step program including improving brain function, dispelling health myths, and focusing on hormones, all aiding in reaching optimal blood sugar composition. Caitlin Runne, 25, a graduate student in pharmacology from Iowa City, Iowa looks forward to reading Hyman’s approach. “I spend so much of my day studying chemical reactions, but I never considered that they play just as big a role in my body’s weight loss as eating healthy  and hitting the gym,” she says. Runne has lost over 10 pounds on diet and exercise alone, but knows her challenging schedule sometimes prevents her from sticking to a strict gym and preparing healthy meals regime.  

 
   Dr. Hyman’s book includes a focus on prevention and management and what he refers to “diabesity,” or diabetes caused by obesity and overeating. He identifies risk factors for pre-diabetes conditions and explains that there is no longer a traditional risk factor for diabetes in the American lifestyle. As a reader with a family history of Diabetes, I considered the average sweet snacks my parents and grandparents would keep around the house. It was always a post dinner treat of vanilla ice cream, apple pie and pound cake. although I have a sweet tooth, I have began swapping sweet nighttime treats for apples and Greek yogurt.

   One chapter delves into overeating and food addiction as key genetic factors contributing to fluctuation in insulin levels and weight management. Stork spends great detail explaining that weight loss is impacted significantly (both positively and negatively) by your body’s internal functions and your family history, which need to be addressed just as importantly as consuming lean foods and completing workouts. Hyman’s previous books include UltraMetabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss (Atira Books, 2008, $16.00), and TheUltraMind Solution (Simon & Schuster, 2008, $17.00). 

   Whether you’re struggling with planning low-calorie meals, getting your body jump started, those stubborn pounds, or a reliable fitness routine, there’s a book for you. Both the medical and fitness communities apply different methods to approach eating, working out, and weight management, but they are united in their desire to get women healthy, happy, and heart-conscious.

Image from amazon.com. 

See the first entry in this series here. 
See the third entry in this series here. 
Read tips and recipes here.