The 30 Day Total Health Makeover: Everything You Need to Do to Change Your Body, Your Health, and Your Life in 30 Amazing Days [Paperback]

Marilu Henner (Author), Laura Morton (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 22, 2001

Are you ready to make a change?
Spend a month with Marilu!

"Health is not just about weight or appearance, but rather about a much bigger picture. I really believe that you can't be a healthy person unless everything is working together. Your body, your mind, your living space. Live in my world for 30 days and I promise you will feel better."

-- Marilu

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Marilu Henner's bestselling Total Health Makeover introduced readers to her B.E.S.T. plan: a lifestyle focused on Balance, Energy, Stamina, and the use of only Toxin-free foods and products. While Henner and her many converts swear by the low-sugar, meat- and dairy-free meals in the makeover, it requires a major amount of effort and advance planning. (For example, if you went searching in your pantry right now, could you find quinoa, bulgur, or Soy Moo?) Many readers urged Henner to simplify things for them. The result is The 30-Day Total Health Makeover, with each day's menu and recipes preplanned for you. She even provides the shopping lists and mentions her favorite brands for cereals, soups, salad dressings, sauces, grains, and frozen foods.

Henner's aim, as with the Total Health Makeover, is to not only assist you with weight loss (if necessary), but to help you change your relationship with food. "Many of us only think of healthy eating as a polite way of saying we're going to be deprived," she says. "What if you didn't need that sugar and dairy anymore, and actually began to see it as a detriment? What if you had those foods once in a while but learned how to help your body recover from them quickly?"

In addition to the diet (which Henner says has helped her shed--and keep off--more than 40 pounds, and cleared up her once-splotchy complexion), she includes fun, motivational tidbits, including a "spa on a budget" and food and exercise tips. Typos are annoyingly scattered throughout the book, but it's worth overlooking them to absorb Henner's abundant enthusiasm for good health. --Erica Jorgensen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Marilu Henner is well known for her roles in Taxi and Evening Shade and her participation in The Celebrity Apprentice. She is the author of two other New York Times bestselling books, Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover and Healthy Life Kitchen. She lives in Los Angeles.

Laura Morton has collaborated on a number of New York Times bestsellers and lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (May 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006103133X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061031335
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 97 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is about eating healthy, NOT dieting. June 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Having always eaten healthy, but never quite ready to give up dairy, this is the book for you. As a novice cook, the recipes, particularly for fish, are great. The initial couple of weeks are tough, but the remainder is almost too much food. Food combing makes it easy to judge what to eat at a particular moment, you don't get caught up in the question-is it low fat, low carbo, low sugar, negativeness of diets. Even "cheating" a little I lost 7 lbs within 2 weeks. There is lots of time spent preparing veggies, but that's the point, right? Replacing your afternoon snack of chips with some green munchies. Plus its learning to love food again in its simplest form. Most recipes have few ingredients and are ready in 15 minutes. There is an adequate substitution list for the days you don't have time to prepare the more complicated recipes. The feel good motivational tips are excellent. Reminds me of the simple abundance kind of stuff. The typos and lack of index for the unusual ingredients is the only reason its not 5 star. Oh yea, my husband finally agreed to give up dairy and follow the book,too, and he now weighs what he did nearly 15 years ago.

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Feel the difference! January 19, 2005

By Mystic812

Format:Paperback

I wasn't expecting much when I started this eating plan, but was pleasantly surprised. I DID feel much better. However, the food combining theory can be a little confusing, and the book needed to be a little clearer on substitutions. The recipes are tasty, but although none of the recipes call for adding salt, there is a prominent use of Tamari/soy sauce which is in itself high in sodium. If you are watching sodium, you might want to use another type of seasoning. Some of the recipes for example called for Sea Bass and/or Red Snapper and Ahi Tuna (the Sushi grade kind). At my supermarket, the sea bass was $20.00 lb.,I can only imagine what the Ahi tuna costs! I just substituted plain old tuna, and either cod or tilapia for the sea bass. Also, the menus needed to be planned better to utilize your leftovers. For example, I baked the "Mary Ann's Corn Muffins" recipe, which made 12 muffins. We were supposed to have them for breakfast for that one day, and nowhere on the plan did they appear again! So the next day, there was another different breakfast, with no usage for the leftover muffins, and no information on what to do in these cases. Some of the recipes that did allow you to use leftovers the next day, happened to be the recipes that made very small portions to begin with, so there WERE no leftovers! UGHHH! Also, you need to have a restaurant size icebox for all the veggies and ingredients. I found myself going shopping more frequently, running all over town to different stores to get some of the ingredients. Luckily, I live in an area that it's easy to find the different ingredients. If you are a working person, you will need to cook things the day before you need them to have it all ready on some occasions.... I had to make my hubby's lunch the night before for some of the days, otherwise I'd be up all night cooking. It seemed I was in the kitchen way too frequently though. I was a little disappointed to find out that Marilu has a nanny employed! :) I wonder if that's who cuts up all the veggies in her home and prepares all of these meals. Because some are a little time consuming. Don't get me wrong, I like Marilu, and although there's a few downsides to the book, it is still worth doing. Sometimes celebrities forget about what it's like to be the "average" person. See Bass is ok for celebs, but there are other types of fish that are cheaper and also healthy. But the diet can become a little pricey if you get every single ingredient on the shopping lists - but in the end, you'll feel better. Read more ›

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars TRY IT, YOU WON'T BE SORRY !!!!! May 7, 1999

By [e-mail]

Format:Hardcover

I DID IT !, I AM ON DAY 30 OF THIS PROGRAM,AND I FEEL GREAT ! MARILU REALLY OPENED MY EYES TO A NEW WAY OF EATING. THIS IS NOT A DIET, AND THAT IS WHAT'S SO WONDERFUL ABOUT IT ! THIS PROGRAM HELPS YOU REALIZE THAT YOU CAN GET YOUR NUTRITION FROM FOODS OTHER THAN MEAT AND DAIRY ! WITH MARILU'S HELP I HAVE DISCOVERED FOODS THAT I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER BE EATING LET ALONE ENJOY! I MUST SAY THAT SOME OF HER RECIPES ARE A BIT TOO TIME CONSUMING FOR SOMEONE THAT DOESN'T HAVE TOO MUCH TIME FOR COOKING .SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS ARE NOT EASY TO FIND AT YOUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE, AND HEALTH FOOD STORES ARE NOT ALWAYS IN EVERYONES NEIGHBORHOOD. ALSO, I NOTICED SOME CONTRADICTIONS IN THE RECIPIES THAT MIX HER FOOD COMBINING BELIEFS. YOU DON'T NEED TO FOLLOW EACH DAY EXACTLY TO WHAT SHE SAYS TO EAT, BUT IF YOU STICK TO THE GUIDELINES YOU WILL SEE A GREAT IMPROVEMENT AND FEEL INCREDIBLE ! I THINK MARILU DID A GOOD JOB WITH THIS BOOK. I WILL DEFINITELY STICK TO THIS HEALTHY NEW WAY OF LIFE !

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The key to this book is: "Not a diet...but a Health Makeover August 5, 2000

By Paul W. Sager

Format:Hardcover

Dieting trends these days tend to be about carbos and fats and proteins. There are a million diets out there, but no one has written a book about a health makeover that brings it down a notch. Marilu brings it down the the common person and shows just how easy it is for you to incorporate simple changes in your eating habits.

This book literally goes day by day, week by week, offering you food tips, exercise tips, beauty tips, spa-on-a-budget tips and more.

I hesitantly started this health makeover, and you know what...I lost 17 pounds and was able to keep some of the tips incorporated into my daily life. No other book made it this easy.

Marilu's health books are a must for anyone who has tried unsuccessful diets and is about fed up with the whole dieting thing. I highly recommend this....Dr. Paul

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Marilu has changed my life January 24, 2000

By chantejoy

Format:Hardcover

This book was just the perfect follow-up to her first book, because although I understood her principles I need help on exactly WHAT to eat! It is just what the doctor ordered. I ultimately have 20-34 lbs to loose, according to my doctor, and found this to be a perfect lifestyle change for me. I identified with Marilu's personal story in the first book. I have always had that layer of chubbiness and didn't realize that the dairy products were keeping me feeling and looking bloated. When I started reading her books I didn't feel like I had enough willpower to change my lifestyle enough to loose the amount of weight I needed to. This book has helped me find the motivation and discipline I needed. I have lost 8 lbs in 24 days.

I am single and cook for myself. I am a working girl who finds time to workout, even if it means going to the gym at 6 am before work or 6 pm after a hard day. Yes- this lifestyle (not a diet!) requires self control. This is not a quick fix. Yes, the food is expensive. I have spent around $200 on each grocery list for the week, but I know that many of the items will last me months because I won't have to rebuy everything.

Yes, you do eat fish. Marilu is a vegetarian, but this book is not called "How to Be a Vegetarian." If that was what you were looking for than you should read more carefully. She never professes that everyone should become a vegetarian. Each of us have to adhere our diets to suit our bodies. Hey, some people are unaffected by dairy and want to keep it in their diets. I found that eliminating it was key FOR ME. This is your body and you have to learn to manage it yourself. Stop whining....

I love that this program eliminates additives and junk food and allows you to get your fat from natural "good fat" sources that your body can actually use. You need fat for bodily functions. Marilu makes that clear.

What foods do I love? I love the whole grain sprouted bread w/soy margarine in the morning. Some of the recipes are GLORIOUS. I love the corn muffins. I am not missing chicken, which I ate ALL THE TIME. It's all about new experiences, right?

I only have a problem with some of the brown rice dishes. They are just now satisfying enough for a meal, especially since the batch should serve four. I have had to add a salad to it. But everyones body has different needs- I reiterate.

The grocery lists are essential. Definitely a plus. Yes, you will have to go to the health food store for some of it. The next step would be to tell us how many of each item we need so we don't have to go through all the recipes tallying it up before shopping. Efficiency, again.

Because I cook for myself only, I freeze meals or do the same day two or three times until the food runs out. For that reason I am on day 15 but I started 24 days ago. It actually helps me, though, because I am busy and grateful to already have meals waiting for me at home some days. I have even had to use easier recipes to improvise when time was an issue. If you are whining about having to be creative, then stay unhealthy. You are obviously happier that way.

On the hunger tip, 95 percent of the time I am not hungry, but if I workout I might be hungrier. She CLEARLY says you can't allow yourself to get hungry, and reccommends a soup recipe to tide you over. Again, this is an opportunity to PLAN snacks ahead and BE CREATIVE. This is YOUR body. Adjust it to your needs while staying within her guidelines.

I found Marilu's organizational tips let us into her world, and brought some fun to the book. If you are a busy working girl like me, having an organized home saves time. I can use some of that time to be more efficient overall. Inefficiency breeds stress and stress causes overeating for many of us. If you are unwilling to do anything that is outside of what you have grown accustomed to, can you really expect to change your health? If you are saying, "I don't want to grocery shop, I don't want to cook, I don't want to have to PLAN...etc." that is EXACTLY why you are fat right now. Read more ›