The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method [Hardcover]

Kelly Traver (Author), Betty Kelly Sargent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2009

Why is The Healthiest You different from every other health, diet, and fitness plan? Because it works.Dr. Kelly Traver understands that the human brain resists change. Only when we learn the secrets of how to get our brain to work for us, not against us, can we make healthy, permanent lifestyle changes. By combining recent cutting-edge discoveries in neuroscience with the latest information in medicine, nutrition, and fitness, Dr. Traver developed the Healthiest You program and initially tested it on her patients, ranging in age from twenty to eighty-one. Her results were astounding:• Among those who were overweight, the average weight loss was 19 pounds.• Among those who were diabetic, 80 percent achieved a reduction in their blood sugar.• Among those with high blood pressure, 87 percent returned their blood pressure to normal.• Some 80 percent of the smokers successfully kicked the habit. In the course of 12 short weeks, readers can achieve similar success by following Dr. Traver’s simple, straightforward instructions to work with this stubbornly change-resistant organ so that it not only accepts new, healthy lifestyle habits, it actually embraces them. You can use this empowering information to remotivate yourself whenever your enthusiasm starts to wane. With the powerful tools provided by The Healthiest You, you can learn to change your body and your life, simply by understanding and working with your brain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Traver doesn't just instruct readers on how to achieve happier, healthier lives, she provides compelling evidence for why her methods work." -- Dr. Mark Hyman, bestselling author of The UltraMind Solution and UltraMetabolism

"I've seen our employees lose 40+ pounds, get off their blood pressure and diabetes medications, figure out their sleep problems, reduce stress, and more. The Program really works!" -- Dagan McLennan, RN, Wellness Center, Google

"Dr. Traver's The Program is opening the next frontier of medicine with its smart, simple, and science-based approach to protecting your health." -- Bradley A. Perkins, M.D., executive vice president for strategy and innovation at Vanguard Health Systems

"This is a tipping point book: it shows us how to get beyond sick care to doable healthy living." -- Bob Johansen, bestselling author of Get There Early and Leaders Make the Future

"This no-nonsense, evidence-based approach can transform lives by teaching people how to do what they know they should, but is so increasingly difficult to practice in the modern world." -- J. Nick Baird, M.D., CEO, Alliance to Make US Healthiest

"Wow! What an undertaking! The Program provides just the right mix of what, why, and how for readers interested in improving their health and well-being." -- Cathy Heaney, Ph.D., Stanford Prevention and Research Center

"Simply wonderful. Reading The Program somehow reminded me of reading Shakespeare. Each page is so laden with verities that a slow read is mandated. So, read slow and thrive." -- Walter M. Bortz II, M.D., bestselling author of Dare to Be 100 and We Live Too Short and Die Too Long

About the Author

Kelly Traver, MD received her medical degree from Stanford where she also specialized in Internal Medicine. During an additional year as chief resident she won the Excellence in Teaching award and currently serves as an adjunct clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford. Dr. Traver has been practicing medicine for more than seventeen years, but her background also includes research in biochemistry, teaching in a Stanford neuroanatomy lab and a brief public health study in South Africa while in medical school. She recently served as medical director at Google and is currently on the board for the Institute for the Future. Dr. Traver is the founder of Healthiest You, a company that works with corporations, health care organizations, and the government to help individuals become more empowered and engaged in their health. She lives with her husband and children in Portola Valley, California.

Betty Kelly Sargent is a longtime book and magazine editor who has coauthored seven books. She lives in New York City and Tuscany.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; 1 edition (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439109982
• ISBN-13: 978-1439109984
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #601,288 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outsmarting My Brain, January 7, 2010

By 

Sabrina Jones (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method (Hardcover)

This is not just another book on stuff that I know I should do to get and stay healthy but ultimately fail to do for one reason or another. (Why does change for the better always seem so hard?!) The Program, by Dr. Kelly Traver, helped me make the connection between my behavior and the way my particular brain works. This understanding was key to unlocking my resistance to change and allowed me to use the tools in this program to make positive adjustments in my life.

This is not a one size fits all program...it is a program that fits all sizes! I highly recommend it, particularly for anyone who needs help to outsmart their change-resistant brain.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Program- Change Lives, February 1, 2010

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method (Hardcover)

Life Changing- 12 Week Method- The Program
by Dr. Kelly Traver MD and Betty Kelly Sargent
Published 2009 by Atria Books

Reviewed by: Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

This work is an excellent reference for life-long health planning
and maintenance. Early in the book, the authors present a fairly
comprehensive health risk assessment which covers the essentials
of controlling vices, stress, lack of exercise, junk food etc.

Exercise is said to boost the metabolism by 20-30 % . Core exercises
are presented; such as, chest, abdomen, back, shoulders and thighs.
Long term goals are formulated for fitness, stress reduction and
nutrition.

The basic food groups are set forth. These are grains, fruits,
veggies,meat, fish, poultry, good fats and sweets. Personally,
I find that cinnamon, stevia and sugar- free candies are good
substitutes for white sugar.

In addition, a high quality probiotic formula will help to maintain
general gastrointestinal health along with high fiber.
Milk thistle can be a good liver tonic.

The BMI (body mass index) is discussed with the norm ranging
between 18.5 and 24.9. Caloric expenditure is set forth. For instance,
walking burns 200 or more calories.
Weight lifting can burn up to 300 calories and running expends
350 calories. These facts comport with my own personal experience.

The maxim " Change your thoughts and you change your mind"
is quoted from Dr. Normon Vincent Peale. The author advises to
do away with anxiety and be less concerned with matters not under
our direct control.

Stress is discussed at length. Stress can lead to increases
in the heart rate, blood pressure increases, blood flow
migration from the gut to the skeleton and increases in blood sugar.
Fatigue also begets chronic inflammation .
From personal experience, you should check the C-reactive protein,
SED rate and other markers for potential inflammatory states.
These tests would be done in the blood chemistry in rheumatology,
cardiology or a comprehensive physical check-up.

The allergen blood panel is another place to examine for
inflammation from foods we consume regularly.
i.e. egg white IgE, cow's milk IgE, codfish IgE, wheat IgE,
corn IgE, pea IgE, peanut IgE, soybean IgE, shrimp IgE, tomato IgE.
Your gastroenterologist can order an upper endoscopy
and colonoscopy to get more precise visual information pertinent
to existing inflammations in the gastrointestinal tract and colon.
The Pillcam is another useful tool which produces
visual images in a video format.

Exercise, eating regularly, 8-9 hours of quality sleep,
slowing down and nurturing yourself will help to de-stress.
The authors cite a 3-hour window to break-up clots and restore
blood flow from strokes. In addition, I would ask about a
doppler test of the head/neck area to gain some assurance about
the likelihood of a blood clot breaking up randomly.

In addition, stroke prevention strategies include good diabetes care,
low cholesterol,blood pressure monitoring and no smoking.

Diabetes may be controlled by diet via high fiber foods,
veggies, non-fat yogurt, whole grain breads, quinoa, brown rice,
beans, peas and lentils. Exercise is another condition precedent
for controlling diabetes along with reduction of binge eating
and trigger foods.

Much is said about weight loss and control. The authors advise
to maintain a log,spread calories throughout the day, eat fruits
and veggies, eat complex carbs and protein and control alcohol
intake ideally. Remember, alcoholic beverages may contain high
levels of sugar .

Overall, the acquisition of this book would be a worthy addition
to any personal library.

Dr. Joseph S. Maresca

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about health for the new decade, January 3, 2010

By 

KD (San Diego CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Program: The Brain-Smart Approach to the Healthiest You: The Life-Changing 12-Week Method (Hardcover)

This book was both informative and a really enjoyable read. The author first explains, in very understandable terms, how the brain works, how human beings are motivated, along with anecdotes so you can relate without being a medical student or scientist. Then she goes on to help you relate it to your life, week by week, with a different task each week. I'm excited to work through "The Program" and see if I can improve my health habits. I liked the way the author wrote in a non-judgmental tone, as if she's saying "I know, I get it. I struggle to maintain good health too. It's because we're human. Here's how to work with our biology instead of against it." With health care costs in the United States skyrocketing, it seems that focusing on disease prevention and creating health lifestyles will be one of the themes of this upcoming decade. I would recommend this book to all people who are looking to get motivated to get healthy and stay healthy.