Cheat The Clock: How New Science Can Help You Look and Feel Younger

by Margaret Pressler

New scientific research reveals simple diet, exercise, and lifestyle choices that can slow the aging process, helping people look and feel younger. Award-winning, veteran Washington Post reporter Margaret Webb Pressler's husband Jim is one of those people who looks much younger than he is. After years of fielding questions about why Jim seems not to age, Pressler decided to find the answer. Her research into the work of some of the world's leading experts on aging and genetics reveal a new world of discoveries and advice about how the aging process works and what you can do to age less, feel better, and look younger. Virtually everything she uncovered dovetailed with habits that her husband had already established for himself. But beyond that, she found a tremendous amount of new research about how and why we age, the anti-aging properties of various foods, and the youth-retaining effects of certain behaviors. Cheat the Clock uses Jim Pressler as a jumping-off point to explain how the aging process begins at the cellular level and offers concrete advice that anyone can use to slow down aging. It turns out the proverbial "good genes" don't play as large a role as the experts once thought. That makes Jim's experience worth sharing; he is living proof that by making the right small changes in diet and lifestyle, and by following the science, anyone can make a big difference in how young they look and feel over many years. Margaret's eye-opening reporting does not suggest the program of a fitness buff or a nutrition fanatic. Rather, she offers minor tweaks in diet, exercise, lifestyle, and personal care that are painless to adopt and achievable for anyone, but which can have a big payoff over time. In Margaret's engaging style, Cheat the Clock shows the long-term rewards of gradually adopting easy new habits that focus on these crucial exercise, anti-aging foods, antioxidants, sleep, stress, sex, aging (and anti-aging) behaviors, and more.

Genres: Health

336 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 2012

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just "OK," maybe because I've read so many of these same pieces of information before. The author examines her unusually young-looking husband's nutrition, exercise and other habits in the context of science to try and explain his youthful appearance.

I had to fight my biases against this book the whole time, because it came off as very "self-helpish" and I dislike self-help books (they're just so condescending, and I always think "what do you know??" about the author). This book fell prey to some of that, re: condescension; example sentence: "if you feel tired during the day, you may want to get more sleep at night." Duh--you think??

Another question I have for the author is why she's not taking her own advice. Is she in fact adopting all her husband's healthy habits in order to look young herself? If not, why is she writing this book? If so, then why doesn't she also look unusually young?

There were some good tips here but mostly for less informed readers. For me, it was still somewhat interesting and a very quick read, but I felt like I was being talked down to much of the time. Still, the topic is interesting. I have NO interest whatsoever in prolonging my lifespan, but I am interested in how to remain physically and especially mentally spry for whatever my lifespan is. I'd much rather die a healthy and robust 80-year-old then become more and more decrepit and disabled and live to 100.

[Kara Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent choice for the average person who wants to know about the science behind aging, but doesn't want to be burdened with pages of data.

Pressler uses her husband as the epitome of a fountain-of-youth, translating aging studies into his own habits as a way of demonstrating how others may follow those habits and stave off the aging process.

This is a quick read to reinforce the idea that everyone is capable of improving his own health- it's not all up to your genes, and it's never too late to make changes towards health.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It had so much good information and specific tips. I will be adding these tips to my life activities.