The Wellness Project: How I Learned to Do Right by My Body, Without Giving Up My Life

I'm actually sad it took me this long in my 32 years on this earth to find Phoebe Lapine's work and to read this book. I haven't even finished it yet and am reviewing because I couldn't love it more. Phoebe says what is hard to sometimes admit for those who have been bombarded with 'wellness culture' for years -- especially as it relates to both having a social life and still maintaining enough self care that one can feel good in their body. She questions the very idea of what wellness even means and offers real-life, tried-and-true approaches to figuring out what might be holding you back from feeling awesome. "wellness" doesn't have to mean juice cleanses and charcoal lemonades and no fun out with friends (thank goodness). Phoebe's years of knowledge will support you in how to help your body feel good so it can support you in whatever else you want to do in life.

I know, another wellness book... "The Wellness Project" is chock full of actionable tips to live a healthy life, like you would expect. So let me just highlight why this book is different, and distinctly helpful. 1) It's written as a memoir, which makes it a fun, relatable read. The health advice is within the context of Phoebe's own wellness journey, which makes it all easier to understand and absorb. 2) In an effort to actually make sustainable healthy changes, and have them stick, Phoebe did month-long projects tackling a different aspect of health. This is a useful framework for those among us who are overwhelmed by the insane number of wellness 'hacks' that are thrown us at any given time. 3) It has amazing recipes that are as nourishing as they are delicious! 4)... and most important... no judgment! While Phoebe does preach the gospel of self-care and wellness, and definitely shares some prescriptions to that end, her mantra of Healthy Hedonism is manifest throughout the book. For those of us who do slip up, and don't want to hate ourselves for it, this is the missing piece in a lot of other wellness books out there.Thank you Phoebe! I'm already looking and feeling better, despite having made just a few small changes.

It was a joy to read. She managed to make health information interesting, easy to read, motivating to try for yourself, funny, very down to earth and attainable.

A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with hashimotos and Type 1 Diabetes. I found Pheobe's book and read it cover to cover about two months ago and really systematically incorporated the advice into my daily practices (within budget and without, you know, compromising hedonism). I have to tell you that the last set of labs I got were astounding. Things some doctors told me were degenerative and irreversible actually showed improvement!! They showed that I am making more of my own insulin than I was a few months ago. My doctor has put off putting me on thyroid medication for a little longer because my labs stabilized and he felt I might not need it. I feel tons better and I just signed up to run a half marathon in March - something I never would have even done pre-diabetes and hashimotos. Pheobe did a wonderful job of making change approachable and not disruptive. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their health through lifestyle habits.

I love, love, loved this book! It felt like I was connecting with a friend throughout the read. Phoebe takes a balanced approach to wellness by trying different wellness tactics 100%, but then she summarizes each tactic at the end with her balanced approach of moving forward. She incorporates different wellness methods into her life, without getting too strict to where she can't enjoy a social life. I really related to her way of a "hedonism" approach, which was to not lose the pleasures of life (food, social, love) in order to stay perfect in your wellness. Part of wellness is finding balance and learning to live while still having some control over your health.

I found this book to be a pleasant read filled with some really wonderful information. The information provided by the health and wellness world can often feel overwhelming, especially to individuals just beginning their journey towards better health. The author has this audience in mind as she writes about her yearlong journey of discovering the most practical tips toward thriving and not just surviving, even with an autoimmune disease. I appreciate that she was willing to share her experiences with different kinds of healing techniques and shed light on the effectiveness some of these more alternative methods may provide. She also includes nutritious recipes at the end of each chapter which correlate to the chapter’s focus. I know I will come back to this book again and again, and recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Anyone who is seeking a healthier lifestyle can benefit from reading this book - regardless of whether you have a medical diagnosis. Phoebe lays out the book in specific sections for each step of her journey that include key takeaways at the end of each chapter that are easy to refer to at a later date. She explains concepts in easy to understand terms and also includes humor and pop culture references along the way. The information she includes helps guide the reader toward what types of wellness efforts might be most important to them or worth the investment in money/time. I am thankful that this book was released about a week after I was diagnosed with Celiac's. It has made my journey of healing feel much more manageable and more like an opportunity to pursue an overall better well-being.

I love a good transformation story and this is what I thought I was getting with The Wellness Project.The premise sounded so interesting. The author, Phoebe has been told by Drs that she will have to be on meds for the rest of her life (probably) because she has an auto immune disease. This sets her off on a path to change her bad habits so she can get better and kick the meds the natural way. So far, I am 100% on board. However, it soon becomes clear to me that while there are a few interesting tidbits on health, there is nothing really new here, at least for me.I was hoping that a) this would be more of a journal type book (but that's my fault I should have checked this before purchasing) butb) The "healthy habits" she ends up taking are fairly standard, i.e. drink water, you have to move your body.This is not a horrible book, I was just hoping to get inspired but that never happened. I do appreciate her willingness to get better and to challenge the whole "medication" mentality, but other than that this was a pass for me.

The difference between this book and quite a few other books where the author tries something for a month and writes about it is that Pheobe Lapine has a valid reason for doing it beyond 'I know, if I do this I can write a book about it and earn some money'. She writes about her own autoimmune disease and how as a 20-something she didn't always take the care of herself that she needed to. Finally, realising that how she was feeling was some distance from anyone's definition of fantastic, she gave careful thought to the things she might do to improve. Recognising that we can all draw up an ambitious self-improvement plan, try and implement it all at once and then give up, she sensibly decided to tackle one area related to wellbeing each month. This also gave her the chance to evaluate how much each element was adding to her wellbeing on its own.I found this is to be an inspiring and realistic book. Pheobe did not have unlimited finances for the project and she understands that her readers are likely to be in the same boat. Since Pheobe is a professional cook each chapter finishes with a few related healthy recipes as well as a summary of her findings and the sweet spot between good health and unrealistic obsession. She also breaks her changes down into individual suggestions which is helpful. While there is not much that is entirely new in this book, the thoroughness and excellent presentation do make it stand out for me. I have a chronic medical condition myself, and Pheobe has inspired me to think about making changes in my own life. She also comes across as a likeable and engaging person which adds greatly to the readability of the book. If you are looking for a book to kickstart your own wellness project or are just curious then this book is for you.

Honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book. I had just been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and wanted to read about how others had changed their lives to live easier with it. I’ve read so many books, and this one I felt was the most real - the one which I could read and not feel as though I was doing everything wrong and would need to change my life. I loved this book - not only was it easy to read, it honestly had a healthier outlook than other I had read, doesn’t tell you to take tons of supplement and has all the recommendations I’ve seen in so many there places. Definitely will recommend!

I enjoyed this book a great deal and can truly recommend it any one looking for an inspiring path to wellness. Phoebe has a lovely writing voice and she makes you trust her.

Excellent book. V