40 Days to Better Living--Optimal Health

by Scott Morris, Church Health Center

You want to feel better?and 40 Days to Better Optimal Health provides clear, manageable steps to get you there, through life-changing attitudes and actions. If you?re ready to really live better, select one or more elements of the 7-step Model for Health Living?Faith, Medical, Movement, Work, Emotional, Family and Friends, and Nutrition?and follow the 40-day plan to improve your life, just a bit, day by day. With plenty of practical advice, biblical encouragement, and stories of real people who?ve taken the same journey, this book?from the Church Health Center in Memphis, the largest faith-based clinic of its type in the U.S.?may be the most important book you read this year!

Genres: Health

175 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Sue]

Each day's readings includes Morning Reflection, Emotional, Family and Friends, and Nutrition. Movement includes Exercise suggestions, and gives basic instructions. It also has a variety of stories on different People to learn from. Book also includes a Evening Wrap-Up.

I did get some tips on eating better, exercise and Connecting with God.
Hopefully I will continue with some of the tips I learned.
Easy reading for each day or do a couple a day. I looked forward to opening the
book everyday.

[Novella]

Awesome Book

I truly enjoy reading the books from this series
A awesome book, a must have for the healthy lifestlye change

[Michelle Padrelanan]

40 Days to Better Living - Optimal Health by Dr. Scott Morris teaches its readers the ways to achieve optimal health in 40 days. Dr. Scott Morris, a health minister, and his team at the Church Health Center developed the 7-Step Model for Healthy Living. They say that in order to achieve optimal health, there must be a balance among the seven aspects of our lives. The seven are Faith, Medical, Movement, Work, Emotional, Family and Friends, Nutrition.

I was in the hospital suffering from an asthma attack when 40 Days to Better Living - Optimal Health arrived. It was right on time, my daughter commented. I marveled at the fact that the book looked like a magazine in full color and with glossy pages all throughout. This book will spur you to action from its very fist page. It is not one of those books that you have to read all throughout before beginning to take action. Instead, it is broken down into weekly sections with a few pages to read everyday. Every week, a person is featured with a short testimony of their success in their journey back to good health. Daily, you begin with a morning reflection, very short devotions to encourage. Then you can choose which of the seven areas of your life you would like to focus on for the day. In the evening, there is the Evening Wrap-up to help you continue to meditate on God's goodness and grace in your life.

Being one who has been battling with obesity and poor health, I think this is a good book for me to begin with. It has already spurred me on to action just by reading a few pages. I have asked my doctor for a complete physical check-up and I will know the results next week. I have already considered all my medical concerns. Now, I will have to keep going on reading the book, acting on its Daily Practices and see how my body is in six week's time.

Disclosure: I received this book from The B&B Media Group in exchange for this review.

[Laura]

Title: 40 DAYS TO BETTER LIVING: OPTIMAL HEALTH
Producers: Staff of the Church Health Center in Memphis, Tennessee
Publisher: Church Health Center of Memphis, Inc
July 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61626-264-8
Genre: Inspirational/health and fitness

40 DAYS TO BETTER LIVING: OPTIMAL HEALTH is a health guided book designed to help you begin to feel better about your health and to start taking control of it, in baby steps.

Each day’s readings include Bible readings, places to make notes about your work, your habits, your current exercise plan (or lack of one), and gives basic instructions.

For instance, one of the days in the beginning of the plan reminds you to call your doctor for a physical checkup, if its been more than a year since you had one. There are even spaces provided to record the time and day of your appointment.

One of the days asks you to list ten things about your faith life, positive and negative.

There are spaces to list things that you like or dislike about your job, and another space to list the things about which you have some control over to change.

Not only that, but in the book we’re introduced to people like Eddie, who walks five miles a day after surviving a serious accident and being told he’d never walk again. People like Iva who lost over 200 pounds and manages diabetes by making simple lifestyle changes.

40 DAYS TO BETTER LIVING: OPTIMAL HEALTH will teach you how to:

. Eat better
. Exercise
. Enjoy family and friends
. Work with your doctor
. Connect with God

40 DAYS TO BETTER LIVING: OPTIMAL HEALTH is designed to look like a magazine, and it reads like one in a way. It is book-sized, but it reads easily, there isn’t a lot of clutter on a page, and it is arranged attractively. The text is also broken up by use of color, pictures, and plenty of space to record your thoughts, prayers, information, answers, and reminders. Highly recommended. $7.99. 176 pages.

[Abbie Riddle]

Okay, this was not what I expected but I am not disappointed. This book is printed to look like a small magazine - in fact I had to take a double look at it. It is small in size and very glossy. In fact every page is color pictures and is also glossy. This makes is great to carry around as it is small enough to fit in a purse or bag. Also the glossy pages are more wear resistant and would stand up to small spills or other accidents (especially if you have small children around).

I found this book to be unique in its setup and that may be one of its greatest selling points. Since it does not look or feel like a normal book it is less intimidating. It is split into 6 weeks each with a theme of sorts. I enjoyed the personal stories listed for each week. Each day begins with a morning reflection that can easily be done in a few minutes. The next page is "Daily Practices" these are ways to improve your faith life, medical,movement, work, emotional, family & friend, and nutrition. These are small suggestions and encouragements to change areas in your life for an overall healthier lifestyle. This books focuses on all areas of life, not putting emphasis on one thing over another. The day ends with the Evening Wrap-up which is reflection and bible verses and a prayer.

Very good book littered with scripture and encouragement for everyone. Great read.

Thanks to B&B Communications for this review copy.

[Steven R. McEvoy]

This book was a wonderful surprise. It is so synthesized and succinct, and yet full of useful information. The format also was really unique. Written as a 40 day guidebook to better health, Dr. Scott Morris, the medial and spiritual leader of the Church Health Center in Memphis, has created an easy to use guidebook. Each week begins with a testimony, a story from someone who has made changes in their life, but the cool thing about these stories, is they have not all reached their goals, but have made progress and are working hard to make the changes they want to see. Then each day begins with a morning reflection. Followed by a few areas for some short journaling, you can also track your physical activity. Then there are some guiding questions for daily practices in the areas of work, emotional life, family and friends, movement, faith life and nutrition. Each day is a 4 page spread, starting with a morning reflection/meditation, followed by the daily practices sections and then an evening wrap up. This book will be one someone could work through again and again and make more progress towards a balanced life each time. They will find a balance between mind, body and spirit. This was an amazing book that anyone looking to live life and live it to the full could benefit from reading.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

[Kathy]

If you really devoted yourself to following this book for the 40 days, you really could change your life. There is a six week plan that has you following along with a different person's story of how they've changed their life each week. Dr. Morris takes you on a 40 day journey to improving your life following these steps: begin with a morning reflection as your faith life is essential to the entire process. Follow different steps such as medical - make a list of your medical concerns and movement - take a walk! Evaluate the following things in your life: work, emotional, family and friends and your nutrition. It is a workbook and places to write notes on your progress.

Great book to get you up and moving, watching your weight and your health with faith as your base. Great motivation!