The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Solution: Create the Brain Chemistry of Health, Happiness, and Lasting Romance

"The magic key to health, happiness, and romance is waiting for you in your local health food store," says relationship guru John Gray, Ph.D. Not only do men and women have different communication and love styles, they gain and lose weight differently and need different diets, asserts Gray, author of the bestselling Mars and Venus series. Though he does not have credentials in exercise, nutrition, or weight management, Gray creates a program that, he claims, balances each gender's brain chemistry, resulting in health, weight loss, stress management, and romance.

Gray analyzes the specific brain chemicals, hormones, and reactions to stress that affect men and women differently and influence relationships. He recommends an eating plan involving at least three meals a day; replacing breakfast with a low-calorie, nutritious breakfast shake; taking amino acid supplements; drinking "cleansing nutrients"; and avoiding junk food. The exercise prescription is only seven pages long (out of 314), consisting of his "bounce, shake, breathe, and flex" program. This may stimulate brain chemicals, but it doesn't do much for cardiovascular or muscle conditioning. Gray seems more concerned with avoiding getting too much exercise than getting enough or the right kind (according to exercise professionals). --Joan Price