PEERtrainer

Books That Have Had A Deep Impact On Me

I mentioned in an email yesterday that I have a list of books that I "insist people own", and of course I got a bunch of emails asking what was on the list. First of all, insist is a strong word, but the following is a list of books that have impacted different parts of my life. Some of the books have helped with my health and fitness while others have helped me build PEERtrainer. 

I want to keep this short and sweet, but I would very much like to hear what books have impacted you and why. Please add them to the comments section below. All these books are available on Amazon, most you can purchase used versions of very cheaply.

8 Weeks To Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body's Natural Healing Power. By Andrew Weil, MD, this book is an excellent introduction to learning how your mind and body effect your health. I have owned this book for over a decade and find myself referring to the book again and again.

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. By Daniel Goleman. This book was first published over a decade ago. I have owned it for that long and continually re-read it. At a basic level it shows how there is a lot more to life than "book smarts" and IQ. This is a big book, but if you are interested in mastering your emotions for the long term, this book will be invaluable.

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. By Stephen Covey. If you have not read this book I would strongly encourage you to. Used copies are available on Amazon for 3 bucks. This book will help you deal with other people, and also help you master your emotions in those interactions. 

Learned Optimism. By Martin Seligman.  His observations have been referenced in almost every book here.  His insights about what makes a person fail vs succeed at really anything in life are life changing but more importantly, he divides the components of optimist thinking into 3 categories and gives practical tools to change your thinking.  

Healing Back Pain. By John Sarno. This book is not just about back pain- it can help you with any chronic pain you have in your body. This book helped me cure my back pain at age 26, and have observed it to help many many others as well. 

Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom. By Christiane Northrup. I was reading this book before she was on Oprah! This book is the most controversial on this list, but I would encourage people to be open to her perspective on women's health. 

Awaken The Giant Within. By Tony Robbins. What I really like about Tony Robbins is that he gives you the "Cliffs Notes" for every major thinker out there. He brings together an extremely wide variety of impactful ideas and integrates them in a digestible format. The top people in the world consult with him directly, and pay huge fees for his advice. This book contains the core of his advice and you can buy a used copy for as low as .48 cents on Amazon!

These books are in addition to both Eat To Live and Eat For Health by Joel Fuhrman, which most of you know about. Slow Burn is something that I have recently added and talked about in prior emails.

From a diet perspective, Dr. Fuhrman provides an approach which has led to incredible results for people. Most importantly, his diet concepts help people lose weight permanently. We recommend Eat For Health in particular because of the MANDI points system, which combined with portion control will teach you exactly what you need to eat to lose weight and also have optimal health: Order Eat For Health 2 Book Set

When you click on the Eat For Health link you will see an amazing array of endorsements from the top medical leaders in the country. Dr. Fuhrman is the real deal.

Feeling Better, Gaining Hope and Motivation...

Something we have been thinking about recently is the idea that change can be easier and happen more quickly than we sometimes think. A key observation we have is that when people find the right information that meets their need, incredible things can happen. Because PEERtrainer is a big thing and we offer different types of programs, content etc-- the odds of us helping you connect to yourself is pretty good. 

Not everything will help everyone. But odds are good that some combination of things will help someone make some real change. As this email demonstrates:

"Just to let you know where I am coming from and the frustrations throughout my life. I have struggled with my weight my entire life - real chunky kid, was treated mean by other kids due to my weight- then lost weight when I reached 16 years old and felt on top of the world!- gained it back and more - been yo-yo dieting ever since - I've been active off and on, treadmill, running, walking, and last year joined Curves which I found to be wonderful for me.(am still going at least 3 times a week)

 However, I have a tough time mentally with myself. The past few years have gained too much weight and had taken to not liking myself at all due to my "lack of will power". Every morning waking up disgusted with the previous day telling myself today I will do better. Well, by the afternoon I would be on a downhill spiral and the vicious cycle of me hating me would start again.
 
Then 4 weeks ago I came upon your website - and let me tell you, I felt as though you knew me! Almost everything I have read and heard applied to me. Your program has given me such an uplift. In that short amount of time I have begun to like myself. I am setting small goals and am doing them!! No more waking up and not liking myself. I have actually journaled my food every day for a week - something I was never able to do in the past(tried Weight Watchers and did not care for it)

I am amazed at how your articles give me hope and a better understanding about me and that I CAN do this for myself! The 3 pillars was an eye-opener for me. Broken down like that - I know I can reach my goals! I want to be a healthy older lady - vibrant and full of life for my kids and grandchildren. (I turned 60 and have 5 grandkids, the oldest 14 years old.)
 
What has been working well for me, every day I put your articles in a notebook. I go through them and underline all that I need for me. Then every morning I read over all the notes before starting my day. That gives me such a positive boost!
 
So, all this in response to your email - Whew! this is a long email!! I adore your program. Thank you for this encouraging program. It was just the understanding I needed to get me liking myself again and being proud of me. I now know that I can be a healthy weight and to stop beating myself up mentally. I am still working on finding out the real why. The things I thought were the key turned out not to be. I realized that through your articles. But, that has helped me realize why I was failing- not that I am a failure - I just have not found that real why. I am closer to it though, because I have eliminated the ones I thought were it. So THANK YOU!!!! :-)
 
Keep up you great work!"

This woman is part of our Point Of No Return program, which is something that we designed to be an extension of our Tip Of The Day program. Some people do great on the reminders, others, like this woman want to go several levels deeper over a period of time. You can learn more about the specifics of the program at http://www.peertrainer.com/coaching

Feedback Of The Point Of No Return Program From A Weight Watchers Leader!

Received this from a Weight Watchers Leader today about the PEERtrainer coaching program!:

"By the way, I absolutely love your 12 week program and have found the audio tapes extremely helpful. I am a weight loss "coach" myself (I'm a Weight Watchers leader) but through you, have discovered ideas I'd never even considered.

I originally lost 50 pounds and have maintained it for 9 years,but since I'm now post menopausal, I've put on 10 lbs and it's been so tough to get it off and I've been trying for a year. I was extremely discouraged and slipping back into old habits because I wanted to give up, but your tapes have given me the boost I need.

Your program is really fantastic and helpful."

This is great feedback.  Thank you! 

If you want to get started on the program, click here to sign up.  You can pay as you go at $10 a week and stop at anytime. Former PEERtrainers and new PEERtrainers love it and we're so excited about the success!

Jackie