If you're a woman over 40, you are undergoing physical and emotional changes, declining metabolism, fat deposits at your waistline, decreased energy, mood swings, food cravings--do we need to continue this list? Now pile on chronic, long-term stress (which the author terms toxic stress), which hits women between 40 and 60 and leads to self-destructive eating behavior. "Uncontrolled or toxic stress keeps the refueling appetite on, thus inducing stress eating and weight gain," Peeke explains. The stress triggers are constant, so the body never gets to turn off the stress response. The weight gained from this chronic, toxic stress--toxic weight--settles inside the abdomen and is associated with heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Peeke explains the association between stress and fat gain, and describes the stress/eating cycle ("the itch you can't scratch"). Then she teaches tools for "regrouping": formulating and following a contingency plan of nutrition, exercise, and self-care. Next are suggestions for a nutritional plan tied to stressful times of the day and an explanation of food needs after age 40. In the final chapters, Peeke nudges us to exercise to relieve stress, reduce body fat, and benefit overall health. Peeke is a highly regarded scientist and clinician who studies the link between stress and fat at the National Institutes of Health. She's also Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and works with Vice President Gore as the Medical Director of the National Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer. --Joan Price


From Library Journal
Nutritional expert Peeke, who has just completed three years at the National Institutes of Health studying the relationship between stress and fat, here reveals what she found. Expect tons of publicity on this one. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The Washington Post
This book has far more brainpower than most diet books.


From AudioFile
Stress is the main reason for poor eating habits, and people adapt to stress in three ways: They overeat, undereat, or emotionally regroup and continue eating heathfully, says this psychotherapist and nutritional expert. Beyond this insight, Peeke uses her knowledge of metabolic, neurological, and psychosocial processes to lay out a remarkably clear picture of how moods and appetites are influenced by our pattern of eating. The author sounds like the authority she is without sacrificing any of the warmth necessary to keep us involved in her message. Add this to her detailed understanding of physiological processes, and you have a complete guide to getting your weight and overall health back under control. T.W. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


C. Everett Koop, M.D., former U.S. Surgeon General and founder of Shape Up America!
Dr. Peeke provides us with the evidence explaining the stress-fat connection.


Book Description
It's a fact: stress makes you fat. Renowned clinician and scientist Dr. Pamela Peeke goes beyond diet and exercise with a lifestyle program that shows women how to stop being diet "POWs" ("Prisoners Of Weight") or victims of "Toxic Stress" and how to evolve into physically and mentally stress-resilient individuals. Peeke helps women identify their stress-eating profiles (Are you a stress-overeater? A stress-undereater?) and explains that to remove weight, you have to lift weight. She explains what to eat and, equally as important, when to eat by navigating the afternoon "CortiZone," the hours of highest vulnerability to stress eating. Learn how to put it all together through the fine art of regrouping.

Women can tailor this accessible program to their individual needs using Peeke's three behavior templates:

• Stress-resilient nutrition
• Stress-resilient physical activity
• Stress-resilient regrouping

Dr. Peeke's program is a must for women who want to break the stress-fat cycle that has thickened their after-forty waistlines.


About the Author
Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H. spent three years as a senior research fellow at the NIH. She is an internationally recognized expert and speaker in the fields of nutrition and stress and regularly appears as a science and health news commentator for the major networks. She is assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review

Stress has been blamed as a contributing factor in everything from heart attacks and immune disorders to mental health problems and the common cold. But did you know it could also make you fat? Pamela Peeke, M.D., M.P.H., has spent years at the National Institutes of Health investigating the link between stress and fat, particularly in women over 40. Recognized as a leading expert on nutrition and stress, Dr. Peeke has been interviewed by Newsweek, "Nightline," CNN, and Oprah and is the current medical correspondent for PBS's "Health Week." And now the results of Peeke's groundbreaking work, along with a plan to avoid and defeat the toxic effects of stress, can be found in her new book, Fight Fat after Forty.

Dr. Peeke begins by examining the unique stresses that come to bear on women in their 40s: teenaged children, elderly parents, career, illness, and menopause. In addition, these women experience the third consecutive downturn in their metabolism in as many decades as well as hormonal changes that can have a profound effect on body fat and weight. Ironically, attempts to diet, which often follow, only contribute to the stress.

Dr. Peeke points out that stress is a desired reaction that is essential to life. But the loss of any reasonable ability to express stress physically (the fight or flight reaction) has made it toxic, converting it from a physically expressed stress to a mental one. Plus, the physiological effects of stress on the body can, and often do, trigger an increased appetite. And the changing hormonal levels created by the onset of perimenopause can shift fat storage from the usual sites -- hips, thighs, and buttocks -- to the abdomen, where it can be deposited in two different places: above the abdominal wall (what Peeke calls the "menopot") or around the abdominal organs. It is this latter fat deposit that is the most dangerous, and what Peeke calls "Toxic Weight."

In studying the fat-stress connection, Peeke has developed three stress-beating profiles that take into consideration the genetic and environmental factors that influence an individual's ability to adapt to stress. These are the Stress Resilient (the ideal goal), the Stress Overeaters, and the Stress Undereaters. Peeke points out that many women move in and out of different profiles at different points in their life and may even have some overlapping. But almost everyone has one dominant profile that they return to and stay in the majority of the time. Understanding the elements that characterize the three profiles enables women to identify dangerous habits and problematic areas that can contribute to Toxic Weight.

Understanding the nature of Toxic Weight and how it is accumulated is only half the battle. To overcome it is where the real work comes in. Peeke makes the process a lot easier by presenting a "blueprint for a healthy lifestyle." This blueprint is a many-pronged program that includes coping strategies to aid in adapting to stress without overeating, appropriate and balanced eating that includes reasonable portions and wise food choices, and exercises designed to jump-start that slowed-down metabolism.

On nutrition, Peeke makes a distinction between high-quality, low-stress foods, such as an apple, and low-quality, high-stress foods that, although they may appear healthy on the surface, can actually be harmful, such as a fat-free cookie. Included in the book are nutrition source tables that list foods according to their levels of quality and stress. Peeke also discusses learning to eat more slowly and savor flavors. She explains how when you eat something can matter just as much as what you eat when dealing with a midlife metabolism. She also gives a detailed process for calculating individual caloric needs and provides a week's sample menu. Nutritional solutions for perimenopausal problems are also included.

In discussing the development of an appropriate exercise program, Peeke identifies the forms of exercise that work best in this stage of life, which include walking, weight training, and yoga. She walks readers through an assessment of strength and stretchability so they can choose which level of exercise to start with. There are step-by-step instructions and pictures outlining several exercises, and weekly routines are mapped out to meet the unique needs of each of the stress profiles.

To turn stress healthy, Peeke provides several strategies for regrouping and working past obstacles that may trigger stress eating, including some exercises that can provide that all-important physical outlet. The coping mechanisms alone make reading this book worthwhile. And the personal experiences of other women, which are shared throughout the book, provide a welcome anecdotal reinforcement of the principles Peeke puts forth.

—Beth Amos

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A revolutionary plan for fighting the Toxic Stress that makes you fat ... Renowned clinician and scientist Dr. Pamela Peeke goes beyond diet and exercise with a program that encompasses a woman's whole life and tells you how to evolve from a diet POW (prisoner of weight) and a victim of "Toxic Stress" to a physically and mentally powerful, stress-resilient woman.

Using the three templates (stress-resilient nutrition, stress-resilient physical activity, and stress-resilient regrouping), women can tailor this accessible program -- based on the best of science -- to their individual needs. Once you've identified your stress profile (are you a Stress Overeater or Stress Undereater?), you'll soon be able to put stress eating behind you for good. You'll learn what to eat and, equally as important, when to eat by navigating the afternoon "CortiZone," the hours of highest vulnerability to stress eating. You'll discover how to incorporate stress-neutralizing exercise into your daily routine and that to remove weight you have to lift weight. Put it all together and become stress-resilient for life through the fine art of regrouping after life stressors inhibit self-care. Together, the three templates will break the stress-fat cycle that has thickened your over-forty waistline.

Like her patients who have shed pounds and pounds of Toxic Weight under her clinical guidance, the forty million women heading into their forties and beyond can tailor Dr. Peeke's revolutionary program to their individual needs and burn this toxic, stress-induced weight for good.

FROM THE CRITICS

C. Everett Koop

Dr. Peeke provides us with the evidence explaining the stress-fat connection, and she presents an easy, enjoyable program to resist stress eating and achieve mind and body fitness for life.

Library Journal