The SuperStress Solution: 4-week Diet and Lifestyle Program

By Roberta Lee, M.D.

We live on little sleep and exercise but a lot of work. We eat junk and processed foods on the run and fuel up with caffeine and sugar. We are chronically overcommitted, subjected to a 24/7 news cycle, and can’t take our eyes off our computers and PDAs. Is it any wonder that anxious is the new normal?

Our bodies are hardwired to cope with stress, but we are biologically ill-equipped to handle the kind that we endure today.

The human brain, in all its majesty, can’t distinguish true physical emergencies from daily hassles, deadlines, information overload, difficult decisions, guilt, and worries. The physiological reaction is the same: a chronic hormonal surge born of our instinctive fight-or-flight response. The result is a cluster of dangerous symptoms: immune deficiencies, high blood pressure, weight gain, insomnia, and a wide range of other ailments. This is what world-renowned integrative physician Dr. Roberta Lee has defined as the SuperStress syndrome, which is caused by our overstimulated, undernourished lifestyle.

In this empowering, life-changing book, Dr. Lee presents the solution to SuperStress. She shows how you can build stress resistance and resilience into your life with a unique prescription for recognizing, rebalancing, and protecting against stresses small and large. Starting with a comprehensive, informative questionnaire to determine your stress level and stress personality type, The SuperStress Solution then guides you through a 4-week healing program to reset your rattled nervous system to a default state of rest rather than high alert. Discover how to

• Nourish your body with nutrient-rich foods, herbs, and supplements that repair stress damage
• Detox your system and jump-start your body’s healing with an easy-to-follow eating plan
• Sleep well again by following simple steps to protect and promote the rest your body needs
• Move to simple, low-impact exercises that can be done in five-minute to one-hour increments
• Retrain your mind so you can access a sense of peace and calm even in your most stressed-out moments

The SuperStress Solution will do more than help you beat back the overload that is making you sick; it will restore physical harmony and balance. More than a program that makes you feel better, it is a program that will make you truly well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781588369666

Reviews for The SuperStress Solution

[booksandwine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Let me be honest here, I was probably the most irritating person ever while I was reading The SuperStress Solution by Roberta Lee. I would stop my reading and point out to whoever was in the room, be it my boyfriend, his mom, or even the dogs, oh did you know...scents cause people to be relaxed, cell phones make you anxious, or peanuts are good for you, etc. I know, reading those examples probably makes me sound like an airhead, but really, I have a crap diet (i.e. I only eat bread and meat and cheese), I don't know much about aroma therapy, and I am quite smug about cellphones because I don't have one (thanks mom and dad for cutting me off!).The SuperStress Solution basically starts off with some anecdotes and examples of SuperStress which I could definitely relate to, because hello, I student teach which is the most stressful thing I've ever done -- seriously I spend all my time grading crappy papers (yes moron, there is a spell-check, USE IT!), making powerpoints, planning lessons, or designing assignments. I get up at the crack of dawn, and get what seems like an hour of reading in per day. I need longer than an hour!! But I digress, after the anecdotes, there's a long nifty quiz where you can see what kind of superstressed you are. I am agitated,overwhelmed by life and driven stressed, which is a bit interesting, because I can be a rather lazy person, but I know the littlest things irritate me, such as the sound of my ex-roommate's voice (hey moron, if you really want to be an English teacher, shouldn't you enjoy reading a bit more?!), so I can see where agitated comes from.After you diagnose yourself with the quiz, there are plenty of solutions and ideas to reduce your stress, such as relaxing, and get this, one of Lee's top relaxing recommendations is reading a good book, so no wonder I feel I'm under so much stress, I'm not making enough time to relax with a good book! Aside from books, she gives tips on what you eat, how to exercise, aromatherapy, and journaling activities. At the very end is a four-week plan tailored to your type of super stress. I'm too "overwhelmed and agitated" to follow a plan though, so I didn't actually do what she said, but gleaned some cool tips and may try her recipies which were at the end. The recipies are basically a meal plan for 4 weeks which is awesome, because I never know what to eat besides meat and cheese and candy, so who knows maybe I will actually see some results from eating like a regular normal person.I would definitely recommend this book if you want to annoy everyone around you with stress-related tidbits, and yes I do enjoy irritating people. I'd also say if you are stressed out, you really need to read this book, so you know how to handle your problem in a healthy manner. While reading this book, I absolutely recommend red wine, Lee states a glass of red wine per day is good for you, but don't overdo it, therefore, perhaps you should enjoy your one glass while reading her book!

[vickiln · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the hectic world we live in today, we could all learn how to de-stress. This book with tell you how to:* Nourish your body with nutrient-rich foods,herbs, and supplements that repair stress damage* Detox your system and jump-start your body's healing with an easy-to-follow eating plan* Sleep well again by following simple steps to protect and promote the rest your body needs* Move to simple, low-impact exercises that can be done in five-minute to one-hour increments* Retrain your mind so you can access a sense of peace and calm even in your most stressed-out momentsThe SuperStress Solution will do more than help you beat back the overload that is making you sick; it will restore physical harmony and balance. More than a program that makes you feel better, it is a program that will make you truly well.The first part of the book explains where our stress comes from and how your body reacts. Stress comes from so many different places, some that most of us would never even think of. We think of stress coming from our family, work, driving in traffic, waiting in a slow check out line etc. But it also comes from the environment etc. and some of us even add stress to ourselves, without realizing it. At the end of Part 1 there are four questionnaire: Your Superstress Type, The Physical Toll Stress Takes, Your Personal Resilience To Superstress and Recent Stressful Events. I learned a lot about myself when thinking about some of the questions and now I can work on changing those things to be less stressed. You can take a shorter version of these questionnaires HERE.The second part gives you the tools you need to overcome these stresses through breathing, meditation, affirmations, aromatherapy, massage etc. It also has a section on Foods That Heal and Rest & Motion. I practice deep breathing, meditation and aromatherapy. I've also been thinking about going for a massage, but don't know if I ever will or not. I learned the most fromThe Foods That Heal section, and can't wait to try some of them.The third part has a 4 week plan. They are Building Calm Into Your Life, Detoxifying Mind Body & Spirit-and Surroundings, Restoring & Rebuilding, and Nurturing Community and the Spirit.

[writestuff_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dr. Roberta Lee has written a book which seems quite appropriate for today’s fast paced world. Due for release in January 2010, the book is a look at how high levels of stress play a role in our lives to the detriment of our health…and what to do about it.The Superstress Solution is well organized into three parts. Part 1 is dedicated to identifying stressors and the physical toll it takes. Part of this section is dedicated to helping readers recognize their stress type (there are five), what body system tends to be most affected by their stress, and how individuals have adapted their lifestyle to deal with their stress. Part 2 outlines the tools for change available to highly stressed people, including pathways to peace, eating the right foods, rest, exercise, meditation, connecting with others, and spirituality. Part 3 is Dr. Lee’s step by step solution, using what the reader has learned in Parts 1 and 2 to overcome superstress (she breaks her solution into two levels…one a four week program, and the other a more streamlined approach based on each stress type).The book is well researched and written in easy to understand language. Dr. Lee covers the physical and emotional toll that stress takes on our bodies and minds with references to specific, recent studies which have been done in the field. Despite the negative impact of stress, she is quick to point out that it is not irreversible – and all it takes is a positive attitude and willingness to change our lifestyle to put things back on track. I found her sections on meditation, stretching, and exercise to be very informative and easy to understand.If I had one complaint about Dr. Lee’s solution to stress, it would be the sections on diet and herbal supplements. For someone like myself who resides in a very rural area, some of the suggested foods and herbal supplements might be hard to find (there is one health food store in my area which might have some of these things…and it is located 45 minutes away from my home). I also found my head spinning a little with the amounts of supplements she seemed to be recommending.Despite this minor complaint, most of what the author recommends seems to be a good, common sense approach to managing one’s stress…and many of her suggestions are ones I intend to integrate into my busy and often stressful life (even some of the simpler diet and supplement recommendations).I found this book to be an accessible self-help book – easy to understand, simple steps to implement, well researched, and organized to make it a good reference tome.For those readers who are finding themselves suffering from stress related maladies, or feeling overwhelmed with life, The Superstress Solution might be helpful.