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The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living: How to Survive Your Bad Habits
STRAIGHT TALK FROM A DOCTOR ON HOW TO MINIMIZE THE DAMAGE FROM THE UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHOICES WE ALL KNOW WE SHOULDN'T MAKE -- BUT DO ANYWAY
There are thousands of books out there on how to live a healthy life, but let's be most of us don't want to live a healthy life -- we want to know how to live our unhealthy lives better. The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living is a straightforward and honest guide to maintaining the fast-paced lifestyle you're accustomed to, without giving up all the bad habits that come along with it.
Whether you stayed up all night prepping for that early presentation or want to lose ten pounds fast for a high school reunion, whether you drank too much last night or wound up in an unfamiliar bed this morning, here's the practical advice you need for minimizing the damage and moving on with your life. A few of the issues addressed in this book
Whether you indulge yourself in Vegas or your own backyard, when it comes to your health, it's easy to assume the worst. But even if you don't live a completely virtuous life, The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living says that if you make some smart choices, you can avoid major worries or embarrassment. While this book won't take the place of your own doctor, it will give you some shortcuts to healthier habits and better living -- like safer sex and better sex, or a healthier diet and a better body -- that might become habits you can live with.
There are thousands of books out there on how to live a healthy life, but let's be most of us don't want to live a healthy life -- we want to know how to live our unhealthy lives better. The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living is a straightforward and honest guide to maintaining the fast-paced lifestyle you're accustomed to, without giving up all the bad habits that come along with it.
Whether you stayed up all night prepping for that early presentation or want to lose ten pounds fast for a high school reunion, whether you drank too much last night or wound up in an unfamiliar bed this morning, here's the practical advice you need for minimizing the damage and moving on with your life. A few of the issues addressed in this book
Whether you indulge yourself in Vegas or your own backyard, when it comes to your health, it's easy to assume the worst. But even if you don't live a completely virtuous life, The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living says that if you make some smart choices, you can avoid major worries or embarrassment. While this book won't take the place of your own doctor, it will give you some shortcuts to healthier habits and better living -- like safer sex and better sex, or a healthier diet and a better body -- that might become habits you can live with.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 8, 2016
This is a pretty useful book.
A lot of the basic medical info is, well, basic. For anybody who doesn't rely on Yahoo Answers for their healthcare, it's pretty straightforward stuff.
However: a decent number of people I encounter *do* rely on Yahoo Answers, or Dr. Oz, or their buddy at work, for basic healthcare info. So it's still useful stuff.
Where I think this book shines is in offering people some tools for risk-assessment and intentional decision-making--and doing so in a pretty effective tone of non-judgement. The author is forthright about his medical recommendations, and they're largely what you'd expect; but he's also direct about relative risks, and clearly values patient agency. So there's a bit on "how to sustainably lose weight," and then a bit on "what to do if you really want to drop 10 pounds before your high school reunion even though you won't keep it off and there's some discomfort and risk involved." Bodily agency, woo.
For me, some of the risk analysis was a little shallow (HIV transmission stats for penetrative sex, for instance, that aren't broken down by who's pitching and who's catching); and some of the research cited is frankly out-of-date. Also, while I'd bet that the topics addressed here will cover a majority of readers, I'd love to see a book with an expanded section around sexuality (what lubes go with what toys and condoms? What should you watch for if you tie somebody up or have rough sex?), addiction (useful to list adverse effects of heroin, but we could also mention the existence of needle exchanges, for instance), and both self-medication and ways to get around it (what are the risks of obtaining stimulants or hormones on your own? If you have been, and you want to stop, but still need the medical impacts produced by those things, how can you effectively engage that process?). I would also, in this age of alarming ignorance about vaccine efficacy and safety, really like to see a chapter on basic childcare for kiddos--why vaccines are good, why infants can't be vegan, etc. While the book is geared primarily toward young adults--plenty of young adults have kids, and god knows plenty of parents have unhealthy habits with regard to their kids!
For me, this book would be better with an update, and little more depth and breadth. Absent that, it'd be nice if it referenced outside sources at which to find in-depth information. I'm not an MD, but I know where to find user-friendly info on, say, risk-management while using methamphetamine and having casual gay sex. As is, I'd still recommend it as a pretty solid read for most teenagers, or young adults headed out on their own--with the caveat that some of the drug and sti information is a bit out of date.
A lot of the basic medical info is, well, basic. For anybody who doesn't rely on Yahoo Answers for their healthcare, it's pretty straightforward stuff.
However: a decent number of people I encounter *do* rely on Yahoo Answers, or Dr. Oz, or their buddy at work, for basic healthcare info. So it's still useful stuff.
Where I think this book shines is in offering people some tools for risk-assessment and intentional decision-making--and doing so in a pretty effective tone of non-judgement. The author is forthright about his medical recommendations, and they're largely what you'd expect; but he's also direct about relative risks, and clearly values patient agency. So there's a bit on "how to sustainably lose weight," and then a bit on "what to do if you really want to drop 10 pounds before your high school reunion even though you won't keep it off and there's some discomfort and risk involved." Bodily agency, woo.
For me, some of the risk analysis was a little shallow (HIV transmission stats for penetrative sex, for instance, that aren't broken down by who's pitching and who's catching); and some of the research cited is frankly out-of-date. Also, while I'd bet that the topics addressed here will cover a majority of readers, I'd love to see a book with an expanded section around sexuality (what lubes go with what toys and condoms? What should you watch for if you tie somebody up or have rough sex?), addiction (useful to list adverse effects of heroin, but we could also mention the existence of needle exchanges, for instance), and both self-medication and ways to get around it (what are the risks of obtaining stimulants or hormones on your own? If you have been, and you want to stop, but still need the medical impacts produced by those things, how can you effectively engage that process?). I would also, in this age of alarming ignorance about vaccine efficacy and safety, really like to see a chapter on basic childcare for kiddos--why vaccines are good, why infants can't be vegan, etc. While the book is geared primarily toward young adults--plenty of young adults have kids, and god knows plenty of parents have unhealthy habits with regard to their kids!
For me, this book would be better with an update, and little more depth and breadth. Absent that, it'd be nice if it referenced outside sources at which to find in-depth information. I'm not an MD, but I know where to find user-friendly info on, say, risk-management while using methamphetamine and having casual gay sex. As is, I'd still recommend it as a pretty solid read for most teenagers, or young adults headed out on their own--with the caveat that some of the drug and sti information is a bit out of date.
August 12, 2008
The premise of the book appealed. While recognizing that making healthy choices all the time would be ideal, the author realizes that people don't usually do what's best for their bodies. His goal is to offer practical advice so people can minimize the damage from poor choices & carry on with life. If there were more potentially damaging bad habits in my life, perhaps this book would have been a more satisfying read. As is, I was fairly meh about it. Lots of common sense tips, plus some helpful facts on the actual effects risky choices are having on your body. Ideal for a typical 20-something who's trying to do it all?
June 4, 2009
In this book, a doctor tells young folks how to stay healthy while engaging in unhealthy habits. (The key is quitting the dangerous shit before you get too old!)
I really enjoyed Clayton's straightforward, honest advice. I also liked the stories of freaked out patients, like the fellow who over-scrubbed his penis after unprotected sex. The unprotected sex didn't hurt him, but the loofah didn't do him any good.
I don't know if I learned anything new, but I enjoyed the writing style.
I really enjoyed Clayton's straightforward, honest advice. I also liked the stories of freaked out patients, like the fellow who over-scrubbed his penis after unprotected sex. The unprotected sex didn't hurt him, but the loofah didn't do him any good.
I don't know if I learned anything new, but I enjoyed the writing style.
May 16, 2008
I think more important than being entertaining, this book truly applies to me and EVERYONE I know. There is a lot of really important health information in here . . . for people who drink alcohol, smoke, are stressed out, don't sleep enough . . . you get the point.
Even if you're not in horrible shape, you can learn a lot from this book. I recommend it to everyone.
Even if you're not in horrible shape, you can learn a lot from this book. I recommend it to everyone.
September 7, 2018
I accidentally requested this book from the library, and once it had arrived I figured I would just read it. I skipped all the chapters that aren't relevant to my particular vices. The trick of this book is that you aren't actually encouraged to do the bad things, but more "if you must, here is how to do it."
December 3, 2007
Maybe my vices won't catch up to me afterall....
January 20, 2008
A guide to what you can get away with without totally killing yourself. Good hangover tips, too.
March 24, 2008
A great "coffee table" book for a raging party.
May 31, 2008
Doesn't quite live up to its title. It doesn't even mention milk thistle! More hipster health than anything else.
December 30, 2008
This is hardly ground-breaking...but it isn't generic or patronizing, either. I'm reading it before making my 2009 resolutions, naturally.
February 1, 2011
A previously neglected angle in health literature. Unlike most health writers, this author truly seems to "get" human nature.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews