Hitting the Books

Never Say Diet

The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer

Chantel Hobbs

Summary: After years of failed diet attempts, Chantel Hobbs discovered the missing ingredient to permanent weight loss: to change your life, you first have to change the way you think.

She developed a balanced plan for exercise and nutrition and lost two hundred pounds. Now, through writing, speaking, and her work as a personal trainer, she inspires others to achieve far more than they thought possible.

In Never Say Diet, now available in trade paperback, Chantel provides everything readers need to lose weight for good, including:

• Simple, step-by-step workout routines that fit into a normal weekday schedule
• A realistic approach to nutrition that helps people break their bondage to food
• Strategies for staying motivated when life takes unexpected turns
• Keys to dealing with discouragement by relying on God’s strength
• The secret to moving beyond past failures and getting over old excuses

Chantel helps readers make the five commitments that are necessary for changing their lives. Her high-energy, no-nonsense approach inspires readers to achieve results that last in body, mind, and spirit.

Personal Trainer: Her newest book, The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach, now allows readers to have Chantel show up each week to inspire, encourage, and energize them on the journey to a healthy life that centers on body, mind, and spirit.

This fitness guide helps readers set new weight-loss goals and create an exercise schedule that works in the midst of life’s constant demands. Readers will be inspired with Scripture, and they will welcome Chantel’s healthy eating plan with simple, energy-and-nutrition-packed recipes. Weekly checklists and personal evaluations direct readers in reaching their goals. Plus, Chantel’s personal and entertaining stories provide the motivation needed to get through even the most frustrating days.

With Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach readers will establish new fitness habits that burn off excess weight, increase strength, and establish a new, healthy way of living.

Okay, so I don’t usually read diet books. Yes, I need to lose weight–according to my BMI, I’m obese (by all of three pounds). However, I’m one of those “active but overweight” people. I do Zumba twice a week, and 40+ minutes on the treadmill at least two other days, preferably more. I can do a day-long hike without keeling over half-dead. I did Irish stepdancing up until last September (I’d still be doing it, but the class wasn’t on an available night for me). I don’t eat refined sugar or corn syrup. No matter what I eat or don’t eat, I’ve been the same weight (within 5 pounds) for well over a year now. Most people think I’m quite a bit lighter than I am. The bottom line is, I’ve never hit the rock bottom that Chantel describes, at least not as far as the way I look. But food does have a definite hold over me. I like to eat. I enjoy (far too much) the way things taste, to the point of overeating because it tastes so gooooood.

That’s why the key thing I brought away from this book is that food is fuel, not your main source of fun (or worse, comfort). At one point in the program, she has you make your meals nutritious, but boring (though not permanently), because changing the way you look at food is the only way to break its hold over you. And I can see that. In fact, that thought now goes through my head almost every time I wonder “What am I in the mood for?” That’s the wrong question, according to Chantel. The right question is “What does my body need?”

Her program seems to be a straight-forward deal, and fairly easy to remember, though it still takes plenty of willpower to follow. More willpower than most of us have. That’s why the all-important first step is surrendering our will to God’s. He wants us to be healthy, and it is only through His strength that we can turn from the idol of food (’you cannot serve both God and chocolate’).

There were a couple of areas that I did have problems with. One is food allergies/intolerances. I’ve a lot of them. Many of her meals call for lean poultry or fish–many times trying to eat chicken/turkey and/or fish (even tuna) makes me nauseous. Same thing for eggs. Nor can I do the Kashi thing. I like Kashi. Used to eat it all the time…until I discovered that oatmeal gave me headaches. Corn’s another thing I have to avoid, including popcorn. My husband has Crohn’s, so he has issues with things like celery or lettuce. You know, those good fibery vegetables. My daughter can’t eat so many things that we don’t even usually take her into consideration when making meal plans. I make all her bread at home, which means plain white bread (though with unbleached flour), because making whole wheat bread is a royal pain in the boohickey.

Some of the exercises I have issues with too. The cardio isn’t too much of a problem–I do that already. The ones that get me are the ones with the stability ball. I’ve had a lot of back problems (and legs, and knees, and feet, and neck), and the exercises she shows tend to exacerbate my bad spots. I think she chose the stability ball because it’s easy to use and keep at home, but there are other methods of working the core muscles (which is her main goal as near as I could tell) that are a lot kinder to the body. I know this because my physical therapist made me do a whole slew of them.

Overall, Never Say Diet was a hard-hitting, workable, sensible book. I think those of us who struggle with saying no to food can get a great deal out of it.

When the Soul Mends

Sisters of the Quilt Book 3

Cindy Woodsmall

Publisher’s Summary: After receiving a desperate and confusing call from her sister, Hannah Lapp reluctantly returns to the Old Order Amish community of her Pennsylvania childhood.

Having left Owl’s Perch more than two years earlier, she finally has settled into a satisfying role in the Englischer world. Hannah has found love and a new family with the wealthy Martin Palmer and the children she is helping him raise; and her life-long dream of being part of the medical community is being realized. But almost immediately after her arrival, the disapproval of those who ostracized her, including her headstrong father, reopens old wounds.

As Hannah is thrown together with former fiance Paul Waddell to work for her sister Sarah’s mental health, hidden truths surface about the events during Hannah’s absence, and she faces an agonizing decision. Will she choose the Englischer world and the man who restored her hope, or will she heed the call to return to the Plain life–and perhaps to her first love?

When the Soul Mends is the final book in this series (called “Sisters of the Quilt,” which is something of a misnomer, since quilts play only a very small role in the story), and the one I liked best. The basis of the book is that Sarah, who has only a precarious hold on sanity, gets a hold of Hannah and begs her to come home. As Hannah reconnects with those who turned their backs on her, many secrets come to the surface. SPOILER ALERT: By far the most important secret revealed is that Paul had tried to contact Hannah, as she had tried to contact him, and their attempts had been purposely sabotaged by a jealous girl. This places Hannah in the dilemma of having to chose between Martin and Paul. END SPOILER.

I was pleased by the ending. Yes, parts of it seemed to come out of nowhere (at least it did on the first reading–on the second I was looking for the clues, and they were there), but it fit the characters far better than some of the previous scenarios. And while the epilogue seems a bit “Quick! Make sure everybody ends up happy!”, so what? I like happy endings. I far prefer them over “realistic” endings. If I want realism, I’ll go read a newspaper and get myself royally depressed.

SPOILER ALERT: I was especially glad that Hannah goes back to her Plain ways. One of the big hangups of When the Morning Comes (Book 2) was how quickly Hannah seemed to throw off her Amish upbringing and embraced the Englischer world. Turns out she hadn’t really left those ways behind, that she wanted to return to a simpler life, and that the Englisher world, and more importantly, Martin’s world, made her very uncomfortable. END SPOILER.

Over all, When the Soul Mends is a pretty good read, a nice break from the madness of my quilting business and the holidays. I probably won’t keep it (my bookshelf space is so limited I have to be brutal with what I keep), but I did reread parts of it (especially the last seven or eight chapters) for enjoyment, because I’m a sucker for a good romantic ending.

Bon Appetit

French Twist Book 2

Sandra Byrd

Summary: In this second book in the French Twist series, readers join Lexi Stuart in a crème de la crème adventure!

Deciding to leave her familiar home in Seattle and her could-be boyfriend Dan, Lexi moves to a quaint village in France to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef. Life among the French initially proves to be less than easy as Lexi is challenged by her coworkers, missing her friends, and failing to master the perfect baguette.

Determined to find her place, Lexi settles into the culture and life becomes la perfection. She finds a church, meets a new friend, and makes the acquaintance of a child named Celine—as well as Celine’s attractive, widowed father, Philippe. Even Patricia, the gruff pastry cook, shows a softer side as she mentors Lexi in the art of baking.

Fast, fun, and packed with French culture, foodie appeal, and unique recipes readers will love accompanying Lexi on her journey in Bon Appetit as she tries to choose between two countries, two men and the faith to lean on God while savoring the surprises life brings!

After reviewing Let Them Eat Cake last year, I was looking forward to book two. And I wasn’t disappointed. Lexi is just as real and funny as she was the first time around. The story moves along quickly (it was an easy evening’s read) and if the situations and characters aren’t always exactly realistic, they are at least very believable. I am curious how Ms. Byrd is going to solve Lexi’s love dilemma, but I suppose I’ll have to wait until next year for the answer to that.

The only things I found problematic with both Let Them Eat Cake and Bon Appetit are all those loving descriptions of the sweets and pastries and other yummy yummy things that I can’t eat any more. Pout. (Refined sugar and I do not get along at all.)

So…I definitely recommend Bon Appetit (in fact I already have–my mom liked it too). Yes, it is a delightful bit of air and sweet fluff. But so are cream puffs, and I absolutely love cream puffs. (”Anybody have a good recipe for sugar-free cream puffs?” she asks plaintively.)

The stress level in our house sky-rocketed yesterday when I realized somewhere between Georgetown and the Smithsonian that my wallet was AWOL. Talk about a whirlwind of activity. My wonderful hubby came home early from work (the Punkin and I were still on the train coming home) and started calling everybody. Thank God he did that, since I can’t even remember everything that was in the wallet, let alone calling up and canceling cards, reporting them missing, etc. How long will it take for this chaos to settle down to “normal’ again? And when will my brain stop pretending it’s a bowl of pudding?

Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and the End of the Roman Empire

William Rosen

I wasn’t planning on reading this book at all. Merely saw it on a friend’s table yesterday, got curious, and asked if I could read it before she did. Now I feel as if I’ve eaten a 10-course meal in the space of 20 minutes.

This era of history is not usually my thing. I was an International Studies major in college, so I of course covered it in my history classes, and I taught it to my world history students, but it’s not an era I would seek out books upon. However, I was fascinated by Pox Americana (I read it as research for my WIP), and the title of this book sounded like it was similar. It wasn’t really. But in this case, that isn’t a bad thing, because Rosen provided a buffet of information so well presented that you don’t need a background in history to take it in.

His bottom line is this:

” It was the golden age of Emperor Justinian, who, from his glorious capital of Constantinople, united and reigned over an empire stretching from Italy to North Africa. It was the zenith of his achievements–and the last of them.

In A.D. 542, the bubonic plague struck. In weeks, the glorious classical world of Justinian was plunged into chaos, and the beginings of a medieval Europe were born.”

However, the plague itself only occupies perhaps a quarter of the book. The rest of it is background, side-plots, and connections to other ideas and future events. Rosen follows a common thread, loops off on a connected idea, but always manages to bring the reader back the main thread before they get too lost.

In the course of the book, Rosen covers “history, microbiology, ecology, jurisprudence, theology, and epidemiology,” not to mention tidbits of architecture, art, trade, politics, medicine, and numerous other subjects. Whether he was discussing the changing tactics of warfare or the warring theologies of the early Christian Church (Arian vs. Monophysites vs. orthodoxy/Catholic), his writing went down so smoothly that I almost wasn’t aware of how much I was taking in at times. The only sections that I found hard to chew was when he went into great detail about the evolution and biology of Yersinia pestis, that is, bubonic plague.

Justinian’s Flea is heavy reading, but not overwhelmingly so. It appeals both to serious students of history as well as to the curiosity of the “layman.”

Grade: A/A+