I requested review of Eat, Live. Thrive Diet for new tips on dieting. This diet plan encourages intermittent fasting which I didn't want to do as I have a teenage daughter and I don't want to set an example of skipping meals! I do think the recipes will help anyone looking for better eating habits.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

I received Eat, Live, Thrive in exchange for a review and initially I had my doubts. The authors are very open about their Christian faith and, in my experience, faith-based diet books tend not to be strong. I was very pleased to find this one an exception to that rule!

Writing a very informal style, the authors hit pretty much all of the major points necessary to help women get a strong grip on their health and eating habits for positive, long-term change. They discuss:

- Carb consumption.
- Intermittent fasting.
- Food allergies and intolerances.
- Elimination diets.
- Basic detox/cleanse supports and how to use them safely.
- The differences between men’s bodies and women’s bodies in terms of nutritional. needs, particularly as we age.
- Appropriate water consumption.
- Integral lifestyle components such as sleep, which play a key role in weight and dietary control.
- Paying attention to food quality as well as quantity.
- The role of faith and mindset in diet and lifestyle choices.

While I didn’t love everything about the book, the authors deserve enormous credit for the realism and empathy with which they approach their subject and the extensive research they clearly put into this work. Both authors have experience with extreme food disorders/food-related health conditions, which gives them a special understanding of where their readers may be coming from. The book is probably the best fit for people wanting a single comprehensive program to take them from where they are to a healthier new lifestyle they can maintain long term with just enough science to follow along.

The only word of caution I would add is that most of the supplemental materials, such as worksheets and guides must be downloaded separately from their website. It is also unlikely to be appropriate for those not comfortable with the Christian faith. Otherwise, it’s decidedly better than most books in its genre!

It's not easy to lose weight the older we get: the foods we once ate are often no longer our friends. Do you really know what foods to avoid? Unlike many popular diets, Eat Live Thrive Diet is not a one size fits all. Its main aim is to tailor a diet to YOUR body, to find out the foods that do and do not work for YOUR body -- and in what amounts.

You start out by eliminating foods that are often problematic for older women (yes, the book is aimed at older women, but younger women could benefit from it). 

There are three different levels, with each one adding in more foods to eliminate. The first level only eliminates sugar and grains, so it's really doable for most women and most women will quickly feel the benefits of temporarily eliminating these foods from their diet. The book includes recipes for every level.

After the Elimination Phase, you add back in the eliminated foods, one by one, for a few days, taking careful note of your weight and any reactions you might be experiencing. Once you test one food, you go on to the next -- but once again eliminate all previous tested foods. This is called the Discovery Phase, where you discover foods that may be sabotaging your weight.

When you finish your Discovery Phase, it's time to move on the the Lifestyle Phase, where you will fine tune your diet to your body for slow and sensible weight loss.

I love that the Eat Live Thrive Diet doesn't cut out whole food groups and helps you learn what works best for your diet. One warning though: the authors are deeply spiritual Christians, and that plays a part in the diet, too.. I happen to be Jewish, so some of that did not interest me, but it also was not enough to turn me off the many benefits of this book.

I definitely recommend this book to older women who are struggling with their weight, and I have a more detailed review at the link below.

I am currently in the processed of setting up to follow this diet. I found the advice to be sound and very informative. Not only do they give you the plans (which there are three)  to follow, they share their experiences with how they came to this plan. And which ever plan you choose, they provide daily plan sheets, shopping list, recipes, etc... It's very well explained and easy to follow and adjustable for your body. and lifestyle.

This book gives hope to everyone in midlife who feels "stuck" in their weight-loss journey. With hands on helps, and positive self-talk, EatLiveThrive is more than just a diet. It becomes a lifestyle. 

Having recently finished the "Elimination Phase' of the diet, while I didn't lose a LOT of weight, I did lose some. I also gained the ability to tell, as I added things back, which foods were "triggers" for me, which bothered my digestion, and which made me feel wonderful. It has been a bit of a revelation to me to find that, many of the foods I love for their taste, actually cause my stomach to rebel. Who knew? NOW, I do!

I appreciated the hands-on approach the author's provide, and the step-by-step tips. So far, my most helpful tip has been the 14-hour daily fast thing. It has surprised me - although it shouldn't - that every time I fast for at least 14 hours, my scales show a loss in the morning. I'm also doing better as far as doing some kind of exercise every day. Their recommendation to start with 10 minutes three times a day, is very doable, and not as intimidating as doing 30 minutes at a crack.

While written more for women than men, men can benefit from doing the steps, too. I would definitely recommend this book, and following the steps as closely as you can, to anyone in midlife or beyond. It's billed as "A Lifestyle Plan to Rev up Your Midlife Metabolism,' and I think it comes through admirably.

Over the years, I have gone through dietary changes for various health reasons. Overall the way I eat would be considered "healthy" and yet there always seems to be some reason I need to modify what my diet.

Despite the way I eat, my metabolism is not what it used to be and I am in the same boat as many other women out there wanting to conquer the weight that I have gained. And so when I saw that this book is specifically for midlife metabolism issues, I figured it would be worth checking to see if it would help.

My thoughts:

While there are some similarities, this is not a Paleo or Keto diet. In fact, the authors make a very interesting point about how strange it would be if God really did design our bodies in such a way that we have to trick them as the process of staying in ketosis requires. There is also a careful emphasis on making healthy choices even in the types of fats that you should eat.

One of the things I appreciate is that this is not simply an eating plan for losing weight nor is it written by people who have never had weight issues. The authors have both struggled with weight, unhealthy eating, and image insecurities.

In addition to suggestions on how to eat are encouragements from Scripture to not focus on outward appearance. Suggestions for when to eat as well as exercise and other lifestyle changes that can be made are also included.

My experience with the diet:

After reading the book, I started implementing the eating plan. There is an initial two-week elimination phase consisting of avoiding foods that are common sensitivities. After this phase, you are guided in how to slowly add those foods back into your diet in a way that you can identify which ones are a problem. The final phase is the "maintenance" phase.

I'm now at the phase where I am adding foods back in after the two week elimination. Of course, my hope was that I would be seeing a reduction in my weight right away, but I will be honest with you, according to what I see on the scale and in the way my clothes fit, there isn't any difference yet. But with the various food allergies and sensitivities I deal with, I am not able to include a number of the recommendations in my diet. In addition, my previous diet had already excluded significant amounts of foods I shouldn't be eating, so the changes I have made have not been all that radical. Plus, did I mention it has only been two weeks?

My recommendation:

So here is my thought. Even if my weight doesn't change, there is some very good material in the book that can help to change the way you think about your body and the way you eat. If your diet is not very good right now, this is a very practical and balanced way of eating that can help. And I imagine others will have quicker results than I do because of the issues I deal with. So I recommend this to women who are at or past the mid-life stage and need to make a dietary change. I think this would be useful for younger women to get an earlier start into an overall healthy way of living.

Eat Live Thrive Diet by these lovely ladies is a great book that breaks through some issues and helps in so many areas.  I personally don’t pick up “diet” books because I live more in a healthy body for life way of thinking and not dieting way of life.  Believing strongly in life living and not just to lose and go back to bad habits. BUT I am so thankful that I picked this resource up!  I felt that they were very thorough in bringing up so many targeted materials that are out there and things that I would love to know more about.  I wish they had added more to the exercise area of this book and even to the point of giving some routines.  The help in finding how my personal body reacts to all kinds of foods is a game changer and that has got to be my favorite part of this book beyond their shared faith in God through Jesus Christ.  If you’re looking for a lifestyle change for the better and great help in maintaining and sustaining your metabolism you’ll want to pick this one up.  
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.


***Also posted on Amazon, CBD, B&N

This was a very interesting weight loss diet. If you have ever been through allergy testing and had to follow an elimination diet, this is very similar. It begins with the two authors and their history of weight battles. Their walk in faith is also documented which makes this a great book to add to our library. There are 3 phases of the diet to choose from and each is explained in detail. Also the benefits of exercise, sleep, and scripture each have sections. The back portion of the book has recipes listed. This book is nicely laid out and consumer friendly. I was impressed with it.

Loved this book and plan! Especially the fact that it addresses not just what to do for weight loss and health, but really addresses changing habits from the mental and emotional side of things. The authors shared about their own struggles in this section and some faith based principles that are really just universal and can be used by all even if you don't share their same faith. The diet itself is broken into 3 phases and I liked that it had three levels to start at in the first phase which allows you to notch up as you were more prepared and also that you could pick and choose different options to make it personally work for you. I really like the idea of the 2nd phase where you discover some of you own personal food culprits which makes their plan very specific to you as an individual. Also the fact that it has a plan for long term lifestyle and how to circle back around through the phases when life gets in the way and you fall off track is really a great plan for me.

To some it may look like another diet book, but the best part of it is not about food and it's health benefits. The best part is mental coaching, setting the right attitude and mind set before starting a health journey. In fact, I would like to see even more of it in the book, there are many places than need some additional information. My favorite part of the book was introduction, it clearly stated the goal and the plan, it had some interesting points I have not thought of before.

When the authors dug into the actual food list, they lost me. I personally do not like when any food gets villainized, and I am not a fan of coconut everything. Oh, these muffins, made out of coconut flour, are so amazing! Amazing to who? Many judgments are based on modern pseudo science and marketing. CBD oil is mentioned as well, of course, there is no cure without it today, obviously. Someone, who produces it, has not made their first million yet. When they do, our scientists will find something wrong with it too, but for now it is a God sent miracle.

So, I think it has good material, but needs to put out more information about physiology of this particular age and individual variations.

As a reader I was looking for something that had information that might explain metabolism in a different light a way to keep myself health the older I get.

There is nothing new in this health book and its just another fad diet that will have people creating more issues for their Metabolism than if they followed the guidelines of their doctors.  

The book as suggestions that might help those just starting out or those who are fans of the the authors but for this read it wasn't anything.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher  Waterbrook for the advance copy of Danna Demetre and Robyn Thomson Eat, Live, Thrive Diet.

Confession here. I am a WW(Wellness Works)  participant currently and half-way to my goal weight. I enjoy reading diet books to learn more about this mysterious process of shedding unwanted rolls caused by my eating too many rolls of all sorts along with my husband’s wonderful cooking. Another admission: I am middle-aged and a female, so this book fits all my issues: chubby and over-fifty with the metabolism of a snake. EatLiveThrive Diet by Danna Demetre and Robyn Thomson is a great book for women my age and uses the most up-to-date thinking about how to get back to a healthy weight and feel more energetic.

First off, this book is written by two Christian ladies who do use Scripture throughout the book. I am not religious but I did not find the book to be preachy or off-putting although some readers may. So right up front, please realize there is some use of Christian thinking and philosophy in the book. If it offends you, just skip over it. There is enough great information and suggestions in the book that it is worth it to keep on reading.

The book starts with the stories of the authors and why they felt they should research and write this book. They, too, are middle-aged women who felt like their energy was low and their health wasn’t where they wanted it to be. They define middle-aged as over forty-five years old and describe the changes and challenges women face at that time of life.

Like all diet books, there are acronyms to brand their diet. They use ELT (Eat, Live, Thrive) and the ABC’s or Activate the metabolism, Balance blood sugar and cravings, and Cleanse the body of toxins and inflammation. They discuss the changes in a women’s body as she ages and why the standard less calories in and more activity mantra doesn’t always work for us.

Before the actual diet is introduced, the authors review how important it is to get in the right frame of mind to start-as WW likes to call it-the weight loss journey. It all starts in your head and with changing habits. They also discuss current diet trends such as IF or Intermittent Fasting (which I follow) and the Keto diet. There is a chapter on IF which is helpful for those not familiar with the theory behind it.

They divide the diet in three phases (like most diets today seem to do): Elimination, Discovery and Lifestyle. Elimination is when you cut out key foods that seem to promote insulin resistance and cause sensitivities and inflammation. The usual suspects are temporarily eliminated including grains, sugar, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, dairy, nuts, beans, potatoes, cold cuts, cured meats, preservatives, soy and more. They suggest adding practices for ‘detox’ such as body brushing and cleansing drinks. The list of foods to eliminate (at first) reminds me of all the Keto, Atkins, South Beach, and so on, diet books of today and nothing really new. What I did like, was the choice of levels for elimination. I found throughout this book the authors did give choices for participation which is liberating and not as burdensome to follow. What I don’t like is the cleanse part, since I truely believe in the gut-brain connection and how we don’t really know what all our gut microclimate does or how it functions. Cleansing to me just is a trend with no medical backup that may actually harm you.

Discovery phase is when the dieter figures out which foods that had been eliminated and slowly reintroduced are the culprits for each individual’s resistance to weight loss and optimal health. You add back one food at a time. The authors give you step by step instructions for which order to add the foods back and what to look for.

The Lifestyle Phase is maintenance in every other diet book parlance.

Throughout the book the authors cite research and women’s experiences with following the plan. They talk about exercise (yeah! as a physical therapist I applaud any diet book that talks about exercise), sleep, and body image. Lastly, the book has recipes.

I did enjoy this book. It seems to use the latest thinking for middle-aged women’s body health (except for the cleansing section) and offers choices for the dieter. If you can tolerate the religious parts, I recommend this book for middle-aged women to learn more about what their individual bodies need to live and thrive.

I rate this book five out of five stars for a diet book. Bravo, Ladies!

Thanks to NetGalley and Waterbrook Publishing for the chance to read the ARC of this book

If you're looking for another book to educate you on nutrition, this may prove to be a serviceable one. However, this is not a good choice for those of us who are vegetarian or vegan. Also, it is my opinion that the blurb for this book should warn the reader that it is a Jesus- and God-based diet plan. I think I can speak for those of us who are not believers and ask, "If 'God' is the solution to my weight loss, why did he let me become overweight in the first place?"

“One diet plan doesn’t fit all”, With so much diet information out there about eating gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, Ketogenic eating plan, an all plant diet etc. A person can be overwhelmed about what to eat period the end. What I enjoyed about this book is the fact that they believe it’s not a “one size fits all world.” Not all Bodies are Created Equal. Everyone one of us has a different set of taste buds’ different ways our body processes food, uses it for fuel and what it’s sensitive to. This plan gives you the tools to find out what works best for you. It don’t give you a set of rules to follow and a list of eat this don’t eat that information they ask you to listen to your body for clues as to what’s going on you might not have been aware of.

I liked how these ladies described the issues surrounding the changes in our bodies as we age and how that plays into why we don’t get the results we had hoped. In the book blurb it states, “This highly effective eating plan is presented in a compassionate voice by two experienced diet coaches who share personal experiences of battling weight and emotional eating issues.” I appreciated their experience in these areas and how they offer multiple ways to get your questions answered and the results you are looking for.
This team helps you “Learn how to design your own modifications and find creative ways to use the diet phases to suit your lifestyle.”
I like how they explain each phase and the choices you have according to your body type. The Elimination Phase, The Discovery Phase, The Lifestyle Phase

There are variations on each level to fit your life style. These authors also offer free worksheets for you at their website, mutational tapes to help your self talk and if you want to join their community and have personal training they offer that too. 

I liked the FAQ section, the recipes they have collected and at their website they have examples of positive self-talk messages for you to listen to and short exercise sessions to work on your over all health. This book is a win, win for those of you who take the time to listen to your body and eat what is best for you. I’m excited to start in the elimination phase.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher/NetGalley.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com 
Book Fun Magazine https://www.bookfun.org/page/past-issues-book-fun-mag

The recipes were a bit uninspiring, but the range of information and the authors enthusiasm are encouraging.  I didn't agree with everything and think sometimes problems are created with too much focus.  The biggest problem though was the religious references as I think books like these should be open to all people and there should be no bias towards any one faith.  Overall though a good thorough book that addresses a lot of the challenges facing women as they reach the middle years

This is just another diet book and I can't say I learned something different from what my own body tells me. I found all the "god" references a bit of a turn off since I don't expect diet books to have any religious references in their approach .

Demetre and Thomson gathered and researched helpful information that is BENEFICIAL to any reader, young or old;  complete in this valuable resource is information that READERS can use to create a BALANCED diet!  The authors explain what the role of carbohydrates are in your diet, which is very important, along with the role of GLUTEN and its disadvantages. Thomson claims in order to eat a balanced meal with the correct amount of carbs, and also with the proper amount of GRAINS, you certainly need to consider these 2 components and PLAN meals ahead of time, avoiding hunger pangs!  This is all part of controlling caloric intake and balancing your diet. What else do they report is necessary?  To "thrive", we must also CONSIDER EXERCISING up to 3 times a week, ideally. If you follow these guidelines which the authors relate in this comprehensive guide to better eating and regular exercise, then you will feel better and be PROACTIVE in other areas of your life.  This is a must read for anyone on a DIET and looking to make EASY lifestyle changes, and changes to diet, which in turn will lead to rewarding yourself with STRENGTH and ultimately these STRATEGIES supported in this resource book will result in an increased METABOLISM.  Readers will burn those CARBS like a firestorm!

The diet outlined in this book is very similar to the one in the Adrenal Reset Diet, but with some tweaks.  First, the authors make is more personal and personable.  Second, they bring spirituality and religion into it.  Otherwise, many of the concepts are the same.  Some people do better, however, with an approach that feels more tailored.