Diet
“People often follow rigid diets that are full of rules. Most diets come and go. Despite their claims, diet is not one size fits all. Most diets do not — cannot — account for differences in one’s genes, state of health, or nutritional needs. Schedules, budgets, or food availability. Personal preferences or even cultural traditions.
But diet — the word — just means which foods we eat regularly to obtain nutrients. So, don’t think of it as ‘following a diet’ but rather a way of getting all your nutrients through your diet.
The purpose of diet is to choose foods to regularly eat that will provide you with needed nutrients.”
“I’m a bit of a nutrition nerd myself and found the author’s advice practical and sound — but I still learned a lot of new things that I’m excited to put into practice!”
– Cristina W., Tucson, Arizona
Exercise
“[We believe] that ‘going to the gym’… is the only way of getting fit. Why? Because medical research talks about it. But that’s only because exercise research is conducted in a gym, not in a dance studio or on a basketball court. Dancing and shooting hoops are also beneficial forms of exercise.
[Another] misconception is that the true measure of physical fitness involves having big, ‘cut’ muscles, six-pack abs, low body fat, and marathon running. Why? Because that’s what the fitness industry promotes. Which really isn’t a hard sell. In truth, many of us want to look buff and push our bodies to the limit. But are these things required for physical fitness? No.”
“I’ve read many health-related books and publications over the years, being in the fitness industry, and when I found Marlene Veltre’s book, I was thrilled to find a solid source for overall wellness which distills a vast amount of well-researched information into bite-size chunks anyone can apply to daily living.”
– Aliza A., NASM CPT, CES, Los Angeles, California
Weight Loss
“We’ve long known the formula for losing weight and keeping it off. It involves diet and exercise, and the idea is this: Take in only the number of calories your body needs (diet) + burn excess body fat (exercise).
It’s a sound formula, but we don’t like to follow it because it takes time and it’s hard to do — rather, we make it hard to do [starving ourselves and over-exercising]. It’s no wonder we look for quick and easy weight loss solutions.
The multibillion dollar weight loss industry is itself a failed attempt at quick and easy solutions that are [unpleasant, tedious, deceptive, harmful, expensive, and painful]… If we look closely, the weight loss formula involves two of the Basics. Weight loss isn’t hard after all — and, using the Basics, it can be permanent.”
“It seems like every month there is new documentary on what we should and should not consume. Science, media and popular thought is ever changing and confusing. This book cuts through the jargon with logical and common sense advice.”
– Tracey H., Los Angeles, California
Beauty, vitality, and youthfulness
“Embrace your vanity! — if that will motivate you to get and stay healthy. For the quality of your physical appearance is a reflection of your state of health. Good health = a beautiful, youthful, lean you.”
“[Marlene Veltre] is very good at explaining how our systems function and makes the connections between why we might not be feeling or looking so great, but more importantly what we can do to reverse what’s not working inside and out.”
– Carol B., Atina, Italy
The Simple Seven 