Healthy Reading: The Lifestyle Book of GP Tamara de Weijer

Short and sweet

This book deals with the complete lifestyle, with the “Lifestyle Compass” as a basis. This compass, developed by Tamara de Weijer, has six different directions: meaning, movement, relaxation, sleep, connection and nutrition. All parts of the compass have a place in a healthy lifestyle. De Weijer gives a lot of practical advice for this. Each chapter has a lot of explanation, interviews with people about lifestyle, questions that you can answer for yourself. The writing style is clear, the tone is mild: don’t be too hard on yourself, even with small steps you will get far in the end.

Who are the authors?

General practitioner Tamara de Weijer is a well-known advocate of a healthy lifestyle. She has, among other things, founded the association “Doctors and lifestyle” and can be found regularly in the media to emphasize the importance of lifestyle. She was also a guest in the podcast of Health Net “Healthy Conversation”. De Weijer often uses the statement ‘No pills, but paprika’, and in previous books therefore placed a lot of emphasis on nutrition. But in this book she writes: ‘I realize more and more that more is possible – and also necessary – than a different diet. You won’t get there with just paprika, shall we say’. It explains that this book also pays a lot of attention to aspects such as meaning and connection. De Weijer wrote the book together with journalist Catelijne Elzes. The recipes and photography are by Tessy van den Boom.

What is this book about?

The book consists of an explanation of the lifestyle compass and the six parts. These components are each discussed in a separate chapter. Attention is also paid to behavioral change and mindfulness. The book also contains information about obesity and weight loss and recipes are also included. You don’t have to read the book from front to back: you choose an aspect of the lifestyle compass you want to work on, which is nice. Suppose, for example, you want to work on connection, then you read that chapter first. In it you read that loneliness and social isolation can undermine your health, and what you can do about it for your health. For example, you can map out your social environment and make an action plan to approach your contacts, join a club, or you can ask your GP for a referral to the wellbeing coach. Incidentally, these are – if I’m honest – still quite difficult actions for someone who feels lonely. The advice in this book is much more concrete in the field of nutrition, sleep and exercise.

(Almost) vegetarian

When it comes to food, De Weijer advocates, for example, eating mostly unprocessed products and lots of vegetables, eating three full meals a day and avoiding snacks, and cutting down on alcohol. The recipes are easy to prepare and colorful. I find it striking that very few animal products are used in the recipes. No meat at all and only a few recipes with fish and egg. Dairy is also used modestly, for example in the form of some Parmesan cheese or ricotta. Furthermore, vegetable dairy products are often used in the recipes, such as coconut yogurt and almond milk. Aren’t those more processed products than cow’s milk and yogurt? Perhaps the emphasis is because recipe developer Van den Boom works for plant-based food brands, as stated in the chapter “about the makers”. All in all, the recipes in the book are therefore largely plant-based.

What can you practically do with this book?

With this book you can start making every aspect of your lifestyle healthier. You choose which aspect you want to work with, and how big or small the steps you want to take. So it is not a “pre-chewed” plan, you apply the principles to your own life and your own circumstances. It does mean that you must be able to make those choices yourself and determine the steps. For some people help will be welcome, for example from a coach or dietician.

Final verdict

The tone of this book is very pleasant. Reading it will motivate you to take good care of yourself in every aspect of your lifestyle. I think it is very good that this book pays ample attention to the lesser-known aspects of lifestyle, such as meaning and connection. The book is amply illustrated, with many photos of Tamara and her family, and many recipe photos. The largely plant-based recipes may be a bridge too far for people who still prefer potatoes, vegetables and meat. But all in all, it’s a great book for anyone who wants a healthier lifestyle.