Featured Beauty Wisdom Book: “Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous Project”
Author & Expert: Esther Blum, M.S, R.D, C.D.N., C.N.S,
Welcome to our Beauty Wisdom department. If you haven’t noticed yet, I am an avid reader of health and wellness books. It’s just my thing which we need another blog post to talk about. However, never having been on a diet, I am not a big fan of diet books. I almost didn’t pick this book up because I saw these words on the cover “Lose twice the weight by keeping a food log”. But I was curious because Esther’s professional bio was impressive. So I turned over the book “Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous Project” and there in big capped letters it said “GET FIT WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE FUN” and then I thought “okay now we are talking!”
Slightly engaged I opened the book and just happened to land on a page that said “When it comes to making food choices instead of saying “I’ll be good” why not say “I will be good to myself”? I thought “yes! this is the message we need to get out there about beauty, health and wellness”. Now I was hooked and realized this isn’t a diet book, no this is a serious health book with a fluffy title! I might have to read this. And so I did! I loved her fun, entertaining presentation so much and almost forgot she was really teaching me about integrative nutrition and wise practices. With this said, meet Ester Blum, a well-respected nutritional expert who has a great sense of humor and a killer plan for those who want to be fit, healthy and “gorgeous”. And yes, you will lose weight following her plan but if you adopt her “gorgeous mindset”, you may never have to use the word “diet” again. Set yourself free ladies…
Lauroly Q- Welcome Esther to World Wise Beauty. I am so happy you could join me. Sorry to say I missed your first couple of books but hopefully there a lot of other people like me that can catch up and follow you. You are called an integrative nutritionist and have a bunch of letters next to your name. Can you tell us what integrative means and why you are different from a standard dietitian?
Lauroly Q- Since we are meeting here in the “Beauty Wisdom” section of World Wise Beauty, I think we can talk freely about finding our “gorgeous within”! With so much focus on cosmetic fixes, surgical fixes etc., chasing beauty has become very expensive and scary too. Let’s talk about the best kept secret and this is the idea of beauty from the inside out. For example one of the great secrets you don’t hear much about is there are many nutrients found in particular foods that are skin-tastic. Your word Esther! Tell us more about this and share a few beauty tips that we don’t hear at the cosmetic counter or sadly at the dermatologist office.
Lauroly Q- Your third book and the one I stumbled upon you call a “project”. But it really is an excellent little workbook filled with useful tools like meal plans, shopping lists, and a food diary. You also have a great Q&A section in your book which is enlightening as well. Why the “project” concept and what obstacles do most people face when it comes to taking care of themselves from the inside out?
Keeping a food log is one of the best forms of cognitive behavioral therapy. Not only does it rewire your brain and incite change, but also brings awareness and focus to what we put in our mouth. If you bite it, you write it! A food diary is the highest form of personal accountability and will quickly help you identify imbalances in your ratios of proteins, carbohydrates, and fat. The Eat, Drink, and Be Gorgeous Project contains cutting edge information on exercise, supplements, and clean eating. You’ll learn how to make your food work for you—not the other way around. Check out the Gorgeous Exercise chapter to learn how to maximize your fat-burning potential. At the end of this book are four different menu options to choose from. Go with the one that fits your goals and give it a whirl for a month—I promise you a different body in 4 weeks.
Lauroly Q- Ok Esther, here comes the big question. What do you think it is about American culture that makes us so obsessed with diet and extreme beauty fixes? I could go on for days about it but would love to hear perspective from an expert like you that treats people from all walks of life everyday.
Lauroly Closing: Now that was a wise piece of advice right there! Great to chat with you Esther and since I enjoyed your third book so much, I’ll have to circle back and check out your first two. Thanks so much for sharing your “gorgeous” wisdom with us!
For those who want to begin with the first book click on this title Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous and get started. Other books by Esther are Cave Women Don’t Get Fat, and Secrets of Gorgeous. You can also follow her blog on www.livinggorgeous.com, become a fan on Facebook: Living Gorgeous, or follow Esther on Twitter @EstherBlum .
Truly Herself,
Lauroly