Eat Your Way to Happiness: 10 Diet Secrets to Improve Your Mood, Curb Your Cravings and Keep the Pounds Off

I have never been what I would call "fat" but over the last decade I have gradually been swelling up from the size and weight I was through college and the first 5 years of my working life. After going through 2 pants sizes, losing my hair, losing my enthusiasm and energy, I thought this book seemed like a worthy choice when it showed up on the Vine list. I'm not concerned so much with losing weight as I am with being healthy and feeling good - and that is exactly the focus of this book. I'm also worried about Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, since many of my family have recently been stricken by one or the other of those conditions. You can make dietary changes and take steps early to potentially prevent these illnesses. I think lots of people will appreciate this approach. Most of the advice is basic common sense stuff that you've known all your life: Eat more vegetables. Fish is brain food. Cut back on sugar. Avoid processed carbs and eat whole grains instead. Avoid fried food. Enjoy decadent treats in moderation. Drink water instead of soda or booze. Exercise. I used to know all of this, but when I started working full-time I developed bad habits, eating what was convenient instead of what's healthy. This book serves as a wake-up call, reminding me of what I should be doing, and it backs up my great-grandmother's dietary wisdom with modern scientific evidence. Now we know exactly HOW these foods are good for you, and how they affect the body's internal processes. Reading this book will make you want to put down the Twinkie and eat a fresh peach instead. I have already started implementing some of the changes which Elizabeth Somer recommends. The back of the book contains a sample two-week itinerary of mood and wellness-boosting meals. There is a section with about a dozen recipes, and an index of more than 100 products that meet the "Real Food" guidelines. I wonder how many of these brands will still be around in five years' time, but it makes a good shopping list _right now_. I strongly recommend this book for any junk-food-junkie (i.e. any typical American) who wants to feel better & be more energetic and more alert right now, and for the rest of his or her life.

When I got this book I was worried that it would cover the same thing that other diet and health books cover. One thing I did differently though is I implemented many of the suggestions the last 3 weeks in my diet, and I have felt great the last few weeks! The book promises that if you follow the secrets in the book it will stack the deck in favor of being blissfully fit and even though I am not "fit" as far as my weight goes, I have lost 5 pounds and really mentally feel good. I eat a lot of fast food, and I made myself a promise for three weeks to follow the books suggestions. Only eating really foods, and staying away from fast food made a huge difference. The book also talks about how important breakfast is and by adding a meal outside of the traditional three meals a day, this helps me not binge and continue to feel full and happy. The mood food chapter was a great chapter as well, as I bring tart dried cherries with me everywhere I go, and they help me keep my diet on track. The first week I felt like I was dieting, but the following two weeks I felt full and satisfied and happier. This book is all about making suggestions in healthy choices, and I can honestly feel like I am eating my way though happiness, and on a healthy track of eating right and living life healthy.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I first opened Eat Your Way to Happiness. I was largely skeptical, expecting another diet book without a lot of new information and without much research to back it up. Boy, was I wrong. Everyone - that's right, EVERYONE - should own and read this book. In today's society, where we rely so heavily on fast and processed food, we've lost touch with the right way to eat. We pick up and eat foods without fully understanding how they impact our bodies. Even when we try to choose wisely, we can make poor choices simply because we lack the proper knowledge of what our bodies need and how they react to food, or because we fall victim to advertising buzz-words that make us think a food is healthy when it's not. It's no wonder so many people in the U.S. are overweight and in poor health. This book is written by a nutritionist, one who has heavily researched the connection between what we eat and how we feel as a result. She cites a lot of facts - many of which will probably surprise you - but the book is still easy to read and engaging. Moreover, the author gives you specific, concrete actions you can take to improve your diet. She doesn't just give you the facts; she tells you how to implement them. The book contains meal and snack suggestions, recipes, and even a two-week meal plan for those who want a full eating regimen to guide them. There's also a list of over 100 "real-food" products you can purchase at the grocery. (Some of these foods probably require a trip to a health food grocery, but there are many that can be found at the average store.) Even if you don't revamp your entire diet after reading this book, just taking away a few tips and making changes as a result will help you be healthier and feel better. Being better informed about the consequences of your food choices will help you make better choices and that will lead to higher energy and better all round health. A really good place to start with improving your health.

I was quite skeptical when I read the title, "Eat your way to Happiness"??? Really? Because I have done that in the past and while eating ice cream (especially Blue bell vanilla when I can get it) does make me happy, its only short-term happiness. But I do believe there is a link to what we eat and how our bodies perform mentally and physically, so I thought I would give this book a try. And so far it is working out well for me. This book does expect me to make some changes in my diet. An example is the importance of a good breakfast. Now I have always eaten breakfast, its just that my breakfast starts out as two cups of coffee and the the intention of eating something healthy. Then I turn on the PC and look to see what work situations I need to address that day. What normally happens is I start making phone calls, sending out emails, responding to emails, then I realize its about 10am and I missed breakfast completely and now I am hungry. So I grab something to snack on because its not quite lunch time yet. later I eat some lunch, do more work, feel myself getting stressed out by my overwhelming workload and all the problems I have to deal with, stay stressed for a few hours, then I calm myself down by remembering if there were no problems there would be no need for me at my company. A few more hours of work, then its dinner time and after dinner I am wiped out and sit around for a couple hours of TV, also some nap time because I seem to fall asleep on the couch a lot more lately. I have been following this book for a couple of weeks and have noticed changes right away. Not too miraculous because my diet before this book sucked, so anything would probably be an improvement. I have my coffee in the morning but follow it with a healthy breakfast. Usually something like Kashi cereal and maybe some fruit. But I have noticed a few things, I lost 5 pounds, seem to have way more energy throughout the day, and I do not feel hungry all day so my snacking has gone way down. Now I have always heard if you eat a proper breakfast it sets your body up for success that day. I have noticed if I eat a high carb breakfast, like a bagel, then I am starving all day and find myself constantly snacking. If I eat a high fat content breakfast I find myself needing a nap before lunch time. So this breakfast thing is something I will have to maintain, because I feel better and have more energy. I have also noticed that I do not seem to get stressed out, so maybe the title of the book is correct, I am eating my way to happiness. I have not implemented everything in the book, but I am making small changes. For instance we still grill. I love meat and will not stop using the charcoal grill, or my smoker, but I do pay more attention to the portion size. One small sized steak with a lot of veggies on the side is better than two large steaks and just a couple of forkfuls of veggies. I still feel just as satisfied after the meal, but notice I am n

I'm a guy in my 60s. And while I've always exercised regularly, it's become harder and harder to keep from gaining weight as the years go by. A few months ago a friend gave me a copy of the author's Food and Mood. I've always been put off by "diets", but I read it and it made a ton of sense. So I began adopting some of Somer's suggestions, not religiously but pretty much as the mood struck. Over time, I changed some (but not all) my bad eating habits, but got rid of the really terrible ones. Since reading it and without really "dieting" at all, I've lost 15 pounds and have a whole lot more energy to boot. I just finished Eat Your Way to Happiness. It's like Elizabeth Somer has emptied her lifetime collection of nutritional tidbits into a big box. She's selected the gems, organized them, and has written about them in a way that's fun to read and gives you good reasons to try them all. She even has recipes you don't have to be a gourmet cook to pull off. Great book.