Book Review: Make Shift Happen

I was recently sent a review copy of Making Shi(f)t Happen by Dean Dwyer who blogs at BeingPrimal.com.

I’ve read Dean’s blog in the past, and I like his no-holds-barred approach to health and nutrition. To give a little background, Dean was a former Vegan/Vegetarian who, at age 45, decided to try a new approach.

He re-introduced meat into his diet and adopted a paleo way of eating, but more importantly, he addressed the often missed mental and emotional aspects of health and weight loss.

Dean breaks his own journey and his advice to others into a series of 20 Shi(f)ts that helped him (and will help others) change their weight and their lives.

Though it does address the health and nutrition aspects of weight loss, I liked that the majority of Make Shi(f)t Happen focuses on the mental and emotional side. I’m hopeful that we will see these aspects being addressed more often in the next few years, but Dean is ahead of the curve on this one.

Make Shi(f)t Happen is an easy read, and Dean’s writing style is very enjoyable. I finished the book within a few hours of starting it and I’ve made a list of several mental shifts I am going to work on myself. I especially like his suggestions to:

Run your body like you’d run a business by having actionable steps to accomplish a goal, rather than just setting an abstract goal and trying to reach it.
Focus on exercise for its functional aspects rather than weight loss. It is true that your physique is made in the kitchen, and yet, many people still trudge away on the treadmill in hopes of losing weight
Make a list of the thing that you could do that would make your life great and review this list often to make sure you are making progress toward them.

So many health and nutrition books are geared toward women, and Dean does a great job of reaching out to men and women in his book. I thoroughly enjoyed Make Shi(f)t Happen, but I think it would be especially effective at reaching men as well. Dean’s straightforward writing style and sense of humor might be able to get through to teenagers or spouses who are resistant to or struggling to make health changes.

I think this book would also be very effective for those who know they need to make a change, and perhaps even know what nutrition changes they need to make but are struggling to stick to the changes.

Make Shi(f)t Happen is now available on Amazon and is also available for Kindle. You can also check out Dean’s writing at MakeShi(f)tHappen.org and BeingPrimal.com.

Note: I was given a copy of this book to review, but my review and opinions are my own.