One Simple Change: a plan for 2014 (and a giveaway!)

One Simple Change by Winnie AbramsonI’m not really one for making New Years’ Resolutions. I find that if I “break” a resolution, I end up beating myself up so I just don’t. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not looking for ways to improve myself and my life (you know, eat more plants and move more, that sort of thing!), my teaching practice, my writing, my photography etc… It’s just that when you seriously start to sit down and think about it, it can be overwhelming. And in that sense, I am like my students, who need information “chunked” to make it manageable – I need a manageable “action plan for life” and here’s where my friend Winnie Abramson’s new book, One Simple Change, comes in.

At the end of the day, we all want to look and feel better, and Winnie’s book  shows you how. No, it’s not a cookbook or a diet plan- rather a wellness guide, composed of 50 small changes that you can easily make to your life that will improve your day-to-day. Written in Winnie’s nurturing, yet no-nonsense, sensible voice (I can hear her in my head as I read through!), her book throws fad diets out the door, favouring  culinary wisdom, green living tips, cutting-edge nutrition information (Winnie has a doctorate in naturopathic medecine), and includes 15 simple recipes for great tasting food –  that the fact it’s healthy is a huge bonus!

I mean, you gotta love a “self help” book whose first chapter is called Stop Dieting, followed by Eat Real Food, Drink Water First Thing, Get a Good Night’s Sleep and Manage your Stress.  See what I mean – I know you are nodding your head in agreement at these chapter titles – they make a lot of sense, right? Well that’s the premise of Winnie’s entire book. Advice that makes sense and do-able changes you can make to make a real different to the way you feel (and maybe look?).  But change (even small ones) can be challenging, right? In the forward to the book, Winnie says:

I am well aware that many of us are very emotionally invested in our lifestyle patterns and get nervous when our ways are called into question. If that’s true for you, I ask that you keep an open mind, even when what I am telling you initially makes you uncomfortable. In many ways, One Simple Change is about suspending preconceived  notions, about accepting that what you thought you knew about how to be healthy isn’t necessarily correct.  Change can be hard – there’s no doubt about that- but change is what this book is all about.

Winnie’s book is divided into 50 short chapters so you can either read through the tips week-by-week (see it really is a plan for your year!) or dip in and out of the book as you please.  I’ll warn you though, that it’s one of those books you start reading “Just one chapter” you say, and before you know it, you’re at Chapter 20! I appreciate that it covers not only diet but lifestyle, urging us to Connect with Nature in many chapters (garden! grow your own food! be eco-friendly! green your cleaning!) – because transforming your diet is only one part of transforming your life, but it’s the one that gets the most attention.

Most importantly, Winnie has chapters like Slow Down, Be Kind to Yourself and Practice Gratitude. Now if those are not three principles that should guide everyone’s lives, I don’t know what are. Thank YOU Winnie for writing this accessible book that can help even the most Resolution-delinquent among us to make some changes towards a better, happier, healthier life in 2014.

Giving away two copies of One Simple Change (US/Canada)!

That’s right – thanks to the kind folks at Chronicle Books I have two copies of One Simple Change up for grabs for readers in Canada/ the US (sorry international friends)!

To enter:
1. Leave a comment below telling me YOUR one simple change for 2014?

2. For a bonus entry, tweet the following message:
Enter to win @winnieabramson ‘s One Simple Change from @eatlivtravwrite + @ChronicleBooks http://bit.ly/1mxtpgf

Then come back to leave me a comment telling me you did.

Contest closes on Tuesday, January 28th at 6pm EST. Winner will be chosen by random.org and will be notified by email on January 30th 2014.

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Disclosure: Chronicle Books provided me with a review copy of One Simple Change. I was not required to post about this, nor am I being compensated for doing so. All opinions are my own. I love Winnie’s work and not just because she’s a friend 🙂

32 thoughts on “One Simple Change: a plan for 2014 (and a giveaway!)”

  1. My goal is to turn off all electronic devices after 8pm. No iphone, computer, tablet, etc. Time to read a book or do something for me! Everything else can wait until tomorrow.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for making this available to us in the States, Mardi.

    I’m not into resolutions, either, but I have made the commitment
    to myself to limit my chocolate intake.
    I tend to go a bit crazy, especially with the good stuff (Lindt).
    So one li’l truffle and that’s IT.
    So far, doing great! Already lost a couple of pounds, my clothes
    feel comfy and I’m smiling!

    Reply
  3. My pledge for this year is to do more things that I enjoy that I have had to put on the back burner for years due to life circumstances. It’s why I started an Instagram account so that I could do my food photography again.Taking a small step, an important step, for me. (:

    Reply
  4. My simple change is to make my work lunch the night before. This way I won’t feel stressed to pack lunch in the morning and I’ll be less likely to spend money ordering out! Win win! 🙂

    Reply
  5. My one simple change is to get more movement (steps) in throughout the day! I recently got a FitBit and it is eye-opening to see how many steps I’ve taken in a day! I’ve hit the 10,000 mark twice but know that I should get close to that every day.

    Reply
  6. My one simple change for 2014 would be to achieve optimal health for my family & I by eating more nutrient-dense foods, & less processed foods!

    Reply
  7. I love the idea behind this book. It makes positive change sound so much more possible! I’d like to read more this year (I barely read any books last year!) and, hydration is always a good one. Drinking water is so easy, yet somehow, I always go for tea!

    Reply
  8. At a time of year when many folks’ resolutions are centered around getting more done, mine is to et a few things go . . . Far too often, I stick to my “to do list” to the point of exhaustion, staying up late or running myself ragged just to make sure I check everything off my list. Letting some of those truly non-essential things go until another day is both challenging and freeing. So far so good . . .

    Reply
  9. My one simple change is to eat more fruit. My husband isn’t huge on fruit, so I don’t always buy it. We are good about veggies, but I do crave fruit sometimes and the veggies don’t cut it. Throwing a handful of fruit on my breakfast, packing fruit as a snack in my lunch daily would be an improvement. My mom used to sit on the couch after supper with a bowl of different kinds of fruit and a paring knife. She would cut the fruit up as we would watch tv and the kids used to swarm her to steal it like it was a game. I now understand that she did it to make sure we all ate our fruit. Even if we all just ate a few pieces, we were eating it. Small steps.

    Reply
  10. to put myself and my own health before my job. It might seem silly, but it has taken my whole like to make this decision. To not put the job above my own well being. Even something as simple as staying home in a snow storm because the work will be there the next day and it isn’t worth risking my life for a day’s pay. Just this one change has already had a hugely positive impact in my life and relationships!

    Reply
  11. My one simple change is to remember to stretch, move around, take a break when sitting in front of the computer for work. Every 30 mins or so, to be able to look away and refocus. Thanks for the chance!

    Reply

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