The Denim Diet by Kami Gray is a Book You Need to Read Right Away

The next book you should read – aka the next book you HAVE to read – is The Denim Diet: Sixteen Simple Habits to Get You into Your Dream Pair of Jeans by Kami Gray.

Don’t let the girl on the cover of the book fool you – this is a book for anyone and everyone. Males, females – it doesn’t matter. After all, we ALL wear denim and we all want to look all kinds of sensational while doing it. However, this book is more than just about looking great – it’s about feeling great. It’s about living a long and healthy life, which is what we’re all after.

Do you sometimes feel helpless against all of the diseases we hear and read about each day: Cancer, heart disease, Swine Flu, Alzheimer’s, obesity, diabetes and so on. It seems as though life asks us, “Do you want the bad news or the worse news first?” When we ask, “What happened to the good news?,” it stares blankly at us as though it’s trying to remember what that even means.

Kami Gray has arrived on the scene with the good news we’ve been waiting for and she has put it into a lively, spirited, and very fun to read book.

Around my house, I have a test that few books pass. If my daughters read it as though it were the next book in the Twilight series AND I devour it as though it were a Mocha Latte (sorry Kami, sorry hips – not in that order), then I know it’s a total winner.

The Denim Diet: Sixteen Simple Habits to Get You into Your Dream Pair of Jeans is not only a book that my girls and I have read – it’s a book that we discuss daily and, Lattes aside – or should I say inside, try hard to live out.   My oldest daughter and I were shopping today and found ourselves reading labels and showing one another what we’d found.  We challenged ourselves to find the healthiest food and drinks and to switch to healthier alternatives when the ingredients on our regular staples failed to make Kami’s “List.”

Here’s a strange coincidence:  Obesity in America spiked in the 1980s and has continued to rise.  The 1980s were when the world’s two largest soda companies introduced high fructose corn syrup in their products.  –  Kami Gray in The Denim Diet

When it comes to health and fitness, we need to start reading food and drink labels religiously.  I have found corn syrup listed in places I never would have expected it to be.

As Kami Gray points out in The Denim Diet, the wisest and healthiest thing to do is to eat as many foods in their natural state as possible:  Lots of fresh (organic when possible) fruits and vegetables, tea and water instead of soda, etc.  If the book had been JUST about fitness and health, I still would have loved it, however, it’s also about making the world a better place as well.  And, come on, you know me – I’m swooning over that approach!

Spending money at farmer’s markets tells the farmers to continue to put their land to good use and keep growing health food for the local population.  Food that comes from a nearby farm is going to taste a lot fresher and better than food that has traveled hundreds or thousands of miles.  You can also feel good because you are supporting the local economy. – page 74

I learned so many things while reading this book – and it has inspired and motivated me unlike any fitness book has in a very long time.  You know how it is, most books (even the ones you really enjoy) are “through” the minute you turn the last page.  The Denim Diet stays with you the was a Dean Koontz novel does – it moves right into your brain and double dares you to ignore it.

This isn’t your typical, preachy, dry as the Sahara health and fitness book.  This one has a very infectious personality and you, honestly, won’t want to put it down.  The author is so completely likable that you actually don’t mind when she comes and takes away your sugar bowl, white bread, mashed potatoes, and ice cream.  I have to admit, I hid my Diet Dr. Pepper behind my back, but it was the first place she looked.  Good thing I love tea.

There are so many things I’d love to pass along to you from The Denim Diet, but I’d rather you buy a copy for yourself and reap the benefits – for yourself and for the environment.  I will say this – if you’re in the habit of buying bottled water, please consider installing a water filter and filling up your own reusable containers.  These plastic bottles are piling up and that isn’t good for anyone.

I’d also encourage you, again, to read labels.  High fructose corn syrup and sodium are in places you wouldn’t expect them to be.  You’ll really be amazed at the amount that can be found in so-called diet meals and healthy snacks.  For example, pre-made green tea that I’ve been drinking for years?   One of the first ingredients.  I’m making my own now and it actually tastes better.

I’ll leave off with one of the paragraphs that has stuck with me the most.  It’s all about changing the way you look at things as you change your habits:

Retrain yourself, and develop new habits that easily and effortlessly say no to sweets and anything containing HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).  Tell yourself you don’t eat them, and don’t.  Just as someone who has an allergy to peanuts says, “I don’t eat peanuts. They make me really sick,” say, “I don’t eat gummy bears.  They make me really fat.”  Change your mind and your habits will follow.

That reminds me of when my daughter Brittany became a vegetarian.  She was a preteen and decided that she no longer wanted to eat anything that “once had a face.”  She didn’t begin by saying, “I’d rather not eat that…”  or “Can I have something else…”   From Day One, she simply said, “I don’t eat meat.”

And she hasn’t since.

Please follow the link and grab a copy of the book for yourself – then read it cover to cover. You’ll love the incredible recipes, the enjoyable stories, the humor, the tips, the snack ideas, and most of all – you’ll love how you feel when you start giving your body the things it truly wants rather than the things you want it to have. We’ve come so far from the way we were intended to eat (no wonder there are so many illnesses!).

When you return to how you were meant to eat – your body and mind will feel better than they have in years. I promise you.   The Denim Diet: Sixteen Simple Habits to Get You into Your Dream Pair of Jeans.

Kami Gray Links:

Kami’s Blog (very fun to read, with lots of great tips and inspiration – check out this great Energy Bar recipe!)

Follow Kami on Twitter