Girl talk Lifestyle Wellness

The Body Book.

the body book cameron diaz review

I’ve always liked Cameron Diaz and since I’m passionate about nutrition and overall healthy lifestyle, I knew that I had to get my hands on her book written with Sandra Bark: The Body Book: the law of hunger, the science of strength, and other ways to love your amazing body. In it, Diaz talks about everything from nourishment, how our kidneys work to vagina and poop. Really.

When I tell you that I could not put this book down once I picked it up, I am not lying or exaggerating. I read the whole book in two evenings and I intend on reading it again, again and again. The Body Book has three parts: Part One: Nutrition, Part Two: Fitness and Part Three: Mind.

the body book

part one of cameron diaz book

When I started reading the first and second part of the book, I realized that most of the information contained therein I already knew. You may not know this, but I was a Biology major for two years in college and also took a whole bunch of nutrition classes, so the first parts of the book didn’t really introduce me to anything new, but rather refreshed my memory. I have to say that when at first I skimmed through The Body Book, I thought to myself “Oh great, there are diagrams of body parts, she talks about anatomy, this is going to be like taking Anatomy or Human Biology all over again”. Nothing could be further from the truth. The way Diaz describes what macro and micronutrients are, the way she talks about water being life or the way she describes what rectus abdominis muscle is, is not only simple, but also very interesting and easy to understand. It keeps you wanting to know more, it makes you aware of all the hard work your body does every single second of every single day and it also makes you aware of what you put in it in terms of nutrition.

part two of the body book

cameron diaz book

 I think that the most eye-opening part of this book was Part Two: Fitness. Diaz talks about something I’ve been thinking about a lot for the past few days: our lives have gotten too convenient. We no longer have to do much around the house, we have dishwashers, vacuums, washers and dryers, we have cars, drive-through-s and the list goes on and on. We just got lazy and as a result of that, we got “soft” as Diaz describes, we’re out of shape, we’re always tired, but our bodies were not designed to lie on the couch all day. Our bodies were designed to be fit and strong and fast and lean. I remember how upset I was when I was a senior in High School and I didn’t have a car when most of my classmates already did (for those outside of US-it’s pretty much normal for teens to drive cars to school-most of them have been working since they were 16). I didn’t live far from the school that I went to; it was maybe a 25-30 minute walk, but I was just so upset at the fact that I had to walk everywhere. But, obviously, I did it anyway-I had no choice. And you know what? I had the most amazing legs, with lean muscle and definition and if I had to, I could walk for hours without feeling any discomfort. Now I wish I could walk to work. Unfortunately, it would probably take me about a week to get there if I were to walk :) .

part three body book

In the final part of the book Diaz talks about the mind. She talks about loving yourself, your body, the skin that you’re in and not comparing yourself to others. The energy that us, girls, women spend on comparing ourselves (mostly our looks) to other women can be spent on working on ourselves. We can take that energy and put it towards something helpful like prepping our meals for the week, or going for a bike ride, hitting the gym or taking a yoga class. It may not be easy at first and you may feel weak, that little voice inside your head may can keep telling “you can’t do it”, but it’s up to you to find that strength within yourself and prove it wrong.

cameron diaz book review blog

cameron diaz the body book review

The Body Book is not the type of book that once read it finds its place on a shelf. As Diaz writes herself, this book is meant to be used; it’s meant to be marked up, written in, highlighted, etc. I’ve never felt more inspired to be healthy and strong. I finally admitted to myself last night, as I finished reading the last chapter, that I have gotten really lazy over the last couple of months. The winter has been super long and I’ve used the cold weather as an excuse to skip my workouts or not pay close attention to my nutrition. My body deserves better, I deserve better. The Body Book gave me a kick in the butt that I needed so badly, it made me realize how precious and important my body is and how it deserves to be treated with love and respect. I think that every girl/woman needs to read this book, especially if you’re not on best of terms with your body and need some inspiration and words of encouragement. Reading this book left me already feeling more confident and strong because of the knowledge and tools that it provides. I thought that I liked Cameron Diaz before, I can now honestly say that I love her.

Paula xx

6 Comments

  • Reply
    Sophie Sierra
    April 24, 2014 at 7:05 pm

    Fantastic review Paula, I love how informative about the book you’ve been & it’s truly great to get an insight into what it’s like :D Several months ago I remember reading several extracts from the book in YOU magazine and I was very impressed. I like how down to earth and interesting her words were, and it sounded as though she definitely knew what she was talking about ;)

    I admit I used to hate Diaz (may or may not have been ‘cos she was engaged to Mr JT ahem) but since ‘The Holiday’ I’ve actually really warmed to her and now I think she’s pretty damn cool. I need to sort my fitness/diet out big time (I keep saying it haha) but I really must! Lately I’ve been walking a lot more, which I enjoy and this book sounds perfect for getting the perfect healthy/fitness/lifestyle balance.

    Sophie <3

    • Reply
      Paula
      April 25, 2014 at 8:06 pm

      Thanks Sophie:) I honestly like that book so much, I couldn’t stop writing about it haha. I really didn’t expect it to be that good, especially since it’s not written by an “expert”, but I could definitely tell how passionate she is about a healthy lifestyle and staying in shape.

      Lol, I didn’t know they were engaged! I thought that they were only dating :D

      It’s always best to start slow and walking a lot is a perfect way to get some exercise in. If you don’t workout, how do you keep that amazing figure?? What’s your secret? ;)

      • Reply
        Sophie Sierra
        April 26, 2014 at 10:44 pm

        It sounds wonderful, and it’s great she really seems to know her stuff as you say :D

        Haha, I’m not entirely sure if they were actually engaged but I remember it being all splashed over the magazines when I was 14– my best friend and I were at ‘that age’ and she was consoling me bless her! I was gutted. Oh, the fun of being a teenager eh?! ;)

        Ah bless you’re too sweet! I try to go swimming every week (although haven’t done so for the past few) & go walking about 3/4 times a week for an hour. My eating habits have got so naughty, I want to take a leaf out of yours (and Cameron’s!) book for sure :) xxx

        • Reply
          Paula
          April 27, 2014 at 11:45 am

          hehehe:D:D I really want to start swimming too, but I need to try to get some lessons first! Swimming is an amazing exercise :)

  • Reply
    BerryBloomXO
    April 25, 2014 at 4:55 am

    This review itself kept my eyes glued to the screen, Paula! It was amazing! I didn’t know you’re a bio major! :D
    I love Cameron Diaz too – just her twitter shows how fun loving she is! This book seems amazing and I am totally with you! My college is 20 minutes from my house by walk, and with the 10kg of books in my bag, boy do I hate it – sometimes it’s bearable but other days I feel like not going!
    The book sounds lovely and I will definitely check it out, thank you! <3
    xoxo,

    BerryBloomXO.blogspot.co.uk 

    • Reply
      Paula
      April 25, 2014 at 7:59 pm

      Thanks so much hun!

      I didn’t end up graduating with a Bio major, just a minor:) Ultimately I picked Sociology, if I were to do it again, I’d probably go with Nutrition. That’s a good workout that you’re getting!! The book is most definitely worth reading :)

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