Balancing in Heels: My Journey to Health, Happiness, and Making it all Work

by Kristin Cavallari

For the first time ever, entrepreneur, designer, and TV star Kristin Cavallari shares how she juggles all facets of her busy life with style and grace. From outlining health and wellness, food, fitness, fashion, and her success as a businesswoman to more private matters of family, motherhood, and her relationship with her husband, NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, Kristin leaves no stone unturned to give fans of Laguna Beach and The Hills all of the answers they’ve been looking for.

Tracing her journey from reality stardom to real life—the good, the bad, and the ugly—Kristin digs down to the most personal of relationships in her life and discusses how they made her who she is today. She also talks about the amazing effects of her healthy diet and exercise, which have made Kristin and her family the happiest and healthiest they’ve ever been. Kristin shares the family’s favorite recipes and even reveals how her food philosophy has drastically improved Jay’s type 1 diabetes.

Balancing in Heels is a behind-the-scenes, in-depth look at who the real Kristin Cavallari is—unscripted.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Memoir, Lifestyle, Autobiography, Adult, Celebrity

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2016

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for plenty of good Laguna Beach and Hills dirt... this isn't your book.
If you're looking for a vapid, simplistic book on diet, exercise, and how to dress yourself- bingo!!
Cavallari's "recipe" for baby formula just about mAde my head explode. Don't bother with this one- it's pretty stupid.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never watched the reality TV show Kristin Cavallari was on but she is occasionally mentioned in news stories where I live due to her marriage to Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Kristin appears to be loved or hated the same way her husband is. Chicago is a no-bullshit town. Regardless, I didn't know what to expect when I picked up her book. There's no denying if you are interested in the celebrity lifestyle-professional athlete-wife life, she's your girl. Beautifully staged photos of her at home with her husband and kids and "tips" on fashion, fitness and health. She is full on the healthy, organic food train and her recipes were the best part of the book. She's still in her 20's so the chapters on getting out of LA and changing her life by falling in love, having kids and moving to the suburbs were tedious and self absorbed. This is a me-me-me book, so there ya have it. Love it or hate it.

[Sydney Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Totally disappointed in this book. I've been a fan of Cavallari's for years and thought this would be a funny and honest bio/advice for working moms. It was more like a 350 page manifesto preaching totally organic eating. Pages and pages of her raving about how easy it is to cook 3 totally organic meals per day from scratch for her family of 5, while still having time to travel and make homemade hair and skin masks for herself so she glows. Gag. Normal human beings don't have this kind of time on their hands. I stopped reading 3/4 of the way through.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised how well written this book was, I have read many "celebrity" lifestyle books, and this was one of the best. It is well organized and concise. I was impressed with the balance of topics and tips included. Visually appeals, cute, quick read.

[Andrea McDermott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written at a grade school level, extremely self promoting & egotistic. The plus is if you are actually a mom balancing it all, you will find much of her advice comical. Perhaps this is a satire.... extra star for pretty pictures and recipes.

[Francielly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a quick read, I liked it. Cute little stories, advice and some recipes.

[Gina *loves sunshine* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always liked Kristin Cavallari's style and this books hits a lot of topics that she loves
*Cooking and healthy eating (lots of good recipes)
*her family (the break up, her wedding, births, day to day home life)
*exercise (lots of good photos and recommended exercises)
*fashion (tons of outfit recs, why she wears what and what she packs, her shoe line and jewelry line and how she puts herself together - makeup, outfits, etc)

Happens to be we are passionate about a lot of the same things, well except 1. I have never been a fan of Jay Cutler - sorry Kristin - but I am glad she loves him so much!

I am not sure what audience to recommend this to? It's not at all dishy and she barely touches on her time at Laguna beach and the Hills - just briefly describing how they manipulated relationships and faked/dubbed/edited their lives. This really is a story about a girl who loved herself, but didn't know herself. Her story of finding who she was - and on that path found out her happiest self is the one that is fueled by her husband, her children and her healthiest body and what she puts in it. You will get a lot of the same info you get in health books today - read ingredients, don't eat fake food and chemicals, eat real food, yes this takes a lot of prep time, yes this is your best path to a healthy body. All stuff I agree with and know already - glad to see 1 more happy family around the dinner table! I agree Kristin - the dinner table is where family life happens :)

[Katie Minion · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't particularly want to read this book, but a friend lent it to me thinking I'd like it. This book was well organized and met every expectation that I had. The recipes in it seem decent, and the photos are beautiful. The problem? The content. Kristin Cavallari shows just how removed she is from the average person when she discusses the issues that only people of her social class can have: her body issues with "the tip of her nose" being too long; when she says she toiled at her shoe business even though her agent helped with the most difficult part of starting a business by making business introductions for her; and when she said she has made the choice to put her family before work and only works when she absolutely loves a project, as if being picky with jobs is a luxury everybody has. These comments show how she doesn't understand how 90% of Americans live. It's saddening to me that these are the types of books that middle-class Americans are buying and want to read, and that we look up to her for guidance on how to live our lives.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have some odd obsession with reading "celebrity" books, especially if they're self-help books. Don't judge me.

This was pretty much exactly what I expected. It was entertaining enough, but you definitely won't find any tips or advice in here that you don't already know. Still, it was a fast read and I did enjoy it for what it was.

[Amanda Cinelli Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that I will use as a reference for tips and recipes! I've always been a fan and agree with most of her dietary philosophy. Only part that annoyed me slightly was the work-out section, but even that was helpful.

[Shubhada · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered about the inner workings of Kristen Cavallari? While reading this book, I was hoping to discover some tidbits about Cavallari and who she is. There are some of this in the book, however I felt that she glossed over a lot (maybe she is holding back for another books). Throughout the course of this book, I felt that Cavallari was talking down to her target audience. She gave a lot of insight on how to be a parent without taking into consideration that not everyone is as entitled as she is or has the same opportunities. Additionally, she gives advice (both medically, nutritionally, and parenting) without having any proper training or accreditation to do so. If you do take any of the aforementioned advice, do so with a grain of salt. If you plan on reading this book, do so with the intent of it being entertaining, not informative.

[Elise Reding · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Kristin's style and ambition to be the best mom for her family but other than the recipes I didn't find anything else in the book to be that helpful...her advice seems to be pretty much common sense to me.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 2.5 stars and I'm rounding up! I did get a recipe I'd like to try, so that helped. I felt too old reading it.

[Jenb16 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very cute book written for any woman trying to balance and thrive in all aspects of their life. I enjoyed the beautiful pictures in this book and appreciated Cavallari's personal stories about her life and the advice that she gives her readers. She provides a holistic breakdown of all areas: pregnancy and being a mother, nurturing relationships and her marriage, food and health, and career. She also includes a section of recipes at the back of the book that provide many yummy and nutritious recipes for women looking to live a healthy lifestyle. Most of the advice was pretty basic and things you would already know, but I still enjoyed this book and think it would be great for any woman but especially new moms looking to achieve balance.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love memoirs and autobiographies, but this one is pretty worthless. It’s well-organized and full of gorgeous pictures, but the text is repetitive and she writes in circles. It’s pretentious and self-absorbed, and I often found myself literally rolling my eyes at her “struggles,” like how she doesn’t like her nose and none of her TV pilots have been picked up yet. I was inspired by the food chapter and was even interested while reading about how she met Jay, but again, even those stories make you realize how separated she is from the average 20-something woman. My annoyance quickly turned into boredom and I skimmed through some of the chapters that don’t apply to my life, then skipped all of the recipes. No thanks.

[Sarah LaMountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a little flash of Kristin Cavallari's life and fitness choices. It focuses primarily on the girl who we all know from reality TV and how she has transformed into the woman that she is today.

I thought that it was a good balance between personal stories and some tips and tricks for lifestyle and health choices. It's a quick and easy read and isn't full of cheesy cliches or motivation mantras which is nice compared to some of the celebrity autobiographies out there.

She gives some health facts that I don't entirely agree with but I think they work for her and her family and I would hope that anyone looking to make serious lifestyle changes would look into and do research for themselves.

[Michelle Kocin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sure she's a nice girl (or at least nicer than she came across on TV) but this book was kind of worthless. It's pretty to look at and has a lot of nice pictures in it. It's about 2/3s pictures and recipes and the rest is actual text/story. I hate to give it such a low review because it wasn't terribly written, it just read more like a very long magazine article than an actual book. She doesn't really reveal anything other than her tips for diet, exercise, makeup and other things you would find in a celebrity profile in a women's magazine. Like I said, it's not offensive or poorly written, I just didn't get anything out of reading it.

[Maryk13 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great great work from Kristin Cavallari. I loved the food, work out, fashion and beauty advices! Although, she lives in a "dreamworld" for "common" people, she manages to seem (and live) as a non celebrity person. I really enjoyed it, and I will often come back to look for her recipes or workout plan.
I didn't expect it and it was a wonderful surprise!!

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't learn anything new other than her life story, but I enjoyed her insights!

[Jackilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are looking for behind the scenes dirt from her life in Hollywood then you won't find it here. She comes off as a little pretentious too.

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, easy read. Great tips on marriage, motherhood, fashion, health, and balancing it all.

[Kristy Browning · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a little ridiculous. I wasn't expecting a tell all, but I cringed the whole time I was reading it. SO MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS. I think K. Cavallari should stick to cookbooks (even though those are a little ridiculous too, seriously I'm not going to cook with sheep's yogurt)

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s as scattered as you’d expect and kind of sadly predictive of her current divorce. But it actually has some good advice here and there.

[Amanda T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The world was fine with Lauren Conrad’s books, which was a fun read when I was 16 when it first came out.

This book was a worse version of one of Lauren’s- why did I even waste time flipping through this.

[Marlathemom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sassy, this walks you through her life and loves - worth a quick read.

[Lore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is half a memoir, half a compendium of tips on healthy eating, working out, fashionable dressing, beauty routines and makeup. It was an enjoyable light read, with a bunch of recipes that comply with healthy eating. same as beauty care recipes for face masks and other stuff.

Truthfully, some of the tips for healthy eating were over the top and unreal for a normal person to achieve. Be it because of how time consuming some of the cooking wass or because the organic and healthy items would double or triple the eating costs of a household. Let's not even talk about banning sugar and salt in my home lol

Apart from that, having in mind the environment and the critical situation of wild salmon and fishing in general, it feels a little out of touch with reality and self centered to recommend eating only wild caught salmon fish. Have you ever heard of over fishing? Or about how dolphins, turtles and other animals suffer because of it? Also, she recommends coconut oil as an alternative to olive oil, and nowadays there are studies that disagree in how good coconut oil is for cooking due to some of its characteristics. So... I would advice taking it all with a grain of salt and integrating the label reading habit to ban some of the proven damaging ingredients but not going overboard.

The memoir part was interesting, but I already like Kristin after watching her reality about setting up Uncommon James, her jewelry line that aired around June 2018. It might be tedious for someone not interested in her personal growth and emotional road towards being a mother and wife.

The fashion tips were sound, as well as her advice on makeup and working out. Overall, I enjoyed it and got some interesting data to peruse further and improve my eating habits.

[Lynne M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should be re-titled: "It's So Easy Being Me!"

Finishing this book recently over a long weekend (it was rather short) reminds me why I usually avoid celebrity biographies. I'm less than a year younger than Kristin, so of course I watched "Laguna Beach" (never watched "The Hills" though.) My interest was piqued with this book, which was promoted as holding nothing back. I'm not sure if Kristin or her PR team actually read this book, but it leaves a lot to be desired. There is no juicy gossip, no real details on what really went on behind the scenes of any of her reality TV shows.

For a woman who first made her name being a reality TV show villain, it was really quite dull as far as celebrity biographies go. Brandi Glanville's book may not have been the best-written book of all time, but at least it offered the reader something as far as interest.

Maybe this wasn't supposed to be a completely no-holds barred celebrity bio (despite how the author promoted it), but it also doesn't work as a self-help or advice book. This is more of a rough outline of a book, and hardly a guide to "balancing it all." Parts of it were interesting, but it's mainly a boring read about how easy Kristin's life is (I lost weight so easily! Parenting is so easy! Having a great marriage is so easy!) It became tedious to read after a short time. The information she gives out on health and exercise is nothing that you couldn't find yourself by searching Google. The advice she does give is primarily common sense (When you have a new baby, sleep when the baby sleeps. Take time for yourself, etc.)

So glad I didn't buy this book. Even if you are a major fan of Kristin's save your money on this book.

[Hillary roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that the reason that I picked up this book is that I remember  Kristin Cavallari from the show "The Hills." It was an ok book. I wasn't much into the fashion scene. I mean I spent 80 percent of my time in pajamas. I liked the getting healthy part. I agree with her with eating whole foods. I follow the Paleo plan myself so I loved reading how she eats and works out.

I also loved her recipe collection. I copied most of them to my recipe app on my Mac to try sometime in the future. I was not a big fan of her style, though. Even tho I work from home in my pajamas when I do go out I like to dress nicely. Her style and mine did not mesh, but that is ok.

I loved how she balanced being a mom with working and her marriage. She seems to have achieved a respectable work life balnece. I applaud her for that.

Overall this book was good for the recipes but the other parts did not interest me so much.This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

[Keturah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely disappointed. I’m not sure if the book could be improved or not. Somehow, I thought there would be interesting points or substance to it. If you’ve read a few healthy lifestyle blogs or healthy food Instagram accounts, this book will not add anything new. None of the recipes, ideas, or thoughts contained within it are exciting, let alone earth shattering.

While I appreciate the author trying to share her healthy lifestyle discoveries and am happy for her health improving and her nice life, the book simply lacks charisma and inspiration. There are so many better books out there. The author has no great personal journey of health and suffering. She isn’t a clinician or doctor, so it’s not a new plan or research. And she doesn’t relate it in a way that makes me want to cheer her discoveries for unprocessed foods. It was hard to read the book and feel grace for the author. I have suffered through some very difficult health issues, including autoimmune disease, moderately severe postpartum depression and anxiety, severe pelvic floor injuries and now mold toxicity (by far the worst of it all). I just couldn’t relate to the author at all. For me, the book is lacking in major depth.

Next time I want to feel inspired, I’ll bake a healthy dessert from an Instagram recipe developer, then eat it on the couch watching a rerun of White Collar.

[Brittany Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kristin has been my style muse since Laguna Beach (heck yes denim mini + bikini + ribbed tank combo + that black eyeliner) to present day (polished, but I am also admittedly still surfer chic on the side). If I could sit down and have wine and girl talk with a famous chick, it'd absolutely be Kristin. Luckily, this book is just that minus the actual human contact. Still, I'm obsessed. And Type A me just took some major Type A inspo from Type A Kristin's style section (must clean closet). LOL. It's really a cute lifestyle guide! Lots of tips on eating clean, putting clean products on your skin (the coffee scrub recipe is a must try), being a mom (absolutely not there in my life yet, but maybe one day), fitness, etc. The basics, but just another view and one that I definitely relate to and can agree upon. Bonus: tons of yummy recipes at the end, and even veg options (or easily made veg options). Seriously need to try the maca turmeric latte! Like right now. And everyone is talking about the cookies so I need to get on that, too. If you're a longtime Kristin fan, pick this one up. But don't expect a lot of Laguna/Hills talk. Sidebar: One of these girls needs to write a true tell all, lol. Want all the dirt and not the not-really-news dirt Us Weekly tried to pull last month. Ahem.