Sexy By Nature: The Whole Foods Solution to Radiant Health, Lifelong Sex Appeal, and Soaring Con fidence

About a year ago, I stumbled onto Stefani's blog while attempting to solve a hormonal issue I was having from maintaining a strict Paleo diet. When I found out she was writing a women-specific book, I was excited to read it.For a science-centered book, _Sexy by Nature_ is very easy to read, especially compared to other ancestral health science books like _Perfect Health Diet_. The language is plain, and there are a few diagrams when appropriate to better demonstrate concepts. I read large portions in single sittings, whereas that's usually difficult for me when the material is technical.The book is divided into five sections, which do seem a bit disjointed (the only negative thing I can say!). The first section was a set of "Old Rules" and a new set of "Nature Rules" to replace them with. This section wasn't very useful to me, but that's largely because I've been following an ancestral health approach for 3 years now, and it was more focused on debunking conventional wisdom--something I've already bought into. If you're new to ancestral health, though, the first section can be very useful background.The second section focuses on eating the right foods, and Ruper does a good job explaining exactly how each food benefits a female body in particular--its effect on hormones, fertility, etc.. The third and fourth sections were the best sections in my opinion. They focus on lifestyle changes beyond nutrition and how to overcome specific problems such as acne, infertility, and PMS. Having followed the advice for PMS, I can tell you IT WORKS.The final section focuses on loving yourself. One of the things that sets this book apart is that Ruper doesn't just give you a diet and a means of healing your body. She also focuses on giving you the mental and psychological tools to deal with the changes your body is making, and to love your body regardless of whether or not it meets an ideal set by yourself, another person in your life, or the media/society in general. True healing for women is two-fold: physical and psychological, and this book seeks to offer you tools to heal in both ways.I highly recommend this book for any woman who has seen success with a Paleo/Primal/PHD way of eating but has some lingering issues. Or, really, for any other woman at all. I think it's going to become my go-to gift for all my female friends.

Just bought the E-book and I love it. It was light a light bulb going off in my head. I will be able to change my body by being happy and loving my body. I am half way through the book and I am already realizing that I can love my body and that I should be happy with the body I was born with. She makes some very good points in her book that can help women rebuild confidence. Transforming your body is not just about food and exercise but it is also about your attitude towards yourself. Being able to love yourself and nourish your body for what it craves will naturally slim your body. From reading the book I am letting myself be happy and more confident and I can already tell my boyfriend sees a big difference. He seems happier than I am happier. I can't wait to finish the book!

I hope that this review will be thorough and informative. But first, a synopsis:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sexy by Nature, by Stephani Ruper, is a well-researched, positive, organized, and holistic guide to women's health. She explains diet (a paleo approach tailored towards the specific needs of women in various stages of life) and lifestyle (exercise, sex, sleep, stress, and more) and gives the reader specific information, guidelines and tools in an approachable and easy-to-comprehend manner that is also grounded in science and practical wisdom. She helps the reader troubleshoot common health concerns, such as low libido, family planning, weight management, and PMS, in ways that are specific to the special needs of women. Throughout the book, she explores the importance of self-love and acceptance, and why they are so important to health and vitality for women. A thorough index makes finding particular information easy. Stephani comes across as a caring, intelligent and genuine person. I highly recommend this book for any woman, no matter where you are on your journey towards health and wellness. For me personally, I learned things that have helped me to heal physically and have compassion and patience with myself.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I first discovered Sexy by Nature when I saw the book recommended by a paleo blogger I follow. From the title, I wasn't sure what kind of book it was, though I recognized the author, Stephani Ruper, from her blog [...], and I remembered reading several excellent articles on hormones and female-specific issues there. After listening to Stephani on several podcasts, I realized this book was likely different from any other paleo or other health book I'd read. Within the first few pages, it was obvious that Stephani was offering a holistic, balanced and positive approach to women's health, and that she was someone I wanted to listen to and learn from.Broken down into five distinct but connected sections, Sexy by Nature begins by looking at the old paradigms that permeate our culture and replacing them with new, positive ones that provide a balanced framework for how to approach health. This first section is titled Trailblaze, and I was sure that I could skip it, seeing as I was a well-educated woman who considers herself a feminist. I am glad I didn't, because I learned new things, and was led to new insights. Most profoundly, several parts of this sections helped me to understand myself as a teenager and young adult, and to have sympathy for myself during times of struggle. Old Rule #3 Punishment and its accompanying New Rule #3 Love particularly struck a chord with me, as Stephani wrote: "...there is no good reason to be hard on yourself. Your body does its best to be healthy and happy...Your body is always looking for ways to heal itself." After reading that, I found myself sitting up straighter, and in the days to follow, found numerous opportunities to be impressed with my body. Stephani framed the rules in a way that made it easy for me to connect with and apply to my daily life, and helped me to feel compassion towards myself.In the second section, Nourish, I was impressed with the breadth and depth of discussion on healthy foods, as well as the biochemistry behind them. For me, the 'why' was important, and once again the information was well-organized and accessible. I already knew from other books, articles and most importantly *my own experience* that a paleo diet (grain-, dairy-, sugar- and legume-free diet) was the most healthy framework for food I could have. And I knew the 'why' behind the diet - but the way Stephani shared the information was different, and helped me to see the cross-connections between food, immunity, mental health and hormones, and why I want to continue avoiding grains, seed oils, processed food and significant amounts of sugar (even natural sugars). Her explanations on what foods to eat included a guide to helping you figure out if dairy may be a problem for you, and a large section devoted to how you should eat.This section could be particularly important for women, since we have a disproportionate amount of disordered eating habits (to say nothing of eating disorders) compared to men. Stephani coaches you on how to balance your meals without counting calories or ratios. In fact, she specifically tells you not to be concerned with calories or strict ratios, and instead focus on hunger and satiety cues from your body. There is also guidance on how to navigate the world outside your kitchen, as you take your new way of eating to work and on vacation. Stephani reminds you again to not restrict or punish yourself, and that if you have or have had struggles with disordered eating, emotional eating or any other unhealthy relationship with food, to consider seeking additional help.In the third section, Live, Stephani outlines her 10 S's - which I think of as 'beyond food'. The first S, stress, is the one that hits home for me personally right now. She details how stress negatively affects your body, digestion, hormones and immunity, and then discusses multiple strategies for dealing with stress. Other S's include strength and sprinting (how to exercise), sex and sunlight. Stephani also stresses the importance of 'striving' - finding purpose in your life and setting goals. There is a lot of information in this section, and again, it is written with women and our particular needs in mind. I haven't included as much on this section, because I have not yet explored it beyond a quick read, save for the section on stress.The fourth section is titled Overcome and addresses some specific health concerns and how to troubleshoot them. But right up front, Stephani encourages you to seek the help of healthcare professionals you trust, and reminds you that the body is interconnected. Topics covered include energy, family planning, energy, skin health, PMS and more. For example, in the section on weight management, she first explains how weight gain and fat loss work in the body, then explores the fat needs of women in particular, for fertility, hormone balance and production and metabolism. Then she gives many different avenues for healing metabolic dysfunction that are specific to women. I particularly like how each health concern is organized into sections, allowing the reader to skim for pertinent information, or read in-depth.The fifth and final section, Strut, is all about self-love, embracing empowered womanhood, and self-actualization. This last section should not be dismissed as 'feel-good fluff' - the entire book Stephani has been professing the importance of self-love and its role in health. Here, she implores us to break down negative thoughts, have patience with yourself on your journey, praise your body, and to love your body and your brains, and to love yourself as a inherently worthy creature of this world. She talks about sex appeal being an inside-out system, and that it starts with us as women feeling sexy before we can be sexy. And by sexy, Stephani means confident, self-determined, and self-loving - not so much clothing, BMI and makeup. Her 'sexy tips' include accepting and forgiving yourself, meditating, body awareness, practicing gratitude for your body, and eating well.Finally, Stephani pours a bit of her heart out to you, the reader. She is empathetic and supportive, and reminds you that you are worthy of self-love and good health, and that there is an entire community of women on a similar journey (there is!!) who will support and guide you, and lend a listening ear. Stephani Ruper is an invaluable, positive part of this community, and her book Sexy by Nature is an important resource for any woman who is seeking better health, vitality, and healing. I whole-heartedly recommend Sexy by Nature and believe that it will be a well-read and frequently-referenced part of your bookshelf.(Oh, and the well-done index isn't glamorous, but is important for when you find yourself wanting to know more about a topic!)

I've been following paleo for a while and I really enjoy her emphasis on how to adapt a whole foods lifestyle tailored towards women. She has a step by step process (5 steps, but mini-steps in between all) and she explains the science in an easy to understand manner. Women's bodies are very different from men's (duh!) and she really teaches more than just "how to paleo" but how to really live a fulfilling paleo lifestyle, combining both the physical (what to eat and how to move) with the psychological (self-love). Her advice is applicable to women at all stages of life, and I highly recommend this book!

I know this isn't a weight loss book per se, but since I started to eat as the author advises, I have effortlessly lost 7 lbs. I understand a lot of this will be water weight, my body certainly took some adjusting to no grains and legumes (ie, fatigue, headaches and joint pain) BUT 7 days in, I feel better than I have in a LONG time! I love the advice and message of this book. All women should read this.

I like the scientific explanations of why things are good or bad for you. It's nice that the body and mind are linked in this book.

Great service - product as described

Absolutely love the message behind this book about empowering women to be confident and healthy in their bodies. Brilliant information, easy to read and very inspiring. Totally recommending this to my friends.

Really easy to read and understand. I've read loads of books on paleo or primal living but this is aimed specifically at women and really makes you think about doing right by your body.

A good overview of how to eat clean.

Very well written

I am stuggling with pmdd, after having my 2 kids my hormoes took a plunge for the worse. I am went to various doctors who mostly only can presribe me medication (which I could not handle for the life of me). So every month I go through 2 weeks of depression and anxiety which results in a 10 day period, and the cycle starts again. This book is an AMAZING eye opener, full of so much advice how to naturally curve my hormones and make my body respond postively. I am loving every step and am SO GRATEFUL to Ms. Stefani Ruper. My diet is my biggest problem, although slim, I make bad choices every day with what I eat. So happy to find a book that has all the information needed to make better choices and begin to take control of my life again. Thank you for making this book and helping women all over the globe with problems that seem unsolvable - you give me hope to a better and healthier future for myself and my family!

Short version:Stefani is a wonderfully unique voice in the women's health world. Her approach to healing is based upon self love and care, proper nourishment, and complete fulfillment in all aspects of life, body, mind, spirit, and soul. This book is a beautiful combination of what Stefani does best: teaching women that in order to fully heal they must work with, not against, their bodies and gives us the tools we need to do so!Long Version including why I preordered this book as soon as it was available!When I first got into this whole healthy eating thing I spent a lot of time on Marks Daily Apple, where I read about something called intermittent fasting. The gist is essentially that you compress your meals into specific eating windows in the belief that it helps with things like autophagy, cell regeneration, and overall longevity. I played around with IF for quite a few months by putting off my first meal of the day until after school finished at 2 pm. Though I did have some pretty stellar benefits, such as a 99% average in school, intense mental focus and clarity with energy to burn, I also stopped menstruating, which for me is the primary indicator that my hormones and body were completely out of whack. I was stumped though, because from what I had read IF was supposed to be a healthy way to manage your weight. One day I was stumbling about the interwebs before school and I came across this article by Stefani. Reading her take on IF was the slap in the face I needed to actually start listening to what my body was telling me. Her blog has utterly and completely changed my relationship to my body and how I treat myself. Turns out all that energy and focus I was experiencing was my body in starvation mode pumping out stress hormones to encourage me to forage for food. Crazy huh? It was then that I realized I was relying on what other people said about nutrition to make decisions about my body and health instead of actively listening to, appreciating, and nourishing my own body.I also owe Stefani a huge debt of gratitude because when I was diagnosed with PCOS a year and a half ago, which was likely not unconnected to my months of intermittent fasting and intense stress levels from school and work, the first thing I did was buy her book PCOS Unlocked. I gobbled the whole thing up in one night and started enacting the tips the very next day. And wouldn’t you know it, without going on birth control pills, which is what my doctor wanted me to do, I have been able to rebalance my hormones naturally. I will likely always have to keep a close eye on my body and hormonal balance just due to the amount of stress I’ve put myself through in the past, but every day I feel a little better, I love my body a little more, and I’m a little more confident in my own skin. I owe Stefani an unbelievable debt of gratitude for being the catalyst that propelled me down the path to self-love and total nourishment.So that’s my connection to Stefani and why I preordered her book as soon as I saw it was available online and I have to say, I have not regretted my decision for a second! Her whole book is founded on the Sexy by Nature Golden Rule:Your body is a natural body, with natural needs, that, when loved properly, loves you right back.And all her dietary and lifestyle recommendations are predicated on that assumption.Her book is divided into 5 parts or steps to achieving radiantly sexy good health, all of which come together to create a beautiful and personalized diet and lifestyle.Part 1, Trailblaze, is great and involves replacing seven previously held rules on what it takes to achieve a healthy and fit body with smart and achievable rules. These include Beauty Conformity vs. Celebratory Uniqueness, Restriction vs. Nourishment, Punishment vs. Love, Warfare vs. Harmony, Bandages vs. Healing, Unquestioning Ignorance vs. Investigation, and Sexism vs. Female Empowerment. I loved her analyses and deconstruction of the old rules and her reasoning behind incorporating these new, loving, and health-promoting rules into your life.Part 2, Nourishment, covers the basics of nutrition, which are the foundation of the Sexy by Nature diet plan. Her recommendations are pretty standard fair in terms of what the ancestral health community recommends for dietary guidelines, though her emphasis on ensuring adequate carbohydrate consumption for thyroid health is something fairly specific to her focus on female hormonal health. She also focuses quite extensively on establishing a diet that is focused specifically on female nutrition goals, which includes eating more regularly, higher carb intake (at least 100g/day), and listening to your body’s hunger and fullness signals. This section is easily digestible (heh heh) and Stefani clearly and concisely explains her reasoning behind the inclusion or exclusion of specific foods.Part 3, Live, goes into more detail about specific aspects of our lifestyle that go beyond food but that play a hugely important role in our overall health. She covers the effects of stress, sleep, standing, sprinting, strength, sex, sunlight, spirit, settling, and striving. I loved this section because sometimes people get so caught up in focusing on the food that they forget hot many other wonderful things it takes to make up a truly fulfilled and healthy life. Here’s a quick little gem from her section on settling:True happiness comes from mindset, relationships, feeling comfortable in your world, and building a meaningful live. It does not come from the frenetic parts of Western existence—busyness, perfectionism, and the acquisition of stuff.The word settle has a lot of important meanings here. It means to simplify your choices and your life. It means to prioritize appropriately. It means to be calm. It means to let the dust settle naturally and let life flow without trying maniacally to control outcomes or achieve goals. It means finding peace with your body, spirit, and life and accepting things as they are. It doesn’t mean giving up on dreams; it means pursuing those dreams mindfully. (197/8)Part 4, Overcome, offers some fantastic suggestions for dietary and lifestyle interventions to help women manage issues such as weight gain, PMS, poor skin health, infertility, low libido, cramps, and low energy. She does a wonderful job of explaining the root causes of many of these issues and how diet and lifestyle impact the development or management of them. It’s super informative with enough science for us nerds but explained clear enough that even without formal science or nutrition training you will walk away with tons of tips and tools to help you rebalance and nourish your body fully and completely.Part 5, Strut, is all about self-love, confidence, inherent sexiness, and flaunting your fabulousness to the world. This angle of Stefani’s approach to women’s health is one of the major reasons I fell in love with her writing. She encourages us ladies to embrace our natural bodies exactly where they are and recognize that if we feel imbalanced or suffer from PMS or excess weight it’s not because our body is working against us, but because she is trying to do her very best to keep us alive with what she’s been given. Recognizing this fact is one of the first steps we need to take in order to achieve true and lasting healing and Stefani is a master at raising the battle cry for women everywhere to love themselves just as they are.You are the one who determines how sexy you are. (296)All in all I definitely recommend this book to practitioners and clients alike, as I think there is tons of fantastic information about female hormones and exercise, the dangers of perfectionism on body image, and self-love in addition to all the great stuff on diet and other lifestyle factors.

No si es que he leído ya demasiados libros sobre dieta Paleo, Primal, dietas "limpias"... Sea como sea, no es lo que esperaba. No me ha aportado nada que no hubiese aprendido con las lecturas anteriores y se me hizo un poco tedioso con tanta reflexión acerca de qué es o que no es sexy. A partir de la mitad del libro le hice apenas una lectura "por encima", buscando algo que mereciera la pena. No lo encontré.

libro utile, fa chiarezza su molti aspetti dell'universo femminile; a volte un po' ridondante sui consigli relativi allo stile di vita a sicuramente utile

This book helped me a lot! I am already getting better after years of bad habits. All kinds of them! I read this book in a perfect moment, during vacations, as I had a lot of time to think things through. A must read!The author is great!

really happy about it.

Great for every one. I appreciated the way Stefani wrote the book as well as the message.

You should only buy this book of you know NOTHING about paleo/primal diet or lifestyle already! I was very disappointed in how basic the information was I could barely force myself to finish it, but was hope to find SOMETHING I didn't know already. Maybe some ppl can benefit from this book but If you wanna save your money just spend a few minutes reading free health blogs or something- you will get just as much out of it.