Eat Move Sleep: Why Small Choices Make a Big Difference

I read Tom Rath's EAT MOVE SLEEP (no commas!) because a beloved personal trainer sang its praises. Indeed, in a recent newspaper review, my trainer wrote: "If I had to narrow my library to five books, 'Eat Move Sleep' would be one of them." To me personally she said: "I agree with every word in the book." And my wife during and after reading EAT MOVE SLEEP told me: "yes, I agree with everything the author says. But it is not well written." *** My take is, perhaps, somewhat more cynical. The words of EAT MOVE SLEEP are as true as the names, numbers and addresses in a telephone directory. At its very best, stylistically, this book is a very poor man's POOR RICHARD'S ALMANACK (Benjamin Franklin, 1732 - 1758). Compare three of Franklin's adages with three of Rath: *** -- Ben Franklin: (1) "Let thy maidservant be faithful, strong, and homely." (2) "Wine...a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” (3) “There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking.” ***-- Tom Rath: (1) "Ties can even cause eye problems, decreased range of motion in the neck, and increased tension in the back and shoulders" (Ch 28). (2) "Stigmatize Sinful Foods ... start to view fatty, fried, and sugary foods with contempt" (Ch. 17). (3) "Be Cold in Bed... try to sleep in a room that is a few degrees cooler than the temperature you are accustomed to during the day" (Ch. 13). *** Like my esteemed fitness coach and my wife, I find very little to disagree with in EAT MOVE SLEEP. But also very little new. A few weeks with WEIGHTWATCHERS will toss out aphorisms similar to Rath's: "Eat less, Move more!" "All Bites Count." Watching nurses doing 12 hour stints in hospitals, almost all of it on their feet tracks well with Rath's notion that sitting behind computers all day long is ruining the health of the human race. Perhaps most "original" in his presentation is the notion that sleep, eating and moving should not be held in mental isolation. Each impacts the other -- for better or for worse. ***The subtitle of EAT MOVE SLEEP is HOW SMALL CHOICES LEAD TO BIG CHANGES. The ancient Chinese believed that "a journey of 1,000 li begins with one step." Tom Rath urges us to have faith that small steps in a good direction can form habits leading to bigger and bolder experiments in good health. Start, for instance, by not "Surrounding a healthy food with two slices of bread. ... Do all you can to eat less bread. Take the top slice off a sandwich so you consume half as much. Better yet, replace bread with a bed of greens for a much healthier option" (Ch. 13). ***The book contains 30 numbered chapters. These are recapitulated at narrative's end by "First 30 Day Challenge." There are also end notes on each of the thirty chapters collected after page 219. To my annoyance, the notes are under chapter numbers without chapter names. There is no subject index. ***This book could be usefully condensed into a daily "health calendar" with an aphorism a day. Or it could be read daily or weekly, a page or two at a time. More sustained attention to EAT MOVE SLEEP would be as sophorific as reading a telephone directory. I find nothing inspired about this book. It is a barely coherent hodge podge of health aphorisms, most of which are reasonable, a few downright odd. Let the buyer beware! -OOO-