Interesting read. I have previously enjoyed Dr. Sears baby books. There was a lot of good practical advice and a few things I need to try.

This book is a very good read if you are just beginning on a healthy lifestyle journey.   Dr Sears lays out information in a very clear way that allows you to be able to follow along and get in good habits.

Thank you BenBella Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

I have mixed thoughts on this book so I rate it 3.5 stars.

The premise of the book is good, having a 5 Step Program to wellness.  There is nothing new in these five steps, we all know we need to eat better, exercise consistently, decrease stress etc. The information in the book was laid out well and most of what I read was a good recap from previous material or new to me. 

I enjoyed some sections a lot more than others,  I particularly liked the areas on disease and found the exercise section contained motivating ideas.   I was less taken by the sections on diet as I prefer to eat a well rounded, balanced diet rather than be confused by things I see as fads such as routinely drinking smoothies for meals.

Thank you for this ARC in return of my honest review.

Disappeared before I could download so I was never allowed the opportunity to even read the book. Disappointing!

This book had useful information that wasn't new to me, but I enjoyed Dr. Sears' format. It was interactive and made me want to do more.  The price of the supplements gave me pause.  I'm not a fan of authors (MDs or otherwise) pushing their own products as part of their "program." All in all it was a decent book.

I'm unsure of the target market for this book, but it felt like a late-night diet infomercial with lots of personal stories and zero science. 

Formatting of this book makes it unreadable on Kindle. When I opened it on Adobe reader, suddenly I understood why - an oft-inserted image of a doctor providing a cutesy rhyming synopsis of the information shared. 

Did I enjoy this? Nope. Perhaps it helps readers remember key points, but there were so many, so often, I felt like I was reading a kid's book. 

I'm sure there are nuggets of wisdom and a functional way of eating that will help folks find wellness, but I couldn't get through this to find them.

This book was not what I expected.  It seemed too commercialized and gimmicky for me to take this seriously.

Since I chose not to complete this book, I agree to not publish negative opinions of this book on Goodreads, Amazon, our library website, or any other form of print/social media.

Thank you for the opportunity I was given to read this book.

Back to my reviews of self-help books for the new year. Up this Saturday is a new #diet book and #wellness book: The Dr. Sears T5 Wellness Plan by William Sears, MD and Erin Sears Basile. The small print on the cover promises "Five Changes in Five Weeks" and to "Transform Your Mind and Body". A tall order for one book but this one seems to try and be it all for everyone.

As I promised in my annual goals, I am going to be more organized with my reviews of books. For self-help books I have established a list of questions I want to answer to give the book a fair evaluation.

First, I want to read the credentials/experience of the person telling me what to do with my life to make it better. Next, I figure out the angle of the author. Do they want to sell a product? A service? Or, are they writing the book out of the overwhelming urge to help me live a better life? Lastly, I decide whether or not the book is truly helpful for me or if it is not feasible or worthwhile for my life. I will also call out baloney if I read it.

Dr. Sears has serious creds but are they in the right field to write an adult wellness book? I knew I recognized his name when I asked to review this book at NetGalley. Dr. Sears is a famous pediatrician who has written over 30 best selling books on health care and parenting for children. He has been on television countless times as a medical expert especially for pediatrics. He has eight children (making him an automatic expert about kids!) and one of them is a physician on the television show The Doctors. Dr. Sears is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. Dr. Bill received his pediatric training at Harvard Medical School's Children's Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, both top notch medical schools. So, he is an MD with a specialization in pediatrics and is a recognized expert in healthcare for children but no background in adult health and nutrition.

Erin Sears Basile, his daughter and co-author, has a BA in Music Education and an MA in Choral Conducting. She is a certified 'health coach', yoga teacher, and exercise instructor and according to this book, the co-founder of the Transform 5 healthy living plan. In other words, she has no medical training and no background in nutrition. To me, 'health coach' is a garbage term since anyone can take an online course or take a class at a gym and get this type of designation.

While I was reading this book I was getting the feeling that Dr. Sears was hoping to develop a program for adults to profit from the current "Wellness" craze/fad. The book mentions that Dr. Sears is 'turning his attention to the specialty of lifestyle medicine', another faddish phrase I see talked about in magazines.

This brings me to the second question: the angle of the author. Clearly, Dr. Sears wants to promote his book but even more so, his T5 Wellness Plan which has it's own website and even has it's own certified wellness coaches. It is an entire company for "lifestyle medicine".  This grates me a bit. I am all for business and making money, but I get queasy around celebrity physicians who are cashing in on the latest fads. He pushes his website frequently throughout the book along with his 'smoothies' (why are these guys fascinated with smoothies? Don't they know fruits and vegetables are much better for you in whole form?). A little online research reveals Dr. Sears is connected to a company called "Juice +". Hmm. Interesting!

Last question I have: is this book truly helpful for me? Eh, not so much. He presents material in a very simplistic and easy to read format with links for the scientific evidence for his program. None of the material is new to me, but it is not bad information or suggestions by a long shot. Most of what he advises I agree with and already try to incorporate in my life. It has feasible suggestions although I don't agree with his idea of eating all day and grazing mini-meals, since I agree with Dr. Fong that we need to fast intermittently to allow our bodies to reset.

As far as the content of the book, it is very well organized, easy to read and understand, not too medical and seems to be cheerful and encouraging. His plan is divided into 5 steps in 5 weeks including starting the diet, grazing throughout the day (not me!), moving more (yes, yes, please do this says the PT blogger), stress less (everyone should) and share the T5 plan five times (you market for Dr. Sears! What a hoot!).

There are stories of people who have used the T5 plan and how they succeeded using it to attain 'wellness'. It has a definite coaching type vibe with line drawings and simple words and lots of white space for easy reading. It is so simple, my patients could understand it. For me, it is too simple and I hate being 'coached' but I can see how most people would enjoy the tone of the book.

The diet, well, I don't like it but some may. He emphasizes Smoothies (of course he does. He has a connection with a juice company!), salads and spices (great), seafood (why not?) smart snacks like seeds and nuts (also a good idea) and supplements that are based in science. Hmm. I don't see the need for supplements if your diet is complete and many of them are not 'science based'. Smoothies appeal to the Millennial generation for some reason beyond me. I don't get it. Eat your veggies whole. Ask an RD (registered dietician!).

The grazing section I skimmed over, since I don't believe in grazing.

The exercise section has good information and covers strength training, isometrics, aerobics, dancing and swimming, yoga and pilates and how to fit in exercise. "Coach Erin" as she calls herself is qualified to instruct about exercise and this section is quite good.

The stress less section of the book is wonderful. There is a mind-body connection and I am glad to see this mentioned in the book. Bravo, Dr. Sears.

After the plan, he has sections on gut health, brain health, inflammation, heart health, diabetes and cancer. Chapter 9 is an interesting chapter dealing with common questions like vegan diets, good grains, dairy, meat, prebiotics and other current health trends. Since medicine is not in agreement with these subjects, I thought it was interesting to read an old -timer physician's thoughts on these subjects. There are suggested readings, and a recipe index at the back.

All together, if you can get past Dr. Sear's peddling of his program, this is a well-thought out plan that covers a healthy lifestyle in a simple way that anyone could follow. I don't like smoothies, and I don't agree with grazing all day, but the rest of the book is spot-on in my opinion.

I rate it 4 out of 5 stars for the general public as a 'wellness' book. Thanks to NetGalley and BenBella Books for the chance to read and review the ARC of this book. To Good Health!

The Dr. Sears T5 Wellness Plan seems to be a great programme for someone who wants to take charge of their life and health. There is nothing new that has not been spoken about by doctors, but it does give you all the information in a very organized and easy to follow way. I did enjoy going through it and reminding myself of different things to do to become healthier. Dr. Sears has also included great tips to make this journey easier for yourself.

There isn't a whole lot of new information here, but it's packaged in an updated format for a new generation.  It definitely speaks to younger folks, explaining WHY they need to make healthy choices now, and I think it does this very well.  Most of this is common sense :  eat right, exercise, don't stress.  It provides illustrations and visual mnemonics, as well as a website for videos and further information, in a way that appeals to those under middle age.