The South Beach Wake-Up Call: Why America Is Still Getting Fatter and Sicker, Plus 7 Simple Strategies for Reversing Our Toxic Lifestyle [Hardcover]

Arthur Agatston (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 11, 2011

From Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the South Beach Diet comes an urgent message: We need to wake up to the reality of just how fat and sick we are as a nation.

Statistics don’t lie: In the past 30 years Americans have become heavier and unhealthier than at any time in our history. Yet while most of us recognize the devastating toll this is taking on our lives—compromising our productivity, our self-esteem, our energy, and ultimately our very longevity—we seem stuck in the sedentary, fast-food lifestyle that got us here in the first place.

But there is hope. In The South Beach Wake-Up Call, Dr. Agatston sheds light on the root causes of our current health crisis and also offers clear, actionable advice for addressing and reversing this growing problem. He explains how inflammation brought on by our toxic lifestyle is destroying the body’s ability to heal and repair itself, and causing our tissues and organs to "rust," or grow old before their time. He shows why losing that belly fat is far more than just a matter of regaining your "bikini body," and how lack of sleep and inadequate exercise can rob you of years of vigorous good health. He also takes a close look at the American diet and what should (and shouldn’t) be on the menu and exposes the real cost of eating out and consuming "cheap" fast food.

With a section of brand-new recipes created to maximize your intake of "Megafoods"— those foods packed with anti-aging antioxidants and dense with nutrients, not calories—plus meal plans and an easy-to-follow fitness routine for increasing both core strength and cardiovascular health, The South Beach Wake-Up Call is an essential prescription for anyone ready for a life-enhancing approach to diet and good health.

The book features:

• The South Beach Wake-Up Program: 7 simple, sustainable strategies for age-reversing, life-saving weight loss and optimal health

• The South Beach Gluten Solution to combat the potential harm that gluten-containing foods can have on sensitive individuals, including gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, metabolic disorders, and a host of autoimmune conditions

• The Wake Up and Move 2-Week Quick Start Plan, an exercise program combining both cardio and core conditioning

• 15 MegaFoods for Healthy Eating, how to buy healthy food on a budget, how to snack strategically, and 32 all-new recipes from breakfasts to desserts using MegaFoods

   

  • Stories from real-life "Super Moms" who are fighting back and taking control of their families’ health, plus tips for parents throughout

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dr. Agatston has done it again with an unblinkingly honest assessment of our health combined with insightful action steps to pull the wellness train back on the tracks."

—Mehmet Oz, MD, host, The Dr. Oz Show

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Arthur Agatston, M.D., is a preventive cardiologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. In 1995, Dr. Agatston developed the South Beach Diet to help his cardiac and diabetes patients improve their blood chemistries and lose weight. His eating plan worked so well that its popularity eventually led to the 2003 publication of Dr. Agatston’s first book, The South Beach Diet. Today, the South Beach Diet is a lifestyle approach to healthy eating that has helped millions, and there are more than 23 million copies of The South Beach Diet and its companion books in print worldwide. Dr. Agatston has published more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts in medical journals, and is frequently quoted in the media as an expert on diet and health. He can be found on the Web at SouthBeachDiet.com and EverdayHealth.com and he is also an advisor on heart health for Prevention magazine. He lives and practices in Miami Beach, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (October 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605293326
• ISBN-13: 978-1605293325
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arthur Agatston, MD
Leading Preventive Cardiologist and Creator and Author of the South Beach Diet

Dr. Arthur Agatston is a leading preventive cardiologist and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. A pioneer in the field of noninvasive cardiac imaging, Dr. Agatston's scientific work with Dr. Warren Janowitz, first reported in 1991, resulted in the Agatston Score, a method for screening for coronary calcium that is currently used throughout the world and considered by many experts to be the best predictor of heart disease.

Dr. Agatston has had published more than 100 scientific articles and abstracts in medical journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, the American Journal of Cardiology, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. He is a frequent lecturer on diet, health, and the prevention of heart disease both nationally and internationally and participates as a speaker, faculty member, and organizer of numerous academic cardiology meetings and symposia. Dr. Agatston has also served as an expert consultant to the Clinical Trials Committee of the National Institutes of Health and has served on committees of the American Society of Echocardiography, the American College of Cardiology, and the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging. He is currently on the board of directors of the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE) and the American Dietetic Association Foundation. Recently, Dr. Agatston received the prestigious Alpha Omega Award from New York University Medical Center for outstanding achievement in the medical profession.

In 1995, Dr. Agatston developed a diet to help his cardiac and diabetes patients improve their blood chemistries and lose weight. His eating plan worked so well that a Miami TV station asked if it could offer the diet to its viewers. Hundreds of South Floridians went on the diet and lost weight three years running, and its popularity eventually led to the publication of Dr. Agatston's first book, The South Beach Diet, in 2003. Today, the South Beach Diet is a lifestyle approach to healthy eating for millions of people worldwide. There are more than 23 million copies of The South Beach Diet and its companion books currently in print worldwide, including: The South Beach Diet Cookbook (2004); The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide (2004); The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook (2005); The South Beach Diet Dining Guide (2005); The South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook (2006); The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook (2007), The South Beach Heart Health Revolution (2008), The South Beach Diet Supercharged (2008), and his most recent book, The South Beach Diet Super Quick Cookbook (2010). Today Dr. Agatston can also be found on the Web at SouthBeachDiet.com, EverdayHealth.com, and Prevention.com. He also writes a monthly column on preventing heart disease for Prevention magazine.

In 2004, Dr. Agatston founded the nonprofit Agatston Research Foundation for the purpose of conducting and funding original research on diet, cardiac health, and disease prevention. The Foundation is dedicated to improving the heart health and wellness of the nation through research, education, and prevention. In the fall of 2004 the foundation implemented the Healthier Options for Pubic Schoolchildren (HOPS) initiative to provide nutrition and healthy lifestyle education programming, including daily physical activity, to more than 50,000 elementary school children nationally. Data from the initiative, presented at national conferences including those of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Dietetic Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and published in 2010 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, show that children in HOPS schools improved their weight, blood pressures, and academic test scores more so than children in non-HOPS schools. Today the foundation is also working with the University of Pennsylvania on the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative to further pursue better nutrition in public schools and with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Miami on research projects dedicated to developing healthier lifestyles and to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Agatston lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Sari.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#16 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting

#16 in Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wealth of Information Beyond Food - 4 1/2 Stars September 29, 2011

By Bill Cashell VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

If you are familiar with the famous The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, then you have probably heard of the author, Dr. Arthur Agatston. If not, The south Beach Diet is a 3 phase semi-restrictive program designed for healthy weight loss.

His follow-up book, The South Beach Wake-Up Call is meant to be just that - a way to raise the awareness of everyone about the impact of highly processed, sugar-laden foods with a sedentary lifestyle. While this will not really come as a surprise to anyone, when someone holds the consequences up in your face, it becomes much harder to ignore. That is the purpose of this book - to actually show us what we are doing to our health and what to do about it.

This book is easy to read due to the excellent formatting. The entire book is made up of small sections that make it easy to pick it up and continue from anywhere. The book is basically a problem / solution guide that is broken down into 3 sections:

Part 1- The Health of Our Nation: Condition Critical. This section has 9 chapters defining the problem with today's lifestyles. I really love books like this that have solid information without a lot of useless babble. The author does a great job of exploring the problems in today's environment, citing examples of real life patients. I really enjoy the way he explains the medical
information in easy-to-understand format without a condescending tone. This part is the real wake-up call. I think we all realize that today's lifestyles are not that good, but when we actually see the effects, it certainly makes us take notice.

Part 2 - The South Beach Wake Up Program. This section contains 7 chapters with the 7 strategies for healthy, positive life. If you were expecting the basic South Beach Diet here, you might be surprised. This is a different approach from Dr. Agatston's earlier books. The first strategy is to get read of the clutter in your life and clear your mind to be more in control. The other strategies also include ways to change your behavior, such as shopping at the farmers market, turn off the TV, and encourage conversation. I believe this is the key to getting results. Knowing what to do is easy, knowing how to do it is even more important. When you see the benefits, you are much more motivated.

Part 3 - Mega Foods and Mega Recipes for Healthy Eating. This is basically a collection of recipes that include the preparation time and the health benefits. The list includes recipes for breakfast, main dishes, snacks and even deserts. The section ends with a master shopping guide for healthy foods and a list of resources.

The bottom line: If you choose to read this book, it will probably be wake up call for you. Of course, the author does plug The South Beach Diet, which is one of the better diets around. I really enjoyed the Dr. Agatston's writing style, and his attention-getting approach. I can't say that it is the best book on eating I have read, but I have to give it 4 1/2 stars for the wealth of information it provides, even beyond food. This would be a good book to combine with other nutrition books such as Beyond Broccoli, Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn't Work.

Bill Cashell - Author of "The Emotional Diet"

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good lifestyle book goes well beyond diet September 24, 2011

By Dan Sherman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I really liked this book in that it went beyond the notion of "diet" as a plan to lose/maintain weight and covered much more the general topic of healthy lifestyle -- i.e., what should we do to attain and maintain good health. It certainly is not a "how to lose a 5 pounds a week" type diet book.

The books starts by framing our relatively poor current state of health and prospect of health outcomes getting even worse over time as we (and our children) do so many things to undermine our health, including eating too many empty calories, exercising too little, not getting enough sleep, etc. The book concisely talks about the "perils of progress" that have gotten us to our overfed, unhealthy lifestyles, with emphasis on switch to "bad" fats and carbohydrates.

It discusses aspects of healthy lifestyle and then gives 7 strategies to improve health, most involving food (i.e., best foods to shop for), exercise, and sleep (often overlooked). Unlike some diet books, the book really lays out general principles to follow that support health. There are some recipes and food lists (including megafoods) included, but these are designed more to give a sense of what mindful, healthy eating can be. There is a good list of references, including a separate list of online references

I liked this book a lot as a very good, easy-to-read primer on how to live to be healthier and not just how to eat over a period of time to lose weight. For me, this book is part of the movement to treat our bodies as they were naturally meant to be in terms of being "primal" and we have gotten away from, especially in our fast-food nation. In addition to this book, I would recommend looking at Mark Sisson's books (e.g., Primal Blueprint and the material he provides continuously on his "Mark's Daily Apple" website.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensible Guidance from our favorite doctor September 21, 2011

By Assunta Sciarretta VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

It has been awhile since Dr. Agatston's last major book The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life , so this new book is a welcome volume from a familiar voice. It is much more of a lifestyle book than a diet book. It is divided into three parts: The Health of Our Nation, The South Beach Wake-Up Program, and Megafoods and Megarecipes. The first part of the book is an indictment of the typical American lifestyle of too much screen time coupled with too much unhealthy food. Unlike a lot of other books and their authors that simply sound the alarm and leave the reader with a palpitating heart and a sense of despair, Dr. Agatston provides concrete steps for making changes in a person's and her family's diet and lifestyle. There is advice about one's home and eating style (e.g. set the table, ban electronics at the table), a brief 2-page description of the basics of the South Beach Diet - a 3-phase eating plan that eliminates unhealthy carbs, advice about how to shop - for both economy and health, eating out, exercise, the importance of sleep, and how to set up one's home so it is a place where it's easier to live a healthy life. There are not as many personal vignettes in the book as there were in The South Beach Diet - The Delicious, Doctor-designed, Foolproof Plan For Fast And Healthy Weight Loss, but there are some. The book is laid out in a way that's fun to read with insets and asides throughout, such as the fact that elementary school students are more active when their families own a dog.
This book is a common-sense pep talk. It will inform and motivate you!