What if you haven’t got eight weeks to shape up? Say, for example, there’s only a month left to fit into that spiffy sundress you bought (one size too small) for your best friend’s beachside wedding. Relax, take a deep breath, and let Shape magazine editor Barbara Harris’s comprehensive and compassionate plan coax you into a healthier, more balanced lifestyle in only four weeks. Shape Your Life: 4 Weeks to a Better Body and a Better Life ethinks not only your workout and diet routines, but weaves a holistic approach to fitness for optimum health and well-being. Says Harris, “The punitive, deprivational approach to fitness isn’t necessary. . . . The sure and healthy way to get results is to learn to listen to your body and your heart to create a better life.” This plan is designed to sculpt physical and emotional health, based on the premise that one cannot exist without the other. Though half of the book is devoted to exercise and diet, the remaining chapters cover other vital elements for overall wellness: spirituality, adequate rest (including sleep and relaxation), balanced emotions, a healthy body image and a satisfying, rewarding work life. The content is presented in a well-organized, logical format that clearly outlines what readers will learn and how they can use the information. Helpful features embedded in each chapter include mini-articles that offer “quick tips” and “mistakes to avoid.” A final chapter offers four fully integrated makeover plans, each with a different focus: weight loss, stress management, body fitness and lifestyle change.

In the introduction to Shape Your Life, Robert Ivker, a past president of the American Holistic Medical Association, claims that an individual’s health profile is influenced by their responses to two questions: “Do you love your life? Are you happy to be alive?” If you take advantage of the kindly support, creative strategies and useful information packed into this book, the answer you’ll give to both queries is likely to be a resounding “Yes!” Alison Hood is a freelance writer based in San Rafael, California.

Thank goodness we’ve ditched the notion that only men can benefit from weight training. In recent years, health specialists have proven that pumping iron can help women burn fat, tone their bodies and build bone mass without becoming muscle-bound mini-Schwarzeneggers.

Personal trainer Brad Schoenfeld gives women a clear and comprehensive guide for working with weights in Sculpting Her Body Perfect. The first edition of the book, released in 1999, became a top-selling fitness title, and the newly released second edition improves on the original with the addition of 30 new exercises that can be done at home, rather than in a gym.

Schoenfeld, who also wrote the memorably titled Look Great Naked, provides a bodysculpting routine for each of the major muscle groups and includes a brief anatomy lesson at the start of each section. Every exercise is described in detail and illustrated with photos of top fitness models. From the one-armed dumbbell row to the hanging knee raise, there are plenty of options here for whipping even sadly sagging bodies into toned, shaped and sculpted perfection. And for those who need inspiration to get started or maintain a workout routine, Schoenfeld includes personal profiles of fitness competitors, who share tips on training and nutrition. If your number one New Year’s resolution is to get in shape, Sculpting Her Body Perfect offers a roadmap for reaching your goal.

Knowledge is power especially when beginning any new fitness regimen. All the self-evaluation tools you’ll need are at your fingertips in Prevention’s Ultimate Guide to Women’s Health and Wellness by Elizabeth Crow and the Editors of Prevention Health Books for Women. This desk reference stresses the importance of informed consumer choice when selecting health care providers and treatment. The guide is also a thorough compendium of female wellness strategies, profiling the latest developments in Western medicine, alternative and natural healing, and nutrition.

The book begins with a primer on the female body, and the body’s specific health needs as it ages. This information, offered in clear, concise terminology, helps women build effective health action plans by providing wellness “checklists” that assess physical and emotional well-being. Each chapter includes at-a-glance health tips and techniques, prevention and treatment advice from certified health practitioners, and positive stories from women who have successfully dealt with personal health challenges. Sections on female reproduction and sexuality, major health threats facing women and a guide to common ailments complete the book and suggest medical treatments, preventative health lifestyle strategies, nutritional counseling and home remedies.

Overall, the book seeks a balance between traditional and alternative health perspectives, but the Western medical delivery system is subtly preferred; for example, the chapter on menopause discusses hormone replacement therapy to the virtual exclusion of alternative solutions. This is, though, a fine resource for women who want an overview of current health delivery options so that they may act, in tandem with their doctor, to take charge of their health. Alison Hood is a freelance writer based in San Rafael, California.