1 Year, 100 Pounds: My Journey to a Better, Happier Life


Whitney Holcombe - 2013
    That number controlled her life until one day she went for a walk that changed everything. A little bit memoir and a whole lot of advice, 1 Year, 100 Pounds follows Whitney’s journey to battle obesity, negative self-image, and peer ridicule. Through following a healthy diet and exercise routine, Whitney shed the pounds without pills, trainers, or surgery. And along the way, she discovered the confidence to love her body. Reviewed by experts in the fields of diet, health, and fitness, with a foreword by Dr. Joseph Colella, a leading bariatric surgeon who endorses Whitney’s method of healthy weight loss over surgery, 1 Year, 100 Pounds is a personal guidebook packed with tips for making healthy food choices, easy exercises, and inspiration that empowers you to change your own life.

The PlantPlus Diet Solution: Personalized Nutrition for Life


Joan Borysenko - 2014
    She cuts through the thicket of confusing—and often downright wrong—advice on nutrition and gives you easy-to-digest, bite-sized servings of real scientific information so you can discover which foods your body needs to heal and thrive. Since Joan wears two hats—as a psychologist and a cell biologist—you can trust her to psych out your inner saboteur, enabling you to make the changes you’ve been dreaming of. And as a busy woman who loves good food, she’ll teach you how to make simple, scrumptious, satisfying meals that you and your family will love whether you’re omnivores, vegans, or vegetarians. In this groundbreaking book, Joan will help you:Get up-to-date information on the nutrition revolutionMake friends with the plants that feed your gut bacteriaLose the weight and keep it offUnderstand how diet changes your genes and how your genes determine your best dietFill out a health symptom checklist and track the changes as your personalized PlantPlus Diet optimizes your metabolismKnow which tests to ask your doctor for and whyCreate a sleek and streamlined PlantPlus kitchenMake fabulous meals in minutes with simple recipes and meal plans

The Slow Down Diet: Eating for Pleasure, Energy, and Weight Loss


Marc David - 2005
    As a result, most people propel themselves through life at a dizzying pace that is contrary to a healthy lifestyle. We eat fast, on the run, and often under stress, not only removing most of the pleasure we might derive from our food and creating digestive upset, but also wreaking havoc on our metabolism. Many of us come to the end of a day feeling undernourished, uninspired, and overweight.In The Slow Down Diet Marc David presents a new way to understand our relationship to food, focusing on quality and the possibilities of pleasure in eating to transform and improve metabolism. Citing cutting-edge research on body biochemistry as well as success stories from his own nutritional counseling practice, he shows that we are creatures of body, mind, and spirit and that when we attend to these levels simultaneously we can shed excess pounds, increase energy, and enhance digestion to feel rejuvenated and inspired. Marc David presents an eight-week program that allows readers to explore their unique connection to food, assisting them in letting go of their fears, guilt, and old habits so they can learn to treat their bodies in a dignified and caring way. He reveals the shortcomings of all quick-fix digestive aids and fad diets and debunks common nutrition myths, such as "the right way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more." He shows instead how to decrease cortisol and other stress-hormones and boost metabolic power through proper breathing and nutritional strategies that nourish both the body and soul, proving that fully enjoying each meal is the optimal way to a healthy body. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in nutritional medicine, the psychology of eating, and the science of yoga, Marc David offers readers practical tools that will yield life-transforming, sustainable results.

10 Pounds in 10 Days: The Secret Celebrity Program for Losing Weight Fast


Jackie Warner - 2012
    Now she's sharing the secret formula!  In 10 Pounds in 10 Days, Jackie reveals a program that your body will love and you will want to commit to for a lifetime. Rooted in Jackie's principles of fitness, this plan will give you a nutrient-rich, all-natural diet to jump-start your metabolism and rev up the fat burning; exercises to tone and sculpt your body to perfection; and the encouragement to turn your self-loathing into self-loving. Jackie's powerful 10 x 10 program will help you achieve your best body and the happiest you. Discover how to: DROP POUNDS RAPIDLY: Three simple 10-day eating plans and workouts-for a full 30 days of fat burning and toning EAT TO LOSE: Discover the superstar foods that encourage fat loss, satisfy cravings, and recharge your metabolism BURN FAT FAST: Specific high-intensity workouts that combine cardio-acceleration and resistance training to maximize burn and give ultimate tone in the fastest time possible KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF: The secret strategy for changing your set point so the pounds stay off permanently. Research-backed and client-proven, this program works! You'll feel better, eat healthier, exercise more efficiently, and above all, you'll lose up to 10 POUNDS IN 10 DAYS!

Flying on the Inside: A Memoir of Trauma and Recovery


Rachel Gotto - 2021
    Newly widowed and faced with a deadly brain tumour, she was given two years to live. She wanted more…When her six-year-old daughter found her collapsed on the kitchen floor, Rachel had no idea how much her life was about to change.A brain scan revealed a dark shadowy mass, a huge abnormal growth of tissue that, whilst benign, was still growing and would surely kill her. It was too big to operate on. It needed to be ‘managed’, and Rachel had, at best, two years to live.Refusing to accept the bleak prognosis, Rachel was determined to stay alive. She had already lost far too much. She had already watched her brother succumb, at only twenty-eight, to cancer. She had already lost her beloved husband in a terrible scuba diving accident when she was six months pregnant. So she did the only thing she knew how to do. She fought for her life.This gripping and inspiring memoir about overcoming tragedy and trauma charts one tenacious woman’s incredible fight to find light in the darkest of journeys. It is a life-affirming tale of positivity and hope in the face of the most difficult of human experiences.

Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training


Hal Higdon - 2016
    As contributing editor of Runner's World and best-selling author, he has helped countless runners achieve their distance goals. Now, he's created the definitive guide on today's most popular distance, the 13.1-mile half marathon.Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training is everything you wanted to know about running the half marathon, including where to begin, what to focus on, how to pace yourself, how to avoid injury, how to track your progress, how to stay the course, and how to improve. Whether this is your first or fiftieth half marathon, there is a plan for you.Inside you'll find more than 15 customizable programs, ranging from novice to advanced (you'll even find a walking-only plan), as well as proven strategies, race-day tips, and motivation from half-marathoners around the globe. From day 1 to mile 13.1, Hal will guide, encourage, and pace you to your goal.Other guides might help you complete the half, but only one will introduce you to the joys of running. Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Training is a book you'll return to for guidance and inspiration for a lifetime of running.

Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater


Michael Sokolove - 2013
      Why would the multimillionaire producer of Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon take his limo from Manhattan to the struggling former steel town of Levittown, Pennsylvania, to see a high school production of Les Misérables? To see the show performed by the astoundingly successful theater company at Harry S Truman High School, run by its legendary director, Lou Volpe. Broadway turns to Truman High when trying out controversial shows like Rent and Spring Awakening before they move on to high school theater programs across the nation. Volpe’s students from this blue-collar town go on to become Emmy-winning producers, entertainment executives, newscasters, and community-theater founders. Michael Sokolove, a Levittown native and former student of Volpe’s, chronicles the drama director’s last school years and follows a group of student actors as they work through riveting dramas both on and off the stage. This is a story of an economically depressed but proud town finding hope in a gifted teacher and the magic of theater.

An Impossible Life: The Inspiring True Story of a Woman's Struggle from Within


Rachael Siddoway - 2019
    Wife of a CEO, mother of three, living in a beautiful suburb, Sonja’s life appears ideal. How did she get here?In a gripping and breathtaking narrative that makes the reader feel as though they are listening in on a private conversation, Sonja tells the compelling real account of her struggle with marriage, motherhood, and mental illness.An Impossible Life is an unforgettable true story of perseverance when all hope seems lost. Intriguing and heartfelt, Sonja’s personal account of her mental health journey shines a beacon of hope to all who feel overwhelmed by the specter of mental illness.

The Hormone Secret: A 30-Day, Non-Prescription Plan to Reclaim Your Energy, Youth, and Vitality


Tami Meraglia - 2015
    Unlike many men their age, they may also suffer from sleep problems, osteoporosis, and depression. Too many middle-aged women have lost interest in sex, and they seem to age less slowly and gracefully than their male counterparts.Dr. Tami Meraglia knows that the magic word here is testosterone. While there is ample discussion in the medical community about the effects of estrogen loss, few people are aware of the importance of sufficient testosterone levels in women. A healthy balance helps women slim down, improves their mood, lowers the risk of cardiac disease, increases energy and libido, prevents osteoporosis, enhances skin tone and texture, and may even prevent cognitive decline—yet more than 90 percent of women over age forty-five suffer from low testosterone levels. In The Hormone Secret, Dr. Tami offers a thirty-day plan to fix this imbalance, using evidence-based remedies including herbs, vitamins, nutrition, and sometimes topical creams and bioidentical testosterone replacement therapy (they key is low dosage to prevent unwanted side effects). She also offers her hormone-customized Mediterranean Diet–based meal plan and low-impact exercise ideas that will immediately boost your energy levels.With cutting-edge research and strong scientific evidence to support Dr. Tami’s thirty-day plan, The Hormone Secret gives you all the information you need to balance your hormones and improve your vitality for a strong and healthy life.

My Confection: Odyssey of a Sugar Addict


Lisa Kotin - 2016
    Kotin is addicted to sugar. My Confection is a darkly funny and candid memoir of where sugar took this teenage mime when she left her San Francisco Bay Area home in pursuit of artistic greatness. From the strict macrobiotic house where she is kicked out for smuggling Snickers, to her early days of Overeaters Anonymous meetings where she is bewildered by the idea of submitting to a higher power, to the stylish shrink who suggests she figure out how many minutes of tennis equal the calories in one jelly donut, to the men she unwraps and consumes like cheap chocolate bars, Kotin careens from romantic disasters to caloric catastrophes. Original and surprisingly affecting, this portrait of a sugar addict has nothing to do with losing weight or getting fit but rather with coming out of the (sugar) closet, finding allies who understand, and learning how to live healthfully, in spite of her compulsion.

Just Eat: One Reporter's Quest for a Weight-Loss Regimen That Works


Barry Estabrook - 2021
    . . This will completely change your ideas about what you should be eating."--Ruth Reichl, author of Save Me the PlumsInvestigative journalist Barry Estabrook was often on the receiving end of his doctor's scowl. Realizing he had two options--take more medication or lose weight--Estabrook chose the latter, but was paralyzed by the options. Which diet would keep the weight off? What program could he maintain over time? What diet works best--or even at all?Over the course of three years, Estabrook tried the regimens behind the most popular diets of the past forty years--from paleo, keto, gluten-free, and veganism to the Master Cleanse, Whole30, Atkins, Weight Watchers--examining the people, claims, and science behind the fads, all while recording his mental and physical experience of following each one. Along the way, he discovered that all the branded programs are derived from just three diets. There are effective, scientifically valid takeaways to be cherry-picked . . . and the rest is just marketing. Perhaps most alarming, Estabrook uncovered how short-term weight loss can do long-term health damage that may go undetected for years. Estabrook contextualizes his reporting with an analysis of our culture's bizarre dieting history, dating back to the late 1800s, to create a thorough--and thoroughly entertaining--look at what specific diets do to our bodies, why some are more effective than others, and why our relationship with food is so fraught.Estabrook's account is a relatable, pragmatic look into the ways we try to improve our health through dieting, revealing the answer may be to just eat.

Chanel Bonfire


Wendy Lawless - 2013
    But that didn't stop her from wanting one.Georgann Rea didn't bake cookies or go to PTA meetings; she wore a mink coat and always had a lit Dunhill plugged into her cigarette holder. She had slept with too many men, and some women, and she didn't like dogs or children. Georgann had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.In this evocative, darkly humorous memoir, Wendy deftly charts the highs and lows of growing up with her younger sister in the shadow of an unstable, fabulously neglectful mother. Georgann, a real-life Holly Golightly who constantly reinvents herself as she trades up from trailer-park to penthouse, suffers multiple nervous breakdowns and suicide attempts, while Wendy tries to hide the cracks in their fractured family from the rest of the world.Chanel Bonfire depicts a childhood blazed through the refined aeries of The Dakota and the swinging townhouses of London, while the girls' beautiful but damned mother desperately searches for glamour and fulfillment. Ultimately, they must choose between living their own lives and being their mother's warden.

What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the Ninety-Something Track Star Who Is Smashing Records and Outpacing Time, and What She Can Teach Us About How to Live


Bruce Grierson - 2014
    Olga Kotelko is not your average ninety-three-year-old. She not only looks and acts like a much younger woman, she holds over twenty-three world records in track and field, seventeen in her current ninety to ninety-five category. Convinced that this remarkable woman could help unlock many of the mysteries of aging, Grierson set out to uncover what it is that’s driving Olga. He considers every piece of the puzzle, from her diet and sleep habits to how she scores on various personality traits, from what she does in her spare time to her family history. Olga participates in tests administered by some of the world’s leading scientists and offers her DNA to groundbreaking research trials. What emerges is not only a tremendously uplifting personal story but a look at the extent to which our health and longevity are determined by the DNA we inherit at birth, and the extent to which we can shape that inheritance. It examines the sum of our genes, opportunities, and choices, and the factors that forge the course of any life, especially during our golden years.

The Magnolia Story


Chip Gaines - 2016
    As this question fills the airwaves with anticipation, their legions of fans continue to multiply and ask a different series of questions, like—Who are these people?What’s the secret to their success? And is Chip actually that funny in real life? By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper, they have become America’s new best friends.The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.They both attended Baylor University in Waco. However, their paths did not cross until Chip checked his car into the local Firestone tire shop where Joanna worked behind the counter. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Soon they were married and living in their first fixer upper. Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garners the attention of a television producer who notices her work on a blog one day.In The Magnolia Story fans will finally get to join the Gaines behind the scenes and discover:-The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby-Joanna’s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children-When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck-Joanna’s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home-Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple-Memories and photos from Chip and Jo’s wedding-The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do-The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the wayAnd yet there is still one lingering question for fans of the show: Is Chip really that funny? “Oh yeah,” says Joanna. “He was, and still is, my first fixer upper.”

Stronger, Faster, Smarter: A Guide to Your Most Powerful Body


Ryan Ferguson - 2015
     How many of us really understand that every moment counts, and that physical strength and confidence enable our mind and spirit to make the most of our lives?  Ryan Ferguson does.  He survived nearly a decade behind bars for a murder he did not commit. An innocent collegian imprisoned at nineteen, Ferguson’s disbelief turned to resolve after his father told him: “Son, do whatever you can to get stronger, faster, and smarter.  This is now your number one priority.”In his darkest hour, even after countless appeals and disappointment, in a place that threatened physical violence, malnutrition, and offered almost no medical aid, Ferguson knew his physical health was paramount. In this startlingly elegant, authentic, and inspiring guide, Ferguson shares his simple, universally attainable recipe for health and power.