10 Reasons You Feel Old and Get Fat: And How You Can Stay Young, Slim, and Happy!

by Frank Lipman

Like most people in our society, you might see the years from the age 30 onward as a slow, painful decline marked by the following weight gain, fatigue, mysterious aches and pains, illnesses, memory issues, low libido, and sadness and anxiety. But contrary to popular belief, the real obstacle for most of us isn’t age—it’s loss of function. Our bodies are perfectly capable of remaining slim and vigorous, and our brains can absolutely stay clear and sharp— if we give them what they need. The problem is that most of us don’t do that. We don’t realize what our bodies need, so we eat the wrong foods, skimp on sleep, and deprive our bodies of the movement they crave. Overwhelmed by the stresses and the pressures of our lives, we take a host of prescriptions, never realizing how they might be disrupting our body’s innate ability to heal. Most insidious of all, many of us lack the personal support and the community that we need to feel fully alive. Instead, we buy into the myth that age means decline. A pioneer and internationally recognized expert in integrative and functional medicine, Dr. Frank Lipman proves that you don’t have to feel this way. You have a choice! In his latest book, Dr. Lipman breaks through the common myths and misconceptions surrounding aging and dieting, and he zeroes in on what you need to do in order to feel your very best. His two-week Revitalize Program brings together key information regarding insulin resistance and carbohydrate intolerance, gut and hormonal imbalances, sleep disorders, medications and supplements, and community support. The Revitalize Program features delicious recipes, handy shopping lists and meal plans, simple exercises, and powerful stress busters to support you along the way. Dr. Lipman also offers a lifelong Maintenance Program, so that after two life-changing weeks, you can continue on your path toward ultimate health and wellness!In just two weeks—only 14 days—you can feel so much better than you ever imagined!

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Self Help, Nutrition

379 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2016

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does have some good information, especially if you are new to topics like gut health, healthy bacteria, etc. but there are some serious drawbacks that will make it hard for most people to follow. The author goes into detail about lots of different culprits in the way many people develop fatigue and gain weight midlife. He points out the way many foods mess with our insulin levels but also makes some claims that are not accepted by many scientists, like saying that the body will store some kinds of foods as fat and use other kinds as energy. He also claims that some people are basically allergic to carbs, even healthy carbs like beans and veggies, and will have to limit them for life.

Some of his advice is very standard -- move more, stretch, eat real food. He points out that farmers feed antibiotics to livestock to fatten them up (true) and that our overuse of antibiotics is one reason we gain weight and have such a hard time losing it. He also points out how many of the most common prescription drugs have weight gain as a typical side effect.

He offers a two-week, intensive plan to rewire your body, but this will be quite hard for many people to follow. During the two weeks you don't just cut things like sugar, alcohol, refined foods and caffeine, but even things like eggs, beans, all grains (even stuff like quinoa), nightshades like tomatoes, and much more. He provides meal plans and recipes, but these rely heavily on either buying his shake powders or making your own with pea protein powder and other purchased add-ins. He also recommends taking various supplements. You are then supposed to move on to a less restrictive diet that's still quite restrictive.

Vegetarians and vegans take note -- he relies heavily on seafood, chicken and meats during the two week reboot and the maintenance program. He offers a section for vegetarian substitutes but this has two recipes (!) -- a lentil stew with a couple of variations, and roasted veggies with a couple of variations.

The book has pages of endorsements by people like Gwyneth Paltrow at the start. For me, this is a mark against it, not a reason I'm likely to agree with it.

While there is some good information in here, most of the book reads like a long infomercial for his practice and his products.

[Ariadna73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another diet, exercise, meditate, keep-your-hormones-in-balance, it's-not-your-fault book. Basically all the stuff we have read until we can't read any more. Please eat well, please move your ass, be kind to people, keep an eye in your hormones and you microbione. In fact, the part about the microbione is quite interesting, and worth a second look while flying from Las Vegas to, say, Kansas City or Orlando.

This is the cover information of the book I read. The author looks young, healthy and happy; and -how surprising- he is a doctor. A total catch!


This is the editorial information and the table of contents. As you can see, the book is quite interesting; and I liked and thanked the clarity and cleanness of the writing style:


The first paragraph of the book, that is worth reading so you can get an idea of how compassionate this doctor is: "you don't HAVE to get old and fat!" I love it!


This is an example of one of the many recipes in the book:


Here an example of a breathing practice for mindfulness:


And here some exercise advice. How cute! With little diagrams and everything! I am starting to fall in love with this handsome doctor!


Some more reasons to convince you to go ahead and take your butt up from that sofa:


Finally, here the doctor informs you that you are eating too much starch and carbs. Well, that is something for someone who lives on lettuce and boiled chicken. But whatever:


In conclusion, another diet book, but this time very well written by a very handsome doctor. I would read it in a short flight to keep my hands away from that bag of cheap chips.

Well, I hope you liked this little review. Did you know that I also have a blog? Take a look here: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com

[ShoSho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been on health kick for the past 4 months and I've been reading a lot about what to eat and not to eat and what to do and not to do to stay healthy and I've been seeing great results. I found a couple of things I didn't know and found helpful but overall there wasn't anything new(at least for me).
As for the 4 week program( revitalize and maintenance) that came with shopping lists and exercises, it's definitely not for me. I can follow a general guideline but there is no way I can plan my meals and exercises for a month.
I liked the recipes and the exercises though and I'll give some of them a try.
If you can follow the program , this book and program might be for you.

[Michelegg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was packed full of so much information. Unlike most self help books which just tell you what to do, this book goes in depth with the whys of what you should do. I found it very fascinating and came away with a deeper understanding of why my body is reacting the way it is towards aging.

I also enjoyed the way Dr Lipman looks at treating the whole person and not just prescribing medications aimed at the symptoms.

I have every faith that his suggestions for food, movement, sleep and community will benefit my life and provide for a more meaningful and healthy future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

[Zee Monodee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information about health and mostly the whys behind body processes and how food and environment work with it all to make a whole, and how we can address that. Very good guidelines throughout, and if you're new to the health and nutrition arena, this is a perfect book giving you pretty much all the information you need.
However, what grates me in this kind of book is always the 'my method is best and works with everyone' that the author keeps harping on and on about. Sadly, this one didn't even provide middle ground as in 'guidelines towards better health' - it was 'my plan and nothing else will work'. This put me off a bit, the whole 'my word is Gospel and only my word alone' - tell me that and I'll run away screaming in the opposite direction!
But if you're okay just reading and picking bits of advice throughout, then this is a very good one to understand how and why your body functions the way it does.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

So.... it's basically paleo combined with sleep, breathe and move smart advice and then his Buy My Supplements thrown in. Which is always the opposite of Paleo in my mind.
I would recommend It Starts with Food if you are starting with Paleo. The very best explanation of Paleo out there and they don't try to sell you anything.
If it hadn't been for that I would have rated this book higher as most of it is good stuff.

Hmm it's also a little bit pie in the sky for me. Yes eating and living this way will really increase your health and wellness but.... we do age. It's inevitable. The author is promising a bit too much.

[Norah Gibbons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is more of an infomercial for his be well cleanse product than it is a reliable source of information. Most of what he tells you is common sense... move more ... eat less sugar... take care of your mental health... get the proper amount of sleep. What it really is trying to do is sell you his cleanse program. It will set you back just under $300 (cdn) for 2 weeks. Since our digestive system is wondrous thing it actually doesn't require being cleansed so when ever someone promotes that I think snake oil. So yes I was very disappointed with this book.

[Laura Reinhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a diet book, but instead a good look at how our diets and lifestyles can lead us to experience difficulties we associate with aging.

[Sandy Sopko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many good tips for better nutrition, sleep, stress reduction and exercise. I took notes!

[Brandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would be a lot easier to just say eat grass.

[Stacy Charlesbois · Rating 2 out of 5]

All good info especially if you haven't read anything on longevity. The food choices would be good for those who need to reinvent their diet. Other longevity books will have more recent studies. Geared for an audience that is ok with anecdote rather than research studies.

[Farzana Friars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent tips and good reminders of healthy living.

[Mary Helene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed it and was skeptical but in the end i think the fellow has a point or two - or three. It is certainly giving me pause and even changing what I eat.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nutrition - not eating right foods, too many carbs/starches, lacking nutrients
Sleep - not enough
Physical - microboime misfunction, hormonal imbalance, not enough exercise, too stressed, over medicated, not enough "ubuntu" (passion/meaning/community)

Talks about myths and what to do. Plan of 2 week action follows with four week maintenance plan and recipes.
- Cut out processed sugar, cut back on starchy foods, eat healthy fats, eat green leafy vegetables
- take daily probiotic, eat fermented food 3-4x week, take nutritional supplements
- move 30 minutes 5x week, do fascia exercises for 10 minutes 3x week, and 10 minutes yoga posses
daily, daily breathing exercises
- take 2 hours for whatever you want to do
- sleep in dark room, turn off electronics 2 hours before going to sleep, no caffeine after 8pm
- take with doctor about reducing medications
- discover your passion, create meaning, find your tribe

[Jays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information on a good diet for health. Grain free, dairy free, soy free.
Basically eat lots of vegies (no potatoes, tomatoes, peppers nightshade vegies), grass fed or wild protein and berries. Apples and citrus ok too but in moderate amounts. Eat good fats; olive oil, avacado,, cocnumt, sesame, flaxseed, almond & cashew butters. Nuts and seeds. Fermented foods; sauerkraut, bone broth. Vinegar. Unsweetened almond, rice, hemp or coconut milk.
Eliminate: Grains, gluten, soy, corn, eggs, dairy, beans, nightshade vegies, high sugar fruits(bananas, cherries, grapes, pears, dried fruits). farmed meats/fish. processed foods, alcohol, salted nuts, peanuts, sugars, processed seeds and vegetable oils.
Allows stevia as a sweetener if necessary. Drink lots of water. Pea protein powder. Bone broth.
Sleep and exercise.
www.bewell.com
Maintenance; adds some grains 2x/wk, dairy, eggs.

[Morpheyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening and helpful book about how to eliminate the symptoms that make you feel old/fat. I was in a very similar situation to one of the patients the author described. However, as mentioned by another reviewer, the meal plans - while very helpful since they come with recipes and shopping lists - will require lots of willpower to implement. They require some ingredients that are difficult to find where I live. But they do sound delicious enough that i would want to attempt, though the biggest problem is that I can't cook. this book is a great introduction to integrative medicine, which has principles that are like traditional Chinese medicine (focusing on preventing or curing the root of the problem, instead of symptomatic cures) Overall, definitely worth reading if u wld like to drink from the fountain of youth ;).

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting book, well written and mostly easy to approach because the tips and suggestion are not so difficult and there are recipes and exercises so it can easily be done. In some cases anyway, also the author suggest to talk to your doctor before changing completely your lifestyle.

Libro interessante, scritto bene e con un approccio semplice che puó essere seguito sia attraverso le ricette che gli esercizi suggeriti. In alcuni casi, come suggerisce anche l'autore, é sempre meglio parlare con il medico ptrima di introdurre drastici cambiamenti.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND HAY HOUSE FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

“10 Reasons You Feel Old and Get Fat” written by Dr. Frank Lipman is not a kind of book I usually read. While looking for something else I found this one and went through a bit.

Boy I was hooked after few pages with great mix of helpful advices that can be instantly applied in everyday life – not only about the usual suspects diet and exercise, but also on other aspects of our lives such as sleeping habits, meditation, yoga, vitamins, food supplements.

Nicely written, full of great tips, recipes and exercises – this is great example of self-help book that people who are not fans of the genre will love.

[Sequana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good description of info I have read in It Starts With Food and The Whole 30, with more emphasis on exercise. The exercise section is hard to follow without a buddy though. Two weeks on an eating plan would not have given me the start I needed. I prefer the Whole 30 plan, though I am still a work in progress and see the possibility of eliminating things this book suggests-caffeine, nightshades and eggs.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to have a lot of good advice. While I don't know how many people would follow his Revitalization Program 100%, the advice was still sound. I have put many of the ideas in place without following his program much at all, and am finding success in how much better I feel and the weight I have lost.

[Jamie Holloway · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seemed like a rehash of a lot of different things that have been around for a long time. I didn't feel encouraged or supported while reading this book. I felt more like I was being lectured and told I was bad because I wasn't doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

[Kara Messner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative!

This was a really helpful book on what your body needs to function properly. I highly recommend to anyone searching for health and wellness.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good info, consolidated in one place, though I had heard most if it before.

[Mimi Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

One to keep in the library as a reference.