Subject: Oakland Press placement
From: "Merilee Kern" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:55:03 -0800

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2010/02/23/entertainment/doc4b82fccabcc26572148432.txt

BOOK REVIEW: Good health advice we've all heard before
Published: Monday, February 22, 2010

By NICOLE M. ROBERTSON
Of The Oakland Press

Registered dietitian Susan Burke March is author of "Making Weight Loss Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally" (Mansion Grove House, $26.95, $19.95 for Kindle edition)

Why is it that more and more Americans overweight while new diet books are being published every day?

Is it that we're still looking for the magic diet secret to make us thin without giving up the fattening junk we love to eat? Maybe we just need to be reminded of what we already know: Eat smaller portions, include more veggies and exercise daily.

Registered dietitian Susan Burke March has an additional message: It's no accident of nature that some people stay thin. In her new book, "Making Weight Loss Second Nature: Living Thin Naturally" (Mansion Grove House, $26.95, $19.95 for Kindle edition), she tells her own story of binge eating as a teen, dieting, losing and gaining back the fat.

"My eventual weight loss resulted from developing a 'like' for my body, wanting to feel stronger and more athletic, and deciding to take control," she writes in her first chapter. "I set goals for eating better and for activity, and I asked for support from professionals and from my peers, again and again."

Her plan is simple, but not necessarily easy. It means changing your thinking and adopting a lifestyle that is healthy all of the time, not just on diet binges that don't promote good health.

She educated herself, learned proper portions and calorie contents of foods, documented both her activities and her eating habits, and trained herself to eat healthy without feeling deprived. She changed her attitude toward exercise, realizing that she can start slowly and work up to more aerobic activities -- making them a part of her day every day.

Her book gives simple guidelines for beginners -- using your own hand and fingers to measure appropriate amounts of foods, for example, and remembering that any activity that makes you sweat will make you fitter. And most of all, she gives ideas for keeping motivated, because she knows your mind is your biggest ally or your biggest foe in the fight to stay fit.

It's unfortunate Burke March didn't have a better editor -- the typographical mistakes through the book are distracting -- even the word "dietitian" is spelled incorrectly on the back jacket. And the layout is unattractive, from the font style and color on the cover to the ugly black and white food photos and clip art inside.

And a warning for readers: Burke March fails to note common allergens, such as nuts and soy, in recommending certain types of foods. Be sure to consult your doctor if you have questions.

Overlook these flaws and you'll find much sound advice here.

Burke March points out that overweight begins with feeding children juice instead of fresh whole fruit, and encouraging them to finish every morsel instead of letting them stop when they're no longer hungry. And, she addresses emotional eating that makes people feel better temporarily, like any addiction.

The book covers all the bases -- starting with mental preparation, understanding what's at stake and believing you can do it. She includes sample recipes, a personal log, exercise advice, tips for eating out and staying on track while on vacation, resources for tracking your fitness and gaining support online. And she makes it clear that the only diet that will work longterm is one you design yourself, by learning the values of foods you like and how to lower calories or cut back on those things that undermine your efforts.

Staying healthy and naturally thin through active lifestyle and eating well is a lifetime commitment that - as she points out - feels better than eating doughnuts.

If you take this book to heart, it could be the last diet book you ever buy.