Go Green Get Lean

By Kate Geagan
Geagan objectives of this book is to have effective weight loss, decreased the risk of diseases,

avoid bloating and take care of global warming. Geagan suggests a six-program weight loss with

all kind of details you need to be aware while doing the diet. She calls it the “Take Action Now”

phase.

One of the major topics of this book is to make awareness of what we eat. To know that what

we’re eating not only affect us but conveys global warming consequences. According to the

book, food is traveling 25 percent farther than it did 20 years ago, meaning that fossil fuel is

going off the roof. The more we consume and buy at fast food location the more fuel we are

consuming. Geagan clearly states that having healthy choices can also help our environment.

The author points out that you don’t need to become a vegetarian and stop eating meat but

says you don't have to give up certain types of food, you only need to be aware of how

frequently you consume it.

Going back to the six-program weight loss, she explains how weight loss can be challenging and

drastic. Eating healthy is having to change your life and diet completely even make some

sacrifices like eating your favorite cake, chips, snack, and food at your local restaurant. Giving

up won’t be easy but creating the eating habit will help your own body and global warming.

Geagan gives 4 cool hot spots, which are things you need to avoid during the 6-week weight

loss program.
The part that makes this book so interesting is that she is telling you what to eat and what you

need to avoid. Also, she relates what you eat with lean benefits, green benefits, and how to act.

Definitely, this book can make you change the way you eat and help global warming.

I chose this book not only because of the title, but I also read some reviews about the book and

how changes people lifestyle. Go Green Get Lean is a must-read book if weight loss is what

you’re seeking. Another reason why I chose this book is that going through college and be

expected to eat healthily, go to the gym, get your 8 hours of sleep, and so on can be

overwhelming and hard. This book gives you a reason that it doesn’t have to be expensive or

hard, it just about choosing the right meals when is time to eat.

The author, Kate Geagan, is an award-winning dietitian who has appeared in magazines such as

Prevention and Family Circle. Since launching her own consulting company in 1999, she has

helped dozens of companies develop nutrition-related programs for their employees.

She lives in park city, Utah. (Nutrition background was taken out from the back of the book).

The book was published in 2009. The topics that are written in this book are still applicable

nowadays. In my opinion, global warming still increasing, we get to see more obsessed people

every day, there are closer restaurants to our homes, and not seeing a concern of people by

getting fat. People should be aware of this book and what can we do to our planet and our

bodies. Go Green Get lean can definitely change someone’s life if that person is willing to

change.

One of the topics that Geagan described in this book is “Should I take any vitamins or

supplements?”. She points out that food is first and making poor choices can lead to a
deficiency in vitamins that we need daily in our body. She mentions how some vitamins are too

large to be included on a pill and the best way to intake those vitamins are through food. She

suggests taking supplements when either pregnant if you don’t like seafood or you’re at risk of

disease. Geagan says “You are what you eat. Take it in. Live it. Breathe it. And eat it.” On

chapter 12 of Contemporary Nutrition, mention that vitamins and minerals are a great input for

our metabolism and health. It mentions what can contribute to our body and what can be the

consequences of not having enough or having too much of the substance. The intake of

vitamins not only helps us with good health but also help us with metabolism and our body

systems.

One of the first topics discussed in this book was American’s food choice. Geagan describes it as

“easy, cheap, tasty and immediate pleasure.” She doesn’t mention what kind of factors leads

towards those decisions, but the book does. We know that there are many reasons why we

choose the food we eat, but the book pays attention to biological and social influences. An

example of this are social needs, social network, food cost, education, and income, routines,

lifestyle an goes on. Geagan agrees with the book on how it is easy to turn too fast food and

poor food choices.

Another topic is about the diseases that convey having bad choices when eating. Geagan says

“such a dietary lifestyle is one of the reasons our health care system is saddled with chronic

disease, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity have become so commonplace….

[and] part of our health care costs”. “The heaviest nation on the planet is also the most weight-

obsessed.” The book mentions, “obesity epidemic threatens the future health of Americans”
and later on it is mentioned how our poor choices of food lead us to sickness or diseases. Lack

of protein, water, vitamins, carbohydrates and in extreme conditions can lead to threatened of

death or death.

I’ve been learning a lot through this whole semester about nutrition. I acknowledge that there

are points I wasn’t even aware of and the consequences that can lead to. I learn that being

healthy can not only help yourself but the people around you and the planet as well. When I got

this book, I didn’t know that having food choices can help with global warming. It is a topic that

we can only see what is happening if we take conscious of what we are doing to ourselves and

our planet.

One of the ideas I liked about Geagan’s book is how she related the food we can eat with lean

benefits, green benefits, and acts. I also loved the plan of 6 weeks she made, and I believe I can

have the success of in this program. I would definitely try this six-week program in summer.

Then I can focus on not only having a good diet but having the time to do exercise more

frequently. This book made me realize I don’t have bad choices on picking food, but I could

definitely improve my choices so I can get leaner and greener. Another thing that I thought was

a great idea was the recipes she provides for all seasons which is awesome. In summary, I

learned a lot about this project and how other inputs can help us improve our healthy lifestyle.