KEY POINTS:
Many, arguably most, modern women have some kind of body image problem. And thank goodness, or all those fat (sorry, metabolically challenged) cats living large off the multi-million-dollar self-help book industry would be forced to get proper jobs.
Leslie Goldman, former "workout junkie" and recovering anorexic documents women's body neuroses in Locker Room Diaries (De Capo Press, $34.99). Goldman, who also has an MA in public health, has gone for a light chatty chick-lit tone in this discussion with hundreds of women about what goes into shaping their body image. It's a good idea, but by the end you're not only a bit exhausted and depressed by the negativity, you feel she's wasted her opportunity slightly.
Rather than rallying the sisterhood into a more positive frame of mind Goldman ends up coming across as a little judgmental. A fairly interesting read initially but disappointing overall.
For doing something about that body image rather than just talking about how you got it, try How to Eat Like a Hot Chick (HarperCollins, $24.99).
Authors Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent have also gone for a chick-lit tone. Here, though, it works much better and underneath the froth there's some sound advice on making healthy food choices without having to lock yourself in the house with just some celery for company.
It's particularly pertinent for those who find themselves burning the candle at both ends and eating on the run.
Still on weight-loss, an apparently bottomless pit of ideas for the self-help industry, we have the compulsory inclusion from an author who appears on Oprah - Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? (HarperCollins, $27.99) by Peter Walsh. He's not a dietitian or nutritionist, but an "organisational consultant" who believes that reorganising your kitchen, fridge and pantry, and planning meals and exercise carefully in advance will assist with weight loss.
The Oprah connection really made me want to scoff at this book but, in fact, it does contain some smart, no-nonsense advice.
Yes, Walsh has really just repackaged a lot of ideas and common sense we've heard many times before (the staple of all good self-help lit) but if you're wanting to lose weight and don't know where to start, this might be worth a try.
