Basic integrative medicine hidden in a lot of words
This was encouraging to read at first. Learning of Romie’s well-meaning but crazy medical residency, and eventually becoming a doctor, and all the ramifications of her lifestyle choices to do that, it was very interesting and enlightening.
But her chatty nature continues throughout the entire book, making what could easily have been a slim pamphlet into a giant novel that you have to wade through. She’s also extremely repetitive, assuming readers were not listening the first time. I understand this approach to a certain degree but she does it over and over and over again, and not in any any logical way - she’ll just suddenly repeat some idea from a previous chapter in the middle of an unrelated subject. It really makes it hard to follow.
Plus, she frequently refers to her website for specific resources that are no longer available on the website! Yes there is the BusyBrain quiz, and her TedTalk that first publicized her approach - but no “communities,” no app - just a waiting list you can sign up for to take one of her “courses.”
The enthusiastic eight week plan involves basic, healthy habits, 2/3 of which are common knowledge, and the others in my experience are also addressed if you have a good physician.
Basically they are: honestly assess what your lifestyle/health symptoms are, set expectations, commit to a regular sleep schedule, manage digital devices, especially near bedtime, consider taking a few supplements that can help with sleep (but make sure they aren’t contraindicated for the medication you may already be on), eat properly including good fats, get thorough blood labs done, Make sure you’re taking enough vitamin D3 and also folic acid, and then reassess how your life is at the end of the eight weeks.
The best part, near the end of the book, is she admits that moving forward after those eight weeks, you will probably take two or three of her eight micro habits with you moving forward. Well, dang.
If you really are not versed in healthy living lifestyles, and you enjoy lots of real world examples that are presented in a very chatty style, by all means get this book read it and enjoy it and use the principles in it. But if you are fairly well-versed in the latest science on basic healthy living principles, you have a good physician who you visit and get regular blood labs from, and you generally keep up-to-date with the latest in proper supplementation (e.g. with a subscription to ConsumerLabs), well, maybe you just need a better meditation and yoga teacher, like Romie pursued as she discovered the type of lifestyle approach in this book - though ironically, she doesn’t mention meditation or yoga as part of her eight week protocol ever.