Keep the Connection: Choices for a Better Body and a Healthier Life

Exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer (to famous client Oprah Winfrey) and coauthor (along with Winfrey) of Ten Steps to a Better Body--And a Better Life, Greene encourages readers to maintain a lifetime commitment to health and fitness. Eschewing fitness fads and guru didacticism, Greene advocates a common-sense approach to nutrition and fitness. As he candidly notes, ""People, for the most part, know what to do to stay healthy. Let's face it, most of us know that we should eat sensibly and get some regular exercise. It's not a news flash anymore!"" In the chapter entitled ""Motivation,"" Greene takes a strong philosophical stance, addressing the psychology behind motivation and drawing a distinction between those who merely talk about change and those willing to effect change in their lives. He defines ""the connection"" as making choices based on love as opposed to fear. Emphasizing the association between self-awareness and positive self-esteem, Greene provides a series of exercises and questions to help readers get in touch with themselves. Subsequently, he offers general guidelines for a well-rounded fitness program that includes flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, abdominal and back fitness and muscular strength and endurance. While Greene prods readers to forget about dieting, he recommends seven practices (such as eating three meals and two snacks a day and limiting the amount of fat in your diet) for improved nutrition. In promoting self-choice and responsibility, Greene takes an encouraging, roll-up-your-sleeves approach to weight loss, healthy eating and exercise. (May)