The Truth About Beauty: Transform Your Looks and Your Life from the Inside Out

by Kat James, Oz Garcia (Foreword)

A guide to transforming one's shape, looks, and life without the use of drugs, surgery, or depriving oneself.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Self Help, Womens

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2003

About the author

Kat James is a nationally syndicated radio host, award-winning author, and a leading expert in holistic beauty, health, and lifestyle transformation. Her journey began after she overcame a 12-year struggle with an eating disorder and multiple autoimmune diseases that nearly claimed her life. Through years of personal experimentation, she discovered drug-free, science-backed principles that not only reversed her chronic conditions but also resulted in a dramatic physical and emotional transformation, including the loss of ten dress sizes. This healing journey inspired her to develop the Total Transformation Program, a revolutionary approach to wellness that emphasizes sustainable results without deprivation or harsh regimens.
Her bestselling book, The Truth About Beauty, winner of the 2009 Silver Nautilus Award, was re-released by Atria Books with forty percent new content and continues to inspire readers with powerful lifestyle upgrades and real success stories. Kat’s work has been featured on Today, Hallmark Channel’s New Morning, and in major magazines like Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, and Natural Health. Her nationally syndicated Kat James Show shares expert insights and personal transformations, airing on Seattle’s Alternative Talk 1150 AM and XM Satellite Radio.
Formerly one of the most sought-after beauty experts and makeup artists of the 1990s, Kat brings a rare depth of understanding to both the aesthetic and emotional dimensions of transformation.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm changing my review about this book. I have a Master's degree in nutrition and feel compelled to correct it. The book itself is misleading; I read it and thought that it was fairly balanced, recommending avoidance of processed carbohydrate foods and refined flours. Good: don't eat sugar, don't eat flour, eat an abundance of good fat; I'm good with that. But then a relative of mine actually went to one of James' Total Transformation workshops. It turns out the program Kat James actually preaches in her workshops is CRAZYTOWN. It's a ketogenic diet. No carbs at all. Not good carbs, not any carbs. Basically it's a free-for-all on heavy cream. Which, in my professional opinion is dangerous long-term. Not to mention unsustainable and unnatural. Not to mention, it won't work for everyone in terms of losing weight (Not everyone has the genetic makeup of an Inuit). Plus, the diet relies far too heavily, in my opinion, on made-up copies of desserts and treats sweetened with xylitol and stevia. While I do agree that xylitol and stevia are healthier sweeteners, I don't think they should be used in the amounts James actually recommends to her clients, as they only propagate a dependency on sweet tastes regardless of whether they are carbohydrate-containing.

I don't know where the disconnect happened between the recommendations in the book and the recommendations James actually preaches happened. But don't bother reading this book if you want sane, scientific, proven health and weight-loss advice. Instead read anything Dr. Mark Hyman has ever written. He knows what he's talking about and has helped thousands of people transform their health. If you suffer from obesity or diabetes, read Hyman's The Blood Sugar Solution. If you want to lose a few and get healthier, read UltraMetabolism.

[Rori Rockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts from an excellent premise: love your body and treat it well. The author said that if your skin is red and itchy, or you have dark circles under your eyes, or you look bloated, don't focus on covering these problems up. Get to the root of the problems and fix them. These problems are ways that your body is communicating that it doesn't like something you're doing, and you should love your body enough to listen to it.

Next, Kat James offers some reasons your body might have adverse reactions, and goes on to suggest ways that you can replace your unhealthy habits with healthier alternatives. She writes both about products you put inside your body (i.e., food, drink, and supplementation), and products you put on your body (i.e., shower and beauty products). She sites countless studies to back up her claims.

The final section is full of products that James recommends, as well as additional resources people can use to educate themselves further.

I have not taken so many notes on a book since I graduated from college. I actually learned how to use the highlighting feature on my Kindle specifically because of this book. This is not to say that I bought what she was selling hook, line, and sinker. James is a proponent of natural ingredients over synthetic, pretty much without exception. While that may be a good mantra to adopt if you want to keep things simple, I believe the actual reality is much more complex than that. While I am no chemist, I think some natural ingredients are great for you and some aren’t so good, and likewise, some synthetic ingredients are probably pretty unsafe, but others are relatively harmless. In fact, some of the products James recommended contained natural ingredients (such as menthol or citrus) which I have read (in other sources) are harmful to skin.

However, I give James tremendous credit for inspiring me to take a closer look at what I am putting in and on my body. Furthermore, I applaud her for researching this as thoroughly as she has, because she supports her claims with studies that the reader can look into further. This book has transformed my thinking, and helped me to be a better informed consumer.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about natural beauty, focusing on a lifestyle change (food, exercise, vitamins, natural products, etc) to enhance your natural beauty. No pictures but several charts with ingredients, etc. Tackles beauty problems (dandruff, scne, wrinkles, etc) & give basic advice (eg: laser therapy) & diet/supplement reccommendations. No actual makeup or haircare application instrucions. Mainly just emphasis on switching to natural products. There are specific product recs but only in a resource section in the back of the book.
I read this book several years ago. I followed the advice & my skin really did improve. After awhile I got bored with using only natural products & went back to my old ways. Reading this book will inspire a lifestyle change & I would reccommend it to anyone looking to switch to more natural products.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like Kat's approach to wellness and inner beauty which in turn creates your outer beauty. She is a very positive and motivational.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to look at the things your putting on your face and in your skin!

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok....It had a lot of useful information, but I must say that I could never make my diet as strict as this woman does.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good that I actually want to buy the book. It is a very good reference tool for a healthy way of living.

[Lisa Bolender Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually took Kat’s class and to quote another reviewer it was crazy what she teaches. My husband and I tried it for 2 months and we both had negative side effects. High blood pressure and low energy. It was awful. The high fat diet causes a lot of stress in your body. I know that now. When we started eating cards again to feel better we both gained quite a bit of weight. The book may have some good things in it but don’t waste your money taking the class. It is a very dangerous way of eating. I wish I knew what I know now then and saved my self 5000 and 20lbs.

[Donna Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Information about how to eat to create your beauty to florish. Some interesting facts.

[Barbara Willliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carefully researched and objective. This book changed my way of thinking about health and beauty.

[Thabie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It changed my young adult life.

[Valerie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the title fool you. This book isn't about looking pretty. Neither is it a diet book. It does manage to incorporate both of these goals, however, because it is primarily about regaining your health, with regaining your God-given beauty a nice side effect.

It is neither a simple read, nor overly complex. She's out to give you information and does that well.
Her focus is on using quality food and supplements to give your body a chance to repair itself, which apparently it does fairly well given the chance. As an expert she's very credible.

My main problem with the book is the quality of the bookbinding. The one at the library fell apart, so I ordered my own from Amazon, and this one, though new, is already showing issues with the book coming apart where it is bound. Not Ms. James' fault, but since it is going to be re-released every now and then, she should convince the publisher to fix that.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating. It is definitely a resource I will turn to again and again. The idea behind this book is that our outer appearance is largely affected by what is happening in our bodies and what we put in our bodies. I learned a lot about nutrition and also what types of skin care, cosmetic, and hair products are best to use. The resource guide in the back is phenomenal. While I'm still not sure if I buy into everything she says about the glycemic index and eliminating all sugar and sugar-spiking foods from your diet, like wheat (let's face it -- I'm never going to give these up completely), it has made me take a closer look at my diet and to think more about the amount of sugar I ingest and what it does to my body. I just wish I could go to one of her Total Transformation retreats now!

Note: This book is not recommended for the Nook. I originally bought it as a Nook book, but there are tables in the book that do not translate well to Nook format, and a lot of the info in the tables is missing. I had to buy a hard copy.

[Rebecca Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book demystifies some misconceptions about what is good for your overall health and, in turn, your natural beauty. While generally a health book, it also speaks a lot about the illumination of inner beauty and clarifying the things you ingest and put on your skin so that your beauty has an opportunity to shine through. There are many good tips in each section, and Kat James has a very interesting story of how she taught herself about what is healthy and what is not healthy. She suffers from an eating disorder and has been in recovery for about 15 years. But, as a prior bulemic and make-up artist, she had made her living and covered her disease with make-up and cover-up. When she made a choice to select health and live over continued demise, her health began to take hold. She learned how to listen to her body to get well and wrote a book describing that transformation to the readers. My favorite part of the book is the resource guide...which has different references for more information and specific products you can use.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So my mom gave me this book for Christmas. I didn't plan on reading it right away, but one day after I was using it to help my back, I pulled it out and started reading. Her transformation is amazing. She went from an overweight grossly unhealthy woman to what you see on the front cover. She advocates natural stuff. I found her advice eye opening. No, I won't stop eating wheat and bread, and there are some things in her book I have yet to implement, so in all fairness, I don't really know how all her suggestions work. But I started to view what I put into my body and what products I use in a different light. I started to take supplements and make small changes in my shampoos, etc. I started to think that maybe all these processed foods weren't really helping me. Anyways, I now scruntinize all the products I buy, looking for a more natural route. 4 stars because it literally changed my life. It took me a few months to read, because there is so much information.

[StrangeBedfellows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. I've read it cover to cover several times and come back to it for quick references on a regular basis.

I used to be the kind of girl who read 'Cosmo' religiously, spent loads of money on trendy products I was never happy with, and rarely thought about the long-term effects of my lifestyle habits. Then I read this book. Now I happily blow past the beauty mags, buy only the products I know will benefit me, and enjoy feeling healthy and informed.

What I loved most about this book? Kat's focus on achieving beauty through being healthy -- in the most natural way achievable. And effective! Of all the self-help type books I've ever picked up, this is among the most inspirational. Reading this, I believe I can drop those trouble pounds, improve my complexion, bring out my natural beauty, and generally just be healthier -- easily and happily so.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and informative book. It seems to be well researched and well documented.

My one complaint would be that I would like to have seen more do-it-yourself ideas. The author shares a lot of information about how our diet and the products we are using are harming our skin. Then, she gives her thoughts about products & brands for things like moisturizers and toothpaste that do not include harmful chemicals. However, I would prefer simple/natural solutions (like Lavender Essential Oil in Coconut Oil) rather than suggestions about what expensive brands to choose.

All-in-all, it's a convincing book that gave me some insights into ways to improve my health.

[Zebra Three · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitate to review this book thoroughly yet because I have only just read it and taken its suggestions on board. Time will be the true test as to whether this book deserves the five stars I have given it.
I have rated it so well because the book is a wealth of information, presented in a positive and understanding way. The author's backstory makes it possible for her to understand where the most troubled of her readership are coming from, and I think this is a huge advantage. Her advice is truly personal. So far, this book has allowed me to finally shake my fear of fats, rooted deep in a disordered past. More review to come as time goes on!

[Shannon]

Verrry Gooood!!! Very Very informative! This was the 1st book I ever read about detoxing your body, fron the inside out. I learned sooo much from Kat. In her book she calls it the shedding process. Shedding yourself of all the toxins we apply or ingest on a daily basis. From the soaps, lotions, purfumes, make-up, candles. By the time we head out the door we have laced ourselves with 90 different chemicals. Its amazing!! I was shocked by how many toxins/chemicals I was putting into/on my body. She even has a cruise that you can go on! one of these days I am going to check it out.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Cliff's stroke and subsequent setback his Neurologist put him (and of course me) on a sugar-free, gluten-free diet. He also recommended we read this book. He is the only Doctor we have ever had that talked so openly about nutrition and how it could benefit our health.

I read the book purely on his suggestion and found it to be quite interesting. It's definitely a self-help book and would require work on my part but would bring great dividends. Cliff's lost 33 lbs and I've lost 31. And that's just from following some of her tips.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this book! It's a resource for healthy all natural beauty, make up and eating guide. Kat has been a make up artist in the film and modeling industry and has many years of personal experience in what she suggests in her book. I have used many of the products and have found amazing results. So many of them are so easy, and often less expensive than the mainstream answers. She suggests getting back to nature - and nature is just beautiful.

[Chrischris]

I own it and find myself going back to it as a reference guide even though I have college material on the subjects of nutrition and healing. This book could easily guid anyone into lasting health without giving up chocolate, ice cream or coffee. Want to know about organics, GMO, and emotional eating without falling victim to fad diets or paying a health counselor like myself than this one will get you feeling great for $15.

[Michelle Hoogterp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great information. She blends anecdotal and scientific. Lots of great resources and further reading/scholarly bibliography.

I'm going to give her suggestions a shot and we'll see how good it was. In general, eating organic and taking better care of myself will be good for me, but I don't know how great a change there will be...we'll see.

[Susan Baumgartner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book as I was re-shelving it at the library and I felt drawn to read it for some reason I can't explain. I have sat with it a few times and am very favorably impressed. And Mocha Teeccino is a delicious coffee replacement!
Again, alot that I read was previous knowledge- just put in another perspective so it's compelling.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kat James packs a lot of great information into this book. I especially liked the section at the end devoted to products and brands. So far, I've made some of the basic changes like switching from coffee to teeccino and getting off sugar as well as changing out my makeup and skin care brands. Some of the eating habits I find harder to implement.

[Alida Dolata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with doable steps!

I can't stop reading and taking notes! It puts together a lot I have read here and there. Her steps are reasonable and backed with facts. Her extensive research is impressive. I am ready to put several things in place. Telling my daughter is next!!!!!!WOW!!!!!

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will enlighten you on what is in beauty products, lotions etc. Also, what is in the food you eat and how and why we eat what we do. Good to refer back to, in fact I will reread this again for the new year.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kat James is an inspirational all-natural, organic nutritionist that transformed her bad health into great health. She includes numerous lists and charts that impart great nutritional information, resources, etc.

[Bita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book some years ago but never quite read it. The diet part is reasonable. Stir away from high glycemic foods. The part I had a hard time with is the vitamin obsession. There are a lot of supplements to take. Not for me. But altogether, not too bad. I might give the diet a try.

[Sherilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beauty is not about buying, applying, and doing all the "right" things. It is what remains in all of us once we lift away the burdens and stop the self-sabotage that prevents it from thriving." (p.18)