I love reading very accessible books about health, nutrition, and fitness. I won’t pick up any super technical jargony book of which I could probably only understand about 15 percent, that 15 percent usually being articles of speech like a or the…you get the picture. I usually gravitate towards commercial-types of of magazines because they are definitely geared towards the everyday consumer. Obviously the health industry has hundreds of thousands of books that are SUPPOSED to be accessible to the general public, and some of them are, but they are almost too accessible. I feel like I’m being coddled or talked down to most of the time, which makes me less likely to actually follow their advice.
One of the more annoying factors of this industry is when celebs all of a sudden become these scientific experts. I feel like some of them who we know have gotten extensive plastic surgery or have not had the best eating habits almost make other women feel bad for not getting down to a certain size or weight.
However, there are some celebs who really have the right and the knowledge to help other women out in this department. That was why I was SO excited to see that Cameron Diaz was coming out with her own health book. I’ve always loved her and the example she sets for other women. I ran out and bought “The Body Book” and could NOT put it down. There is so much useful information in it for twenty-somethings.
I know it is a little much to actually ask our generation to pick up a physical book, so here are 8 reasons why I think all millennials should give “The Body Book” a real shot…
1. It gives you the big picture and tells you how everything fits together.
The book is split into three parts: Nutrition, Fitness, and Mind. It is very clear that she takes all three seriously, but I think she structured it this way because she describes nutrition as the foundation of all health. The other two can’t be healthy unless you’ve balanced your nutrition out well. What I really like about her book is that all three parts rely on each other. She gives us information on each and in a later section will remind you how one component affects the other, or she’ll foreshadow to keep you interested and looking forward to learning about things ahead.
2. She isn’t perfect either!
She’s very transparent throughout her writing and lets readers know what parts in her life made her change for the better. When she was in her teens and twenties she ate fast food every day. That’s right — EVERY DAY. She talked about how bad her skin was and how poorly some workdays would go because she wasn’t taking care of herself. It was really awesome to hear how she changed things up and everything obviously started going really well for her. Uh, hello did you see There’s Something About Mary?
3. She doesn’t dictate how bodies should look, only how they should function and feel.
She never talks about getting smaller or that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, so shut up Gwyneth. She only tells readers that to really, really get the most out of your life and feel the best and be able to do the most with your days is to take care of your body. Things like dropping weight or being less sluggish just happen because you’re taking care of yourself and want to be happy. She really just wants women to take care of their bodies and themselves for the sake of their health and longevity.
One of my favorite components of the book is the hard cover. They designed the book jacket to be shorter than the actual book, revealing the awesome hardcover underneath. There are hundreds of tiny pictures of women and their various body parts, all different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. Basically, this means we can all be goddesses.
4. This is a time in our lives when it’s imperative we take her advice.
All of her personal anecdotes really hit home for me. She really turned her life around when she was about our age. She noticed that treating her body like crap and not getting any of the negative drawbacks was really not going to last much longer, it was beginning to catch up with her! Although her book can really be read by any 18-100 year-old woman, I think it will be very beneficial to us before really starting our lives out as bad ass career women, mothers, wives or partners. It’s kind of educating us before we can make a lot of the mistakes the women of previous generations are making or have made.
5. She gives us a sneak peak into her daily routines. I mean, I’d love to look like her now, let alone when I’M in my forties!
She drops in small food favorites or habits that she has that I’d really love to try. She mentions more than once that she is a savory food lover, and I’m the same! I’d choose salt over sugar any day! She mentions ways she has breakfast staples while still keeping it savory, ideas for things like oats with egg whites and sauteed veggies were awesome for me!
Some of you may have seen her promoting her book on the Dr. Oz show when they talked about poop. Yup. She told the audience that it’s really important to pay attention to your bowl movements to stay in tune with your digestive health. She then proceeded to drink a liter of water with no breaths in about 6 seconds. She says that she fills up a liter bottle of water in her bathroom next to her sink every night so when she wakes up and goes into the bathroom it’s all ready for her, no excuses. She says it awakens her digestive system. After all, we did just ignore every part of our body for 8 hours.
6. She doesn’t believe in diets.
She really believes that nutrition is about abundance, not deprivation. Yes, moderation is important, especially with the very synthetic foods we’re all so used to. In the nutrition section she really breaks down what different types of foods actually DO for our bodies. I love that everything she gives us is about the positive effects awesome yummy foods have on us. We’re always hearing about fat does this or sugar does that, but there are positive things that the natural forms of these things do for us. It’s much more fun to eat healthy when we’re thinking about the energy or thinking power foods give us than what our thighs will look like if we eat that high fructose corn syrup.
7. She doesn’t just tell you what she knows, she tells you where she gets information and shows that she did her research. She didn’t just rely on her own instincts to educate us.
Although it is more than possible that Cameron knows a lot more than all of us about nutrition, it was nice to see her reference the professionals she went to for help with the book. She talks to all kinds of doctors and professors and gives great acknowledgement to her co-author Sandra Bark, a very accomplished writer. It was refreshing to see her give credit to those who educated her. It also really lets other people know that you do not need a PhD to understand how to take care of yourself. She’s setting a great example!
8. We know she practices what she preaches.
Cameron has always been an awesome example to all of her fans. She’s a fitness goddess and is always photographed being super active, she looks like a bad ass on that surfboard! Although I’m sure that she works out in a gym with a trainer just like everyone else it’s also great to see that she just loves being active, it really shows a lot of us that staying fit and healthy doesn’t have to be tedious or grueling.
Have any of you read The Body Book? What info did you take away to help your healthy lifestyle? Tell me below!
8 Reasons Why Every Girl Needs To Read Cameron Diaz's "The Body Book"
