How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
by Paul Chek
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Book Reviews of How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
Book Review: A good Swiss-army-knife book for health.
Summary: 4 Stars
Well illustrated, detailed without being overly technical. Explanations are generally nice & clear. Goes into lots of detail on the basics of eating, digestion, and exercise. Contains little tests to check out various elements of your state of being such as metabolic type, flexibility, conditioning level, etcetera, then prescribes various program elements to fit your needs. Large colorful layout makes it seem less intimidating, less textbook-like.
I'm sure some will dislike it because it doesn't dig deeply enough into some topics. I like that he doesn't use ten pages to hammer a point when one will do. The result is that the text moves along, and you'll spend your time learning useful principles. Though it does have the most detailed and interesting chapter on, well, pooping (his word!), that I've ever seen. If you are squeamish about this subject, you won't be after you finish the chapter, complete with illustrative poop cartoons.
Chek is seen shirtless, looking quite buff in a number of photos. There are two issues I have with this: One is that, as other reviewers have noted, he did not get to looking like that via just the exercises in this book, putting in a couple of hours a week at the gym. The other is that he is at 8% body fat in the pics, and I seriously question the wisdom of advocating that as a healthy goal. 8% looks really cool, but some people feel that actually ends up being hard on the body (and the brain inside). I'd like to hear him speak to this.
The other very minor thing I dislike about it is the conspicuous presence of the CHEK Institute throughout the book. The testimonials scattered throughout are interesting, but they are either by professional pretty people like actors, or CHEK practitioners, people who have certification on the Paul Chek philosophy. I guess that is testimony itself, that these people apparently thought so highly of Chek's work that they decided to become certified themselves, but it does give a sort of promotional, cultish ambiance to the book. I'm not saying the testimonials aren't real examples of what can be accomplished; it just would have been nice to see more average Joe testimonials.
If some skeptical short-attention-spanned friend invites me to give them ONE book to introduce them to the possibility of improving their health, this would probably be the book.
Book Review: Great all around fitness, nutrition and life style book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book about diet, exercise and general health. If you want to make changes to your life but aren't sure where to start out, this is definitely the book for you. If you want a solid explanation why you should change, followed up with research, this book is for you. Mr. Chek has taken information about diet, exercise, and mental and physical health from many different sources, including his own personal experiences, and compiled it into this book. The book is easy to read and is also an excellent starting point for anyone interested in improving his or her quality of life.
The book covers such a wide variety of topics and everyone will be able to learn something from this book. But in covering so many topics, there is a lack of depth in some areas. Fortunately Mr. Chek sites many references throughout the book, allowing you to dig deeper if they choose.
Paul is a big advocate of getting back to the basics. He uses examples of primal man and activities primal man engaged in through out his book. If primal man survived moving and eating a certain way, we should adopt those patterns to our own life. I personally agree with this way of thinking, I'm sure some others will not.
The sections on training programs are excellent; my only gripe is the advanced program. Mr. Chek definitely practices what he preaches, but I doubt he got to where he is doing the advanced program presented in this book. I remember seeing pictures of Paul doing a one-arm push up on a Bosu and another of him doing a sit up on a Swiss ball with a 100+ pound dumbbell across his chest. Those sorts of very high level exercises are absent.
I'm nit picking with this, so Ill digress.
I personally enjoyed the book and have recommended it to many of my friends. This book as something for everyone, especially the person looking for a starting point. If you are serious about making life style changes and want a solid explanation as to why you should or shouldn't change something in your life; get this book. The book is easy to read but application of the topics will take time. Don't expect a magic band-aid. After all, this book it about life style changes and that takes time.
Book Review: Worst health and fitness book I've ever read.
Summary: 1 Stars
Someone gave me this book a while ago and I finally just read it. This is the worst book I've read on the subject. The quizzes up front have the point values next to the answers (it's obvious right off the bat that points are bad), which makes them useless. We are told that if we cannot eat organic foods, drink Fuji water, and avoid the microwave then we are being unhealthly. The environmental benefits of avoiding bottled water and cooking with a microwave aside, this advice gives the sense that to be healthy you have to be rich and have lots of time to make meals. Often the least healthy families are those who frequently eat fast food or restaurant food because of time and money contraints. Take away their microwave and tell them they have to buy organic vegetables and I think many will just feel discouraged and stop trying.
Later he says that decreasing calorie intake is not the way to lose weight. That is plain nonsense. In this country our portions are out of control. Previous generations ate things with butter and drank whole milk and were thinner and in better shape than we are, because they understood eating things in moderation. While I agree that decreasing calorie intake to an unsustainable level is not a way to lose weight and keep it off, I do believe that many of us are just plain eating too much.
Some of the things he says, like avoid refined grains and sugars, are correct, but there are other sources that are far more interesting and informative on those subjects (try Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by Dr. Walter C. Willett, similar title but far better).
The only thing I liked about this book were the pictures of the exercises. There are a lot of stretches and strength training exercises in the book and the diagrams are useful.
Book Review: Very good but needs a little more!
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall this book is very interesting and educational. It is very detailed and explains how to achieve great overall health such as eating the right foods, exercise, lower your stress, etc.
However, it is overwhelming to me as there are many exercises for different purposes. I have to concentrate to sort out which ones to perform to individualize it. I am more of a class or DVD type of exerciser so that may explain why I feel overwhelmed by it. His DVD "Better Abs, Buns, and Back" is very good and uses a Swiss Ball. You can find it on the CHEK Institute website.
This book, as well as many others I have read, lack in practical recipes for busy families. I wish there would have been some easy, healthy recipes, or at least some resources referenced as far are websites or cookbooks. ( I find the healthy foods as necessary but eating boiled chicken breasts and salads get old fast. Also where we live we do not have access to all the items listed especially fresh organic produce.)
I believe the book kind of leaves you hanging as far as how to take the recommended foods for your metabolic type and turn them into meals for the family.
I don't typically purchase many books but this one is worth buying if you can't find it at your local library. It may just take a little time to sort out what fits for you and what your goals are. You can even take it a step further and see a CHEK practitioner in your area to help meet your health and fitness goals.
I also recommend books by Dr. Joseph Mercola, but check out your local library first.
Book Review: A long needed wake up call
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a breath of fresh air in a stale subject area. We all know that we need to eat well and exercise to be healthy. However most books still recommend a one-size-fits-all approach. This book is different.
We as human beings are all biochemically unique. We are as different on the outside as we are on the inside. Our nutrition plans, exercise programs, stress management and lifestyle all have to be different so we can achieve optimal health. On the same page though, we all have commonalities. We all need water, air, food and shelter to survive. This book informs us on the how and the why to do it.
The book covers a vast amount of information without too much technical information. There are also mind maps which cater for the more visual learner. It covers:
1. Food quality
2. Exercise - including flexibility, core function, performance training and energetic exercise
3. Digestion
4. Sleep
5. Customized individual nutrition plans
6. Stress and its affect on the body
Paul has done a brilliant job in teaching us the fundamentals of how to get healthy, not just how to avoid disease. True health is not a magic pill, potion or supplement; it can only be achieved by sticking to fundamental principles and listening to the person who knows your body best - you!